The Discovery Question Problem: Too Many of the Wrong Kind

problem with discovery questions

In the selling process, the right question can be like mind control in that we can steer the listener into thinking about what we want them to think about. This window of opportunity does not last very long, though, unless the questions are interesting and revealing to the buyer.

In other words, we can’t play 100 Questions with the buyer, because then we will lose their interest and their trust. To avoid losing the trust we worked so hard to establish, and to move the buyer into the Urgency Stage of buying, we have to utilize our questions carefully: that means we have to utilize the right kind, at the right time, in the right order.

The problem that most sellers encounter with Discovery Questions is that we ask too many of the same kind, and that kind is the Circumstantial Question. Run through your initial five to ten questions in your head now, or jot them down if you have time.

The Basics of the Circumstantial Question

The right question can be more powerful than the insightful solution.

The first type of Discovery Question is the circumstantial question. It gives us context for having a dialogue but is self-serving and dead-ended. Circumstantial Questions are of low value because they are based on simple facts.

It’s okay to ask these types of questions but most of them can be answered by doing a little research before we engage with the buyer. Asking questions—or asking too many questions—to which we should already know the answers could make the buyer question our credibility, and could possibly rupture that trust we worked so hard to cultivate.

With disclaimers aside, there are some times when Circumstantial Questions are useful—it’s just important to remember that they are only appropriate very early in the sales cycle. We should be careful not to overuse them, and we should especially avoid misusing them as substitutes for doing prior research.

When to Use the Circumstantial Question

Although I have spent most of the body of this blog on avoiding the Circumstantial Question, there are times when it can be useful. Here are some appropriate times to utilize it:

  1.      As context for dialogue
  2.      To confirm information that may be disputed
  3.      To discreetly check that the buyer is still engaged

What the Circumstantial Question Looks Like

Think back to the list of questions you ask during sales meetings. Don’t feel bad if many of them are Circumstantial Questions—nearly everyone in Program on Persuasion’s workshops starts out with a list that’s nine-tenths Circumstantial Questions. Here’s a list of what they may look like.

  1.              How many vans…?
  2.              Who is your current supplier?
  3.              How many installers…?
  4.              How long have you been in business?

It’s good to ask Discovery Questions—after all, the question is the seller’s most powerful tool! What we need to avoid, however, is asking too many of the wrong types of questions (i.e. the Circumstantial Question). Although that kind of question is useful in certain scenarios, the other three kinds of Discovery Questions should make up much more of your initial list.