Work through the questions on this page, or download the original PDF to keep next to you on calls.
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How to use these questions
The number one thing most sales reps should do to close more sales? Ask better questions! Qualifying is the art of asking the right questions. Use these questions to discover if you’re targeting the right company as well as your prospect’s needs, decision making process, and more!
The 42 questions are grouped into six parts of the conversation: ideal customer profile, needs, decision making, budget, competition, and closing the deal. You don’t need to ask all of them on every call. Use them to structure your discovery:
Before the call
Choose 3 to 5 qualifying questions based on your ideal customer profile.
During the call
Ask open-ended questions that guide, not grill.
After the call
Record what you learned in your CRM and use it to tailor your next step.
Ideal customer profile
Start by checking whether the company fits the customers you serve best. Several of these questions are for your own research before or after the call.
Ideal customer profile questions
Needs
Find out what the prospect is trying to solve, why it matters now, and which features they actually need.
Needs questions
Decision making
Learn who is involved, how the company buys, and what implementation will require.
Decision making questions
Budget
Bring the budget conversation into the open: who controls it, what they spend today, and how exceptions get approved.
Budget questions
Competition
Understand what the prospect uses today, what they would change, and what else they are considering.
Competition questions
Closing the deal
Confirm fit, surface obstacles, and agree on the next meeting before the call ends.
Closing the deal questions
Frequently asked questions
What are B2B qualifying questions?
They are questions that help you decide whether a prospect is a good fit and how to move the deal forward. This list covers six areas: how well the company matches your ideal customer profile, their needs, how they make decisions, their budget, the competition, and the steps needed to close.
How to use these questions ↗How do you find out who makes the buying decision?
Ask directly. Start with the role your contact plays in the decision, then ask who has the final say, what concerns those people will likely have, how the company or department makes decisions, and which departments are involved.
Decision making ↗What should you ask about budget on a sales call?
Ask who oversees the budget, how much they have spent on similar solutions, and how much they have budgeted now. It also helps to ask whether they have ever invested outside the original budget and how that allocation process worked.
Budget ↗What should you ask at the end of a qualifying call?
Ask what steps are needed to make the deal happen, whether any obstacles could prevent it, and whether the prospect thinks your solution is a good fit and why. Then schedule the next meeting before you hang up.
Closing the deal ↗