Which of the following is an example of a Pre-Situation Question?

• A. What projects are you currently prioritizing?
• B. How long have you been with the company? How has your job evolved since you started here?
• C. How long have you been with the company? How has your job evolved since you started here?
• D. What is your budget for this project?

Answer: (C)

Pre-Situation questions aim to establish context about the person’s background and how their role or circumstances have evolved, without jumping into problems or needs. This kind of question helps you build rapport and set a foundation for later discovery by understanding where the prospect is coming from.

The best example asks about how long they’ve been with the company and how their job has evolved since they started. That focuses on background information and career trajectory, giving you insight into their perspective and how responsibilities may have changed over time. This sets up a natural path to deeper questions later, without pressing for a current need, budget, or specific project.

Other options lean toward current workload or constraints. Asking about what projects are currently prioritized moves into their immediate work priorities and can lead to situational or need-focused questions. Inquiring about the budget touches on financial constraints, which is a qualifier for later stages. Those lines of inquiry are useful, but they don’t establish the baseline context the Pre-Situation approach is about.