Discovery Question Framework

A three-level discovery question framework (Situational, Problem, Implication) for software sales — with example questions at each level and guidance on when to use each.

Syntax

software-sales-ai

Level 1 — Situational (understand current state):
"Walk me through how your team handles [area] today."
"What does [process] look like from start to finish?"

Level 2 — Problem (understand what is not working):
"Where does this break down? What is the impact when it does?"
"How long has this been the case? What have you tried?"

Level 3 — Implication (understand cost of inaction):
"If this is still the same in 12 months, what does that mean for [goal]?"
"What is the cost of not solving this — in time, revenue, or competitive risk?"

Example

software-sales-ai

L1: "Walk me through how you handle code reviews today — from the time a PR is opened to when it is merged."

L2: "You mentioned the 2-3 day average review time. When that slips to a week, what breaks down? Who feels that the most?"

L3: "If your review cycle is still averaging 3 days in 12 months when your team is twice the size — what does that mean for your deployment goals for the year?"