# Free Discovery Call Question Planner > A discovery call question planner builds the question list for a first sales conversation. Choose the buyer's role and how long the call is, and this tool returns an agenda of questions across situation, problem, impact, decision and next step, with what to listen for in each answer. It is free. Pick who you are talking to and how long you have. Get a timed list of questions and what to listen for in each answer. Source: https://axelize.com/tools/discovery-call-question-planner Last updated: 2026-10-09 ## Every discovery question, by stage ### Situation Understand how things work today before you suggest anything. - Walk me through how your team handles this today, step by step. Listen for: The tools, the owners and the manual steps. Gaps you can ask about later. - What changed recently that made you look at this now? Listen for: A trigger such as a hire, a missed target or a new tool. Urgency usually lives here. - What are you hoping is different in the next six months? Listen for: A goal with a number or a date. That is what the rest of the call connects to. - Who is involved in this, and what does each person do? Listen for: Names and roles you can ask to meet later. - How do your reps prepare for a call today? Listen for: Skipped prep, inconsistent notes or reliance on memory. - Which systems does this information move between today? Listen for: Copying between tools by hand. That is where the time disappears. - How does a lead get from marketing to sales, and what gets lost on the way? Listen for: Missing context at handover and leads nobody owns. - What does this need to connect to, and who owns those systems? Listen for: Integration limits and who has to say yes. - What have you tried already? Listen for: Past attempts and why they stopped. It tells you what to avoid proposing. ### Problem Find where the current way breaks down. - What is the hardest part of that process? Listen for: The first thing they say. It is rarely the whole problem, so follow it up. - Tell me about the last time it went wrong. Listen for: A real story with details. Stories carry more weight than opinions. - How do you find out when something has gone wrong? Listen for: Late discovery by a customer or a manager. It shows how little visibility exists. - How much of your team's calls do you get to review? Listen for: A small share. Coaching that arrives late or not at all. - How much of this is manual, and who does it? Listen for: Hours per week and the people who have no time for anything else. - What did you try to fix it, and why did it fall short? Listen for: The criteria for a solution that works, stated in their own words. ### Impact Put a cost on the problem in the buyer's own terms. - What does that cost you each month, in time or in money? Listen for: A number. If they cannot give one, ask for a rough range. - How does this affect the target you are measured against? Listen for: A direct link to revenue, retention or pipeline. - What happens to the business if this stays as it is for another year? Listen for: A consequence they care about, not one you supplied. - Who else feels the effect of this problem? Listen for: Other stakeholders and their stake in the answer. - If this were solved, what would you do with the time or budget it freed? Listen for: The outcome they actually want. Use their words when you pitch. ### Decision Learn who decides, how, and what would stop it. - Who else needs to be involved in a decision like this? Listen for: Names, titles and any hesitation. Hesitation often means a hidden blocker. - What return do you need to see, and over what period? Listen for: A payback threshold you can build the case around. - What would a good solution need to do for you to say yes? Listen for: Decision criteria, ranked. Write them down and repeat them back. - How have you chosen tools like this in the past? Listen for: Process, length and who had the final say. - What does approval look like for new spend? Listen for: Thresholds, sign-offs and timing of the budget cycle. - What security or compliance review does a new tool go through? Listen for: Documents you need to prepare, and how long the review takes. - What could stop this from going ahead? Listen for: The real risk. Better to hear it now than in week six. ### Next step Leave with a dated commitment, not a vague yes. - Based on what we covered, what would be the most useful next step? Listen for: Their preference. It shows how ready they are. - When can we speak again, and what should I have ready? Listen for: A date on the calendar before the call ends. - Who should join the next conversation? Listen for: The decision maker, or a reason they cannot attend. - Is there anything I should have asked and did not? Listen for: Often the most honest answer on the call. ## How it works ### Choose role and length Pick the buyer's role and a 15, 30 or 45 minute call. Shorter calls keep only the questions that matter most. ### Read the timed agenda Questions come in five stages, each with a time budget, so the call does not spend half its minutes on background. ### Listen for the signal Each question lists what a useful answer sounds like, so you know when to dig deeper and when to move on. ## Who it is for Account executives, SDRs and founders who run first calls and want a plan that fits the time they have, not a generic list of fifty questions. ## Take the plan into the call This tool plans the questions. Axelize prepares a brief on the account before the call, then follows the conversation and writes your next line as the buyer answers. [Start free](https://app.axelize.com/signup?from=tool&tool=discovery-call-question-planner) ## FAQ ### What is a discovery call? A discovery call is the first structured conversation between a seller and a buyer. Its purpose is to understand the buyer's situation, problem and decision process, not to pitch. A good one ends with a clear next step. ### How many questions should I ask on a discovery call? Fewer than you think. Eight to twelve well chosen questions with real follow-ups beat thirty read from a list. This planner scales the count to the call length so you leave room to listen. ### What are the stages of a discovery call? This planner uses five: situation, problem, impact, decision and next step. They move from how things work today, to what is wrong, to what it costs, to who decides, to what happens next. ### Is discovery different for each buyer role? The structure is the same, but the questions that land are not. A finance lead cares about return and approval, a technical lead about integrations and security, a founder about outcomes. Pick the role and the planner swaps the questions. ## Related - [Discovery question templates](https://axelize.com/templates/discovery-questions) - [Discovery call guide](https://axelize.com/guides/b2b-discovery-call-guide) - [Discovery calls with Axelize](https://axelize.com/use-cases/discovery-calls) - [What is MEDDIC?](https://axelize.com/glossary/meddic)