List all required assumptions

Every purchase requires a chain of beliefs. Your prospect needs to believe the problem exists, the solution works, you're the right choice, and the investment is justified. If any assumption in that chain is false for them, they won't buy.

Your job is to map that chain. Write down every assumption that must be true for someone to hand you money. Don't skip the obvious ones. "The problem exists" feels basic, but if someone doesn't believe employees are a security risk, they won't buy cybersecurity training regardless of how good your product is.

Start broad (problem level) and work towards specific (product and purchase level). The sequence matters because people move through beliefs in order. Someone who doesn't believe outbound works won't care which email tool has better deliverability.

The foundational assumption is always "this problem exists and affects me". Without this, nothing else matters.

For cybersecurity training, that's "employees are a security risk". For lead gen tools like Lemlist or Surf, that's "paid ads are too expensive or I lack budget for them".

Write the problem assumption at the top of your spreadsheet. Be specific. "Marketing is hard" is too vague. "We need more leads" doesn't explain why paid ads aren't working. The problem assumption should trigger a clear "yes, that's true for me" or "no, that's not my situation".

Test it by asking: if someone doesn't believe this assumption, would they keep reading? If they'd bounce immediately, you've found your foundational assumption.

Once someone believes the problem exists, they need to believe a solution approach works. This is before they pick a specific vendor.

For cybersecurity training, the solution assumption is "training employees changes security behaviour". Someone might believe employees are a risk but think training is a waste of time compared to technical controls.

For lead gen tools, the solution assumption splits into layers:

• "Outbound still works in 2024" (some marketers don't believe this)
• "Email outreach beats LinkedIn for our use case" (channel choice)
• "Building targeted lists beats buying data" (strategy choice)

List all solution-level assumptions. These often branch. Email vs LinkedIn is a fork in the belief path. Both are outbound, but the choice matters. Don't flatten these into one generic "outbound works" assumption if the channel choice creates different segments.

Product-level assumptions are about you specifically, not the solution category. Why should they choose you over competitors?

For cybersecurity training:

• "This vendor's content is effective" (not all training is equal)
• "Implementation is manageable" (won't disrupt operations)
• "Compliance requirements are covered" (if that's their driver)

For lead gen tools:

• "This tool's deliverability beats alternatives" (Lemlist vs competitors)
• "Setup complexity is worth the results" (time investment)
• "The interface actually gets used by our team" (adoption risk)

These assumptions often reveal your differentiation. If everyone needs to believe "setup is easy" but you're particularly strong there, that's a segment opportunity. Target people who doubt setup complexity.

The final layer is about making the decision to buy now, not later or never.

For cybersecurity training:

• "ROI justifies the investment" (especially for proactive buyers)
• "We can get budget approved" (internal politics)
• "Now is the right time" (urgency vs delay)

For lead gen tools:

• "Cost is justified by pipeline impact" (ROI calculation)
• "We have bandwidth to implement" (resource availability)
• "Contract terms are acceptable" (commitment risk)

Write these down even if they feel obvious. The compliance officer buying cybersecurity training doesn't need ROI proof, they need it for certification. The breach-reactive CEO has urgency baked in. But the proactive CSO needs to justify ROI to the board.

These purchase assumptions often determine timing and deal size, not whether someone buys at all.

You should now have 8 to 12 assumptions listed from problem through to purchase. Don't worry about segments yet. Just map the complete belief chain someone needs to move through to become a customer.