Discovery Call Question Guide from ICP and Known Pain Points (No Bait Questions)

Prompt

Act as a sales coach who drafts discovery agendas only from the pasted ICP note, known pain points, and call logistics in Inputs. You write questions and a recap template with blanks. You never invent the prospect's industry metrics, their budget, their tools, or product claims that are not in Inputs.

You work only from Inputs. Do not invent stats, citations, quotes, URLs, names, IDs, or records that are not in Inputs.

Inputs:
- ICP note and any account context: [ICP]
- Pain points you already know, one per line: [Pains]
- Call length and format: [Logistics]
- What you are allowed to share (pricing, roadmap, case studies) or NONE: [Allowed]
- Language: [Lang]
- Output format: [Format]

Generate:
1. Ledger: quoted ICP, Pains, Logistics, Allowed. Forbidden: invented budget figures, invented tools at the prospect, invented benchmarks.
2. Agenda: timeboxed to Logistics, one block per segment (open, context, pains, fit, next step), with minutes added up.
3. Core questions: one open-ended question per known Pain, each followed by a one-line reason tied to that Pain.
4. Follow-up ladder: for every core question, a narrower follow-up and a no-answer fallback line the seller can say out loud.
5. Trap list: questions you refused - loaded wording, budget probing if not in Allowed, fake ROI numbers, roadmap demands when roadmap is NONE.
6. Recap template: blanks only for pains heard, impact in their words, tools named, decision process, next step with date. No auto-filled guesses.
7. Missing scan: what this call cannot answer without more Inputs (pricing posture, tech stack, timeline), each labeled NOT IN INPUTS.
8. Format as Format.

Constraints:
- One question traces to one quoted line in Pains or ICP. Quote or drop.
- No invented benchmarks, no pressure lines, no competitor claims.
- Mark NOT IN INPUTS wherever Inputs are silent. End with a gaps list of five bullets the user still owes you.

Instructions

Paste your ICP note, known pain points, call logistics, and what you are allowed to share. Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Examples

Example Input

ICP: VP Sales at B2B SaaS companies, 50-200 employees, teams of 6-15 reps, currently juggling two tools for pipeline tracking.
Account context: first call with Northgale (120 employees, 9 reps); they filled a demo form saying "forecasting".
Pains:
- Forecast misses by more than a quarter and the board asks why
- Reps update the CRM twice a week at best
- Two tools, the numbers disagree
Logistics: 30 minutes, Zoom
Allowed: pricing on request after fit is confirmed; roadmap NONE; case studies NONE
Lang: English
Format: ledger + agenda + questions + ladder + refused + recap + missing

Example Output

1. Ledger.
ICP quoted: VP Sales, B2B SaaS, 50-200 employees, 6-15 reps, two tools for pipeline tracking. Account: Northgale, 120 employees, 9 reps, first call, demo form reason "forecasting". Pains quoted: forecast misses by more than a quarter and the board asks why; reps update the CRM twice a week at best; two tools, the numbers disagree. Logistics: 30 minutes, Zoom. Allowed: pricing on request after fit; roadmap NONE; case studies NONE. Forbidden: invented budget, invented tools at Northgale, invented benchmarks.

2. Agenda (30 minutes).
0-3 min: open, confirm the 30-minute box. 3-7 min: context - why "forecasting" was typed on the form. 7-18 min: the three known pains, one at a time. 18-24 min: fit check (9 reps, the two current tools). 24-28 min: what happens next and what may be shared. 28-30 min: next step booked with a date.

3. Core questions.
- "You wrote forecasting on the form - what did the last miss look like to the board?" Reason: ties to Pain 1 (quarterly miss).
- "When a rep last updated the CRM, what made them update it that time?" Reason: ties to Pain 2 (stale CRM), open-ended, no blame.
- "Where do the two tools disagree most often - stage or amount?" Reason: ties to Pain 3 (numbers disagree).

4. Follow-up ladder.
Q1 follow-up: "Was the miss timing, or stages slipping between tools?" Fallback if no answer: "No problem - we can put the forecast history in writing after this call."
Q2 follow-up: "Who updates without being chased, and what do they get out of it?" Fallback: "Understood - we can map that later."
Q3 follow-up: "Which number does your board see today?" Fallback: "No problem - send whichever export you trust and we will diff it side by side."

5. Trap list (refused).
"How much budget do you have for this?" - not in Allowed. "Your forecast is broken, right?" - loaded. "Teams like yours gain 30% forecast accuracy" - invented benchmark, case studies NONE. "When will the forecasting module ship?" - roadmap NONE. Competitor bashing - not in Inputs.

6. Recap template (blanks only).
Pains heard: [blank]. Impact in their words: [blank]. Tools named on the call: [blank]. Who else owns the decision: [blank]. Pricing posture shared: [blank or "not shared"]. Next step: [blank] on [blank date].

7. Missing scan.
Pricing posture detail NOT IN INPUTS (only "on request after fit"). Current tool names NOT IN INPUTS. Buying timeline NOT IN INPUTS. Technical buyer identity NOT IN INPUTS. Competitor preference NOT IN INPUTS.

Gaps the user still owes you: pricing guardrails, relevant case-study approval (currently NONE), who joins from their side, their fiscal-quarter dates, decision deadline if any.