From product genius to sales newcomer: The questions that save start-ups
Imagine yourself as the founder of a young tech start-up.
Your product finally works the way you've always wanted it to.
Pitch, tech stack, story — everything fits. And your investors are waiting for one thing: proof.
The first customers.
The first sales and thus traction for the next round of financing.
You're confident — and so can you be.
Your product is powerful.
They have arguments, logic, a whole lot of competence.
So how hard can it be to convince someone?
Well... harder than it looks.
Because conviction doesn't come about because you're brilliant.
It is created because you are relevant to your target group.
The only question that really counts at the beginning is:
Are you solving a problem that your ideal customer actually has?
Many founders fail here.
They sell features.
They sell arguments.
They talk too much.
This article takes you away from pure logic to the reality of communication: where deals are won through empathy, curiosity, and the right questions.
The following are eleven questions that sharpen conversations, reveal the true buying motives of your counterpart and significantly increase your chances of a clear “yes”.
The 11 questions that win more deals
Here are 11 of my favorite questions to ask in initial conversations with prospects, existing customers, and even investors.
The principle is simple:
Stop making yourself the center of attention. Focus on your counterpart.
Like on a first date: No one wants to hear a monologue about how great you are. People talk about themselves first: goals, frustrations, expectations, and uncertainties.
One sentence has therefore been with me for years:
“It's better to be master of my silence than prisoner of my own words”
Your strongest tool isn't talking.
It is asking questions.
Good questions do three things at once:
- They provide the information you need.
- You give your counterpart the feeling of being understood.
- They make people say things out loud that they want to stand by later.
Because people love to be consistent. Especially in her own words.
Your task?
To create the space for it.
Below I'll address each question with a brief explanation so you can immediately apply it to your next potential client or investor.
1. “What do you want to achieve after the next 60 minutes? ”
As a result, the focus immediately shifts from your own agenda to the goals of your counterpart.
Instead of guessing what they want, let them define for themselves what success means for them.
And when people define for themselves what success means to them, they expect you to help them achieve it.
2. “What is currently holding your team back from achieving the goals set? ”
This is where the moment of truth occurs: pain, friction, costs of inaction.
Without pain, there is no urgency.
No deal without urgency.
3. “What would you like to understand about our solution so that this conversation is valuable to you? ”
This question forces you to ask from Sales script to deviate.
No more general selling points: you're tailoring your message to the person in front of you. Because people don't buy what you think is great, but what they think is relevant.
4. “What haven't we discussed yet that is important to you? ”
They open the door to hidden questions and unspoken objections. This reduces hidden objections, prevents surprises and ensures that nothing important remains unsaid.
5. “Are we on track with your expectations so far? ”
Your presentation is over, now test the effect.
If you've missed something, correct it immediately.
If you've done everything right, this question becomes a tacit agreement to move on.
6. “What could prevent us from moving forward together? ”
Welcome to the stage for real negotiation:
This question uncovers obstacles at an early stage that they can solve:
- additional decision makers
- technical dependencies
- Budget issues
- political dynamics
Once these obstacles are identified, they can be overcome.
7. “Who should be part of the conversation so that we can make a joint decision? ”
They are expanding the buying center. Before you make an offer, you need to know exactly who is making the decision.
This question brings the decision makers of the deal to light without making you appear intrusive.
8. “Who will review the offer as soon as I send it? ”
This is the most elegant and natural way to understand the actual decision-making process.
They find out who's reading their offer, who's editing it, who's signing it, and who could block it.
9. “By when would you like to have a new solution up and running? ”
This question shows the urgency — or the absence of it.
If the schedule is vague, get back to the pain point:
“What happens if nothing changes by then? ”
10. “If we didn't work together, what would your Plan B look like? ”
When you accept the option of “no,” you appear credible.
And the answer to your question will often reveal the following:
- The real priorities
- The fears
- Your competitors
This gives you the information you need to stand out from others in your offering.
11th bonus: “Would it be a bad idea to make a follow-up appointment right away? ”
The deal is progressing, i.e. on to the next date.
This question makes it easy for your counterpart to say “yes” to the next step.
The fish is on the hook. Don't let him back in the water!
Whoever asks better wins more: The psychology of closing
Many founders believe that deals come from the best product, the strongest argument or the best presentation.
In the real world, the world of human decisions, those who ask the right questions win:
- Questions create focus.
- Questions create trust.
- Questions turn conversations into collaboration.
- And questions show what really drives your counterpart.
Takeaways:
If you master these eleven questions, three things will happen in every sales call:
1. You'll understand your potential customer better than your competitors And people buy from people who understand them.
2. They will create a sense of ownership. When people say things out loud, they take responsibility for them.
3. They'll stop chasing opportunities and start controlling them. Dynamism leads to clarity. And clarity comes from questions.
The biggest mistake founders make in the early stages is believing they need better arguments. They don't do that. They need better questions.
So the next time you have an initial meeting, a pitch, or even a fundraising meeting, remember: silence is your ally. Curiosity is your strategy. Questions are your lever. Use them cleverly and the clear and confident “yes” will come much faster than you expect.
About the author:
Constantin Papadopoulos is a negotiation strategist, sales consultant and author of Negotiating with Style. From Zurich, he supports with Snipers.sale Sales teams and managers are turning difficult conversations into clear decisions — whether in a boardroom or in a cold call at 8:00 in the morning. It combines psychology, structure and the science of persuasion and shows how to establish human connection even under pressure. His work ranges from the Swiss Army to sales teams across Europe. What they all have in common is one central idea: Every good deal starts with the courage to make the first phone call.
