Running discovery questions to uncover real needs.

In this lesson you are on a first discovery call with a mid-market client. The client is interested, but their explanation is messy and slightly contradictory, which is very common in real life. Your job is to ask better questions, guide the conversation, and uncover what matters commercially. You will practise a layered questioning style: starting broad, then probing for details, then clarifying assumptions and constraints. You will also work on asking challenging questions tactfully, so you can explore urgency, decision criteria, and internal politics without sounding aggressive. Listening is part of the task: you will identify soft signals such as hesitation, uncertainty, and vague language that usually hides a real objection. By the end, you will complete a short simulated discovery segment where you keep control, gather key information, and finish with a clear summary of what you have learned so far.

1. Discovery call brief and what “good control” sounds like.

Today you’re on a first discovery call with a mid-market client. They’re interested, but they’re not going to give you a neat, logical story. In fact, a messy explanation is often a buying signal: it means they feel the pain, but they haven’t organised it yet. Your job is to help them organise it, without doing all the talking. In this lesson we’ll build a layered questioning style. You’ll start broad, then you’ll probe for practical detail, then you’ll clarify the unclear parts and assumptions, and finally you’ll ask one or two gently challenging questions to uncover urgency, decision criteria, and internal politics. In this first block, I want you to focus on control and structure. Control does not mean sounding dominant. It means you guide the conversation with clear questions, you check you’ve understood, and you keep moving towards commercially useful information. On the screen you’ll see a short model opening and the kind of “messy” context you often get. Then you’ll pull out what matters.

Situation: first discovery call (mid-market client).

You are speaking with Jordan Reed, Operations Director at Northbridge Distribution (about 350 staff). Jordan has asked for a call because “things are getting hard to manage”, but the details are not clear yet.

In discovery, you’re aiming for commercial clarity, not a friendly chat. That means you want to leave the call with:

• a clear sense of what is driving this (pain + trigger),
• what success looks like (outcomes and KPIs),
• what is happening today that is not working (current process),
• what the constraints are (time, people, systems, budget, risk),
• and what the decision shape looks like (stakeholders, timing, criteria).

A model opening that keeps control.

Notice how the salesperson sounds warm but structured. They ask for permission and set a direction.

Salesperson (you): Thanks for making the time today, Jordan. How are things on your side?

Client (Jordan): Busy, to be honest. End of quarter.

Salesperson: I can imagine. Before we start, could I quickly check we still have 30 minutes?

Client: Yes, 30 is fine.

Salesperson: Great. What I’d like to do today is get a clear picture of what’s driving this, ask a few questions to understand your current process, and then agree next steps. Does that agenda work for you?

Client: Yes, that works.

What to listen for in a “messy” explanation.

Clients often give:

• vague words: “kind of”, “a bit”, “not really”, “it depends”, “sometimes”;
• contradictions: “we track it” vs “we don’t really have visibility”;
• missing owners: “they handle it” / “someone in finance”;
• feelings without facts: “it’s a nightmare” without examples.

Your job is to convert that into specific examples and clear priorities.

Quick checklist for this lesson.

Aim to use at least three of these chunks naturally:

• “Could you tell me a bit more about what is driving this?”
• “What does success look like for you?”
• “What is happening today that is not working?”
• “When you say it is difficult, what do you mean in practice?”
• “Can you give me a recent example?”
• “Let me check I have understood that correctly.”

Practice & Feedback

Read the short situation note below. Your task is to pull out the key information you would want to clarify on the call.

Write 4 short bullet points:

1. one thing that might be driving the project,
2. one possible success outcome (even if it’s vague),
3. one area that sounds contradictory or unclear,
4. one question you would ask first to take control.

Keep your answers connected to the discovery call situation with Jordan at Northbridge Distribution. Try to use at least one phrase from the checklist on the screen (for example, “Could you tell me a bit more about…?”).

Situation note from your CRM (messy on purpose).

Jordan says they need “better visibility” and “less manual work”. They have a few systems but “nothing talks to each other”. They mentioned delays, but also said delivery is “mostly fine”. They want something “quick”, but they also said IT is “busy until next quarter”. Not sure who owns the decision: Jordan mentioned finance, and also “our COO will care”.

2. Listening for vague language and soft signals.

Now we’ll train your ear for the moments that matter. On real calls, clients rarely say, “I have an objection.” Instead you hear hesitation, vague language, or little contradictions. That’s a soft signal that something is unclear, risky, or politically sensitive. When you hear a soft signal, don’t rush to pitch. Slow down and get an example. The easiest move is: reflect their words, then ask for “in practice” detail. For example: “When you say it’s difficult, what do you mean in practice?” or “Can you give me a recent example?” In the listening you’re about to hear, Jordan will jump between problems, outcomes, and constraints. Your job is to separate them. Think: what is the pain today, what do they want instead, and what might block the project. After you listen, you’ll write what you heard and choose the best follow-up questions to regain clarity and control.

In this block: your listening target.

You’re listening for three things:

1. Pain today (what is happening that is not working?)
2. Desired outcome (what does success look like?)
3. Constraints (what might stop or slow this?)

The tricky part is that Jordan mixes these together.

Common soft signals (what they often mean).

When a client says… it may mean…

• “Kind of / sort of” → they don’t have a clear definition.
• “It depends” → there are hidden variables (stakeholders, process, risk).
• “To be honest” → they’re about to reveal a problem or fear.
• “We tried that before” → there’s a previous bad experience.
• “I’m not sure” → ownership is unclear, or they don’t want to commit on the call.

Useful repair moves (short and professional).

Here are quick phrases that keep the tone friendly but precise:

• “Let me check I have understood that correctly.”
• “When you say X, what do you mean in practice?”
• “Can you give me a recent example?”
• “Could you tell me a bit more about what is driving this?”

Notice the pattern: you’re not challenging them personally. You’re challenging the vagueness.

Mini example: turning vague into specific.

Client: “It’s a bit of a mess.”

Better follow-ups:

• “When you say it’s a bit of a mess, what do you mean in practice?”
• “Where does it break down most often, for example at order creation or reporting?”
• “Can you give me a recent example from last week?”

You’ll do this yourself in a moment. First, listen to Jordan’s explanation and capture the key points.

Practice & Feedback

Listen to Jordan’s explanation once or twice. Then write your answers in three short sections:

A) Pain today: write 2 points.

B) Desired outcome: write 1–2 points.

C) Constraints / blockers: write 2 points.

Finally, write two follow-up questions you would ask next to regain clarity. Make them polite and specific. Try to use at least two chunks from the lesson (for example, “When you say…, what do you mean in practice?” and “Can you give me a recent example?”).

3. Layered questioning: broad, probe, clarify, then narrow.

You’ve now heard how quickly a client can jump around. To manage that, you need a questioning ladder. Think of it as four gears. Gear one is open and broad: you invite their story. Gear two is probing: you go deeper and get operational detail. Gear three is clarification: you fix the unclear words and assumptions. Gear four is narrowing: you make them choose priorities, criteria, or trade-offs. The key is to move through these gears calmly, using signposts. You can even tell the client what you’re doing: “Could I ask a couple of questions to understand the current process?” That sounds professional and it creates permission. In this block, you’ll see example questions for each gear. Then you’ll practise turning vague client statements into a set of three strong questions. Your aim is to sound curious, not interrogative. Short questions, one idea at a time, and always tied to a business impact.

The questioning ladder (keep control without dominating).

A good discovery sequence often follows this logic:

1. Open (invite the story)
2. Probe (get detail and examples)
3. Clarify (remove vagueness and contradictions)
4. Narrow (force useful choices: priorities, criteria, trade-offs)

This is not a script you read. It’s a structure you think with.

Examples you can reuse.

A short model sequence with Jordan.

Client: “We need better visibility.”

You (Open): “Could you tell me a bit more about what is driving this?”

You (Probe): “Can you give me a recent example of a situation where you didn’t have visibility?”

You (Clarify): “When you say ‘visibility’, what do you mean in practice? Is it cost, delivery status, or something else?”

You (Narrow): “If you had to choose, what matters most right now: speed, cost, or risk reduction?”

Tip: keep questions short and single-focus.

On calls, long questions can sound like a speech. If you hear yourself saying “and… and… and…”, split it into two.

Your focus today.

For this lesson objective, “responding to vague answers” means you can:

• spot the vague word (visibility, quick, reliable, mess),
• ask for a definition “in practice”,
• ask for a recent example,
• and then narrow to a priority.

Practice & Feedback

Below you’ll see three vague client statements from Jordan. For each statement, write three questions:

1. one clarification question (use “When you say…, what do you mean in practice?”),
2. one example question (use “Can you give me a recent example?”),
3. one narrowing question (use “If you had to choose…” or “What does success look like…?”).

So you will write 9 questions in total. Keep them short, professional, and directly connected to Jordan’s situation (reports, manual work, spikes, IT busy).

Vague statements from Jordan.

1. “The reports aren’t really reliable.”
2. “We want something quick.”
3. “It depends on who’s in the office.”

4. Tactfully exploring stakeholders, timing, and criteria.

So far you’ve practised turning vagueness into clarity. Now we’ll push into the commercially sensitive area: decision-making. Many salespeople either avoid this completely, or they ask it too directly and create resistance. The trick is to ask about stakeholders, criteria, and timing as if you’re trying to help the client succeed internally. Because you are. You’re not prying; you’re reducing risk and helping them build a business case. Listen to the tone we want: calm, curious, and slightly indirect. For example, instead of “Who is the decision maker?” you can ask, “Who else is involved in the decision?” Or instead of “Do you have budget?” you can ask, “What are the main constraints we should be aware of?” In this block, you’ll read a short dialogue where the client is uncertain. Your job is to respond with questions that surface ownership, urgency, and criteria without sounding aggressive.

Why these questions matter (and why they can feel awkward).

In B2 sales English, you want to sound commercially aware without sounding pushy. Questions about stakeholders and timing can trigger defensiveness if the client feels judged.

A useful mindset is: “I’m trying to help you navigate your internal process.” That frames your questions as support.

Model dialogue: Jordan is interested, but not aligned internally.

You: Could you tell me a bit more about what is driving this?

Jordan: Mainly visibility and less manual work. And honestly, I need to make a case internally.

You: Understood. What does success look like for you if this goes well?

Jordan: Faster reporting, fewer surprises. But finance will ask about cost, and the COO will care about risk.

You: That makes sense. Who else is involved in the decision on your side?

Jordan: It’s not totally clear yet. I’d probably lead it, but IT will have a view, and finance will want to sign off.

You: Let me check I have understood that correctly. You’re the day-to-day lead, but finance and IT need to be aligned, and the COO will care about risk. Is that right?

Jordan: Yes, exactly.

Language patterns that sound tactful (not aggressive).

Instead of… try…

• “Who decides?” → “Who else is involved in the decision?”
• “Is this urgent?” → “What would make this a priority this quarter?”
• “What’s your budget?” → “What are the main constraints we should be aware of?”
• “What do you want?” → “What does success look like for you?”

Challenging questions that stay polite.

A challenging question is not rude. It simply tests urgency or prioritisation.

• “What would need to be true for this to move forward?”
• “If you had to choose, what matters most: speed, cost, or quality?”

These questions help you uncover internal politics and decision criteria.

Micro-skill: summarise to gain authority.

A good summary shows you are listening and gives the client a chance to correct you:

• “Let me check I have understood that correctly…”

This is also how you regain control if the client is jumping around.

Practice & Feedback

Imagine you are on the call and Jordan has just said:

> “Finance will ask about cost, the COO will care about risk, and IT is busy until next quarter. I’m not totally sure who owns the decision yet.”

Write a short response of 6–8 lines (as if you are speaking). Include:

• one summary sentence starting with “Let me check I have understood that correctly…”,
• three questions: one about stakeholders, one about timing/priority, and one about decision criteria or constraints,
• keep a tactful tone (curious, helpful, not interrogative).

Try to use at least three chunks from the lesson chunk bank.

Reminder: useful chunks.

• “Who else is involved in the decision?”
• “What would make this a priority this quarter?”
• “What are the main constraints we should be aware of?”
• “If you had to choose, what matters most: speed, cost, or quality?”
• “Let me check I have understood that correctly.”
• “What does success look like for you?”

5. Chat-style simulation: guiding a messy answer into facts.

Now we’ll do a short simulation, but in a chat style. This is excellent practice because it forces you to write questions that are clean and easy to answer. Here’s the situation: you’re still speaking with Jordan, and they’re giving you information in fragments. Your task is to guide them from vague to specific: you’ll ask for definitions, you’ll ask for a recent example, and you’ll narrow priorities. You’ll also keep one eye on decision-making, because that’s where deals often get stuck. As you write, imagine you’re speaking live. Use short lines. Ask one question at a time. And don’t forget to show active listening: a short acknowledgement, then the question. The goal is not to ask ten questions in one message. The goal is to ask the next best question. On the screen you’ll see a chat log starter. You’ll continue it as the salesperson. Try to use at least four phrases from the chunk bank across your lines. After you write, you’ll get feedback on clarity and control.

How the chat simulation works.

You will continue a chat transcript with Jordan. Even though discovery is usually spoken, the chat format is useful because it makes your structure visible.

In a strong discovery flow, your messages often follow this pattern:

1. Acknowledge (one short line)
2. Clarify (define the vague word)
3. Example (ask for a recent example)
4. Narrow (prioritise or choose criteria)
5. Check understanding (mini-summary)

Starter chat transcript (context).

You have already done the agenda and Jordan has started explaining.

Jordan: We need better visibility and less manual work. The reports aren’t really reliable.

You: Thanks, that helps. When you say “reliable”, what do you mean in practice?

Jordan: It’s inconsistent. Different people update things differently.

You: Got it. Can you give me a recent example?

Jordan: Last week we thought everything was fine, then suddenly we had delays and we didn’t see it early enough.

Your job: keep control and expand the picture.

From here, you want to uncover:

• where the process breaks,
• what “visibility” means (which metrics, which teams),
• what success looks like,
• and who else is involved.

Helpful language to reuse.

Try to include these naturally:

• “What is happening today that is not working?”
• “What does success look like for you?”
• “Who else is involved in the decision?”
• “What are the main constraints we should be aware of?”
• “If you had to choose, what matters most: speed, cost, or quality?”
• “Let me check I have understood that correctly.”

Aim for a calm, consultative tone. No pressure, no pitching. Just excellent discovery.

Practice & Feedback

Continue the chat as You (salesperson). Write 8–10 short chat lines.

Requirements:

• Ask at least five questions across your lines.
• Include one mini-summary starting with “Let me check I have understood that correctly…”.
• Cover these areas at least once: process detail, success outcome, constraints, and stakeholders.
• Keep it realistic: one idea per line, not long paragraphs.

Use the starter transcript above as the context, and keep speaking to Jordan at Northbridge Distribution.

Extra detail you can assume (use it to ask better questions).

• There are 3 regional teams updating data.
• They use a mix of an ERP system plus spreadsheets.
• “Visibility” might mean: delivery status, cost, or inventory accuracy.
• IT has limited capacity until next quarter.

Write your lines as:

You: ...

6. Capstone: a full discovery segment with a clear summary.

Time to bring everything together. The goal for the final task is simple: you will run a short discovery segment from start to finish. That means you’ll guide Jordan from a messy description to clear information you can use: pain, impact, success outcomes, constraints, and decision shape. Two things will make you sound genuinely strong at B2. First, your ability to respond to vagueness with calm clarification questions and requests for examples. Second, your ability to summarise. A summary is not just repetition; it’s you showing a structured understanding, then checking it. As you write your segment, imagine you’re speaking on a live call. Keep your turns short. Use your questioning ladder. And place one gently challenging question to test priority, for example, “What would make this a priority this quarter?” You’ll get feedback using a mini rubric: structure, question quality, tone, and completeness. Aim to sound confident and helpful, not “salesy”.

Final performance task: run a short discovery segment.

In this capstone, you will speak as the salesperson and write a mini call segment that includes:

• a clear opening question to explore the driver,
• probing + clarification questions that turn vague language into facts,
• tactful exploration of stakeholders and timing,
• and a tight summary showing what you learned so far.

Information you already have (from earlier blocks).

Jordan has said:

• They’ve grown fast and have inconsistent updates.
• Delivery is “mostly fine”, but there are spikes where it goes wrong.
• They do manual exports and spreadsheets; finance checks; it goes back to ops.
• They want something “quick” but IT is busy until next quarter.
• The COO cares about risk; finance cares about cost; decision ownership is unclear.

Mini rubric (how your segment will be assessed).

1) Structure and control (0–2)

• Do you guide the conversation with a logical sequence of questions?

2) Question quality (0–2)

• Do you use open, probing, and clarification questions? Are they specific?

3) Commercial coverage (0–2)

• Do you cover driver, success, constraints, stakeholders, and timing?

4) Tone (0–2)

• Do you sound calm, tactful, and consultative?

Useful chunks to include.

Try to include at least six of these exactly or with small adaptations:

• “Could you tell me a bit more about what is driving this?”
• “What is happening today that is not working?”
• “When you say it is difficult, what do you mean in practice?”
• “Can you give me a recent example?”
• “What does success look like for you?”
• “Who else is involved in the decision?”
• “What would make this a priority this quarter?”
• “What are the main constraints we should be aware of?”
• “If you had to choose, what matters most: speed, cost, or quality?”
• “Let me check I have understood that correctly.”

Final tip: end your segment with a summary + next question.

A strong close sounds like:

> “Let me check I have understood that correctly… Is that fair? If so, the next thing I’d like to understand is…”

That’s how you keep momentum and move towards next steps.

Practice & Feedback

Write your final discovery segment as a short script. Aim for 12–16 lines, like a real call.

Format:

• Start each of your lines with You:
• Include a few short client lines with Jordan: (you can keep Jordan’s lines messy and realistic).

Requirements:

• Use at least six chunks from the list on the screen.
• Include at least one clarification question (“When you say…, what do you mean in practice?”).
• Include at least one challenging but tactful question about priority/timing.
• End with a clear summary starting “Let me check I have understood that correctly…”.

Keep the situation consistent: first discovery call with Jordan at Northbridge Distribution.