Social Penetration Theory in Discovery Questions
In a recent article, we discussed many types of discovery questions. Discovery questions are quite useful in moving a sale forward. Questions, on the subconscious level, force customers to focus on a single topic. Questions can increase the likelihood of action by directing the buyer's attention to a specific behaviour. This blog will go over another subconscious part of successful questioning: the use of social penetration theory.
Consider the following scenario: after 4 weeks of relentless chase, you finally get to meet a high-value prospect for the first time. You begin the Zoom session with niceties and self-introduction, and then ask two opening questions: "Who is your decision maker?" and "How much can your organization pay"?
Well, if that's how you usually start a sales call, I suggest you revisit your career choices.
These are two critical questions, and a salesperson must be able to answer them in order to qualify a sale. However, why can't you ask those crucial questions right away?
It's natural to believe that those questions are for later. But what exactly is the problem with the timing?
What is Social Penetration Theory?
In 1973, psychologists Irwin Altman of the University of Utah and Dalmas Taylor of the University of Delaware proposed the social penetration theory, which suggests that as relationships develop, interpersonal communication moves from relatively shallow, non-intimate levels to deeper, more intimate ones, "involving different levels of intimacy of exchange or degree of social penetration."
As people grow closer to one another, positive reinforcement through positive interactions enables them to achieve deeper levels of intimacy. The sequence and depth of the questions need to be in sync with the natural flow of relationship building.
With this very basic understanding of social penetration theory, we can more systematically plan out discovery questions with increasing sophistication that matches the relationship development. In general, there are three layers to questions that appear natural in sequence. Of course, they are not mutually exclusive.
Three levels of depths in discovery questions
1. Preliminary questions to understand objective facts.
These questions are used to gain a basic understanding of your prospect’s business, team, services, or product. When answering these questions, the buyers don't have to think too much about their own feelings and ideas. The resistance to getting answers is typically low here.
You should use the preliminary questioning phase to build trust and speed up the sales process, as well as to get information. One way we have discussed previously on trust building is to come into a discovery call with lots of research and little assumption. Preferably, you should answer as many preliminary questions by yourself through research before going into the call so that you show your serious investment in the relationship, saving valuable meeting time for the next two levels of questions. This is not to say that you should skip the first level of questioning, but you should do a lot of research on the first level. Your effort will show.
2. Expanding questions to understand subjective views.
Once a mutual trust has been built through the exchange of facts and information, one can start tapping into the emotional cues discovered in the first phase. All people have their personal perspectives on their job and company: positive, negative, or neutral. If they refuse to share their views, it’s probably because they don’t see the value or safety in sharing their personal views. And that goes back to trust-building.
The second phase is where lots of “why” questions can be asked. “Why do you think your current solutions need to be changed?” “Why are you excited about our call?” Rest assured that the prospects do not respond to cold calls to talk about the weather. There must have been at least one reason that motivated them to invest their time. Is her current solution causing stress on her daily job? Does she want to look good in front of her peers by bringing in new tools? Is she commissioned to make the purchase for a vision she doesn’t believe in? It’s your job to find out why.
3. Impact questions to demonstrate value
The second phase of questions prepares for the last phase, where solution presentation and persuasion take place. Once you understand the motive of the buyer, now is the time to explain the value you can bring. How much can they save? How much more revenue can they generate? How do we make the next steps happen?
We talked about the optimal role of a salesperson as a trusted consultant for the buyer. First, it’s not easy to be fully trusted. Second, it’s not easy to be a consultant. Now you need to be both - a tall order. Isn’t it?
Our suggestion is to take your time. Feel free to go back to phase 1 and 2. As a consultant, you need to know as much as you can about your client's situation so you can give them a recommendation that fits their needs. In the third step, you make a custom presentation and change your pitch to fit the buyer.
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