1. Ask 11–14 Questions — Not 20
- Sweet spot: 11–14 questions
- 10? Too shallow. >15? Feels like an interrogation
- Be curious, not robotic. Reformulate what prospect says, compliment, and ask questions.
2. Ditch Lazy Openers
- Don’t: “Tell me about your business?”
- Do: “What’s your current process for X — where’s it breaking?”
3. Focus on 3–4 Key Pains
- Don’t skim 10 surface-level issues
- Go deep on a few critical ones
- Do: “What are the top 3 challenges you’re facing with X?”
- And keep digging: “Oh, so X seems to be a serious problem.. Please tell me more about that.”
- “What has been the impact of X on your business?”
- “Did you already try something to solve it? Yes? How did it goes?”
4. Ask About Urgency + Impact
- Do: “What happens if nothing changes?”
- Do: “Is there a timeline in place?”
5. Qualify Budget & Decision-Maker – Later
- Do: “What’s your budget range?”
- Do: “Who else will weigh in?”
- Don’t start here. Build value first.
6. Keep It Conversational – Skip the Deck
- No slides. Just talk, ask, listen, adjust
7. Use Open-Ended Questions
- Do: “Walk me through how you do X today”
- Target a 40%-60% talk ratio (you-them)
8. Always Define Next Steps
- Avoid vague endings
- Do: Always book the follow-up during the call.
9. Personalize Everything
- Do: “Saw you just launched in Europe — how’s that impacting ops?”
- Tailored = trust. Scripts = snooze
10. Selling to Execs? Ask Fewer, Smarter Questions
- ~4 big-picture Qs — not 10 tactical ones
- Do: “What key metric are you focused on improving?”
11. Proven Frameworks to Use
- SPIN: Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff
- BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline
- MEDDIC: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion
🚀 Real Results
Some YC sales teams hit:- 73% Discovery → Demo conversion
- 35.1% Close rate (by qualifying hard early)
➡ Less fluff = less churn.
cf to yc for more: https://bookface.ycombinator.com/knowledge/BG-user-interviews