Start with the decision you must defend

• Tell me briefly which strategic decision this market sizing must support and the firm deadline.
• How many stakeholders will need to sign off on the final TAM? Options: 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, More than 10
• Who is expected to present the findings to the board or investment committee? Options: Head of strategy, Corporate development lead, CEO/President, Deal team member, Other
• When is the critical presentation or investment decision scheduled? Options: Within 2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 1-2 months, More than 2 months
• Which specific success metric, for example revenue target or market share, would make the case successful? Options: Annual revenue target, Target market share, Project NPV or IRR, Growth rate target, Number of customers
• If the model shows a lower TAM than your current view, would you still proceed with the initiative? Options: Yes, with adjustments, Yes, unchanged, No, we would pause, Unsure

Where your current assumptions might be lying to you

• Identify the top assumption in your current TAM that you suspect is most likely overstated.
• Pinpoint three inputs that feed that assumption and the source for each.
• How often does your team revisit those inputs and update the model? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, Rarely
• Give an example of an assumption that changed materially in the past 12 months and the impact it had.
• Name the single assumption that, if proven false, would stop the project immediately.

Evidence the board will treat as credible

• Do you rely more on survey-based interest signals or on documented buyer spend today? Options: Mostly survey signals, Mostly documented spend, A mix of both, None of the above
• Select which evidence types your board finds most credible Options: Signed contracts or purchase orders, Invoices or billing records, Pilot or proof of concept commitments, Survey willingness to buy, Syndicated report estimates, Public filings, None of the above
• Share the primary evidence you already have, for example invoices, pilot contracts, or buyer commitments.
• Estimate how many buyer conversations in your pipeline include purchase-level commitments versus general interest. Options: 0-5, 6-15, 16-30, More than 30
• Would production of ten verified purchase records cause you to change your internal forecast? Options: Yes, materially, Yes, modestly, No, not likely, Depends on context

Who will block or accelerate the decision

• Name the three stakeholders who could block this decision and the specific objection each would raise.
• For each stakeholder, outline the precise evidence they require to be convinced.
• Estimate how many times per year these stakeholders receive market sizing updates. Options: None, 1-2 times, Quarterly, Monthly
• Describe the last time a stakeholder vetoed a sizing and what changed to resolve it.
• Point to the single stakeholder whose approval is necessary to proceed and the exact evidence that would secure their sign off.

Where your product can realistically play

• Assuming the board will only accept segments you can serve within 12 months, which of your current segments must be excluded?
• List the product variants, buyer personas, and geographies you consider core to the offering.
• Identify the channel or partner routes that are essential to reach the addressable buyers.
• Provide an approximate percentage of your current TAM that is reachable within 18 months. Options: <10%, 10-30%, 31-50%, 51-75%, >75%
• Would you continue the initiative if only 30 percent of the current TAM proved reachable within your near term constraints? Options: Yes, No, Only with scope change, Unsure

Risks that will break the model if left unchecked

• Point out the regulatory, compliance, or data privacy risks that would make a defensible market model impossible.
• Assess the accessibility and quality of the buyer transaction data required for a bottom-up build. Options: High quality and centralized, Partial and fragmented, Mostly unavailable, Unknown
• Are there legal approvals, export controls, or contractual restrictions that could block interviews or access to contracts? Options: Yes, significant, Yes, manageable, No, Unsure
• Give an example of a past project where a data gap forced a narrowing of scope.
• Which one operational constraint would force us to stop before primary research begins?

Alternatives you are actively weighing

• Why would your team keep the incumbent vendor or handle this internally instead of hiring an external market-sizing partner?
• List the external vendors, internal teams, or syndicated reports you are actively comparing.
• For each alternative, rate credibility, speed to delivery, and expected cost. Options: High credibility, Moderate credibility, Low credibility
• Has anyone on your team proposed an internal-only approach and what resources did they estimate would be required?
• What would have to be true about your current approach for you to stay with it rather than change?
• Is there a scenario where the incumbent or internal effort would be strictly preferable for this engagement? Options: Yes, No, Maybe, under specific conditions

Operational readiness and approvals

• Point to the specific data owners, systems, or APIs that must be available for interviews and contract pulls.
• Who will be the single point of contact authorized to approve data access and schedule interviews? Options: Head of strategy, Head of legal, Head of data/analytics, Deal lead, Other
• Provide the system categories where buyer and transaction records live, for example CRM, ERP, or payment processor, and indicate which are accessible. Options: CRM, ERP, Payment processor, Analytics warehouse, Order management, Other
• Typically, how many business days do legal and compliance approvals take for third-party research? Options: 0-5 days, 6-10 days, 11-20 days, More than 20 days
• Are there countries or customer segments that are off-limits for interviews because of privacy or export restrictions? Options: Yes, major restrictions, Yes, limited restrictions, No, Unsure
• Can your team produce signed NDAs and data-access agreements within two weeks to meet the timeline? Options: Yes, Not likely, Only with legal push, Unsure

Acceptance criteria and immediate next steps

• Assuming the model lands inside the agreed sensitivity range, which internal approvals remain before you can act?
• Select the deliverables that would allow you to sign off that week Options: Raw build workbook with formulas, Interview transcripts and notes, Source data files and provenance, Sensitivity and scenario analysis, Executive summary slides, Executive Q A and board-ready slide deck
• Rate the importance of auditability, sensitivity ranges, and interview evidence for final acceptance. Options: Critical, Important, Nice to have, Not important
• How soon after delivery does your team typically approve billing and process payment for vendor engagements like this? Options: Same week, Within 5 business days, Within 15 business days, Over 15 business days
• Will you approve the billing milestone within five business days if the delivery matches documented assumptions? Options: Yes, No, Only after final review, Depends on CFO approval

• Methodology & Framework Review

• Confirm the current state and its cost
• You confirm the documented data sources and assumptions eliminate the key gaps you flagged in Discovery.
• Deliver a succinct methodology checklist and a draft sampling plan that maps each assumption to its data source and evidence requirement before the scoping meeting.
• Provide a prioritized list of target market segments and up to 15 candidate interview contacts for initial outreach.
• Review proposed data sources and assumptions
• You agree that the sampling plan and interview targets provide sufficient evidence for a defensible bottom-up model.
• Validate the sampling plan and interview targets
• You accept the proposed auditability criteria as meeting the standards required for board and investor review.
• Finalize scoping boundaries and confirm the acceptance criteria and timeline for the SOW.
• Walk the auditability criteria and evidence requirements
• Confirm alignment with scoping boundaries
• Validation question

• Methodology & Framework Review
• Methodology Review Deck
• Methodology Review Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Build Bottom-Up TAM Model
• Construct Top-Down Market Estimate
• Define SAM and SOM by Segment
• Conduct 30+ Buyer Interviews
• Conduct Channel Partner Interviews
• Extract Competitor Revenue from Filings
• Aggregate and Normalize Secondary Data
• Segment Addressable Market by Use Case
• Willingness-to-Pay and Pricing Analysis
• Competitive Share and Penetration Modeling
• Revenue Build-Up by Customer Cohort
• Sensitivity and Scenario Range Modeling
• Deliver Audit-Ready Model Workbook and Deck

Build Bottom-Up TAM Model

• Confirm the acceptance criteria that will validate the bottom-up TAM (examples: trace to SKU-level invoice data, segment-level interview coverage, reconciled top-down figure). Options: Traceable to transaction data, Segment-level >=30 interviews, Reconciled to top-down estimate, Other
• Provide the SKU or GTIN list, product catalogue, or service codes we should use to build the customer-level revenue build-up.
• List the source of your invoice-level or point-of-sale (POS) transaction data we can use to scale purchase frequency (for example ERP extract, settlement files, or channel partner reports). Options: ERP export, Settlement files, Channel partner reports, Trade POS feeds, None available
• Identify the typical contract metric you use for revenue (for example annual contract value (ACV), monthly recurring revenue (MRR), per-unit price) for customers in each target segment. Options: ACV, MRR, Per-unit price, One-time purchase, Other
• How many historical months of customer-level billing or invoice history can you provide for build-up and churn calculations? Options: None, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24+ months

Construct Top-Down Market Estimate

• Specify the industry classification codes we should use for top-down sources (NAICS, SIC, HS codes) for each target geography.
• Which public or trade data sources do you prefer we prioritize for market totals (for example national statistical bureau reports, trade association shipment reports, industry research)? Options: National statistical bureau, Trade association reports, Industry research databases, Custom analyst estimate, Other
• Estimate the acceptable confidence interval for the top-down market size (for example +/-5%, +/-10%) for board reporting. Options: +/-5%, +/-10%, +/-15%, Custom
• Map target geographies to the administrative codes you use (ISO country codes, NUTS regions, or state/province names) to ensure data alignment.
• Describe any macroeconomic adjustments you want applied (inflation indexing, exchange-rate normalization, rebase to fiscal year). Options: Inflation adjustment, FX normalization, Rebase to fiscal year, No adjustment, Other

Define SAM and SOM by Segment

• Break down the target market into the specific customer segments you intend to serve (for example small clinics <5 clinicians, regional distributors, enterprise accounts >$1m ACV).
• Rank the segments by go-to-market priority or feasibility for your sales motion. Options: High, Medium, Low
• Attach or point to the segmentation rules you use (revenue bands, employee count, vertical NAICS codes, purchasing workflow) for mapping accounts to SAM. Options: Revenue bands, Employee count, NAICS/vertical, Purchasing process, Other
• Indicate any regulatory or certification barriers that exclude segments (for example reimbursement codes, import restrictions, or certification regimes).
• Are there commercial constraints we should model that limit SOM (for example channel exclusivity, minimum order quantities, distribution agreements)? Options: Yes, No

Conduct 30+ Buyer Interviews

• What evidence will validate the interview sample is representative (for example role distribution, deal-size buckets, and minimum response rate)? Options: Role distribution matches buyer personas, Deal-size coverage across bands, Minimum response rate threshold, Other
• How many interviews per segment do you require to consider the bottom-up estimates reliable (minimum 30 per overall engagement or per segment)? Options: 30 total, 30 per primary segment, 50 per primary segment, Custom
• Who are the target interview roles we should recruit (for example job titles, procurement vs. end-user, channel manager) and in which geographies?
• Specify any off-limits organizations or competitors we must avoid contacting during primary research. Options: None, Specific competitors provided, Certain customers provided, Other
• Share the contact source you will provide for outreach (for example the source CRM list, partner contact spreadsheet, or introductions) and the expected lead time. Options: Source CRM export, Partner contact sheet, Introductions, No contacts provided

Conduct Channel Partner Interviews

• List the channel partner types to include (for example distributors, value-added resellers, OEMs, marketplace sellers) and the regions they operate in. Options: Distributors, VARs, OEMs, Marketplace resellers, Other
• Which joint-sales motions exist today (for example co-sell, referral fees, market development funds) and what contractual limits affect addressable accounts? Options: Co-sell, Referral fee, Market development funds (MDF), None, Other
• Identify the partner CRM or reporting extract we can request to measure partner sales velocity (for example deal close dates, lead sources, and ACV).
• Describe the typical resale margins, lead time, and minimum order quantities reported by partners for your product families.
• Clarify whether partners can share anonymized transaction-level sales data or only aggregate revenue summaries. Options: Anonymized transaction data available, Aggregate revenue only, No data available

Extract Competitor Revenue from Filings

• Point to the public filings you want us to analyze (for example SEC 10-K/annual report chapters, investor presentation slides, or local country filings) and any extraction constraints. Options: SEC 10-K, Investor presentations, Local filings, Earnings transcripts, Other
• Attach the competitor list (legal entity names and ticker symbols where available) we should target for revenue extraction.
• Estimate the acceptable reconciliation threshold between extracted competitor revenue and reported market totals (for example within +/-X percent). Options: +/-5%, +/-10%, +/-15%, Custom
• Indicate the specific line items you want captured from filings (for example product segment revenue, geographic revenue, subscription vs. services). Options: Product segment revenue, Geographic revenue, Subscription vs services, Other
• Name any private competitors for which you have secondary leads (for example pitch decks, leaked slides, or credit reports) we should attempt to size.

Aggregate and Normalize Secondary Data

• Supply the list of secondary data files you will provide (for example trade shipment CSVs, industry database extracts, government tables).
• Report the preferred normalization baseline (calendar year, fiscal year, or trailing twelve months) for reconciling disparate data sources. Options: Calendar year, Fiscal year, Trailing twelve months (TTM), Other
• Map column names and units in the source files to the canonical fields we will use in the model (for example revenue, units sold, price per unit).
• Clarify the acceptable data quality thresholds (missing rate, duplicate rate, contradictory records) for inclusion in the model. Options: Missing <5%, Duplicates <1%, Contradictory records flagged, Custom
• Are there licensing or redistribution constraints on any secondary sources we must note in the audit workbook? Options: Yes, No

Segment Addressable Market by Use Case

• Break down use cases by the concrete customer workflow they affect (for example order-to-cash automation, preventive maintenance scheduling, telehealth consults) and map to product SKUs.
• Prioritize which use cases should be modeled at SKU-level versus portfolio-level aggregation for segmentation granularity. Options: SKU-level, Portfolio-level, Hybrid
• Quantify the minimum user population or transaction volume per use case required for reliable segment estimates. Options: >500 users, 200-500 users, 50-200 users, Custom
• Explain the data tag or attribute we should use to identify use-case customers in your source CRM (for example custom field name, product code, or purchase reason).
• Include any regulatory or reimbursement codes tied to specific use cases (for example CPT codes, DRG groups, reimbursement tariff lines) for revenue mapping. Options: CPT/medical codes, DRG groups, Tariff lines, None

Willingness-to-Pay and Pricing Analysis

• Measure the price points you currently observe by SKU or service line in invoice data versus list price. Options: Invoice-level price available, Only list price available, Both available, None
• Determine the pricing tiers and packaging currently sold (for example per-user seat, per-device, subscription tiers) and which we should model for elasticity. Options: Per-user, Per-device, Subscription tiers, Per-transaction, Other
• Explain any historical discounts, rebates, or channel fees that materially affect realized prices. Options: Standard discounts applied, Rebates tracked, Channel fees present, Not applicable
• Share the survey instrument or question wording you prefer for willingness-to-pay probes, or request we design one. Options: You provide instrument, We design instrument, Hybrid
• State the minimum reporting threshold for price buckets (for example report only buckets >$10k ACV) in the delivered pricing tables. Options: Report all buckets, Only >$10k ACV, Custom threshold

Competitive Share and Penetration Modeling

• Give the current share estimates you expect us to reconcile against competitor-extracted revenues and channel shipment data.
• Report which penetration signals you trust most for your market (for example installed-base counts, active subscriptions, device deployments). Options: Installed-base counts, Active subscriptions, Device deployments, Other
• Rank the competitor peer set tiers (direct, adjacent, aspirational) for the share attribution model. Options: Direct, Adjacent, Aspirational
• Calculate the expected displacement rates when modeling new entrant uptake (for example percent of legacy customers likely to switch in year 1).
• Detail the cohort definitions we should use for penetration curves (for example vintage by contract start month, geography, or vertical).

Revenue Build-Up by Customer Cohort

• Supply the cohort attributes you want in the build-up (for example industry vertical, ACV band, first purchase date, renewal cadence).
• Calculate the churn and expansion rates you expect us to apply by cohort, and provide historical support if available. Options: Provide historical rates, We need you to estimate, No historical data
• Name the canonical cohort key we should use to join source extracts (for example account ID, customer number, or billing ID).
• Detail the ACV or revenue-per-customer buckets we should use for revenue aggregation and sensitivity tables.
• Confirm which currency and consolidation rules to apply when aggregating multi-country billing into a single revenue series. Options: Local currency then convert, Convert per-period to reporting currency, Other

Sensitivity and Scenario Range Modeling

• Outline the base-case, upside, and downside growth-rate assumptions you want in the scenario grid (for example CAGR inputs by segment).
• Determine which model levers should be surfaceable in the executive sensitivity table (for example price elasticity, penetration rate, churn). Options: Price elasticity, Penetration rate, Churn, All of the above
• Measure the acceptable scenario ranges for key levers (for example +/- percentage points on annual growth) for investor-facing materials. Options: Narrow (+/-5pp), Moderate (+/-10pp), Wide (+/-20pp), Custom
• Show which historical volatility windows we should use to derive sensitivity inputs (for example past 3 years, past 5 years, crisis period). Options: Past 3 years, Past 5 years, Crisis period, Custom
• State the preferred output formats for scenario outputs (for example Excel model with unlocked cells, pivot-ready CSVs, or PDF summary tables). Options: Excel workbook, Pivot CSVs, PDF summary, All

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Fee Schedule & Payment Terms
• Data Access & Authorization
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Third-Party Data License Confirmation
• Deliverable Acceptance Criteria & Sign-off Addendum

• Findings Confidence Review
• Roadmap Endorsement and Prioritization
• Implementation Readiness Check
• Quarterly Outcomes and Update Review

• Prune or reassign overdue action items and update the project tracker before the next review.
• Present blocker resolution status
• All critical implementation blockers are either resolved or have concrete remediation plans with dates.
• Each prioritized initiative has a confirmed client-side owner with an execution readiness status.
• Data access and evidence flows required for execution are confirmed or have documented remediation steps.
• Update the blockers register with evidence of resolution or remediation plans and target dates.
• Complete outstanding access authorizations and document successful handoffs.
• Publish an execution-ready initiative list showing owner readiness status for the next 30 days.
• Progress update on prioritized initiatives
• Clear view of progress against the prioritized action count with percent-complete for each initiative.
• Number of implementation blockers resolved since the last meeting is recorded and persistent blockers have remediation steps.
• Decisions on any requested model updates or scope extension next steps are documented.
• Publish the quarterly progress report including updated percent-complete and blocker-resolution metrics.
• If a model update or scope extension is requested, create a short scoping brief that documents the change request, impacts, and a proposed timeline.
• Deliverable recap and evidence index
• Current findings acceptance rate is recorded and any items needing evidence are enumerated.
• Each outstanding evidence item has a client-side owner assigned and a closure date.
• Agreement on how evidence updates will be logged and versioned for auditability.
• Publish an evidence-closure tracker listing outstanding items and deadlines.
• Assemble and deliver requested supporting documents or interview summaries identified in the meeting.
• Update the model source list to reflect newly provided evidence and circulate the updated file.
• Review recommended initiatives and expected impact
• A finalized prioritized action list with the agreed count of prioritized initiatives.
• Client-side owner assigned to each prioritized initiative with initial checkpoints defined.
• All critical implementation blockers enumerated and categorized for resolution.
• Publish the prioritized roadmap with initiative descriptions, priority ranking, and timelines.
• Create a blockers register that logs each blocker, its classification, and target resolution steps.
• Deliver a handoff packet containing model extracts, methodology notes, and interview evidence summaries for each initiative.
• Record current findings acceptance status
• Prioritize initiatives
• Confirm data and access readiness
• Blocker resolution review
• Validate owner readiness and resource allocation
• Identify and scope outstanding evidence requests
• Evaluate requested model updates or scope changes
• Capture implementation blockers
• Escalation plan for unresolved critical blockers
• Close stale actions and reassign as needed
• Assign client-side owners to outstanding items
• Assign client-side owners and acceptance checkpoints
• Agree short-term closure plan
• Agree next steps and documentation handoffs