A good tool can still be the wrong decision.

A tool may look affordable until setup, support, add-ons, and staff time are included.

It may look easy until nobody owns it.

It may look like a good fit until the people using it discover that it does not match how the business actually works.

Before you compare options, make sure you can answer:

• What problem must this solve?
• Who will use and manage it?
• What will it really cost?
• What does the vendor still need to prove?
• What could make the team stop using it?

The easiest time to fix these problems is before the contract, company credit card, or rollout.

What you get in the free checklist

In about 10 minutes, you will see whether you are ready to compare options—or what needs to be clarified first.

The checklist helps you:

• Confirm that the problem, users, and must-have requirements are clear.
• Spot hidden costs, missing owners, and assumptions that still need to be tested.
• See whether to move ahead, proceed carefully, or pause.
• Identify the questions your team or the vendor still needs to answer.
• Use practical AI prompts to find missing information and challenge your thinking.

Use it before you:

• Put another software subscription on the company credit card
• Schedule a vendor demo
• Start a free trial
• Compare two or more tools
• Replace a system that no longer works
• Commit your team to a new platform
• Ask AI what software to buy

You do not need a formal procurement team or technical background.

You need a clearer view of what the business actually needs before someone sells you an answer.

Catch problems before they become expensive lessons.

These are the questions experienced buyers often learn to ask only after a costly purchase.

ZEAT puts them in front of you before the contract, credit card, rollout, or expensive do-over.

Created by Kathy Greenler Sexton, who has spent decades buying technology, leading digital businesses, and seeing where good-looking decisions go wrong.

About Kathy and ZEAT