Both are long term. (who thought software written in the early 80’s would still be running in the late 90’s ... Y2K)
The buyer needs to know what they want. (simple ranch or multi-level castle). Quicken vs. Oracle Financials
The buyer needs to decide if they want something ‘off the shelf’ or ‘made to order’ (shrink wrap or custom development ... or a combination).
How much is it going to cost?! ... and when can I have it. The IT folks usually do the estimates in hours and those get converted by management/marketing/sales to dollars.
I am not talking about developing a single program estimate but a system or enhancement estimate.