Your thinking is the difference
Sep 11, 2026
Rather than teaching a clever question teach the reason for asking it
That makes more sense to me
I suppose its a weird sales version of the 'Teach a man to fish...' proverb
We spend a lot of time in sales talking about questioning skills
And I teach them
But I probably spend more time talking about thinking
(With and without AI)
Because before asking a question perhaps we should understand why we're asking it and for whose benefit
Is it to get the information we need?
Qualify the opportunity?
Move through our sales process?
Get closer to talking about our solution?
All understandable
But what if the question also helps the customer
- Explore the problem
- Consider something they haven't considered
- Make sense of the implications
- Get clearer about what they actually need
That's a different conversation
And it's where The VALUE Framework helps me think about the purpose behind the questions
🔸 Validate = right opportunities
What are we trying to understand about whether there's genuinely something worth pursuing?
🔸 Align = right research
What should we already know, and what do we still need to understand?
🔸 Leverage = right conversations
What could we ask that helps both sides explore the situation properly?
🔸 Underpin = right solutions
What do we need to understand before deciding what might actually help?
🔸 Evolve = right outcomes
What should we keep exploring to make sure the customer gets where they wanted to go?
So yes learn questioning skills
But perhaps don't start with:
"What questions should I ask?"
Start with:
"What are we trying to understand?"
Do the thinking first
The questions usually get better
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