Written by Julien Ricciarelli-Bonnal

11 December 2025

How to detect non-solvent prospects before the first conversation

In a business environment where time has become one of the rarest and most expensive resources, the ability to identify non-solvent prospects before entering a conversation is a decisive strategic advantage. This is not about distrust; it is about clarity. A significant portion of commercial energy is spent on people who have neither the intent, nor the structure, nor the financial maturity required to move forward. Detecting these signals early is a form of discipline — one that protects time, sharpens focus and elevates the quality of your entire pipeline. This approach, widely used in marketing consulting, is one of the most effective levers for improving the commercial reality of any business.

Signal 1 – The way a prospect formulates their need reveals their decision maturity

One of the strongest indicators of non-solvency is not financial but cognitive. When a prospect expresses their need vaguely, without context, without a clear objective and without a tangible constraint, it almost always indicates a low level of decision maturity.

Companies that are ready to invest articulate their need with precision: they define a goal, a perimeter, an urgency, a consequence. Those who merely “want to see”, “compare options”, or “get information” are not projecting themselves into an actual purchase.
The first message a prospect sends already contains the truth: strong buyers express clarity; weak buyers express curiosity.

Signal 2 – An early obsession with price instead of value

Solvent prospects start by evaluating the value; non-solvent prospects start by questioning the price.
When a conversation begins with pricing questions before the problem, the context or the expected impact, it is almost always a dead end.
Strong companies ask about outcomes, methods, alignment, strategic coherence. They want to understand how a service fits into their system long before discussing cost.

The immediate fixation on price reveals not budget constraints, but disengagement — a desire to consume information, not to commit.
In fields involving strategy, transformation or public relations, price is meaningless without understanding the stakes. As a filter, it is brutally effective.

Signal 3 – Ambiguous timelines that disguise a lack of real decision-making

Solvent prospects have clear timelines. They know why they need to act now and what happens if nothing changes. Non-solvent prospects, on the other hand, remain suspended in perpetual hesitation.
Phrases such as “maybe later”, “we’re reviewing options”, “we’ll see next year”, or “we’re gathering information” are not signs of reflection — they are signs of non-decision.

A company with urgency acts; a company without urgency speculates.
Timeline clarity is one of the most reliable solvency indicators.

Signal 4 – No real consequences if nothing changes

Solvency is not only financial — it is situational.
A solvent prospect experiences pressure: declining visibility, competitive threats, operational inefficiencies, structural confusion.
A non-solvent prospect wants improvement, not resolution. They are not driven by necessity but by curiosity, and curiosity rarely pays invoices.
When the cost of inaction is low, the probability of investment is even lower.

Signal 5 – A mismatch between ambition and means

One of the clearest patterns is the prospect who expresses huge ambitions — repositioning, scaling, restructuring, brand transformation — while simultaneously mentioning a budget that does not cover even the minimal scope of the work.

This mismatch does not reveal negotiation; it reveals disconnection.
Ambition is healthy. Disconnection is not.
Companies with mature decision processes intuitively understand the scale of investment required to produce results. Those who underestimate everything are not projecting themselves into execution.

What early detection truly reveals

Identifying these signals is not about excluding people; it is about protecting strategic attention.Time spent on non-solvent prospects is time stolen from prospects who are ready, aligned and capable of moving forward.Solvency is not a number — it is a posture. A clarity. A commitment.And the most beautiful truth is this: solvable prospects reveal themselves early. And non-solvent prospects do too.