There is an endless list of skills that a salesperson must master to be successful. You must be an empathetic listener. Also, you must be a seasoned negotiator. You must also be a product expert. And above all, you must be the person with an answer to each of your prospect’s questions.
But what if we told you there’s another crucial skill that is simple to learn and yet can produce optimum results? This skill is asking the right sales probing questions. From the name, it is fairly obvious what these questions do. You are essentially probing deeper into your prospect’s psyche to unravel their pain points, requirements, and expectations.
However, doing so is like walking on a tightrope. You aim to find out all you can about the prospect without making it seem like you’re prying. That’s why you need a comprehensive guide of probing questions in sales to help you navigate this tricky territory. These questions help you understand your prospects on a deeper level, thereby empowering you to serve them better!
1. Top 15 Sales Probing Questions
There are 5 types of probing questions that you must know about. We have compiled a list of examples of probing questions in sales that will help you gather the required information about your prospects.
1.1. General Questions
1.1.1. Gain Insights Into the Prospect’s Challenges
The question invites a detailed response, providing valuable insights into the prospect’s challenges and pain points. You can thereby customize your solution to demonstrate a keen understanding of their needs, and foster personalized and effective sales engagement.
To gather more details and gain a deeper understanding, here’s what you can ask:
- What specific aspects of the problem are causing the most difficulty for your team?
- How long have you been experiencing this problem?
- Have you identified any potential root causes or underlying issues contributing to the problem?
- Can you describe the impact on your customers or clients, if any, due to the current problem?
- In terms of urgency, how quickly are you looking to find a solution to this problem?
1.1.2. Know Their Goals
It is certainly crucial to find out what bothers your potential customers. But it is equally important to understand what they aim for their company in the long run. Some prospects are drawn to the positive impact and opportunities that a product brings, not just its problem-solving abilities.
To ensure that your products or services align with their objectives. here’s what you can ask:
- Can you share any challenges or obstacles you anticipate in achieving these goals?
- Are there any specific timelines associated with your goals?
- How do these goals align with your overall business or organizational strategy?
- Have you considered alternative strategies or approaches to achieving these goals?
1.1.3. Ask What They Expect From You
This simple yet powerful question can spark a customer-centric conversation. Your prospect can freely express their needs and expectations from you. You hence have a solid foundation to serve them well, since you know exactly what they want or do not want from your company and product.
To gather more information and provide more targeted assistance, here’s what you can ask:
- Can you share more details about your current challenges or pain points that I might be able to help address?
- In what areas do you feel you could use the most support or improvement right now?
- Are there any constraints or limitations you’re facing that I should be aware of in order to provide the best assistance?
- Is there a particular aspect of our product/service that you are interested in or would like more information about?
1.2. Problem-Oriented Questions
1.2.1. Understand the Prospect’s Issue Quickly
You can learn about when the problem started, how much damage it’s causing, and why they think it’s happening. It works best with follow-up questions. Use it early in the sales process for the best results.
To get a deeper understanding of the issue, here’s what you can ask:
- Can you provide specific examples or scenarios that illustrate when this problem occurred?
- What is the impact of this problem on your team or organization, both in the short term and long term?
- What attempts have been made to address or mitigate this problem in the past, and what were the results?
- What are the key criteria or requirements that a potential solution must meet to effectively address this problem?
1.2.2. Gain Valuable Insights Into Your Prospect’s Problem-Solving Approach
It explores their existing strategies, and you can thereby modify your solution effectively. Understanding their current methods allows you to position your product as a better alternative.
To tailor your approach, here’s what you can ask:
- How did you decide on the current strategies you’re using?
- What results have you observed or experienced from implementing these strategies so far?
- Have you explored alternative strategies or considered incorporating new technologies to address the problem?
- Have you encountered any unexpected challenges or roadblocks while implementing these strategies?
1.2.3. Explore the Challenges Hindering Your Prospect’s Goals
You can dig deep into their pain points and learn all about the roadblocks they are facing. You can then present solutions that specifically address their needs and provide them with better service by trying to eliminate their present challenges.
To gain a deeper understanding of their challenges, here’s what you can ask:
- Can you provide specific examples of situations where these difficulties have posed significant challenges to your goal attainment?
- How do these difficulties impact the overall timeline for reaching your goals?
- How do these difficulties affect collaboration and communication within your team or organization?
- How do you prioritize these difficulties in relation to other challenges your team or organization may be facing?
1.3. Benefit-Oriented Questions
1.3.1. Prompt the Prospect to Visualize the Practical Benefits of Your Solution
By encouraging them to see the positive impact on efficiency and resource utilization, you not only engage their imagination but also emphasize the practical advantages of choosing your product. This sets the foundation for a highly solution-oriented sales discussion.
To explore and solidify the benefits in their specific context, here’s what you can ask:
- How do you currently allocate resources to address the challenges you face, and do you see our product offering a more efficient allocation?
- In your daily operations, are there any repetitive or manual tasks that you believe our product could automate to increase efficiency?
- Are there any team members or departments within your organization that you believe would particularly benefit from the time and resource-saving features of our product?
1.3.2. Prompt Your Prospect to Make a Comparative Analysis
It encourages the prospect to evaluate and elaborate on the specific benefits of your product compared to their existing approaches. By highlighting the unique advantages, you guide them towards recognizing your product’s value offering, facilitating a well-informed decision-making process, and positioning your solution as a more advantageous choice in aligning with their needs.
To understand their priorities and tailor your pitch to their specific needs, here’s what you can ask:
- Can you elaborate on the specific pain points or challenges with your current solution that led you to consider alternatives?
- Have you identified any potential cost savings or efficiency gains that our product could offer compared to your current solution?
- In terms of scalability and adaptability, how do you see our product meeting your needs as your organization grows or changes?
1.3.3. Invite the Prospect to Envision the Tangible Benefits
This forward-thinking query has a positive impact on your customers about your solution. By focusing on the practical advantages, you guide them towards recognizing the transformative value your product brings, fostering a deeper understanding of its potential contributions to their operational efficiency and overall business success.
To understand their specific needs and provide tailored information, here’s what you can ask:
- Which specific aspects of your daily operations do you believe would see the most significant improvement with the integration of our product?
- How do you envision the integration of our product impacting the efficiency and productivity of your team or organization?
- How quickly are you looking to see tangible results or improvements in your daily operations after implementing our product?
1.4. Budget & Timeline Oriented Questions
1.4.1. Find if the Prospect Afford the Deal
It’s not about getting a specific number but understanding their commitment. Be ready to adjust your pitch based on their expectations. Ask about time frames—whether their budget is for the year or another period. Use this question in mid-talks or during a negotiation breakdown; it’s effective for urgency and gathering information, not just at the end of the process.
To understand their financial considerations, here’s what you can ask:
- Can you share more details about the budget constraints or parameters you have in mind for this project or solution?
- Have you allocated a budget specifically for this need, or are you exploring different options to determine the budget required?
- Are there particular features or aspects of the solution that are critical for you, and how might that influence your budget allocation?
1.4.2. Align Your Solution With the Prospect’s Financial Expectations
Understanding their budget allows you to make changes in your offering, ensuring it aligns with their financial parameters. Addressing budget considerations early in the conversation is good since it sets the stage for a more effective and mutually beneficial negotiation process. It also positions you as being considerate of their budget concerns and willing to find a workaround.
To tailor your solution as per the customer’s budget, here’s what you can ask:
- How do you prioritize features or aspects of the solution in relation to your budget limitations?
- Have you considered the long-term costs and potential return on investment (ROI) associated with different budget scenarios for this solution?
- Do you anticipate any changes or fluctuations in the budget over the course of the project, and how should we address potential adjustments?
1.4.3. Navigate the Prospect’s Timeframe
This question provides insights into their readiness for change. Understanding their implementation plans allows you to tailor your approach, aligning with their schedule and ensuring seamless integration. By addressing the timing early on, you set the stage for a well-coordinated partnership, demonstrating your commitment to meeting their specific needs and facilitating a smoother transition to your solution.
To understand the customer’s urgency, timeline, and potential challenges, here’s what you can ask:
- What specific factors or events are driving the urgency for implementing a solution like ours at this particular time?
- How quickly would you ideally like to see tangible results or benefits from the implementation of our solution?
- Are there any seasonal or cyclical considerations that could impact the implementation timeline?
1.4.4. Direct the Prospect’s Focus to the Timeline for Realizing Benefits
Understanding their desired timeframe enables you to align your solution with their expectations and highlight the potential for prompt, positive outcomes. Talking about the expected result timeline early on paves the way for a more targeted and efficient implementation, showcasing the immediate value your solution brings to their business objectives.
To understand their expectations and align your approach accordingly, here’s what you can ask:
- What specific outcomes or results are you hoping to achieve shortly after implementing a new solution?
- Have you considered any potential challenges or obstacles that might affect the speed at which you see results from the new solution?
- Have you established a feedback or review process to assess progress and make any necessary adjustments to optimize results?
1.5.1. Engage the Prospect in Discussing Alternative Approaches
By inquiring about their considerations, you gain valuable insights into their decision-making process. This information empowers you to strategically position your solution, highlighting its unique strengths and demonstrating why it stands out among competitors, ultimately influencing the prospect towards choosing your product or service to overcome their challenges.
To understand their decision-making process, preferences, and how your offering compares to alternatives, here’s what you can ask:
- What criteria or factors are most important to you when evaluating different solutions for your challenges?
- Have you already identified specific features or capabilities that you consider essential in a solution?
- How does the cost or pricing structure of different solutions factor into your decision-making process?
- What timeline are you working within for the decision-making process, and are there any deadlines or milestones we should be aware of?
1.5.2. Prompt the Prospect to Elaborate on Their Decision-Making Criteria
Understanding their key considerations allows you to tailor your pitch, emphasizing the aspects that align with their priorities. Exploring these factors early on equips you to position your product or service strategically, demonstrating its alignment with the prospect’s values and preferences, thereby increasing the likelihood of being chosen as the preferred vendor.
To understand their priorities, concerns, and decision-making criteria, here’s what you can ask:
- What specific features or functionalities do you prioritize when choosing between different vendors?
- How critical is the reputation or track record of a vendor in your decision-making process?
- Do you value ongoing support and service offerings from vendors, and what level of support are you expecting?
- Have you gathered feedback or references from other clients who have worked with the vendors you are considering?
2. FAQs
2.1. What Are Sales Probing Questions?
Let’s approach this question by considering an example. 71% of buyers conduct complete company research before connecting with a salesperson. So, the odds are they know about your company and product and this information will help them during discussions. Sales probing questions will give you this same advantage.
In essence, they prompt your prospect to reveal details that can help you make a stronger pitch, close deals, and foster collaboration. These questions aim to uncover information about the prospect that may not be readily shared. For instance, your prospect may reveal to you a pain point that can be strategically addressed in your sales process. Probing questions in sales are a valuable qualification method to help salespersons identify the right clients to pitch their product to.
You may now be wondering how probing questions differ from discovery questions. Their commonality is the fact that both help you learn about your prospects. But the difference lies in the type and nature of information that both provide. Discovery questions help you identify if the lead aligns with your ideal customer profile and highlight an issue that you can leverage. But probing questions go deeper and beyond the surface-level details. They help you get to the crux of the prospect’s issue and work out the best way to leverage it.
2.2. Types of Sales Probing Questions
There are 4 broad categories of sales probing questions. All these have different functions, are applicable in different situations, and elicit different kinds of responses.
2.2.1. Open-ended Questions
Open-ended sales probing questions prompt the prospect to offer a detailed and thoughtful response, rather than a straightforward yes or no answer. They typically include words and phrases like, ‘Describe’, or ‘Tell me about’, which set the tone for more detailed discussions.
Additionally, there’s no fixed answer to open-ended queries and hence the prospect has the freedom to choose the narrative and take it in any direction they want. This makes them feel comfortable and in control, which is crucial for positive discussion. However, you don’t want to ask a very vague and ambiguous question either, which may confuse your prospects.
Prospects may open themselves up to you while answering such questions, which demands active listening from your end. Such questions also put you in a position of being able to offer relevant and targeted solutions that align with the prospect’s needs, thereby boosting your chances of closure.
Some examples are:
✅ “What are the goals of your company?”
✅ “Which are the most important factors for you while deciding on a new product?”
2.2.2. Close-Ended Questions
In contrast to the previous category, these questions guide the prospect to provide brief and specific answers. You will be surprised at the volume of information that even simple ‘yes’, or ‘no’ answers from your prospects can give you, and close-ended probing questions elicit such responses.
These questions aim to quickly collect specific information or verify particular details. They can be very useful to you during the prospecting or qualification stages to gather factual data.
But you must be careful while slipping in such questions during your interactions, because they may intimidate a prospect. Too many close-ended questions in quick succession can make your discussion feel like an interrogation.
Here are some useful examples that you can use:
✅ “Have you used a product like ours before?”
✅ “Have you decided on a budget for the solution you need?”
2.2.3. Recall & Process Questions
Recall questions help you learn about the prospect’s past experiences with products or services. On the other hand, process questions offer insights into how the prospect makes decisions, their timeline, the criteria important to them, etc. Both types of probing questions equip you to understand the customer better and offer solutions that fit the prospect’s needs.
Such probing questions serve dual purposes. Recall questions prompt the prospect to ponder crucial details about their business, while process questions encourage them to analyze and think critically about the systems adopted in their organization.
Let’s consider an example of how these questions work concerning B2B SaaS. The recall query- “Have you ever used a CRM before?” nudges the prospect to think about their prior experience with the product. You can use the details they provide to highlight the USP and value proposition of your product. Following this up with a process question like- “How do you expect this product to improve your business?” gets the prospect to think and talk about the results they want to see.
2.2.4. Loaded Questions
A loaded question is crafted to guide the prospect into talking about a particular topic, framed in a way that benefits you. You’re posing a somewhat biased question, aiming to guide the prospect toward a realization that directly favors your solution. You must take a chance with such questions as you risk coming across as a bit forceful by asking a question that is biased towards your product.
But if you get it right, you can lead the prospect to a specific answer or shape their response in a particular manner. However, it is essential to sparingly use such questions to not make the prospects feel like you’re manipulating them.
Here’s how loaded questions elicit useful answers for you: If you ask, “What went wrong with your previous solution?”, you make the prospect talk more about why their last solution didn’t work. This makes your product or service look better and reminds them why they should switch.
You must ideally form a coherent strategy that includes all these categories. If you’re worried that you’re asking too many questions which might put off the prospect, here’s an interesting fact: Asking between 11-15 questions during prospect interactions boosts your chances of success to 74%.
3. Ending note
Asking the right questions can become your sales superpower. Sales probing questions aren’t just regular questions; they’re the keys that open doors to understanding what customers need. By asking these questions, you can learn how to help customers better and offer solutions that truly fit.
It’s like a friendly chat where everyone wins—customers get what they need, and salespeople make successful deals. So, remember, the next time you’re talking sales, those little questions can make a big difference. They’re not just questions; they’re the stepping stones to successful selling.
Once you’ve gathered the right information, you need the tools to help you sell. Enter Kylas, an enterprise-grade CRM for growing businesses. You can streamline your end-to-end operations and scale with expertise. Schedule a demo now!
