How to avoid pitching too early

Ian shares his experience of bombing a discovery call and what he learned from it.

The mistake
Ian jumped into pitching his coaching program without digging deep into the prospect's problems. He made the call about himself and his company instead of focusing on the prospect's needs.

The lesson
The discovery call is not the time to talk about yourself or your company. Instead, focus on understanding the prospect's problems, pain points, and challenges. Be interested, not interesting.

The right approach
Spend the bulk of the 30-minute first meeting on discovery, actively listening to the prospect. Only discuss your solution or recommendation when you're 100% confident that you can help the client. Provide a high-level overview of your solution at the end of the meeting and book a separate meeting for demos or proposals.

Key takeaways

• Don't pitch your solution too early.

• Focus on understanding the prospect's problems.

• Be interested, not interesting.

• Actively listen and ask questions.

• Only discuss your solution when you're confident you can help.

Why small questions lead to small results

Brandon’s transformational habit involves asking great questions, especially when pursuing new opportunities.

What is a great question?
A great question is big and specific. According to Gary Keller, author of "The ONE Thing", there are four options for framing a great question:

1. Small & specific: "What can we do to show them we have the best bot solution for $250K?"

2. Small & broad: "What can we do to show them we have the best bot solution?"

3. Big & broad: "What can we do to transform their business?"

4. Big & specific: "What can we do to transform their business in the next 12 months?"

   
   By asking big and specific questions, Brandon won an 8-figure deal with Chipotle, including an immediate $2M booking and a conversational AI-powered ordering experience.

   Lesson
   Don't limit yourself by asking small questions. Ask big and specific questions to create bigger value and unlock outsized returns.
   

Bringing a relevant point of view to sales

Salman used to go into meetings without doing his homework. He would ask generic questions like "What challenges are you facing?" and "What keeps you up at night?"

He decided to flip the script and bring a relevant point of view to every executive meeting.

He does this in three ways:

1. Research the competition and industry

• Learn about the company's top competitors and their priorities.

• Share relevant experiences and insights.

2. Talk to team members before the meeting

• Reach out to individual contributors and mid-level managers.

• Get a sense of the tools they use and the challenges they face.

• Share insights and use cases.

3. Research company priorities

• Review 10K reports, articles, podcasts, and press releases.

• Look at LinkedIn profiles and job postings.

• Share relevant information and ask informed questions.