What questions should you ask on a discovery call?
Ask about their problem, in this order: what made them take the call, how they handle it today, what it costs them, why it matters now and who else decides. That is five areas plus a status-quo check, with one or two questions each, which keeps the call a conversation and stops it turning into a form.
The bank below is ours, written for founders selling to small B2B companies. Pick one question per row and keep the rest in reserve.
| Area | Question to ask | A useful answer sounds like | Warning sign (our view) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger | What made you take this call now? What changed in the last few months? | A dated event: someone left, a client complained, a target was missed | Just exploring, with nothing behind it |
| Today's workaround | Walk me through how you handle this today. Who does it, and with what? | Names, tools and hours | No process at all, which can mean no real pain |
| Cost of doing nothing | What happens if this stays the same for another six months? | A number: hours, lost deals, money | Nothing much |
| Timing | Is there a date this needs to work by? What else is competing for budget this quarter? | A date tied to something real | Someday |
| Who decides | Who else will have a view before you decide? How did you buy the last tool like this? | Names, roles and a past process | They can't say how anything gets bought |
| Status quo | Why not keep doing it the way you do now? | A clear reason the current way fails | They can't say why they'd change |
Two rows come from practitioners. In a December 2025 r/sales thread collecting favourite discovery and demo questions, the highest-scoring reply that wasn't a joke was a status-quo question: ask why the buyer shouldn't just keep doing it the obvious current way. That commenter said it shows whether the deal is real and the reason behind the stated pain. Another commenter in the same thread asks what happens if the problem isn't solved in the next six months, to put a cost on doing nothing. Both are individual practice, and we use them because they force a specific answer.
How many discovery questions should you ask?
Around a dozen on a typical discovery call in Gong's 2017 data, and far fewer with senior buyers. Gong's own research gives three different numbers, because each study looked at a different set of calls:
| Gong study (publication date) | Calls analysed | What it found about questions |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery call study (July 2017) | 519,000 recorded discovery calls | 11 to 14 questions correlated with the greatest success; the best calls covered three to four business problems |
| Executive study (August 2018) | Recorded meetings from 39,105 deals where only an SVP-level buyer or higher was present | Successful first meetings averaged four questions; unsuccessful but qualified ones averaged eight |
| Talk-to-listen update (August 2025) | 326,000 sales calls of at least 10 minutes | Sellers who won deals asked 15 to 16 questions; sellers who lost asked about 20 |
All three are correlations from calls recorded on Gong's platform, and the posts don't say when the calls took place. They agree only that more is not always better: the 2017 study said fewer than 11 may not be enough, the 2025 update found losing sellers asked more than winners, and with executives every question past a small handful went with lower odds of success. Gong's 2018 post on selling to executives calls it discovery fatigue and says the more questions you ask, the shorter the executive's answers get. Its advice for senior buyers is to bring an insight about a problem they haven't spotted, then ask a few careful questions.
That study covered mid-sized and large companies, so it says nothing direct about small-business owners. If the person on your call is the owner or CEO, we suggest planning eight questions, expecting to ask five, and cutting any question you could have answered from their website before the call.
How do you build rapport on a first intro call?
Be specific about them in the first minute, then let them talk. Weekend small talk is optional. A precise observation about their business is what makes you sound prepared.
The poster of an August 2026 r/sales thread had just won a customer from a first intro call, yet felt the discovery questions were only a route to the pitch. Three habits came up in the replies:
- Research one thing that changed. One commenter spends about ten minutes before a call looking for what changed recently, such as a new location, a new hire or a price change, and opens with a question about it.
- Keep the pitch out of the opening. Several replies said to use research to make the first minutes specific, and to hold back what you sell until the buyer has described the problem.
- Match the buyer. A commenter who sells to small-business owners said they appreciate getting to the point, and most of the rapport comes at the end of the call.
Gong's 2017 study adds a point about pacing. Top sellers spread their questions evenly through the call, while average sellers frontload them, and more speaker switches per minute went with successful calls. Gong's 2025 talk-to-listen analysis adds two habits you can practise on your next call: pause for two seconds before you respond, and paraphrase what the buyer said and check you heard it right.
What order should a 30-minute discovery call follow?
Agenda first, problems in the middle, next step at the end. The timings below are our suggestion for a 30-minute first call:
Minutes 0 to 3: agenda and their goal
Say how long you have and what you'd like to cover, then ask what would make the call worth their time. A commenter in the December r/sales thread asks what the buyer needs to take away for the call to be valuable.
Minutes 3 to 15: the problem
Go deep on two or three problems, using the trigger and workaround rows of the bank. Gong's 2017 study found the most effective discovery calls uncover three to four business problems.
Minutes 15 to 22: cost and current workaround
Ask what the problem costs today and what happens if nothing changes. Write down any number they give you.
Minutes 22 to 26: timing and who decides
Ask who else will have a view and how they bought something similar last time.
Minutes 26 to 30: the next step
Gong found the most successful salespeople wrap up logistics and next steps at the end of the call. Put the next meeting in both calendars before you hang up.
A reply in an April 2026 r/startups thread about founder-led sales suggests treating the call as checkpoints you need to hit, which leaves room for a natural conversation. If this call is mainly to qualify, our guide to qualifying a lead in the first ten minutes lists the four things to establish.
Which discovery questions backfire?
Most bad discovery questions serve the seller. These five are the ones to drop first:
- Yes-or-no questions. A commenter in the December thread said not to ask them at all, and to keep the buyer talking with open questions, such as why they took the call or what an ideal solution would look like.
- Questions you could answer yourself. Company size, what they sell, which tools appear in their job posts. Asking them suggests you didn't prepare.
- Hypotheticals about your product. In our view, asking whether they would use a tool that does X gets you a guess about the future. Ask what they did the last time the problem came up.
- A list read out in order. Gong's 2017 study describes average sellers working through questions as if they were a to-do list.
- Pricing before fit. The poster of the December thread tells prospects at the start of a demo call that pricing comes at the end, then asks whether what they've seen is what they're looking for before going into plans.
Gong's 2017 study also found that top sellers ask most of their questions while the buyer's problems are being discussed, and fewer outside those topics. If you are still building a sales habit around your product work, our 30-minute daily founder-led sales routine includes what to say on a first call.
What should you send after a discovery call?
A short recap the same day, in the buyer's words, with one dated next step. A reply in the August r/sales thread suggested going back over the call for the exact words that made it click, so the follow-up reflects what the buyer asked for instead of your later interpretation.
Our 24-hour routine for after a sales call covers notes, the CRM update and how to keep the next step from slipping. For other situations, use our follow-up email templates.
If you'd rather not run every first call yourself, Siela's Call Agent can take one from a brief such as qualifying a lead or an intro sales call. It joins Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams under the name you give it (Siela unless you change it), asks one question at a time, answers only from the facts you give it and, if anyone asks whether it's an AI, says it's your AI assistant. Afterwards it sends a report: a summary, every point from the brief with the person's answers in their own words, a "worth a second look" list for vague or dodged answers and a suggested next step.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a discovery call be?
There is no fixed rule. Plan about 30 minutes for a first discovery call with a small business: enough for two or three problems, the current workaround, timing and who decides, with a few minutes left to book the next step. Gong's 2025 talk-to-listen analysis only included calls of 10 minutes or more, so it doesn't tell you about very short calls.
What is the difference between a discovery call and a demo?
A discovery call is for learning the buyer's problem, current workaround, timing and decision process. A demo shows how your product solves the problems you found. Doing discovery first lets you build the demo from their answers. Gong's 2018 executive study is a warning for senior buyers: with them, asking more discovery questions went with lower win rates, so bring an insight instead.
Should you send discovery questions before the call?
Send a short agenda, not a questionnaire. One line on what you'd like to understand and one question they can think about, such as what changed recently, is enough. A long list in advance turns the call into homework. Gong's 2025 analysis also found sellers who lost deals asked more questions on calls, about 20 against 15 to 16 for winners.
How many questions should you ask a CEO on a first call?
Gong's August 2018 study of recorded meetings from 39,105 deals, where only an SVP-level buyer or higher was present, found successful first meetings averaged four questions and unsuccessful but qualified meetings averaged eight. It covered mid-sized and large companies and shows a correlation, not a rule. Bring one insight about their business and keep the questions few.
Can an AI run a discovery call for you?
An AI agent can run a structured first call if the other person knows it is an AI. Siela's Call Agent, for example, works from a brief, joins video calls under the name you give it, asks one question at a time and sends a report afterwards. Tell the person in advance, and take later calls yourself, where judgement and trust matter more.
Sources
- Gong (Chris Orlob): Essential discovery call techniques, 519,000 discovery calls (published 5 Jul 2017, updated 4 Mar 2026)
- Gong (Chris Orlob): Selling to the C-suite, 39,105 deals (published 1 Aug 2018, updated 4 Mar 2026)
- Gong: Talk-to-listen ratio, 326,000 sales calls (published 21 Aug 2025, updated 4 Mar 2026)
- r/sales: Share your killer discovery/demo questions here (17 Dec 2025)
- r/sales: Had First Intro Call - Need Help On Rapport/Discovery Questions (18 Aug 2026)
- r/startups: The trap of post-call review for founder-led sales (8 Apr 2026)
- r/sales: What are motions or aspects make a discovery call great? (24 Aug 2026)