The last moment a replacement decision is still cheap to change
A client mentions, almost in passing, that they are getting a quote to replace the system that runs the business.
That sentence is usually three to six months ahead of the invoice, and it is the last moment when the decision is cheap to influence.
By the time it reaches you as a capital request, three things have already happened. A vendor has framed the problem in the shape of what that vendor sells. Someone internal has staked their credibility on it. And the number has been socialised enough that arguing with it now costs that person their standing.
You do not need to know anything about software to be useful at the earlier moment. Two questions do most of the work. What would have to be true for this to be the right call. And who gets paid if the answer is yes.
If the answers come back thin, that is worth a conversation before the proposal arrives rather than after.
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