13 Sales Discovery Questions to Get Your Pipeline Flowing

The best sales representatives are the ones who listen and ask questions more than simply delivering a sales pitch. This is particularly important when asking sales discovery questions.

According to Forbes, asking questions is not only good for your company, but it can help a salesperson improve their career and their overall sales outcomes.

If you are a sales representative or work with a sales team, you know how important the sales discovery phase is. Knowing which questions to ask can have a major impact on your sales performance.

Let’s explore some of the most effective sales discovery questions.

Key Takeaways

• Sales discovery questions reveal key pain points for your prospects.
• Ask open-ended questions that make a prospect imagine their company using your solution.
• Use discovery questions to showcase your company’s value.

What Are Discovery Questions?

A discovery question is a question you ask a prospect to learn whether or not they would be a good match for your products and services. The questions are typically open-ended and help reveal potential pain points that your business can solve.

Discovery questions are part of the qualifying stage in the sales process. However, they should not be viewed as a one-time occurrence. Discovery questions should be interspersed throughout multiple conversations in the early sales process.

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13 of the Most Effective Sales Discovery Questions

By the time you’ve reached the discovery phase and start making phone calls, your prospects have already gone through a lead generation process. This means they have already qualified enough to merit a call. Sales discovery questions help fill in the missing information that you don’t already know.

While it can be tempting to ask as many questions as you can during a discovery call, too many questions can start feeling like an interrogation. The most successful discovery calls include between 11 and 14 questions. However, do not make that number a hard-set rule. The right number of questions will vary based on each prospect’s unique situation.

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Keep in mind that the questions you ask will depend on where in the sales pipeline the prospect is.

Here are 13 sales discovery questions that can improve your sales process.

Questions That Get to Know the Prospect 

Your prospect is a real person. You need to understand who you are talking to. These questions can help you get to know them and their role at their company.

1. What is your company’s vision? Your prospect will give you a general overview of their company. This can help you understand how their goals might align with your products.
2. What is your role in the company? This question will answer exactly who you are speaking with and what they do at the company. This may reveal if they have decision-making capabilities.

Questions That Reveal Pain Points 

Understanding what your potential customer needs is one of the most important factors in getting closer to a deal. If you can’t solve a problem for them, they don’t have a reason to buy.

These are some of the most popular sales discovery questions that reveal pain points.

3. What problems are you trying to solve? This question would mostly be used for inbound sales. It reveals critical issues.
4. How did you learn about our brand? If a prospect contacts you, it is a good idea to know how they learned about your company. It can also reveal a problem that caused them to look for a solution.
5. How do you currently deal with [problem]? The prospect may share inefficiencies in their process or outdated solutions. 

Questions That Showcase Your Value 

You know how valuable your products and services are. Now, you must highlight that value to each potential customer. Instead of launching into a long-winded pitch, ask revealing questions that make the prospect image themselves or their company using your product.

6. How much money would you save if you solved [problem]? With this question, the prospect is forced to put a dollar amount on their problem. You can use that information later to emphasize your value.
7. How is [problem] affecting your team and business? This question makes the prospect consider other people’s emotions and difficulties. By feeling empathy for others, they may want to solve the problem faster.
8. If your problem still exists in 6 months, how will that affect your business? You want your prospect to imagine their future challenges. This can encourage them to solve their problems now, so they don’t have to deal with them later.

Questions That Identify Urgency 

Ideally, you want prospects who are ready to buy now. This is not usually the case. To make sure your sales efforts are not wasted, you need to understand how urgently the prospect wants to solve their problem.

9. What are your team goals for the next year? An open-ended question like this gives you an insight into how the company’s goals match up with your solution and a prospective timeline.
10. How much of a priority is this for you? This straightforward question lets you know if their solution-searching is a top priority or if they are just exploring options for the future.

Questions That Learn About Their Buying Process

You need to understand how the buying process works for your prospect. Do they have decision-making abilities? Ask these questions to learn more.

11. Is there anyone else at your company dedicated to solving this problem? The more people on board with finding a solution, the better situated they will be in making a purchase decision.
12. If I offered you a solution that remedies your problem, is there someone else who would need to be involved in the purchasing decision? This reveals exactly who has purchasing power at the company.
13. Is there anyone who still needs convincing? Perhaps the prospect is on board, but other stakeholders aren’t ready to commit. The answer to this question tells you who you might need to talk to next. 

This informative video maps out multiple paths you can take through a sales discovery call and what kinds of questions you should ask at each stage.

Get More Success with Sales Discovery Questions Through Televerde 

Understanding which questions to ask which customers can be challenging to some people. If your sales team has been struggling to move through the discovery process, Televerde can help. We offer expert sales outsourcing solutions that will target your ideal customer and give you high-quality leads.

Want to learn more about our sales solutions? Visit our Sales Solutions page today to see how we can help accelerate your revenue growth and streamline your sales operations .