As a software implementation becomes broader- and more expensive- it gets more challenging to pin down the business benefits produced. It's a battle to quantify “hard” benefits that can be counted as straightforwardly as manufacturing statistics.

The sales guru Zig Ziglar once said "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." He meant that you've got to understand people before you can influence them.

The best way to understand someone is to ask questions. But are there some questions that are more successful in selling situations?

Thousands of software projects aren't attempted and opportunities for astounding returns are lost because the value isn't compelling to decision makers. A weak business case is often the culprit.