Verify the reason first
Ask whether the category is needed and how the customer currently performs the task. Specifications, availability or service arrangements may matter.
Similar-account comparisons help prepare questions without proving identical behaviour. No need should be as clear an outcome as a confirmed opportunity.
Define what the promotion should change
Where a commercial incentive is justified, establish its objective and scope. Otherwise, discounts become a general response to any difficult discussion.
Compare the expected result with condition costs and alternative scenarios. Higher turnover does not establish a better relationship outcome after additional spending.
Connect knowledge with calculation
CRM retains customer reasoning and agreements, while Trade Marketing holds terms and outcome assessment. Both should refer to the same matter.
For a CFO, this connects commercial expenditure with an identified need. The question becomes whether the promotion addresses a verified obstacle rather than treating every basket gap as an automatic reason to reduce price, without first understanding what is preventing the purchase.