Indirect Business Questions

A technique for gathering valuable business intelligence through casual conversation and indirect questioning, demonstrated through a real example of buying a sauna.

Core Strategy

• Ask indirect questions instead of direct ones about sensitive information
• Build rapport and show genuine interest
• Layer questions to triangulate information
• Sound amazed rather than investigative

Question Framework Examples

• Start broad and casual:
  • "What's a good day look like?"
  • "How many do you sell on a good day?"
  • "Are you all based in America?"
• Follow-up with natural progression:
  • "Wow, must be thousands of you?" (letting them correct)
  • "Oh only 100?" (letting them clarify)
• Validate and build trust:
  • Compliment their service
  • Show genuine interest in their role
  • Make them comfortable sharing

Key Tips

• Never ask direct revenue/profit questions
• Soften questions by focusing on "good days" vs totals
• Let people correct your over-estimates
• Show appreciation for their work while questioning
• Ask questions that feel natural in conversation
• Use the information to triangulate larger business metrics

Real Results

• Can learn commission structures
• Understand team sizes
• Get sales volumes
• Discover operational details
• Find out business models that work (example: 30% phone sales in ecommerce)

The key is making people comfortable sharing while maintaining genuine curiosity rather than appearing to dig for information.