The short answer
How do you practise discovery follow-up questions?
Ask one open question, then three follow-ups that each use a word from the buyer’s last answer, with no new topics until the third. Summarise the thread in one sentence and let the buyer correct you.
Foreword
Why it matters
Follow-up questions, the ones that build on what the other person just said, are strongly linked to how much people enjoy a conversation1. They also produce the detail discovery is for. This exercise makes you stay with one thread long enough to reach it2.
Retrieval
61%
of a passage recalled a week later after three practice tests, against 40% after four readings2
What we’ll cover in this guide
- Part 01: The rule
- Part 02: Close the thread
- Your practice task: a short exercise to try with Selly
- Conclusion and what to practise next
Part 01: The rule
Ask one open question. Then ask three follow-ups, each using a word from the buyer’s last answer.
Staying on one thread
No new topics
Until you have asked three follow-ups, you may not move to another subject.
Borrow their words
Each follow-up should include something the buyer just said.
Reflection questions and how to get started
- Did each follow-up use their words? Check the transcript.
- Did you jump topics early? Stay for three.
Part 02: Close the thread
After three follow-ups, summarise before moving on.
The summary
One sentence back
“So new reps shadow for a week, then struggle on their own, and nobody notices until the numbers drop?”
Let them correct you
A correction is useful information, not a failure.
Reflection questions and how to get started
- Did the summary get a yes or a correction? Both are good.
- What did you learn in follow-up three that you did not know at the start? That is the point of the exercise.
Your practice task
- In Selly, choose a buyer and ask one open discovery question.
- Ask three follow-ups, each using a word from the previous answer.
- Summarise the thread in one sentence and let the buyer correct you.
- Repeat with a different opening question.
Conclusion
Discovery happens in the follow-ups. Stay on one thread for three questions, borrow the buyer’s words and summarise before moving on.
