Before a technology enters a new market, someone should survey the ground.

Proof

1. When a prospect in this market asks for a reference, what can you show them?
   • A named customer in this specific market will speak with them directly
   • A named customer in an adjacent market will speak with them
   • Case studies or logos, but no live reference offered
   • Only our own website's claims about ourselves
   • Nothing built yet in this market
2. How many recognizable customer names can you show in this specific market?
   • Three or more brands this buyer would recognize
   • One or two brands this buyer would recognize
   • Several customers, but none this specific buyer would recognize
   • One pilot customer, unannounced
   • None yet
3. In the last 90 days, what happened when a prospect asked "who else uses this"?
   • We named specific companies and they recognized at least one
   • We named companies but they didn't recognize any
   • We described the category we serve, not specific names
   • We didn't have a ready answer
4. Where does independent, third-party evidence of your results currently exist?
   • A published, verifiable case study or mention exists for this market
   • We have data but haven't published anything specific to this market
   • We have anecdotes but nothing documented
   • Nothing exists yet

Whole Offer

1. Can your target buyer succeed with what you ship today, with no custom work?
   • Yes — install or onboard and go live without engineering help from us
   • Yes, with our standard implementation support
   • Only with meaningful custom integration work each time
   • No — every deal requires a bespoke build
2. In the last 90 days, has a deal stalled because of something you don't provide?
   • No deals have stalled on missing pieces
   • One stalled on a specific gap we've since closed
   • Deals regularly stall on the same one or two missing pieces
   • We don't track why deals stall
3. Does this market require compliance, certification, or support commitments you don't yet have?
   • We already hold what this market requires
   • We're mid-process on what's required
   • We haven't started and don't fully know what's required
   • We know it's required and don't have a plan
4. If the buyer needed a specific integration or partner to go live, does one already exist?
   • Yes, a live, working integration or partner already exists
   • One is in development with a committed date
   • We'd have to build or find one after the deal closes
   • We haven't identified what's needed yet

Reachability

1. In the last 90 days, how did your most recent new-market conversation start?
   • A buyer found and contacted us
   • A partner or channel introduced us
   • We cold-contacted them and they engaged
   • We cold-contacted them; no reply yet
   • We haven't had one in this market yet
2. Do you have a named channel, partner, or community that already reaches this buyer?
   • Yes, an active partner or channel relationship already selling into this market
   • Yes, identified but not yet activated
   • We have a list of names, not a relationship
   • No route identified
3. How many qualified conversations has this market produced in the last quarter?
   • Five or more, from a repeatable source
   • One to four, from a repeatable source
   • A few, but each came from a one-off, non-repeatable event
   • None yet
4. If you stopped all outbound effort today, would this market still produce inbound interest?
   • Yes, inbound already arrives without outbound effort
   • A little, but not enough to matter yet
   • No, all current interest requires active outbound
   • Unknown — we've never tested it

Slot

1. When you tell someone in this market what you do, what happens?
   • They repeat it back to someone else accurately, unprompted
   • They understand it but need it explained again to their own colleagues
   • We need multiple attempts to land the explanation
   • We're still workshopping how to explain it here
2. Does this market already have a category label buyers use to search for what you do?
   • Yes, and we already appear under that exact label
   • Yes, but we don't yet show up under it
   • The category is fuzzy or contested in this market
   • No existing category — we'd be teaching a new concept
3. In the last 90 days, has a prospect used your own positioning language back to you unprompted?
   • Yes, more than once
   • Once
   • No, but they didn't seem confused either
   • No — we had to re-explain each time

Urgency

1. Is there a budget line this problem already sits under in this market?
   • Yes, a specific, existing budget line already covers this
   • Budget exists but would need to be reallocated
   • No specific budget line exists yet
   • Buyers don't see this as something to budget for
2. In the last 90 days, has a prospect named a deadline connected to this problem?
   • Yes, a specific date tied to a real consequence
   • Yes, a soft or informal timeline
   • No, but they agreed it mattered
   • No — it came up as a 'someday' problem
3. What happens to this buyer if they do nothing for another year?
   • Something measurable and costly gets worse for them
   • Something gets modestly worse
   • Very little changes for them either way
   • We genuinely don't know
4. Have you closed or nearly closed a deal in this market in the last two quarters?
   • Yes, closed
   • Yes, in late-stage discussion right now
   • We've had interest but nothing near close
   • No real deal activity yet

Weather

1. Where is this category in its adoption curve in this specific market?
   • Buyers already budget for and expect this category
   • Early majority — some buyers get it without explanation
   • Early adopters only — most buyers need convincing the category matters
   • Nobody in this market treats this as a category yet
2. How entrenched is the incumbent, or status quo, this buyer would have to displace?
   • Weak or no real incumbent in this specific market
   • A moderate incumbent with some visible dissatisfaction
   • A strong, well-liked incumbent with high switching cost
   • A dominant incumbent buyers aren't currently questioning
3. Is there an external forcing function — regulatory, economic, technological — pushing this market to act now?
   • Yes, a specific, dated forcing function is already in motion
   • Something directional, but not yet forcing action
   • No forcing function either way
   • Conditions currently favor waiting, not acting