The Six Buyer Questions: What buyers ask when shortlisting vendors
The six fundamental questions buyers ask when they research, compare, and shortlist vendors.
Buyers have been asking them since before AI, before Google, before the telephone, and before the newspaper.
In AI-mediated shortlisting, AI finds the answers to these questions on the buyer's behalf.
The Six Buyer Questions are the six fundamental questions buyers ask when they research, compare, and shortlist vendors:
Does this vendor solve my problem?
Do they work with companies like mine?
How do they do the work?
Can they prove results?
Are they credible?
How does the engagement work?
Buyers have been asking these fundamental questions since before AI, before Google, before the telephone, and before the newspaper.
While the questions have remained durable, the researcher has changed as more buyers are outsourcing the research to AI through a multi-turn conversation.
Today, buyers are moving to AI-mediated shortlisting, where AI finds the answers to these questions and builds the shortlist on their behalf.
Each question is described from the buyer's side, what the buyer wants to know, and from AI's side, what AI looks for when it researches the question in AI-mediated shortlisting.
Question 1:
Does This Vendor Solve My Problem?
Solving a problem is the primary reason buyers look for outside help. They are looking for capabilities, experience, and knowledge that they and their team do not have.
What a Buyer Wants to Know About the Problem a Vendor Solves
What the buyer is looking for includes:
Does this vendor describe my problem in my words? Buyers do not describe their problems in consultant speak or marketing speak. They describe them in plain, natural language, and they recognize a vendor who does the same.
Does this vendor understand the root cause, or just the symptom? The buyer is keenly aware of the symptoms and their impact. What the buyer is missing, and looking for, is a vendor who understands the root cause so the entire problem can be solved.
Can this vendor explain why the last thing I tried did not work? A buyer who has already tried something wants a vendor who has seen the obvious fixes fail and will not propose one of them again.
Does this vendor list services, or the problems they solve? A services page says what a vendor does. A buyer is searching for what they have. "ERP implementation services" is a thing a vendor sells. "Your inventory counts have not matched your system since the warehouse move" is the problem the buyer is struggling with.
Is this vendor a specialist or a generalist? Some problems call for a vendor who focuses on that one problem. Others call for a vendor who covers many. The buyer wants to know which kind this vendor is, so they can pick the one their problem calls for.
How AI Researches Problem Fit
With AI-mediated shortlisting, AI synthesizes the problem as the buyer describes it over the multi-turn conversation, then looks for content on a vendor's website that closely matches that description. That comparison is problem fit. Content that speaks in general terms about outcomes or capabilities does not describe the problem, so AI has nothing to compare against the buyer's description. A vendor should describe the problem it solves, not the outcomes it promises.
While AI can match a problem described in different words, it matches more reliably when the content uses the same words the buyer did, because AI builds its search queries from what the buyer said. A vendor should frame the problem it solves in the buyer's language.
Depth matters too. One problem described in depth gives AI more detail to compare against the buyer's description. A problem covered in one line gives it very little. A vendor should describe each problem it solves in depth, not in a list.
Question 2:
Do They Work With Companies Like Mine?
Industry experience is a key filter buyers use when comparing vendors. Buyers rarely want to be the guinea pig, the one the vendor learns on. A vendor who has worked with companies like theirs, in their industry and at their size, has seen their situation before. That experience builds trust and reduces the buyer's risk.
What a Buyer Wants to Know About the Companies a Vendor Works With
What the buyer is looking for includes:
What size clients does this vendor work with? The buyer is measuring in revenue, headcount, or both. The problems a $5 million company has are different from the problems a $40 million company has. The buyer wants to fit comfortably within the range a vendor serves, not outside it.
Does this vendor work in my industry? Every industry has its own language, constraints, and way of doing business. Industry experience means the vendor can deliver faster, with less risk of failure.
Does this vendor work with companies owned and structured like mine? Ownership and structure decide who makes the decision, how fast it gets made, and what the company is protecting.
A sole owner decides alone.
A family business has parent and sibling dynamics.
A private equity backed company has a board and a return to hit.
A larger company has approval layers and people whose support the work depends on.
A vendor who has worked inside the buyer's structure knows how decisions get made there, and how to get the work done without putting the person who hired them at risk.
Does this vendor work with people in my role? Each role comes with different responsibilities, different pressures, and a different measure of personal success. The work has to meet the stated business requirements and also serve the personal goals of the person who bought it. A vendor who usually works with department managers may not understand what an owner is accountable for, or what is at stake for them if the work fails. The buyer wants a vendor who already understands their position, because that vendor is less likely to misread the priorities, waste the buyer's time, or deliver the wrong thing.
Does this vendor work where I am? Every location comes with its own differences.
Laws, regulations, and licensing.
Language and culture.
Distance, logistics, and time zones.
The local way of doing business.
Those differences influence how the work gets done, what it costs, and how fast it can be done. Buyers want a vendor who is already familiar with them.
How AI Researches ICP Fit
With AI-mediated shortlisting, AI compares what the buyer said about their own company against what the vendor's content says about the companies it serves. That comparison is ideal customer profile fit (ICP fit).
AI already has the buyer's side from the multi-turn conversation: the size, industry, ownership and structure, role, and location the buyer described, in the terms the buyer used. AI is looking for a match on the vendor's side to validate that the vendor is a good ICP fit. Phrases that fit every company give it nothing to compare, and it matches more reliably when the content uses the same terms the buyer did. A vendor should describe the companies it serves in specifics, and in the terms those companies use to describe themselves.
Question 3:
How Do They Do the Work?
A buyer who is about to pay a vendor wants to know how the vendor is going to do the work. Before they commit the money, they want the approach described: what the vendor will do, in what order, and why. It sets expectations on both sides and tells the buyer what they are paying for.
What a Buyer Wants to Know About How a Vendor Does the Work
What the buyer is looking for includes:
How does this vendor figure out what is actually wrong? The buyer has a symptom and a theory about its cause. They want to know the vendor has a way of testing the theory before acting on it.
Is this vendor's approach repeatable, or built for each client? A repeatable process has been refined on other clients, so the buyer knows what they are getting. A bespoke one is built around the buyer's situation, and the buyer pays for the time it takes to build. Some problems call for one, some for the other. The buyer wants to know which this vendor offers, and that even a bespoke solution follows a method for getting there.
What is this vendor's plan? The buyer wants to see the work laid out as a sequence: the phases, what each one produces, and the milestones that show it is working. A sequence tells the buyer what will happen and in what order, and gives them a way to tell if the engagement is on track.
What does this vendor do when something goes sideways? The buyer's theory about the problem can be wrong, the scope can change, and new information can surface midway. The buyer wants to know the approach has a way of handling that: how the vendor recognizes it, what changes, and who decides.
How AI Researches Methodology
With AI-mediated shortlisting, AI compares how the vendor says it does the work against the problem the buyer described and what the buyer said they are looking for. That comparison is methodology.
AI compares described approaches, not promised outcomes. A described approach says what the vendor does, in what order, and what each step produces. A named approach is stronger still. A name gives AI something it can refer to, search for, compare against another vendor's method, and repeat back to the buyer as a reason to recommend.
A statement of outcomes is not an approach. Two vendors who both promise outcomes and neither says how give AI nothing to compare.
A vendor should name its approach and describe it step by step, in enough detail that AI can tell it apart from a competitor's.
Question 4:
Can They Prove Results?
Buyers are trying to reduce risk. Many vendors say they can solve the problem. Proof is what separates a vendor who has done it from a vendor who says they can. Before a buyer commits money to a promise, they want evidence the promise has been kept before.
What a Buyer Wants to Know About a Vendor's Results
The buyer is looking for evidence, including:
What result did this vendor produce? The buyer is purchasing an outcome, not an experience. A client who was pleased is not a result. Some results are quantitative: a change in revenue, cost, time, quality, output, or downtime. Others are qualitative: an owner who is no longer in the weeds, a customer who gets a product expert on the phone instead of a ticket number, a manufacturer that stopped carrying safety stock because deliveries arrive when promised. Both count. Either way, the buyer wants what was true before and what is true after, stated specifically.
How big was the result? When the result is a number, it needs a unit, a period, and a starting point before it can be judged. A percentage alone hides the scale: thirty percent growth from a small base is a small number. The buyer wants the hard figures, from what to what and over how long, so they can compare the result against their own situation.
Is this vendor's result validated by a third party? A result on the vendor's own website is the vendor's claim about itself. A result validated by third-party sources, such as a review platform or an industry publication, is external validation: someone else confirming it, in a place the vendor does not control. External validation amplifies the credibility of the result and helps the buyer reduce risk.
How AI Researches Quantified Results
With AI-mediated shortlisting, AI compares the results a vendor has published against what the buyer said they need and against the results other vendors have published. That comparison is quantified results.
AI looks for two things in a result: a specific outcome, and external validation.
A specific outcome states what was true before and what is true after. For a quantitative result, that is the figures: from what to what, over how long. For a qualitative result, it is the before and after described in concrete terms. "Improved leadership" is not specific. "The owner stopped approving every purchase order" is. Both kinds give AI something to compare; a vague claim gives it nothing.
External validation means the result is confirmed by a third-party source, somewhere the vendor does not control. A result with a specific outcome and no validation, or validation and no specific outcome, is weaker evidence than one with both.
A vendor should publish specific outcomes, quantitative or qualitative, and get them validated by third-party sources off its own website.
A row of client logos gives AI nothing to compare. A logo says a client existed. It does not say what happened for them. A vendor should state the result next to the client's name, in text.
Question 5:
Are They Credible?
A buyer who is about to hand their problem and their money to a vendor wants to know the vendor is who they say they are. Credibility is the evidence for that: the vendor has done this kind of work before, is qualified to do it, and is recognized by someone other than themselves.
What a Buyer Wants to Know About a Vendor's Credibility
What the buyer is looking for includes:
How long has this vendor been doing this? The buyer is looking for stability and experience, and different buyers measure them differently: years in business, years offering this service, years the people doing the work have done it.
Where does this vendor's expertise come from? Buyers value different kinds of experience.
Thirty years in one discipline.
A background across several industries.
Years in the buyer's own industry, at several companies like theirs.
Running the operation before advising on it.
The buyer is checking that the vendor's experience is the kind they consider valuable. Vendors can only show that if they truly understand their buyers.
Does this vendor hold the licenses and certifications my industry expects? Licenses, certifications, and memberships are how an industry says a vendor is qualified to do the work. Where one is required, a vendor without it can be disqualified. Where one is expected, a vendor without it is a bigger risk to bring on board.
Who vouches for this vendor? Third-party validation amplifies the trust a vendor has earned on its own and helps the buyer reduce risk. It comes from sources such as:
Industry associations.
Awards.
Press.
Referrals.
Reviews of the vendor itself.
How AI Researches Credentials
With AI-mediated shortlisting, AI looks at both what a vendor says about itself and what third parties say about it, and compares that picture against what the buyer said they are looking for in a vendor. That comparison is credentials.
Question 6:
How Does the Engagement Work?
Before a buyer commits to a vendor, they want to know how the engagement is going to work: who the people are, what the timing and schedule are, and who is responsible for what. They want the specifics so they can judge if they have the resources the engagement will take, and if the timeline is reasonable.
What a Buyer Wants to Know About How a Vendor's Engagement Works
What the buyer is looking for includes:
What does this vendor need from me and my team? An engagement costs the buyer time and people as well as money, and that cost does not appear on the invoice. Meetings, decisions, access, information, and a point of contact on the buyer's side all take time from people who already have jobs, and the buyer has to be able to absorb that.
Who at this vendor will I be doing business with? People do business with people they know, like, and trust, and that holds for a product as much as a service. The buyer wants to know who they will deal with day to day so they can build the relationship, because the relationship is what the buyer relies on when something goes wrong. The person who sold the engagement is not always the person who delivers it or the main point of contact.
What is the timeline? The buyer is trying to understand how the engagement will run alongside everything else they are already doing, and when they can expect to see progress. They are looking for everything that has to do with timing.
How long the engagement lasts.
The phases and milestones.
The meeting schedule and cadence.
Lead times, delivery dates, and turnaround.
When the first results should appear.
What do I get? The buyer wants to know exactly what they are receiving. They are looking for the deliverables, named.
For a project service, the finished work itself, plus any reports, plans, documentation, or training that come with it.
For a retainer, software, or any ongoing service, the service level agreement: the recurring work, the hours or availability included, uptime, and the response time the buyer can expect.
For a product, the product itself, plus shipping, installation or setup, training, documentation, warranty, and returns.
For any of them, what support comes afterward, and for how long.
How does this vendor handle change? The buyer wants to know how a change is handled, and what it costs, before they sign rather than when the change happens. Changes come in several forms.
A change in scope.
A change in priorities.
New information that changes the plan.
The buyer wants to know the process for handling a change and if it brings additional fees, penalties, or a change to the timeline.
What does this vendor's engagement cost? Price is always a decision factor. The buyer wants to know if the price is reasonable for what they are looking for, and they want to know that before they spend time in a conversation with the sales team.
How AI Researches Execution Model
With AI-mediated shortlisting, AI compares the terms a vendor publishes for working together against what the buyer said they are looking for in a vendor, and against the terms other vendors publish. That comparison is execution model.
A description that could fit any engagement gives AI nothing to compare. Through the multi-turn conversation with AI, the buyer's requirements for a vendor get very specific: a deadline, a budget range, on site or remote, how much of their own team's time they can give. AI checks a vendor's published terms against those requirements directly, and it can match or rule out a vendor on the facts.
A vendor whose work is bespoke can still publish a range or a starting price. Asking what a car costs has no single answer either, but the general price of a Corolla, a Camry, and a Lexus is known before anyone visits a dealer. A range gives AI something to compare against the buyer's budget.
A vendor should publish its terms in the same practical detail the buyer states their requirements in.
About the author
David Lee
David Lee is the founder of Do What Works. At Toyota Motor Sales, he was part of a team that selected a vendor, from gathering requirements to the final decision. He then ran a B2B marketing agency for ten years. Today he runs buyer conversations through ChatGPT and Claude to see how AI researches and shortlists vendors.