By Simon Severino, founder of Strategy Sprints, where 2,400+ B2B founders have gone through our programs. Updated October 2026.

On a B2B discovery call, ask seven questions, in this order: "What's the frustration?", "What have you already tried?", "How important is this compared with everything else?", "What happens if you do nothing?", "What do you want achieved in the next 90 days?", "What will it take in time, people and money?" and "Which start date are we committing to?" The order matters more than the wording. 🐬

Ask them in that order and the buyer hears their own case for change, in their own words. You stop pitching and start leading. Fewer meetings per deal, bigger deals at the price you set, and a call your new sales hires can run without you.

What is the goal of a B2B discovery call?

One thing: find out if the buyer will decide to change, and when.

Picture Sarah. Made-up name, very common founder. Software company, about five million in revenue, just hired two account executives. Her calls feel great. The buyer nods, asks smart questions, says "this is really interesting." Then nothing. The deal goes stale. Nobody said what the problem costs, or when to start.

Felt good, decided nothing. That's the old way of running discovery, and it's where deals stall. In The JOLT Effect (2022), Dixon and McKenna report that 40 to 60% of qualified B2B deals end in no decision. 🐯

A good discovery call ends differently. The buyer has said, out loud, what the problem costs them and when they want to start.

What questions should I ask on a B2B discovery call, step by step?

We teach B2B founders the 8 Steps of the Repeatable Sale. Steps 2 to 7 carry the questions, word for word below. Steps 1 and 8 are what you do around them.

Step 1: Visualize (not a question)

While the buyer talks, picture what they describe. Then:

• Mirror: repeat their last two or three words. "Deals stall at the end?" They keep going.
• Pace: match their energy and speed. Calm buyer, calm you.
• Lead: once you're in step, guide the direction with the next question.

No trust, no Step 2. Visualizing earns it in the first five minutes.

Step 2: Frustration

• "What's the frustration right now?"
• "What have you already tried?"
• "What happened when you tried it?"

This is where buyers lean in. You'll feel the urge to fix it. Hold it, and write down their exact words.

Step 3: Importance

• "How important is this, compared with everything else going on?"
• "Why now, and not six months ago?"

Now the problem lives inside their whole quarter, not one meeting.

Step 4: Cost of Inaction

• "What happens if you do nothing?"
• "What does that cost you, in money, in time, and in energy?"

Then stay quiet. Count to ten in your head. The silence will feel like the call slipping. It's the buyer thinking. 🌴

The first answer is often short and polished. Wait. The real answer usually comes second. Here's how it can sound in Sarah's world (illustrative, not a real client):

You: "What happens if you do nothing?"
Buyer: "We'd keep going, I guess."
You: (silence)
Buyer: "Honestly? I keep closing every deal myself. The two reps I hired sit at half quota."
You: "What does that cost you?"
Buyer: "Maybe four deals a quarter. And my evenings."

The buyer built the case. You argued nothing. Their own number tastes bitter, and that's why it sticks. The rule we drill in our Sales Gym: when you say the cost, it's a pitch. When they say it, it's a decision.

Step 5: Deliverables

• "What do you want achieved in the next 90 days?"
• "How will you know it worked?"

The buyer defines success in their words. Write them down. They become your proposal.

Step 6: Investment (time, people, money, in that order)

• "How much time can you put into this each week?"
• "Who on your team needs to be involved?"
• "Given what doing nothing costs you, what investment makes sense?"

Never lead with price. By now the buyer has named the cost of doing nothing, so your price sits next to four deals a quarter, not next to zero.

This is the step that gets rushed. One founder in our 200K Club said it plainly: "I priced the first few too low."

So in the Sales Gym we isolate it, like a single move in sport. You say your price out loud, at full value. Then you hold the silence for 15 seconds. No softening. No "but you also get."

Almost every rep breaks before 15 seconds. Then comes the question that does the work: "Do you believe your service is bad?" The answer: "No. It's good."

So the wobble isn't the price. It's a habit, and habits close with practice. 🐬

Step 7: Starting Date

• "Which start date are we committing to?"

A real date. Not "soon", not "after Q4". A day you both circle on the calendar. No date means no decision yet.

Step 8: Statement of Work

No question here. You send the Statement of Work before the next meeting, written in the buyer's words, ready to sign. Had a proposal go quiet before? Here's why, and the fix: why prospects ghost you after the proposal.

How do I run a discovery call as a B2B founder?

1. Open with the time and the goal. "We have 30 minutes. I'd like to understand what's going on, and at the end we'll both know if it makes sense to keep talking. OK?"
2. Let them do most of the talking. Your job is questions, not answers.
3. Go in order. Steps 2 to 7. Skipping ahead feels faster and usually costs you the deal.
4. Write down their exact words. Frustration, cost, deliverables.
5. End with a date. Either a start date or a clear no.

Hiring salespeople? Hand them this sequence. They can run the call without you, and you stop being the only closer.

How do I stay in control of a sales conversation?

Control isn't talking more or pushing harder. It's knowing where the conversation goes next, and the buyer feeling that you know.

Three things give it to you:

• A sequence. When you know Step 4 follows Step 3, you never wonder what to ask.
• Silence. The ten-count from Step 4. The first one to fill it gives something away.
• No neediness. Buyers smell it before you say a word. You're there to find out if it fits, not to win at all costs. "I don't want to waste your time or mine" is respect, and a clear no is a good outcome too.

The old way (pitch, demo, "send me a proposal", chase) puts the buyer in charge. The questions above hand control back to you, while the other vendor is still sending stale decks. 🐯

What if the buyer asks "How much is it?" in minute three?

Classic moment. Answer the price now and the buyer leads the call from there.

Say this: "Good question. You'll get a straight answer in a few minutes. First, can I ask a few questions so the number actually means something?"

Then go back to the sequence. Your price lands next to the cost of doing nothing.

Before Strategy Sprints, I coached 2,000+ teams, including Google, BMW and Airbus. Senior or junior, the people who lead calls all do the same thing: they ask the next question. That's not a personality trait. It's a process, and process gaps close. The first time you lead a call and the buyer says yes, you'll remember the feeling.

Your discovery call checklist

Before you hang up, check you have all six:

• Their frustration, in their words
• What they already tried
• How important it is right now
• What doing nothing costs them
• What success looks like in 90 days
• A specific start date

Missing one? Book a second call before you write any proposal. Your one move this week: write the seven questions on a card and put it next to your screen for your next call. 🌴

FAQ

How many questions should I ask on a B2B discovery call?
Enough to cover Steps 2 to 7, usually 10 to 15 including follow-ups. Quality and order beat quantity.

What is the most important discovery call question?
"What happens if you do nothing?" It turns a nice-to-have into a cost the buyer has named themselves.

When should I talk about price on a discovery call?
After the buyer has named the cost of inaction and the deliverables. Price comes in Step 6, after time and people.

How long should a B2B discovery call be?
30 to 45 minutes covers Steps 2 to 7. Out of time? Book the next call before you hang up.

What if the buyer won't answer the cost of inaction question?
That's an answer too. Either the problem isn't painful enough yet, or you skipped Steps 2 and 3. Go back to frustration.

Want to practice the 8 Steps every week, with other founders? Join Sprint Club, 7 days free: https://www.strategysprints.com

Ready to accelerate now? Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/strategysprint/discovery-call

Happy hunting.

Simon & The Sprinters 🐬⚡️🐆