Don't get stuck in your script, know what you need from every question

Most closers I coach aren't bad at sales. They're bad at listening. They're too busy reading the next question off their script to actually hear what the prospect just said. I want to fix that today. Not with more questions. With a better understanding of what you actually need out of each one.

I've sold B2B SaaS. I've sold coaching for three years across different offers. I've coached hundreds of reps. The biggest thing I see people fall into, over and over, is being too locked into their script. They're treating it like a checklist instead of a conversation. Let's break the discovery process into phases so you know exactly what you need from each one, and you can finally get out of your own way.

Connection is about getting a real problem, not small talk

Connection is the most overlooked phase in the whole process. People think it's just rapport. It's not just that.

Here's what I actually need in connection:

• Diffuse. Lower their guard. If you sound like a salesperson, you get treated like one.
• Put the focus on them. If the focus is on you, you're in convince mode already and that's a losing position.
• Get an overarching goal. I need a real problem.

That last part is everything. If someone tells me "I want to get better at sales," that's not a real problem. That's fluff. But if they say "I need to work on my tonality so I can stop getting objections at the end," now we're talking. That's something I can build a whole call around.

"I need an overarching goal. Me personally, I need a problem. Then everything else is going to be around that problem."

If you don't get a real problem in connection, you'll spend the rest of the call chasing one. So don't move on until you have it. Clarify more if you need to.

Situation questions exist to set up the gap, nothing more

Situation flows right off connection. This is where it gets simple, and where a lot of reps overdo it.

How many situation questions you need depends on what you sell. If it's more technical, you need more depth here. If it's less technical, more B2C, you're usually fine with three to five questions.

What I'm actually trying to learn:

• What are they currently doing for this area they want help with
• How long have they been doing it that way
• What caused them to do it that way in the first place

That's it. You're not trying to interrogate them. You're setting the table for problem awareness. If you already know the answer from something they said in connection, don't ask it again. That's where resistance creeps in.

Problem awareness is where you widen the gap

This is where the real work happens. Problem awareness isn't a box to check, it's where you start building internal tension in their mind.

What I need out of problem awareness:

• What problems are they actually having
• How long have they been having those problems
• What's causing those problems
• What impact are those problems having on them

Watch how this played out in a coaching roleplay I ran. The rep asked a step back question after the prospect already said he wanted more consistent leads. I stopped him right there.

"Do you see how that question hurt you? He already told you he just wanted more leads, more consistency. So that extra step isn't needed."

That's the trap. Asking a question you already have the answer to. It makes you look like you're reading a script instead of listening to a human being. And that creates resistance, because it doesn't feel like you're paying attention. Because you're not.

In that same roleplay I pushed the prospect on what was actually causing the slow season, what impact that had on his business, and then I asked the feel question.

"I always like that feel question because it really allows them to go below the surface and you can understand what the real problem is."

That one question, "how does that actually feel on your end," got him to say it sucks, that he feels stagnant, that he's standing still waiting for a job instead of being proactive. That's not a line from my script. That's a real human problem now sitting on the table between us.

Solution awareness tells you what they actually need

After problem awareness, I move into solution awareness. This phase answers a few specific things:

• What have they done in the past to solve this
• If they haven't done anything, why not
• If they have tried something, why didn't it work
• What do they actually need, tangibly and emotionally

This phase keeps you from pitching a solution that doesn't match what they actually need. You find out what's missing for them specifically, not what you assume is missing.

Consequence is where urgency gets built, not forced

Last phase is consequence. This is probably the most important one for pushing urgency and getting the prospect to feel that internal tension themselves instead of you trying to create it for them.

I like consequence to be visual. I want it to hit hard. All you're really doing here is understanding what happens if their situation doesn't change. Not what you think should happen. What actually happens to them if nothing changes.

Why knowing this beats memorizing a script

Here's the whole point of breaking it down this way. Once you know what you need out of each phase, you stop being a slave to your script.

"The only way I'm able to be in the conversation is if I actually understand where I'm going and what I actually need out of each of the different phases."

You can ask a completely different question than what's written on your script and still get the exact same result, because you know what you're fishing for. That's the difference between a rep who's reading a checklist and a closer who's actually in the conversation.

Memorize your questions so they come out natural. But don't let them run you. Know the target of each phase. Connection needs a real problem. Situation needs context for the gap. Problem awareness needs depth and impact. Solution awareness needs to know what's missing. Consequence needs them to feel what happens if nothing changes.

Hit the target, then move on. Don't ask a question just because it's next in line.

The bottom line

If you're stuck at $7k to $25k months, there's a good chance you're still leaning on your script like a crutch instead of using it like a map. Know what you need out of each phase of discovery, not just what question comes next. Listen for when you already have the answer and move on. Ask the feel question when you've got enough trust built to go there. That's how you stop sounding like a salesperson reading lines and start sounding like someone who's actually in the room with your prospect.