See my old blog post: #CareerPlaybook 022: Asking many questions

Levels of questions

Level 1

Questions the recipient knows the answers to, but show that you do not know the industry or company.

Be careful about using those questions, or ensure you put the right context ("I'm not familiar with your industry, but I'm curious to know...").

These are questions to ask when you are learning your ICP & building your Sales playbook.

Level 2

Questions the recipient knows the answers to, but shows a level of understanding of their company or industry.

Positions you as knowledgeable, and levels up the discussion to one between peers.

✅ This is the best zone to be in.

Level 3

Questions your recipient doesn't know the answer to.

Two categories:

• ✅ questions that will challenge the person's knowledge and make them curious about finding out. Perfect questions in a Challenger Sale approach.
• DON't: questions irrelevant, and going over the head of the recipient.

Trap-setting questions

Questions setting a trap for your competitor(s), wrapped into a question.

eg you know your main competitor cannot do X which helps achieve Y.

Trap-setting questions would be around the impact of Y.

This requires a level of understanding of:

• the prospect's role/industry.
• the impact of the solution you're selling.
• your competitor's solution & strengths/weaknesses.

✅ Critical questions to ask in a well-oiled/mature Sales process.