The 6 Questions That Fix Most CPQ Shortlists (Before You Watch Another Demo)

It's a solo episode this week — interview scheduling has been unusually tough this year, so I'm using the opportunity to talk about something that's top of mind for many teams early in the year: CPQ selection. In this episode, I share the six questions that fix most CPQ shortlists before demos start: business model, biggest challenge, CRM fit, ERP fit, go-live speed, and company complexity. The goal isn't to rank vendors — it's to get to a realistic shortlist faster, using a repeatable framework grounded in high-quality briefing research. I also tease a new way I'm building to help teams decide which CPQ briefings to read first — without showing the app. If you tell me your preferred tone (more neutral/analyst vs more conversational), I can tighten this into a single final description that matches your usual intro style exactly.