Discovery call preparation

In a recent post, Aaron Margolis emphasizes the importance of maintaining momentum after securing a discovery call.

Here are specific strategies for salespeople:

• Set an agenda: Establish clear, value-based objectives for the meeting and confirm them with the client beforehand. This ensures everyone knows the meeting's purpose and keeps the discussion focused.

• Confirm meetings: Send a confirmation notice 24-48 hours in advance to reduce the likelihood of cancellations. This demonstrates professionalism and attention to detail.

• Prepare questions: Have 5-6 open-ended questions ready to delve deeper into the client's needs. Avoid making the meeting feel like an interrogation.

• Respect time: Arrive early, start on time, and end on time. Confirm the meeting's duration with the client at the beginning.

• Manage the agenda: Outline expected time frames for each agenda item and assign someone to keep track of action items.

• Choose the right time: Schedule meetings between 10 a.m. and noon, Tuesday to Thursday, to ensure client engagement.

• Follow up promptly: Send a recap within 24 hours to keep the meeting fresh and show organization.

  
  

Discovery done right

I found an older guide to discovery calls by Patrick Trümpi that is very valuable.

The key takeaways:

• Focus on key features: Identify the buyer's main struggles to tailor your demo to 2-3 key features, respecting their time and needs.

• Establish value first: Ensure the buyer understands the value of your solution to prevent objections about cost.

• Prepare for calls: Schedule 30-45 minutes for discovery calls and send an agenda beforehand. Keep your talking time below 50%.

• Avoid BANT for outbound: For outbound discovery, focus on customer-centric questions rather than budget, authority, need, and timeline (BANT) as these may not be defined yet.

• Use customer-centric questions: Engage buyers with questions that trigger thought and have multiple answers. Examples include asking about the impact of unresolved challenges and key KPIs.

• Summarize regularly: Frequently summarize what you've learned to ensure understanding and encourage more information sharing.

• Differentiate inbound vs. outbound: Understand that inbound buyers are more informed and may have specific criteria, while outbound buyers are often in the early stages of exploration.

  
  

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Avoid these 5 mistakes

Ian Koniak highlights five common mistakes in discovery meetings and offers solutions to improve them:

1. Lack of preparation: Research the prospect and their business beforehand to ask relevant questions and provide valuable insights. This helps build a strong relationship by showing understanding of their needs.

2. Poor communication: Set clear goals for the meeting and communicate them effectively to the prospect. Frame the meeting as a discovery session rather than a sales pitch to ensure both parties are aligned.

3. Asking the wrong questions: Avoid closed-ended questions. Instead, ask open-ended questions to encourage the prospect to share more information, leading to a better understanding of their needs and challenges.

4. Not listening actively: Actively listen during the meeting to catch important details and opportunities to build rapport with the prospect.

5. Focusing too much on selling: Avoid being overly focused on selling your product or service. Instead, show genuine interest in the prospect's needs to build a stronger relationship and facilitate closing the deal later on.

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