Free template for salespeople and coaches
Eighteen questions for a first sales call, grouped by what they uncover: where they are now, the problem, what good looks like, who decides, the budget and the timing. Each group says what to listen for, and the last part is the five notes to keep after the call. Copy it, print it or download it for Word. Free, no sign-up.
Most lists of discovery questions hand you sixty or ninety and no way to pick. On a real call you'll ask eight or ten, so this template gives you the few in each group that tell you the most, and what a good answer sounds like. Ask one, then stop talking. The notes at the end are what you'll need when you follow up, and they're the part most people skip.
Date: ______ Call length: 30 minutes
What they do, and how they found you: ______
The one thing you most want to find out: ______
1. How do you handle [the thing you help with] today?
2. Who's involved in it day to day?
3. What made you want to talk now?
Listen for: a trigger with a date. Something changed, and they can say what.
4. What isn't working about the way you do it now?
5. What happens if nothing changes in the next six months?
6. What have you already tried?
Listen for: a cost they can name, in time, money or customers.
7. If this worked, what would be different three months from now?
8. How would you know it was working?
Listen for: a result they could measure. "Better" isn't a result.
9. Who else will be part of this decision?
10. How did you decide the last time you bought something like this?
11. Is there anyone who'd rather keep things as they are?
Listen for: names. If they can't name who signs off, you haven't found them yet.
12. Have you set a budget aside for this?
13. How do you usually pay for something like this?
Listen for: yes, no or not yet. Each one is useful. "It depends" means ask what it depends on.
14. When do you need this working by?
15. What happens on that date?
16. What would have to happen between now and then?
Listen for: a date tied to something real, like a launch, a busy season or a new hire starting.
17. What questions do you have for me?
18. Would it help if I [the next step], and we speak again on [day]?
Listen for: a date in both calendars. "Send me some information" isn't a next step.
The problem, in their words: ______
Who decides, and who else is involved: ______
Budget: yes / no / not yet
The date they need it by, and why: ______
The next step, and its date: ______
If you're talking more than they are, you've started pitching.
A 30-minute call structure for coaches, in the coaching discovery call guide
Your follow-up is only as good as the notes you kept.
The template is free. ActivityTracker, the app we make, is paid.
The template is free to use. The app is paid and keeps every call's notes and next step on the client's card.