Sales is not about having answers. It’s about asking the right second question.
Why effective sales conversations depend on asking the right follow up question, uncovering real buyer intent, and driving deeper discovery that leads to better deals.
REALTIME SELLING
Mukesh Kumar, Founder of convverse.ai
12/23/20251 min read
Most reps focus on the first question.
“What problem are you trying to solve?”
“What prompted you to take this call?”
Important questions. But rarely decisive.
What separates great discovery from average discovery is the second question.
The follow-up that shows you were listening.
The question that goes one layer deeper.
The moment where the buyer realises you understand the implications, not just the surface problem.
Anyone can ask the first question.
Very few ask the right second one.
When a buyer says, “We’re trying to move fast,” the second question matters.
“What’s driving that urgency?”
“What happens if the timeline slips?”
“Who feels the pain most if this doesn’t happen?”
These questions uncover truth. They reveal stakes. They surface real motivation.
Sales is not about sounding smart.
It is about being curious at the right time.
The best reps are not encyclopedias. They are listeners who know how to probe.
They don’t rush to answer.
They slow down to understand.
Because deals are rarely won by the first question.
They are won by the second.