Discovery calls are 70% of the sale. Here’s how to turn them into real pipeline — fast.

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

Pick one. Stick to it. Customize.

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🚀 Real Results

Some YC sales teams hit:

• 73% Discovery → Demo conversion
• 35.1% Close rate (by qualifying hard early)

➡ More fit = more wins.
➡ Less fluff = less churn.

cf to yc for more: https://bookface.ycombinator.com/knowledge/BG-user-interviews