Founders ask customers what they want. Sales teams hear what they will not pay for.
The first answer is useful. The second may contain more information.
A customer interview can reveal frustrations, preferences, and imagined future behaviour. A real sales process introduces something interviews often lack: consequences.
There is a budget. There are competing priorities. There is an implementation burden. There are security reviews, political risks, procurement requirements, existing contracts, and people whose careers may be affected by the decision.
When a qualified buyer says no, delays a purchase, or reaches the end of a process without acting, the answer contains evidence about where the market’s practical boundaries lie.
