25 discovery call questions to guarantee closing success

In business-to-business (B2B) dealings and partnerships, it is important for two companies to take the time to understand and gauge each other.

One of the common ways to accomplish this is by talking over the phone and asking discovery call questions.

What is a discovery call?

To put it simply, a sales discovery call refers to the initial conversation that B2B sales reps initiate with a prospect or potential customer.

It is a common strategy for generating interest in products or services and establishing rapport at the start of a buying process.

As the name implies, it is an opportunity to discover more about the prospects’ requirements and goals. This knowledge will, in turn, help your sales teams gain valuable insights, convert leads into sales, and bag more deals as they fulfill the buyer’s journey.

Instead of simply delivering a generic sales pitch, a sales rep can use the information gathered from a discovery call to offer solutions to a prospect’s biggest challenges.

An effective discovery call can move prospects further into a business’s sales pipeline.

What are discovery call questions?

Discovery call questions are a set of queries that B2B sales representatives can raise while conversing with a prospect. They let them assess what they need to discuss during the transaction.

Further, these questions can help them determine and gauge the extent to which they can push the pitch to the prospect. Done properly, these questions can influence a client’s decision-making process and help sales teams close more deals.

Discovery call questions to guarantee sales process success

Use this list as your guide to guarantee a successful sales journey:

Question #1: What is your typical day at work like?

Discovery calls can help you gauge the prospect’s current status. You can further dissect the answer to establish connecting questions that can help you gain momentum.

Question #2: What are your business goals, both short and long-term?

As a sales professional, you can ask this question in a casual tone to form familiarity and build a professional relationship.

This is to ensure that you have a common ground in terms of goals and objectives.

Question #3: How can we help you achieve your goals?

When asked in conjunction with the previous question, this discovery question encourages your prospect to open up about how they envision working with you.

You can also use this as an opportunity to showcase your past successes in meeting clients’ goals.

Question #4: Tell me about a time when you onboarded a major client.

Sales discovery call questions must create a contrast-and-compare conversation, which can also complement your question on the company’s goals.

Based on your potential customers’ answer to this question, determine a service or product that can help make their onboarding process smoother.

Question #5: What is the most important role in your team/department?

When you raise this question, you will know if there are roles that need to be supported with a service or a product. This discovery question opens up a gateway toward a more expounded conversation and potential sales opportunity.

Question #6: Tell me about your greatest challenge.

This forms familiarity between the sales representative and the prospect — making them comfortable knowing they are familiar with challenges.

You can upsell a service if you think it is the right solution that can help combat their challenges.

Question #7: How would you describe a perfect department?

You can utilize this discovery call question to weigh your prospect’s strengths and weaknesses, also giving you an idea of the prospect’s pain points.

This can help you determine the services and products that would best fit the client’s needs.

Question #8: How would you plan a basic sales funnel?

Most prospects are inclined to walk B2B reps through the strategies that they have in mind. Be ready to share some ideas so you can find common ground to cover.

Question #9: Walk me through a problem and how you solved it.

This question will allow you to assess your prospect’s capacity to recognize and solve certain issues within the organization.

Question #10: What are the current issues you’re trying to solve?

In terms of doing a business deal, this discovery call query can create a foundation for how the client solves current problems without the assistance of any external service.

Question #11: How does the team come up with a potential solution?

This is a great discovery call question that measures how much of a team player the prospect can be. It can help you know the limits of their individuality and how they cope in a setting where collective action is much more useful.

Question #12: What are the biggest productivity issues in the department, and how do you eradicate them?

Topics like this allow you to gauge the prospect’s work habits. Business representatives can come up with follow-up questions to better assess their workflow and how the product or service they’re offering can help out.

Question #13: Do you experience any roadblocks when executing a plan? 

You can introduce the prospect to better ways of executing a plan in a team setting rather than an individualistic attack. This can also help you manifest more problem-solving scenarios with the concerned party.

Question #14: What made you want to participate in business with us?

This question is critical in assessing if the prospect has a true vision of developing and growing with your company.

Once this question has been sufficiently answered, you can better determine the prospect’s true qualities and assets.

Question #15: Do you believe that staff recognition is important?

A question about staff recognition is important; this can gauge the prospect’s point of view on their work environment. It can also help the company rep assess whether it will be an unfit environment for the client.

Question #16: Is positive reinforcement in the workplace important to you?

Positive reinforcement is one way to a healthy business environment. This is a psychological factor that can affect the people working in a company.

It is in your firm’s best interest to ask this question to determine the prospect’s overall work attitude.

Question #17: Do you think that our company culture fits yours?

This can help you determine if your prospect is open to an environment in which some people are not similar to each other or one in which culture is a big topic of discussion.

Question #18: Who do you consider competitors in the industry?

This question offers a glimpse of your prospect’s views of their competitors. This can help you determine and promote ways your offerings can give your company an edge in the market.

Question #19: Who is involved in the major decision-making process?

This can help you determine if the client values collective and departmental effort in making decisions, big or small.

Question #20: Are there any major changes happening in your company at the moment?

This question lets you know if the client has enough time and energy to go through a major sale process. It can also help you develop an appropriate timeframe for any necessary transitions.

Question #21: How drastic are these changes?

Asking this can help sales reps learn what the client thinks when they discuss drastic measures. At the same time, the representative will gain more insight into the client’s idea of drastic changes.

Question #22: What are your criteria for choosing a partner company?

Always remember that business criteria may be heavily subjective and tailored to their respective needs.

Question #23: What are your current metrics?

This can help the company understand the clients’ opinions on sales, intangibles, and other aspects of their business.

Measuring departmental metrics is an important part of running a business successfully, and you should partner with a client who understands this.

Question #24: What’s the leadership style in your company?

Opening this up would help you determine whether there are similarities between your company’s and the prospective client’s leadership styles. This question is rather open-ended, as leadership styles vary from one organization to another.

Question #25: What’s the best time to call you again?

Last but not least, you can culminate your discovery call with this question to make way for another session with the prospect. It also serves as an assurance that there will be another conversation.

Closing calls on a positive note garners a positive experience.

Why discovery call questions should be part of the sales discovery process?

There is one major reason why businesses should integrate great discovery call questions into their sales process.  It’s a great avenue for your company to discover more relevant information about its prospects.

Further, it allows you to build rapport with your potential client, creating a familiar setting for both parties to arrive at the best possible conclusion.

Most importantly, these probing questions help sales professionals offer prospects a potential solution and move them along the sales cycle.