It’s not just clinching a deal that gets sales people excited. A successful sales discovery call will get sales reps high-fiveing colleagues and whooping with delight.
It’s the moment when two business people connect, build rapport and realise that there’s a good fit between them. That may sound like a dating app, and their are similarities. The sales person can provide a solution to their lead’s problem. Together, they can help other and that’s a wonderful thing. There’s potential for a long and happy relationship here.
But to make that connection and engage the potential client, you need to do the groundwork before making a discovery call. You need a structured framework, a well considered plan and the most appropriate questions to guide the discovery call to its best outcome.
A discovery call is the first interaction with a potential client who’s interested in your product or service. During the discovery call, the salesperson works out whether the potential clients fits their ideal customer profile. The salesperson can position themselves as a trusted advisor, offering help and advice that also builds rapport. That first conversation determines whether your customer relationship moves forward or halts at the end of the call.
Sounds important doesn’t it?
Here, we’ll set out a sales discovery call framework. With this handy template, you’ll be able to gain a better understanding of your prospects’ pain points, qualify leads, and ideally, close more deals.
Your Winning Discovery Call Framework
This logical framework will help you to structure a great discovery call. It’ll stimulate conversation and ensure all of the important aspects are covered. And sales teams can work through this framework every time they prepare for and make a discovery call.
Step 1: Pre-call Research
It’s vital to do your research into the potential client and their business before you have your first conversation. You only get one chance to make a good first impression. This preparation is the difference between an ineffective chat and a great discovery call.
Make sure you learn about their company, their industry and their offering. Check your potential client’s LinkedIn page and company profile. Do you have any groups, workplaces or contacts in common? Work out synergies between your business and theirs. Check your CRM for any previous interactions between your businesses.
The discovery call lays the foundations for the sales process. It’s your opportunity to gain real insights, discover their customer story, and understand your prospect’s pain points, needs and goals. Ask the right questions and ensure you’re active listening (with empathy). Armed with this knowledge, you can tailor your sales pitch to properly meet your prospect’s needs.
Find out more about sales discovery call preparation
Step 2: Discovery Call Structure
Now it’s time to have that first conversation and put your research and preparation to good use. There are 3 phases of the call – the introduction, the discovery phase and then the progression.
1. Introduction: Setting the Tone
Make a positive start to the discovery call. Introduce yourself and establish a friendly yet professional atmosphere.
Go through the formalities of welcomes, meeting agenda and timings. Explain the goals of the call – to explore potential opportunities or challenges within an agreed timeframe. Determine if all the necessary decision-makers are on the call if they need to be. If any preliminary details (like a pre-call questionnaire) were sent, check if they’ve been completed. Reassure the prospect that it’s all about them and their unique, current situation.
2. Discovery: Understand Your Prospect
Deep dive into your potential client’s needs, pain points and challenges. Ask open-ended questions to get a full picture of their day to day work life and what makes that harder.
Refer to your list of questions, but the best sales conversations flow with one question leading naturally to another. This is another way to build rapport and trust, as you’re responding to their points and truly listening. Don’t stick rigidly to your discovery call script. Draw on your pre-discovery call research to guide your chat. Be informed and confident, more like a trusted consultant rather than a sales rep to develop your relationship with your potential client.
It’s time to dig deeper and find out more about their top priorities, specific needs, goals and challenges. Try to find out what prompted the call – was there a particular issue? When you gain an understanding of their needs and challenges, investigate what solutions they’ve tried already. All of this information helps you to tailor a bespoke offering to them.
Be creative with your questions to make sure it doesn’t feel or sound like a grilling. Scenario-based questions can uncover useful insights. Instead of asking about their biggest challenge directly, you could phrase it as “If you had a magic wand, what’s the one thing you’d change right now?”
Probe further by asking, “What are the barriers to achieving this success?” That should highlight any obstacles to closing the deal. The person you’re speaking to may not be the ultimate decision-maker. Find out who that is, and the process for sign off. Get the nitty gritty on budgets, timelines and stakeholders.
Check out 22 of the best sales discovery call questions to ask.
3. Progression: Advancing the Conversation
So far, so good. You’ve gleaned valuable information. You reckon your businesses make a good match and you know that your offering can help the potential client. Now’s the time to progress the conversation and nudge the lead along the sales pipeline.
Point out the most effective features of your product or service that would interest them. Share a customer story where they’ve faced a similar challenge and you’ve been able to solve it. Offer to share any resources that may be helpful, such as an information pack or pricing details.
Be clear about the next steps of the sales discovery process if they decide to proceed. Find out if there’s anything further that you can help them with. They may want more details, a real time product demo or a follow-up meeting with key stakeholders.
At the end of the conversation, it’s good to leave them with a recommendation. Recap on what you’ve discussed, note any action points on either side and suggest a good time for a follow up call.
And that’s it. Your framework for a successful discovery call.
Ready to Create Your Discovery Call Framework?
Done well, a successful sales discovery call can accelerate your sales cycle. It can be the start of a long term customer relationship too. So it’s worth investing time and energy into getting it right.
Equip your sales team with a structured framework to deliver successful discovery calls. Show them how to conduct pre-call research, create a winning list of questions and engage with a potential client. Qualify more leads and increase your sales by following this framework.
Want help with your sales process? Phil Chantry, Business Coach, can help you. Get in touch to find out how you can work together and boost your sales.
