Great idea that every software company should do

Peter: Great idea. Many companies "train" pre-sales staff with product information, but don't provide them tools for discovery. Your blog brought to mind hundreds of demos I've received at trade shows in which the rep failed to discover anything about me or my motives beyond a perfunctory "How are you?"

The problem compounds at trade shows when reps fill time voids by unwittingly demonstrating software applications to competitors, simply because the rep failed to ask the most basic questions up front. While this issue often doesn't pose risks for divulging proprietary information, it doesn't help, either--especially when a qualified prospect is standing in the booth waiting to speak with someone. Opportunity . . . lost! Coaching reps to ask the right questions goes a long way.

If I can suggest adding to your contextual list "what specific problems doesn't it solve?" --helping pre-sales people know what to listen for will help them focus on identifying the best opportunities, and screening out the riskiest ones.

A related blog that I wrote might be of interest to your readers, Asking to Send Literature is not Lead Qualification.