25 Best Discovery Questions for Sales (Trade Show Edition)

Most salespeople ask boring questions. “What keeps you up at night?” puts prospects on autopilot. They’ve heard it a hundred times.

The best sales discovery questions make people stop and think. They break patterns. They find real pain. And they start conversations worth remembering.

These 25 open ended questions for sales work on calls, demos, and trade shows. Use them to skip small talk and get to what matters.

What Makes a Great Sales Discovery Question?

Here’s what sets good questions apart from forgettable ones:

Unexpected. Breaks the pattern. If they’ve heard it before, you get a rehearsed answer.

Specific. Can’t be answered with “fine” or “good.” Makes them think.

Emotional. Gets to feelings, not just facts. Harvard research shows 95% of buying decisions are driven by emotion.

Actionable. Gives you something you can use in your pitch or follow-up.

The Golden Minute Questions (Trade Show Edition)

At trade shows, you have about 60 seconds before someone moves on. These trade show conversation starters skip small talk fast.

1. The Intent Probe

“What’s the one session or conversation today that changed your perspective?”

Shows you care about their experience. Not just pitching. Reveals what they’re paying attention to.

2. The Pain Point Echo

“Most people here are frustrated with [Common Problem]. Is that hitting home for you, or are you facing something else?”

Names their pain but leaves room for their story. “Or something else” invites a correction. Corrections reveal truth.

3. The Resource Drain

“I’m hearing [Problem] eats about 10 hours a week for most teams. Is that a rounding error for you, or actually that bad?”

Puts a number on their pain. Invites them to confirm or correct. Either way, you learn something.

4. The Ripple Effect

“When [Problem] happens, it’s usually not just you who feels it. It’s [Department Y] too. How much friction is this causing between teams?”

Grows the problem past one person. Grows the buying group and the urgency.

5. The Future State

“If we talked a year from now and [Problem] was solved, what would that unlock for your team?”

Gets them to picture success. Builds emotional buy-in. Shows what they care about most.

6. The ROI Visualization

“If your team didn’t have to worry about [Problem], what’s the one metric that would finally move?”

Links their pain to a number. This is the language you need for your business case.

Open Ended Sales Questions (Building Rapport)

These work at trade shows, sales calls, or anywhere you need to start a conversation without it feeling like a quiz.

7. The Hype Check

“I’ve been at this booth all day. What’s the one thing on the floor that lived up to the hype?”

8. The Skeptic’s Invite

“Everyone’s talking about [Trend X], but I’m skeptical. What’s your take?”

9. The Decision Moment

“What made you decide to fly out here this week?”

10. The Success Metric

“What would have to happen at this event for it to be worth the trip?”

Pain Discovery Questions

Once you have rapport, dig into the problem.

11. The Annoyance

“What’s the most annoying part of your current process for [X]?”

12. The Magic Wand

“If you could fix one thing about [process], what would it be?”

13. The Failed Attempts

“What have you already tried that didn’t work?”

Gold. What they’ve tried tells you what to avoid. It also tells you what objections are in their head.

14. The Tipping Point

“When did this go from ‘annoying’ to ‘we need to fix this’?”

15. The Cost of Inaction

“What happens if you don’t solve this in the next 6 months?”

In our experience, if they can’t answer this, they won’t buy.

Sales Qualifying Questions

Before you spend time on a full demo, make sure they can actually buy.

16. The Stakeholder Map

“Who else would be involved in a decision like this?”

17. The Timeline

“What’s your timeline for making a change?”

18. The Budget Reality

“Is there budget, or would we need to make the case?”

19. The Pilot Path

“What would a successful pilot look like?”

20. The Blocker

“What’s stopped you from solving this before?”

Opens up hidden blockers: budget, politics, or past failures.

Competitive Questions

Understand what else they’re looking at.

21. The Landscape

“What else are you looking at to solve this?”

22. The Differentiator

“What would make you choose us over [Competitor]?”

23. The Priority

“What’s the most important thing the solution needs to do?”

Closing Questions

When it’s time to move forward, don’t leave next steps unclear. A vague ending kills a good conversation. For what to do after the show, see our trade show follow-up guide.

24. The Logic Check

“Based on what we’ve talked about, does it make sense to [next step]?”

25. The Confidence Builder

“What would you need to see to feel confident moving forward?”

How to Use These Sales Discovery Questions

At Trade Shows

Pick 2-3 from the Golden Minute section. Don’t grill people. Have a conversation. Listen more than you talk.

Capture answers right after. A 30-second voice note saves the details you need for follow-up. More in our trade show best practices and trade show booth tips.

On Sales Calls

Structure your call:

1. Start with rapport (questions 7-10)
2. Move to pain discovery (questions 11-15)
3. Qualify before demoing (questions 16-20)
4. End with clear next steps (questions 24-25)

Don’t ask all 25. Pick what fits and let the conversation flow.

The Key: Actually Listen

These questions only work if you stop talking after you ask.

Let silence do the work. People fill silence with something more honest than their first answer. Don’t rush to the next question. Don’t jump to your pitch.

Their answer tells you what to say next. But only if you’re paying attention.

Questions Cheat Sheet

Golden Minute (Trade Shows)

1. Intent Probe: What changed your perspective today?
2. Pain Point Echo: Is [problem] hitting home?
3. Resource Drain: Is [problem] a rounding error or actually bad?
4. Ripple Effect: How much friction between teams?
5. Future State: What would solving this unlock?
6. ROI Visualization: What metric would finally move?

Open Ended (Rapport)

7. Hype Check: What lived up to the hype?
8. Skeptic’s Invite: What’s your take on [trend]?
9. Decision Moment: Why’d you fly out?
10. Success Metric: What makes this event worth it?

Pain Discovery

11. Annoyance: Most annoying part of current process?
12. Magic Wand: What would you fix first?
13. Failed Attempts: What have you tried?
14. Tipping Point: When did this become urgent?
15. Cost of Inaction: What if you don’t fix it?

Qualifying

16. Stakeholder Map: Who else is involved?
17. Timeline: When do you need to decide?
18. Budget Reality: Is there budget?
19. Pilot Path: What does a pilot look like?
20. Blocker: What’s stopped you before?

Competitive

21. Landscape: What else are you looking at?
22. Differentiator: Why choose us?
23. Priority: What’s most important?

Closing

24. Logic Check: Does [next step] make sense?
25. Confidence Builder: What would you need to see?

FAQ

What are discovery questions in sales?

Questions that find a prospect’s pain points, goals, timeline, and buying process before you pitch. Good discovery shows if there’s a fit. It also gives you what you need to make your pitch matter.

How many discovery questions should you ask?

Quality beats quantity. 5-7 great questions beat 20 generic ones. Listen to answers. Ask follow-ups. Don’t race through a checklist.

What’s the best opening question for a sales call?

Skip “How are you?” Try something specific: “I saw [something about their company], curious how that’s going.” At a trade show: “What’s the one thing you’ve seen today that lived up to the hype?”

What are good open ended questions for sales?

Open ended questions make people think instead of giving a yes or no. Good ones include: “What’s the most annoying part of your current process?” and “What would solving this unlock for your team?” They lead to real conversations, not dead ends.

How do you qualify a lead at a trade show?

Ask three things: timeline (“When do you need to decide?”), authority (“Who else would be involved?”), and budget (“Is there budget, or would we need to make the case?”). If they can answer all three, they’re worth a demo. For more, see our trade show best practices.

References

• Zaltman, Gerald. How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market. Harvard Business School Press.
• “Consumer Psychology Buying Decisions.” Research & Metric. researchandmetric.com
• “Customer Brand Preference: The 70/30 Principle.” Gallup. gallup.com

Ask better questions. Capture the answers. Follow up like a human. Try BoothIQ free at your next event.