Discovery & objections
The best first calls are mostly listening. Pick three or four questions, not twenty.
Discovery questions
Open the call
- What made you take this call?
- What would make the next 30 minutes worth it for you?
- Before I say anything about us, can I ask a few questions about how things work today?
Current state
- Walk me through how you handle this today.
- Who’s involved, and who owns it?
- What have you already tried?
- What does it cost you when it goes wrong: time, money, customers, people?
Priority and timing
- Where does this rank against everything else on your plate this quarter?
- What happens if nothing changes for six months?
- Is there a date that matters: a season, a launch, a contract renewal?
Decision
- Besides you, who needs to be comfortable with this?
- How have you bought something like this before?
- Is there budget set aside, or would this need to find budget?
- What would make you say no?
Close the call
- Based on what you told me, here’s what I’d suggest as a next step. Does that make sense?
- Who else should be on the next call?
- Can we put the next conversation on the calendar now?
Common objections
Often a polite way to end the call.
Happy to. So I send something useful and not a brochure, what’s the one thing you’d want to see? And if it looks relevant, is it worth 15 minutes next week to walk through it?
They’re not unhappy enough yet, or you haven’t found the gap.
Makes sense; most people I talk to do. What would they have to do better for you to take a second look? If they’re nailing it, I’ll leave you alone.
Price is only too high relative to the value they see.
Too expensive compared to what: another option, or the budget you had in mind? Let’s look at what the problem costs you today and see if the math works. If it doesn’t, I’ll tell you.
Could be real timing, or no urgency.
Understood. Is it the timing of this call, or the timing of fixing this? When would it make sense to look at it, and what changes between now and then?
Good sign; you need the real decision-maker.
Of course. What do you think they’ll ask? Would it help if I joined for ten minutes to answer questions directly?
Past pain; they need to know why this time is different.
I appreciate you telling me. What went wrong? If it’s something we’d run into too, I’ll say so.
Usually a reflex before they know what you do.
Fair enough. Can I ask: is it that this isn’t a problem for you, or that it’s not a priority right now? Either answer is fine.
How to use the question bank
Don’t run the list like a survey. Pick one or two questions from each stage that fit the buyer, ask, and follow up on what they say (“Tell me more about that”). The goal of a first call is to find out whether there’s a real problem, whether it’s a priority, and who decides, not to pitch.
Objections are questions
Most objections mean the buyer doesn’t yet see enough value, or isn’t the right person. Answer honestly, ask a question back, and be willing to walk away when it isn’t a fit. Buyers remember that, and they refer.
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