Discovery is an important (and often short-changed) part of the sales process. During the Discovery conversation we’ve been taught to ask questions to gain insights into the prospect’s buying and decision making processes, roles and criteria among other things. [Note: we should also be sharing our insights with them but that’s a topic for a different discussion.]
Asking the right questions helps us assess whether we are a good fit and worth our time and theirs to continue working the opportunity. Good questions are also critical to our success in co-navigating their buying process with them, collaborating on a solution, creating a proposal that fits their specific needs, and creating a successful outcome for them and us.
But asking the wrong questions can lead us astray. The two most prevalent I encounter in my practice are “What is your decision process?” and “Who is the decision maker?”. These straightforward probes seem to be on the mark, so what makes them less than effective?
First, both of these questions are open to misinterpretation by the contact with whom you’re speaking. They may think you mean only their personal involvement and criteria, not the bigger picture you need to understand about the entire process and all the stakeholders involved the decision.
It’s also possible that your contact understands the meaning of your questions but doesn’t want you to know the bigger picture. Maybe they want you to believe they are in control. Maybe they’ve been tasked with dealing with potential suppliers by more senior people and fear they’ll be perceived by those people as not doing their job.
Either way, you’ll probably receive misleading or incomplete information which can send you naively down the wrong path. When asked these questions, they often respond with something like “I make the decision on this” “I’ve been given authority to decide” or “I have complete control of this project”, etc. (even though it’s not quite true).
So, what are better questions to ask?
Regarding decision process, you might ask something like “Walk me through the steps in your company from now until a final go/no go decision is made, whether with us or another alternative.”. This will allow you to gain insights into both the decision process and people (stakeholders) involved. You might also ask “Who else, besides you, is involved in a decision to move forward?”. Once you know who all the stakeholders are and their roles in the process you can go about the task of gaining an understanding of their needs, priorities and preferences (preferably through direct contact with them).
Regarding decision maker, consider asking “Who has the final authority to approve a purchase for this project?”. Although consensus among multiple stakeholders is common nowadays, there is usually one person who must ultimately say “yes” to a deal. And that’s a person you’d like to talk to. But you probably won’t get there by asking your contact “Who is the decision maker?”.
I’d love to hear other questions you find effective in uncovering the complete decision making process and stakeholders.
