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Description

Understanding the Client: Questioning, Listening and Uncovering the Real Need

Ask the right questions and listen to what matters before presenting any solution

  • 0.43 days — 3 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Many sales meetings are lost to a misunderstanding. The offer is presented too early, it answers an assumed need and the conversation ends on a sense of mismatch. Questions stay closed, listening stops as soon as an opening appears and the client's real context remains unclear.

Three hours online to rebuild the discovery stage: structuring your questioning, spotting implicit signals and restating what you heard to have your understanding confirmed. Each participant works on their own accounts and leaves with a discovery framework adapted to their offer.

Learning objectives

  • Structure a discovery meeting from first contact through to restating the need
  • Formulate open questions that get the client talking about their context
  • Distinguish the stated need from the real need and the underlying business issue
  • Identify decision criteria and the stakeholders involved
  • Restate the need to confirm your understanding before making any proposal

What makes this programme different

Each participant prepares the discovery of a real account from their own portfolio
Simulated meetings are recorded and then reviewed question by question
A personalised discovery framework is finalised during the session

Programme

1Preparing the Discovery Stage

Arriving with hypotheses rather than a catalogue

  • Gathering useful information on the account and its market
  • Formulating need hypotheses to be verified
  • Setting a meeting objective distinct from a sales objective
  • Choosing your opening and your first question

2Questioning and Listening

Getting the client to talk about their context

  • Alternating between open questions and clarifying questions
  • Probing a stated need down to the business issue behind it
  • Spotting what is left unsaid and signs of hesitation
  • Using silence to prompt the client

3Restating and Confirming

Securing understanding before proposing

  • Restating the need in the client's own words
  • Ranking the priorities you have heard
  • Identifying decision-makers and selection criteria
  • Closing the discovery stage with an explicit agreement

Who is it for

Field and office-based sales professionals, account managers and anyone in contact with prospects who wishes to make their discovery stage more reliable.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

12 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.