The 12 Mandatory Value Discovery Questions

The 12 Mandatory Value Discovery Questions

Lesson Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to extract usable numbers from clients without sounding aggressive or financial.

Important Rule Before You Start

Never ask for numbers directly.

Ask for process information first.

Numbers come naturally when context is clear.

The 12 Questions (With Intent)

1. “How often does this process happen?”
   • Unlocks: Frequency
2. “How many people are involved each time?”
   • Unlocks: Labor size
3. “How long does it usually take from start to finish?”
   • Unlocks: Time cost
4. “How much of this is manual vs automated?”
   • Unlocks: Efficiency gap
5. “Where do delays usually occur?”
   • Unlocks: Bottlenecks
6. “How often do errors happen?”
   • Unlocks: Error rate
7. “When errors happen, what do you usually do?”
   • Unlocks: Rework effort
8. “Who is affected when this goes wrong?”
   • Unlocks: Business impact
9. “Does this create compliance or audit issues?”
   • Unlocks: Risk exposure
10. “How is this measured today?”
    • Unlocks: Visibility gaps
11. “What happens if this scales?”
    • Unlocks: Growth limitation
12. “What would ‘ideal’ look like for you?”
    • Unlocks: Success criteria

Why These Questions Work

They:

• Sound operational
• Feel safe
• Avoid pressure
• Lead to numbers naturally

Clients do not feel sold.

They feel understood.

Key Takeaways

• Ask process questions, not financial ones
• Numbers emerge from operations
• Safe questions unlock deep insight
• Discovery is guided, not random