MKT.4:4.1 - Recover the actual decision and its participants

Ask what is being decided now: whether to investigate, compare alternatives, obtain permission, try, contract, pay, start use or continue an existing arrangement. Recover the relevant participants, what each can decide and what information or contribution they need. A sequence recorded in a CRM is a proposed or reported account; check the actual case before acting on it.

Use a concrete recent event to establish where the decision stands. “We are ready” can mean that a user likes the demonstration while purchasing has not seen the terms. Preserve the first fact and obtain the second. Do not invent a stage for an unknown condition.

Define the attainable alternatives, including continuing the current way, another supplier, a narrower contribution and no action now. Investigate the reason for uncertainty when it can change the next move. MKT.12 supplies a choice-history inquiry when the reported obstacle is not yet understood.