Founder Dependency
How to Prepare Sales Opportunities Before Expert Review
By [Author name required] · Reviewed by [Expert reviewer name required] · Last reviewed 2026-09-11
Direct answer
Prepare opportunities by defining, per service line, exactly what information must be gathered before an expert is involved: customer context, technical parameters, constraints, timeline, decision process and the specific question requiring expert judgement. Review then takes minutes rather than becoming a second discovery conversation.
Key takeaways
- Preparation standards differ by service line.
- The specific question for the expert must be stated.
- Incomplete opportunities should be returned, not absorbed.
- This is the fastest available reduction in founder time.
The preparation standard
A short structured summary: who the customer is, what they need, what is technically known and unknown, what constraints exist, what has been promised, and the precise decision the expert is being asked to make.
Enforcing it kindly
Returning incomplete opportunities feels obstructive at first and becomes the norm quickly, because the team learns the standard is achievable and that meeting it produces faster answers.
First draft written from the firm's methodology. No third-party statistics, benchmarks or client results are cited. Requires expert review and source attachment before publication.