Identify a genuinely useful additional scope or decide that expansion would be premature.
The situation
In this fictional brief, client deadlines live in different spreadsheets and dependency changes arrive late. The buyer wants a single view of owners, dependencies and delivery dates. Your offer is a shared project planning workspace, but you must first establish whether its scope addresses the actual need.
A relevant delivery constraint is that client teams must retain access to an export of their work. Treat that as a fact in the exercise; do not remove it to make the sale easier.
| Your counterpart | an operations lead at a professional-services firm |
|---|---|
| Offer under discussion | a shared project planning workspace |
| Evidence available | a sample project with one late dependency and the resulting schedule change |
| Terms to clarify | Agree who imports data, maintains the plan and owns exit exports. |
How to approach account expansion
A useful question for this stage: “What is different about that team’s requirements?” Ask it when the conversation creates a reason for it, rather than reciting every question in order.
- Review the current result. Ask permission to explore a related need. Treat the new scope as a fresh discovery process.
- Ground the discussion in the buyer’s work. Ask: “Which handover creates the most rework when a delivery date changes?” Listen for a concrete example before making a claim.
- Use evidence relevant to the decision: a sample project with one late dependency and the resulting schedule change. Explain what it demonstrates and what remains unverified.
- Identify a genuinely useful additional scope or decide that expansion would be premature.
Example exchange
An illustrative exchange. Real conversations will take a different path.
SellerIs there another team or workflow facing a similar problem, or should we focus on improving the current one?
BuyerOur concern is that client deadlines live in different spreadsheets and dependency changes arrive late. Also, client teams must retain access to an export of their work.
SellerWhich handover creates the most rework when a delivery date changes?
BuyerAnother tool will just add more administration.
SellerLet us time the current weekly update and compare the same update on one sample project before asking everyone to move.
SellerWhat is different about that team’s requirements?
An industry-specific concern
Buyer: “Another tool will just add more administration.”
Possible response: “Let us time the current weekly update and compare the same update on one sample project before asking everyone to move.”
Why this response helps: it acknowledges the concern, brings the discussion back to a verifiable requirement and leaves room for a different decision. Adapt the wording to what the buyer actually said.
Run the practice
- Prepare for two minutes. One person takes the seller role and one plays an operations lead at a professional-services firm. Read the offer and constraint separately from your preferred answer.
- Have a five-minute conversation focused on explore an additional need only after establishing that the existing work is useful. The buyer should answer consistently with the brief and ask for evidence when a claim is vague.
- Add this challenge: A senior sponsor wants a wider rollout but the current users still have unresolved issues. Make those dependencies explicit.
- Pause for feedback. Quote one useful question and one missed opportunity. Repeat the difficult exchange using a different response.
- Finish by writing the actual agreement. A sensible option, when it fits, is to run one internal project for two weekly planning cycles. A clear decision to pause is also a useful outcome.
What to avoid
| Common mistake | Using customer loyalty as a reason to skip qualification. |
|---|---|
| A stronger direction | Before extending this, we should check the new team’s goals, constraints and decision process. |
| Scope and claim boundary | Do not present feature count as proof of adoption. |
| What to measure in real work | time spent preparing the weekly delivery update. Establish a baseline and definition before interpreting a change. |
Your working sheet
Write your own version below. Notes are saved on this browser when local storage is available. Use Download to keep a separate copy; avoid adding confidential information on a shared device.
Example: client deadlines live in different spreadsheets and dependency changes arrive late; client teams must retain access to an export of their work.
Example: What is different about that team’s requirements? Industry question: Which handover creates the most rework when a delivery date changes?
Example: a sample project with one late dependency and the resulting schedule change. Do not present feature count as proof of adoption.
Example: Propose a clear next step, such as: run one internal project for two weekly planning cycles. Confirm the owner and date.
Review your work
Tick only what you can support with your answer or practice. This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions about this resource
Who is this project management software exercise for?
Founders, salespeople and account managers preparing for a conversation about a shared project planning workspace. Adapt the brief to your real offer and authority before using it at work.
Can I use the example as a script?
Use the questions as prompts. Listen and respond to the buyer’s actual meaning. The target is to explore an additional need only after establishing that the existing work is useful, not to deliver a memorised speech.
How should I assess the result?
Identify a genuinely useful additional scope or decide that expansion would be premature. Use the three review questions below. The checklist is for reflection; it is not a validated prediction of sales performance.
Fictional training scenario. The dialogue illustrates response choices; it is not a customer testimonial or a record of a real sale. About these resources.