Selling is not just about pitching a product or service. It’s about understanding the customer’s needs, wants, and pains, and presenting your offering as a solution. Well-structured sales discovery questions unlock these insights. What are sales discovery questions? These are strategic questions that you ask to uncover important information about a prospect.

Deals are won and lost in discovery. Use the discovery phase for what it is worth. Kill the tire-kickers. Move on with those with potential value.

Make sure to use open-ended questions as a Yes/No question will give you practically nothing. Also, remember that you are there to ask and listen. Not to explain your excellence, brilliance, or whatever you think your own product or service has of value: 2 ears & 1 mouth.

Here goes:

Sales Discovery Questions for Situational Context

The first set of discovery questions aims to understand the customer’s current situation. These questions might include: “What challenges is your business facing right now?” or “Can you tell me about your current process for [relevant task or function]?”

Sales Discovery Questions for Indirect Pain

To identify indirect pain, you can ask: “How is [a particular problem] impacting your team’s productivity?” or “What opportunities might you be missing because of [a certain issue]?”

Sales Discovery Questions for Active Pain

When it comes to active pain, relevant questions might be: “What is the most pressing problem you’re dealing with?” or “What have you done to address this issue so far?”

Sales Discovery Questions for Measuring Pain Implications

To measure the implications of these pain points, you could ask: “What would it mean for your business if you could solve this problem?” or “What is it costing you to not have a solution for this problem?”

Sales Questions for Understanding the Buying Process

To get a clear picture of the buying process, you could ask: “Who else is involved in making this decision?” or “What criteria will you use to make your decision?”

Sales Questions for the Evaluation Stage

When a customer is in the evaluation stage, try to ask: “What other options are you considering?” or “What concerns do you have about our product/service?”

Sales Questions for the Decision Stage

And finally, when it’s time for the decision, you can ask: “What is your timeline for implementing a solution?” or “What would prevent you from choosing our product/service?”

Sales Questions to Wrap Up

As you conclude your sales conversation, it’s important to summarize and confirm the next steps. You could say: “Just to summarize, we have agreed on [summary of agreement]. The next step will be [next step]. Does that sound good to you?”

Summary

The art of asking good sales discovery questions is not something you learn overnight. But with practice and patience, these questions can significantly improve your understanding of customers and help you close more deals.

Remember: the goal of these questions is not to make a sale, but to build a relationship with your customers, understand their needs, and offer a solution that fits.

Happy selling!

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