When to use it
Use when procurement slips, budget ownership changes, or the customer raises affordability concerns.
Work the questions in order
- Ask what kind of constraint exists: funding, timing, authority, or the business case.
- Map the decision path with the customer and commercial owner.
- Document authorized options and the next decision point without forecasting certainty you do not have.
Your working notes
Use these prompts in your own document, or print this page and write in the spaces.
Customer priority
What business outcome is the spend intended to support?
Constraint
What specifically prevents approval? What is known versus assumed?
Decision roles
Who uses, advocates, approves, and processes the purchase?
Required evidence
What does the approver need to decide? Who can validate it?
Process and timing
What are the actual steps, dependencies, and customer-confirmed dates?
Options to explore
What scope or timing options can the authorized commercial team discuss?
Next action and uncertainty
Who owns the next step? What could still prevent agreement?
See a fictional worked example
Fictional example: the user team supports renewal, but a new approver needs a documented business case. The CSM helps assemble customer-confirmed evidence while the commercial owner clarifies the approval sequence.