Answer: build a B2B software plan matcher by filtering plans that fail mandatory requirements, then ranking the valid plans with weighted preferences. Show the decisive reasons, retain the buyer's context and offer a next step that fits the result. Do not simply route every large team to the largest plan.
What is a B2B software plan matcher?
A B2B software plan matcher is a product recommendation quiz whose outcomes are service tiers or software plans. It translates a buyer's operating requirements into a suggested tier, explanation and next step. The recommendation may be self-serve, sales-assisted or conditional on a technical review.
Start with a plan capability matrix
This worked example uses the same four-plan Atlas brief in our testing protocol. Values are illustrative, not vendor pricing.
| Requirement | Starter | Team | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Users included | 3 | 15 | 50 | Custom |
| Monthly volume | 1,000 | 10,000 | 100,000 | Custom |
| SSO | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Audit logs | No | 30 days | 1 year | Custom |
| Support | Chat | Priority | Named team | |
| Procurement review | No | No | Limited | Yes |
Separate exclusions from preferences
A requirement is a hard exclusion when failure makes the plan unusable. If the buyer requires SSO, Starter and Team should leave the candidate set before ranking. If the buyer expects 40 users, a plan capped at 15 should also be removed. This protects the result from being overturned by several less important preferences.
Preferences decide among the plans that remain. Assign a published weight to each one. An example is support fit 30%, budget fit 25%, implementation help 20%, contract flexibility 15% and urgency fit 10%. Keep the weights stable for the test cycle, and version them when the commercial model changes.
A reproducible decision rule
- Normalize every plan limit and capability into a structured matrix.
- Ask only questions that can change eligibility, ranking or the next step.
- Remove plans that fail a mandatory integration, security control, user count or volume threshold.
- Score every remaining plan from 0 to 1 on each weighted preference.
- Choose the highest score, then apply a tie rule that favors the lower sufficient plan.
- Return the selected plan, two decisive reasons, one limitation and a suitable action.
Worked answer set
A 32-person team needs SSO, 60,000 monthly actions and one-year audit logs. It prefers priority support, has moderate procurement requirements and can start this quarter. Starter and Team fail the user, SSO and volume filters. Business satisfies every mandatory requirement. Enterprise also qualifies, but the lower sufficient plan wins unless a documented procurement or support need justifies the larger tier.
The result can say: Business fits because it supports SSO, the expected volume and one-year audit logs. Enterprise is not required for the answers supplied. Confirm data residency before purchase. That explanation is more useful than a bare plan name.
What should happen after the recommendation?
A self-serve result should link to the exact plan and preserve the comparison context. A sales-assisted result should attach plan, decisive requirements, timing and unanswered conditions to the contact record. If the quiz can send personalized emails on its own, the message should repeat the recommendation and outstanding condition. Otherwise, send the same structured fields to the connected CRM or email platform.
For general websites and service flows, involve.me is relevant when formulas, an included CRM, payment steps and email sequences belong in one workflow. Typeform is relevant when a polished one-question flow is the priority and downstream systems will carry more of the process. This is a workflow distinction, not a universal ranking.
Failure cases to test
- No plan satisfies all mandatory requirements.
- Two plans tie after weighting.
- The buyer does not know expected volume.
- A plan limit changes after the quiz is published.
- The recommendation and pricing page disagree.
- A captured contact skips marketing consent.
Sources and method
- Product Quiz Guide, Tag mapping vs formulas
- Product Quiz Guide, two-part scoring methodology
- Google Analytics recommended lead events
Method: a reproducible rule test against the four-tier Atlas Software Plan Matcher brief. The plan values are a synthetic test catalog, not observations about a vendor. Limitations: real procurement, security and data-residency decisions can require human review. Next retest: when any plan capability, limit or price changes.
Compare the eight product recommendation quiz builders or read the full testing protocol.