REAL Opportunities
Why most opportunities look promising — but never move forward
For professionals and leaders who want to focus their time only on opportunities that are truly real.
Great leaders don’t chase more opportunities — they chase the right ones.
A short story (why this matters)
A prospect seems excited.
The conversation goes well.
They say they’re interested.
Weeks later — nothing happens.
Not because your solution was bad.
But because the opportunity was never real.
The uncomfortable truth
Most opportunities fail long before the solution is presented.
Not because of pricing.
Not because of features.
Not because of competition.
They fail because there was never real commitment.
The simple secret most people miss
Interest is easy to give. Commitment is hard.
People rarely lie.
But they answer the questions you ask.
If you ask about opinions, you get polite answers.
If you ask about reality, you discover the truth.
The key is simple:
Ask about behavior, not intentions.
The REAL Opportunities Framework
A simple mental model to determine whether an opportunity is truly worth pursuing.
R — Reality: Is there a real, concrete problem backed by facts?
E — Engagement: Does the person truly own the problem?
A — Action: Are they willing to invest effort to solve it?
L — Leverage: Do they see you as the best alternative?
Don’t memorize the questions. Memorize the letters.
When to use this framework
Use REAL whenever you need to determine whether something is truly worth pursuing.
- Qualifying sales opportunities
- Validating new ideas or projects
- Assessing stakeholder commitment
- Evaluating partnerships
- Deciding where to invest time
REAL helps you separate interest from commitment.
The REAL Questions
R — Is the problem REAL?
- What is this costing you right now?
- When did this last happen?
- How are you solving this today?
- What have you already tried?
E — Does the person OWN the problem?
- Who is responsible for solving this?
- Are you the decision-maker?
- Who else needs to be involved?
A — Is there real COMMITMENT?
- Why is this a priority now?
- What happens if nothing changes?
- What resources will be invested?
- Have you tried solving it before?
L — Are you the best ALTERNATIVE?
- What other solutions are being considered?
- What concerns do you have?
- What would make you confident moving forward?
A real-life example (how REAL saves your time)
You present an idea to a senior stakeholder.
They respond enthusiastically:
“This looks great. Let’s definitely explore this further.”
You feel encouraged.
You prepare slides.
You schedule meetings.
You invest time.
But nothing moves.
Now imagine applying the REAL framework early.
R — Reality
You ask:
- “How are you currently handling this issue?”
- “What problems does it create today?”
You discover there is no real pain — it’s only a “nice to improve someday.”
E — Engagement
You ask:
- “Who would lead this initiative internally?”
The stakeholder replies:
“That would probably be another department.”
A — Action
You ask:
- “Is there budget or a timeline for this?”
The answer:
“Not at the moment.”
L — Leverage
You ask:
- “Are other solutions being considered?”
The response:
“We’re not actively evaluating anything yet.”
💡 Conclusion: It’s an interesting idea — but not a real opportunity.
Instead of spending weeks chasing it, you decide to monitor the situation and focus on opportunities where commitment already exists.
This is the power of REAL:
It protects your most valuable resource — your time and energy.
Great leaders work harder to choose the right ones.
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