What is the Secret to Successful Discovery Questions?

Are you sabotaging your own discovery questions during sales calls? Our Voice of the Sales Rep data reveals that 22% of reps admit that identifying buyer needs is a chief weakness. You may not realize that you are undermining one of the most important parts of the sales process.

Why are discovery questions important?

Discovery is the first conversation after a prospect shows interest in your product or service.

As Dan Tyre notes for HubSpot, it sets the tone for the entire relationship, both pre- and post-sale.

"It can be the difference between establishing an authoritative relationship or spending your whole sales process playing catch up."

The questions you ask will help determine whether the prospect is a good fit or not. Properly qualifying prospects can uncover excellent opportunities or save time and money if you decide to walk away. 

But sellers may actually be hurting the outcome of discovery calls if they don’t do one thing.

How do sellers hurt their discovery process?

 “The truth is that listening is every bit as important as speaking,” writes Stephanie Vozza for Fast Company.

Often, when we ask questions, we aren’t fully prepared for the responses because we are too focused on own self interests.

It can be especially true for sellers, who most certainly come into a discovery call with an agenda.

How can you improve listening skills?

To get the most from your discovery call questions, engage in good listening habits. One of the most fundamental steps is to be present and in the moment.

This ensures you take in everything that is said instead of thinking ahead about your response or what you want to ask next. 

Vozza introduces a few best practices for effective listening:

Embrace active listening

Focus fully on the speaker, understand both their words and emotions, and confirm you understood correctly by repeating back what they said. Never heard of active listening? Learn about it here.

Listen to learn, not to be polite

Don’t just nod along. Be engaged, genuinely curious and try to understand, not just go through the motions of listening.

Be fully present in the moment

Give your full attention by putting aside distractions and noticing tone, expressions and body language, not just words. Noticing others’ body language is an important skill that guides your own responses.

Quiet your agenda

Don’t focus on your own response or goals. Instead, stay open and really take in what the other person is saying, even if it challenges you.

Confirm what you heard

After you’ve asked your discovery questions and listened, always confirm what you’ve heard with the buyer. This is another important step to ensure that the call was successful.

As Tyre points out, " It can be tempting to jump to the questions that will bring you closer to close, but that could lead to missed opportunities."

And keep in mind: buyers want to be heard. They want to work with buyers who have solutions that can help them. In fact, over half of buyers say their top priority during a first vendor call is to clarify the outcome I want to achieve by using the product or service, according to SalesFuel research.

Instead, summarize what you’ve heard, ideally after each question, to make sure you understand. This also can lead to even more dialogue and insights that can help uncover if and how your solution is a fit.

For even more tips on learning how to be a good listener, take a look at this guidance. You’ll find that listening is a soft skill that can be improved over time with mindfulness and consistency.

“Listening is a trainable skill which, if optimized, can significantly impact business outcomes, SalesFuel’s Tim Londergan explains.

“Hearing happens in our ears and listening, or translating what we hear, happens in our brains.”

Set up your discovery calls for success

Don't let your discovery call questions be for nothing. Instead, engage in best listening practices to connect with the prospect and learn as much as possible. Only then can you make the most informed decision of whether to pursue the lead or not.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash