Discovery call questions

1. We have {{length}} minutes. Does that still work for you?
2. What made you decide to take this meeting?
3. What would make this a good use of your time?
4. Is there anything you want to make sure we cover?
5. When you spoke with {{SDR}}, you mentioned {{reason}}. Is that still the main thing?
6. Who else should we be thinking about as we talk today?
7. How much do you already know about how we work?
8. If at the end it is not a fit, are you comfortable telling me?

1. How does {{process}} work today, from start to finish?
2. Who is involved, and how is the team set up?
3. Which tools or systems do you use for it?
4. How long have you worked this way?
5. What has changed in the business in the last year?
6. How does the volume vary through the year?
7. Which parts are handled in-house and which by partners?
8. How do you report on it, and to whom?
9. What does a typical week look like for the people doing it?
10. What has worked well that you would want to keep?

1. What is the hardest part of {{process}} right now?
2. Where does it break down most often?
3. Can you walk me through the last time it went wrong?
4. What takes longer than it should?
5. What do your team complain about?
6. What workarounds have people built?
7. Where do you rely on one person's knowledge?
8. What has got worse as you have grown?
9. What did you try before, and why did it not stick?
10. If you could fix one thing, what would it be?

1. What does that problem cost you in a month?
2. How much team time goes on it each week?
3. How does it affect your customers?
4. What does it do to your targets for the year?
5. Has it caused a missed deadline, a lost customer or an audit finding?
6. How does it affect morale or staff turnover?
7. What happens at peak times?
8. What happens if it is still like this in twelve months?
9. How does your leadership see it?
10. What would it be worth to you to solve it?

1. How are you handling it at the moment?
2. Who else have you looked at?
3. Have you considered building something in-house?
4. What did you like and dislike about the options so far?
5. Is there an incumbent supplier? How is that relationship?
6. When does your current contract end?
7. What would you do if you did not change anything this year?
8. What would make you stay with what you have?

1. How would a decision like this get made?
2. Who else is involved, and what does each person care about?
3. Who signs off on the spend?
4. What criteria will you use to compare options?
5. Which criteria are must-haves?
6. How did your last purchase like this go?
7. Does procurement, legal or IT security need to review it?
8. How long does that usually take?
9. What could slow the decision down?
10. Who might be against the change, and why?

1. How do investments like this usually get approved?
2. Is there budget allocated, or would it need a business case?
3. What do you spend on this problem today, including people's time?
4. Above what amount does it go to someone else for approval?
5. When is next year's budget set?
6. What return would you need to see?
7. Would starting smaller make approval easier?
8. Is there anything that could freeze spending this year?

1. When would you want something in place?
2. What is driving that date?
3. What happens if it slips by a quarter?
4. Is there a contract end, launch, audit or busy season it needs to fit around?
5. When would you need to decide to make that date?
6. Does your financial year end affect timing?
7. What else is your team delivering in the same period?
8. Where does this sit on your list of priorities this year?

1. Let me play back what I heard. Have I got that right?
2. What have I missed?
3. Based on what we discussed, does it make sense to keep talking?
4. What would a useful next step look like for you?
5. Who should be part of that conversation?
6. Can we put a time in now?
7. What do you need from me before then?
8. Is there anything that would stop this going further?

1. How do you evaluate a new investment like this?
2. What payback period do you usually look for?
3. Where does this cost sit today, and is it growing?
4. How does it affect month-end or year-end close?
5. What risks would you want covered in a contract?
6. How would you want to see results reported?
7. What would make you say no to this, even if the team wants it?

1. What does this need to integrate with?
2. What are your security and data residency requirements?
3. What review does a new vendor go through?
4. How stretched is your team at the moment?
5. What has gone wrong with past implementations?
6. Who supports the system once it is live?
7. What would make this easy for your team to approve?

1. How much pipeline do you need to hit this year's number?
2. Where does pipeline come from today, by channel?
3. How accurate has the forecast been over the last few quarters?
4. How long does a new rep take to ramp?
5. Where do deals stall most often?
6. How do your account executives split time between prospecting and closing?
7. What would one extra qualified meeting a week mean for the team?

1. How is marketing measured: leads, MQLs, pipeline or revenue?
2. What happens to an MQL after it is handed to sales?
3. Which channels bring your best customers?
4. Where do you disagree with sales about lead quality?
5. How do you prove marketing's contribution to the board?
6. What would you do with more budget this year?

1. What does a bad week look like in operations?
2. Where do errors or rework come from?
3. How do you handle peaks in demand?
4. Which metrics do you report up each month?
5. How much of the process depends on manual steps?
6. What would your team do with the time back?
7. What change has been hardest to roll out across sites?

1. What are the people goals the leadership team has set this year?
2. Where is turnover highest, and what does it cost?
3. How long does it take to fill key roles?
4. What compliance obligations keep you up at night?
5. How do managers get the support they need?
6. What do employees say in engagement surveys?

1. What does the business need to look like in three years?
2. What is the biggest thing standing in the way?
3. Where are you personally spending time you should not be?
4. What would you need to see to invest in this now rather than later?
5. Who else do you talk to before a decision like this?
6. What has been your experience with suppliers in this area?
7. If this worked, what would you do next?

1. Metrics: what number needs to change, and by when?
2. Economic buyer: who can say yes when everyone else says no?
3. Decision criteria: what will rule a vendor out?
4. Decision process: what happens between now and a decision, and who is involved at each step?
5. Paper process: what happens after you decide, before a contract is signed?
6. Identify pain: what happens if nothing changes in the next six months?
7. Champion: how would you present this internally, and can you help us meet the economic buyer?
8. Competition: what would you do if you did not buy anything this year?

1. Need or challenge: what is the main problem you want to solve?
2. Timeline: what is driving the date?
3. Prioritisation: where does this rank against your other projects?
4. Authority: who else would be involved in the decision?
5. Budget or money: how would this be funded?
6. Urgency: what does waiting another quarter cost you?

1. Goals: what are you being measured on this year?
2. Plans: how do you plan to get there, and what has started?
3. Challenges: what could stop the plan working?
4. Negative consequences: what happens if you miss the goal?
5. Positive implications: what happens if you beat it?
6. Implication: how does that problem affect the rest of the business?
7. Need-payoff: what would it mean for you if that were solved?

OPENING (say it, do not send it)
"Thanks for the time, {{first name}}. We have {{length}} minutes. Does that still work?

When we spoke, you mentioned {{reason they agreed to meet}}. I would like to spend most of today understanding that: how things work now, what is getting in the way and what you want to change. I will share how we have helped {{similar companies}} where it is relevant.

At the end, one of three things will happen. It will be clear there is no fit and we will say so, or we will agree a next step, or you will need to check something internally first. Is that fair? Is there anything you want to make sure we cover?"

AGENDA
1. Their priorities and what prompted the meeting ({{minutes}} minutes)
2. Current situation and what is not working ({{minutes}} minutes)
3. Impact, timing and who else is involved ({{minutes}} minutes)
4. Relevant examples from {{your company}} ({{minutes}} minutes)
5. Agree the next step ({{minutes}} minutes)

SPIN CALL PLAN: {{prospect company}}, {{contact and title}}   Call: {{date}}

Objective for this call: {{the advance you want, for example a meeting with the finance lead}}

Situation (keep to the few facts you could not research)
1. {{question}}
2. {{question}}

Problems you suspect, and how you will ask about them
Suspected problem: {{problem}}   Question: {{problem question}}
Suspected problem: {{problem}}   Question: {{problem question}}

Implications to explore if the problem is confirmed
{{problem}} could affect {{cost, time, risk, revenue, people}}.
Questions: {{implication question}} / {{implication question}}

Need-payoff questions to let them state the value
{{need-payoff question}}
{{need-payoff question}}

Advance to ask for at the end: {{specific next step with a date}}
Fallback advance: {{smaller next step}}

MEETING HANDOVER: {{prospect company}}
Meeting: {{date and time}}, {{length}} minutes, {{video or phone}}
Booked by: {{SDR name}}   Account executive: {{AE name}}

Who is attending
{{name}}, {{title}}. Reports to {{manager, if known}}.
Others invited or mentioned: {{names and titles}}

Why they agreed to meet (their words)
"{{the reason they gave, as close to verbatim as possible}}"

What they told us
Current situation: {{tools, team, process}}
Problem or goal: {{what is not working or what they want to achieve}}
Impact they mentioned: {{cost, time, risk, revenue}}
Timing: {{deadline, contract end, project start, budget cycle}}
Decision: {{who else is involved, how they buy}}
Budget: {{anything said, or "not discussed"}}

Qualification score: {{framework}} {{score}} of {{max}}. Gaps: {{elements scored below 2}}

What the prospect expects from the meeting
{{what the SDR promised: a conversation, a comparison, a specific question answered}}

Watch outs
{{objections raised, competitor mentioned, sensitivity, anything not to say}}