Asking Better Questions
How to ask the question that shows the real cost
Move from what’s happening to what it’s quietly costing them, with one well-placed question.
How to do it
Four questions in sequence. You're not stating the stakes, you're asking questions that let them say the stakes out loud, which is far more powerful than you saying it for them.
Situation
Map how they do it today. "How are you handling onboarding for new reps right now?"
Problem
Surface the pain in it. "Where does that manual process start to break down?"
Implication
Reveal the cost of doing nothing. "So when a rep ramps slow, what does that end up costing the quarter?"
Need
Let them name the fix they want. "If that ramp time were cut in half, what would that free up for you?"
What it sounds like
Prospect
“We onboard new reps by hand. It's manual, but it works.”
You
“Walk me through how it works today. Where does it get painful? And when a rep takes an extra month to ramp, what does that miss cost you? What would getting that month back actually change?”
Practise it
Trevor Osei, prospect, sales operations lead
“We onboard reps with a checklist and a lot of Slack. It's not elegant, but it's not on fire either.”
Run Situation, Problem, Implication, then the Need question. Let him articulate the cost. Do not state the stakes for him.
A strong answer: “How are you ramping reps today? Where does the checklist-and-Slack approach slip? When a rep ramps two months slower, what's that worth in pipeline? And if you got that time back, where would it go?”
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The short version
Situation, problem, implication, need. The best questions make them feel the cost, not hear you say it.
Practise it every day
This is one lesson from the Asking Better Questions course in the Insight7 app, with a roleplay to rehearse the real conversation.