Methodology: Discovery Questions

What is the paradox in the art of persuasion?

"The art of persuasion is a paradox. The more we attempt to persuade people, the more they tend to resist us. But the more we attempt to understand and create value for them, the more they tend to persuade themselves"

• This statement describes what we call “Two‐Sided Discovery.” The best questions are the ones where you (as a seller) learn from the answer, while at the same time, you also help the customer learn more about their problem, as they answer. It isn’t just about you going in and asking questions. The goal is that you learn by asking, while the customer learns by answering.”
• As you know, buyers don’t like to be told what to do. They like to tell you what they need and have you consult with them on how to get it. The more you TELL them that they have a problem, the more they will resist you. But the more you ask them great two-sided Discovery Questions the more they will convince themselves.”
• Although buyers don’t like to be told what to do, they are willing to be led. The catch is, they are only willing to be led if you can ‘take them to a place they can’t get to on their own.’ One great way to earn this credibility and lead them is to ask impactful Discovery Questions.”
• Great Discovery Questions also help you to overcome the “Seller Deficit Disorder.” They provide an opportunity for you to understand your customer’s business and a foundation for demonstrating that you actually listened to them.

What is the purpose of discovery questions?

They help sellers in ...

• Uncovering customer needs​
• Mapping solutions to problems​
• Creating a sense of urgency

They help buyers in ...

• Clarifying their thoughts​
• Articulating their needs​
• Evaluating their options

Remember, customers don’t care about your solutions and Differentiators beyond how they solve problems and achieve business objectives for them. Good Discovery questions are the means for uncovering these problems and objectives.​

The term “Discovery” actually comes from the legal profession. The best trial attorneys in the world spend anywhere from 50% - 75% of their time away from the courtroom in a process they call “Discovery.” They don’t appear in front of a jury until they’ve had adequate time to prepare. Without that due diligence and understanding, they’d be leaving the outcome to chance. Top sellers spend at least 50% of their time in the Discovery process because, like lawyers, they don’t want to leave the outcome of their sales conversations to ‘chance.’​

These top sellers plan their conversations and questions in advance, because they know that great questions assist them in uncovering the customer’s true needs. They know that great questions help guide customers from the problems they’re facing to highly-differentiated solutions. And, they know that great questions help them create a sense of urgency and help drive the customer to make a decision.​

They also know that great questions assist the customer in clarifying their thoughts and thinking about their situation in a way they may not have thought about before. Great questions assist the customer in better articulating their needs and doing so in a way that provides them with a common platform for evaluating all of their potential options. In other words, great questions assist sellers in progressing their customers through the buying cycle in a way that is highly biased toward them, and away from the competition. When we get really good at Discovery Questions, we’re able to separate ourselves from the pack (our competition) just by the way we sell. And, we find ourselves in a better position to influence the decision criteria … instead of reacting to it.

We operationalize all of these concepts into best practice #1 - “Two‐Sided Discovery”. The best questions are the ones where you, as a seller, learn from the answer, while at the same time, the customer learns more about their problems as they answer. It isn’t just about you going in and asking questions. The goal is that you learn by asking, while the customer learns by answering.

What is the power of open-ended discovery questions?

• The best Discovery Questions are open-ended, not closed-ended. But let’s not use that statement to discount the power of closed-ended questions. Closed-ended questions have their place and are very helpful when needing to determine points of fact, technical information, etc. What we are saying here, however, is that great Discovery with a client is based on the ability to drive a high quality conversation that gets people thinking and talking. Closed-ended questions rarely drive either of those two outcomes, but can add value when used correctly.
• When used incorrectly, closed-ended questions make the conversation choppy because they can be answered in one word, and can feel like an interrogation or even a judgment.
• On the other hand, open-ended questions, encourage the customer to talk and to give you more information. They cannot be answered with one word, especially not in ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ This elaboration should provide you with a deeper level of understanding which will allow you to position your value and differentiation.
• In order to strike a good balance of both open and closed-ended questions in your customer conversations, we have an acronym to remind us to keep the dialogue open, it’s ‘TED’. This is an effective format for phrasing a Discovery Question by starting the question with Tell me, Explain to me, Describe for me

What is the ideal discovery question flow?

The flow of Discovery should follow the flow of the Value Card ‘talk track’. The goal is to guide customers from their problems to your solutions in a way that makes it seem like the solution is their idea. Remember the quote about persuasion? We’re not telling customers what they need; they’re convincing themselves. Because people rarely argue with their own conclusions, this is a much more powerful way to “sell.” In fact, you’re really not “selling” at all … you’re consulting. The customers are doing all the “selling.” They’re selling themselves on how well your solution satisfies their needs.

You can follow this approach very effectively if you plan “three shots ahead.” Think of anyone who plays pool – the best players are always thinking not just about the current shot, but the next couple as well. Planning your conversations in this way gives you a better chance at getting to a great outcome for the client and you.

So how does this concept relate to sales? Most sellers understand the fundamentals of asking questions. They know that they need to get some information from their customers if they’re going to be able to make the sale. The feedback we get from customers is that many sellers know how to ask questions, they just don’t organize them in a way that makes sense. They tend to fire question after question and while the seller may leave the conversation with information, the customer rarely feels that they are walking away with anything useful. We want you to be different. We want you to be able to look at the “table” (the Sales Process) and see the 3 shots you have to make in order to win the game (the deal). We want you to understand how each shot (question/comment/Point of View statement, etc.) sets you up for your next shot. And not just you, but also the customer. How do you ask a series of questions that ultimately leads the customer to an “a ha” moment? And finally, we want you to recognize when you might not be in the best position, and then be prepared to ask Trap-Setting Questions that set your competition up for a ‘bad shot’. We will talk about Trap-Setting Questions more when we discuss Defensible Differentiators.

Applying this concept to your daily sales interactions will help you stay ‘3 shots ahead’ of your customer and your competition. So how do we do it? Using good Discovery Questions that are organized in a logical flow:​

• Your opening questions uncover how things are currently working [Before Scenario]. ​
• Next, you want to get the customer to admit and quantify what bad things are happening. If you ask good opening questions, then uncovering customer pains is a lot easier. That’s because people have a hard time talking about how things are currently working without also talking about what’s wrong with how things are currently working [Negative Consequences].​
• Next, you want to paint a picture with the customer of how things could be better [After Scenario].​
• You then want them to stand in that future and envision what tangible benefits would result [PBOs].​
• Then, you want to jointly work through what’s required to bridge the gap. As you’ll recall from the Value Card conversation, this is your opportunity to influence the buying criteria [Required Capabilities].​
• Finally, you want the customer to define what success looks like [Metrics].​

As we discussed earlier, if you do this correctly, the whole Discovery flow will seem like the customer’s idea and the customer will realize that you have added value to the Discovery process. The goal is to facilitate this flow in a way that the customer basically says: “You’ve done a great job of clarifying my problems and what I need … how can you help me?” This is the entrée for you to describe How You Do It and How You Do It Better. As you’ll agree, this is a much more effective approach than just walking in and talking about your solutions.

How do you compel the customer to take action?

The only way to get the customer to admit an ‘Explicit Need’ is through two-sided, open-ended Discovery questions that force the customer to wear a ‘Coat of Pain.’ This means you need to find their most critical problems and bring them to fully understand the Negative Consequences of those problems, and you do this through good Discovery Questions.”

You’ve heard the old saying ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’ It’s your job to recognize the smoke. Once you recognize it, you look for the fire. Our purpose is to create raging fires throughout the sales process. If you notice a little smoke, you need to continue digging and discovering. Fan those flames to implicate bigger and bigger problems and make it a raging fire. Then, get the customer to quantify the magnitude of the fire.

This will take the customer from: ​

1. “It’s almost perfect” – where they hardly know the problem exists, to… ​
2. "There may be a problem” – where they realize there is a problem but don’t understand the full magnitude, to…​
3. “I need to change immediately” – the organization is on fire and it requires an immediate solution. ​

Remember your goal is to uncover the biggest problem possible. You don’t want big solutions for little problems. Big solutions for little problems results in big price discounting. This approach not only compels your customer to take action, it also sets you up for negotiating on value (not price) later in the sales cycle.

When should I stop discovering and start positioning Ada's offerings?

One of the most difficult areas of the Value Based Conversation for sellers is often ‘turning the corner’ from Discovery to positioning their offerings. The result is an awkward silence that ensues once the seller has exhausted all of their Discovery questions.”

If the seller does a good job of flowing the questions, then the conversation should feel like a natural progression from, "How are things working now?" to "How would you like them to be?" to "What’s required to get there?". The first part of the progression establishes empathy with where the customer is; the second part educates them about a future they may not have thought possible; the third part highlights the delta. After the seller asks the final set of Discovery questions – which should be Required Capabilities questions – the buyer will hopefully be thinking: "How can you help me?”​

The best way to transition from questioning to describing is through the Mantra… the ultimate summation of the conversation. The Mantra lets the customer know that you listened, affords an opportunity to calibrate your understanding, and provides a natural bridge between the front and back of the Value Based Conversation.