I have been listening to a few podcasts recently and this one from Brad Adams at Salesgravy.com resonated with me.

The five questions that you should be asking on every discovery call;

1.      Tag On Question

When your prospect asks a question or shares some information, question them back or ask them about the information they provided. Tag on to what they’ve said to immerse yourself further in the conversation and go deeper with them about what matters most.

2.      Statement Question

When your prospect provides you with information related to their business or the problems they are facing, use a statement to imply an area of interest or curiosity. This will prompt them to share some details or context and takes the interrogative pressure off of your end of the conversation.

For example, they may share some information around a certain market trend they’re seeing. To which you could reply,

“That’s interesting, I haven’t done a lot of research on that. Tell me what impact that’s had on your business.”

3.      Replay Question

As you listen to their responses or the information they provide during your conversation, take note of a few details and circle back to them.

This show that you’re not only listening to them, but what they’re saying is important enough for you to pay attention, make note, remember, and seek more information about the subject. It’s an amazing technique for bridging the connection between you and your prospect.

4.      Clarification Question

Prospects will often say things like, “Look, we need this fixed quickly.” This is where you would ask a clarifying question like, “What does quickly mean to you in this case?”

Or, they might say something along the lines of, “We are just looking for an easy to use software.”

You might reply, “So I can understand a little bit more, what does easy to use look like in your world?”

This allows you to get to the heart of what matters to them, why it matters, so you can demonstrate true value.

5.      Future Question

Instead of asking what immediate outcome they want to see by using your solution, ask them a question like this one:

“Let’s fast forward a year from today. How do you know my product/service has been successful for you?” 

Why? Because it’s thought provoking and it’s a disruption. When you get your prospect thinking differently about their desired future state, you are forcing them to open up and be honest as opposed to firing off a canned response to a question that they already anticipated.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stevevictors_i-have-been-listening-to-a-few-podcasts-recently-activity-7071609486469197825-0gU3