As we all navigate the intricate world of sales and customer service, one term that increasingly takes center stage is the "Discovery Call." Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a sales professional just starting, understanding and implementing this concept can significantly impact your drive toward achieving your sales goals.
In this blog, we will unfurl what a discovery call truly means in the realm of sales, its purpose and importance, the anatomy of a compelling discovery call, and the process that makes it so potent. We will further delve into the art of mastering the discovery call by providing sample questions to engage prospects, explaining how to conclude conversations briefly, and addressing frequently asked questions.
So, without further ado, let's embark on the journey of demystifying the art of the 'discovery call.'
What Is a Discovery Call?
Essentially, a discovery call is your first call interaction with a prospect where you have the unique opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation. The elusive goal? To uncover a match between the prospect's specific pain points, their business goals, and the solutions your product or service offers while considering your ideal customer profile. Typically, these calls are made after you've sparked an interest in your product, whether through a cold email or an inbound request.
Now, a glimpse into this terminology might lead some to dread the call overwhelmingly, but it needn't be so. Instead, consider it your golden ticket to delve into your prospects' minds (and their wallets!).
What Is The Purpose and Importance of Discovery Calls?
A discovery phone call serves a dual function - qualifying your potential clients and building credible relationships. This is significant as 92% of all customer interactions happen over the phone. Rightly conducted, this initial interaction acts as the first step in converting a prospect into a loyal consumer, boosting sales, opening doors for referrals, and contributing significantly to your sales commission.
On the flip side, if mishandled, it might result in wasted time and lost opportunities. Therefore, understanding the purpose of a discovery call is vital to ensure you successfully engage your prospects, solidifying your sales process.
What Is the Anatomy of an Effective Discovery Call?
A compelling discovery call goes beyond a mere conversation with a potential client. It requires an in-depth understanding of the prospect's needs, excellent active listening skills, and an aptly framed line of questioning. Let's learn the steps needed to make an effective discovery call for a fruitful sales process.
1. Research and Preparation
The bedrock of an impactful discovery call is efficient research and preparation. This involves more than just having a mental script. The crucial part of the preparation is gaining thorough knowledge about your prospect before getting into the meeting. You may do the following in your research and preparation stage:
Spend a good time cruising through their activities on professional platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, or any news updates related to their organization.
Look for answers to straightforward questions, such as understanding who you will converse with, their role in the company, how their department impacts overall business, and, more critically – what product-related problem they're trying to solve.
Apart from saving face during the call, investing more time and preparation is ideal if you're new to discovery calls or apprehensive about reaching out to a particular potential client.
2. Setting a Clear Agenda
A well-articulated agenda is the pinnacle of professionalism, allowing both parties to reach the right expectations. To set the agenda, follow the below points:
After setting the meeting schedule, outline a concise but comprehensible agenda. Skip the tedious 300-word essays; make them short, simple, and outcome-driven. For instance, you can state your purpose, give an overview of your solution and discuss subsequent steps.
Also, anytime you have a discovery call scheduled in advance, send a reminder email to your prospects a day or two prior to the meeting day.
Note: A little foresight can save everyone from potential mix-ups, making you look thoughtful and organized.
3. Establishing Rapport
Establishing rapport with the prospect is key to a great discovery call. The goal is to build a genuine, two-way conversation that lays the groundwork for a fruitful business relationship. Here are some effective strategies to build rapport:
Avoid jumping straight into business; take time for some light, casual chit-chat. To create an engaging, interactive meeting and avoid sounding salesy, ask questions seeking to understand the prospect's needs better and encourage them to ask questions whenever possible.
Have a fact-backed template based on the talking points you want to cover during your discovery call. Your template should help you understand the business strategy of your potential clients.
Practice active listening. Remember, a discovery call isn't a monologue; it's about creating a robust dialogue.
4. Active Listening and Asking the Right Questions
The most vital part of a good discovery call lies in the art of effectively employing active listening and posing the right questions. While many sales reps often speak over 70% of the time during sales calls, this is not considered best practice. Thus, follow the below points for a more balanced conversation:
A more beneficial strategy involves a more balanced sales-customer talk ratio. Are you finding yourself controlling most of the conversation? If so, remind yourself of the WAIT (Why Am I Talking?) framework and get the conversation back on track by asking open-ended questions.
Whenever it comes to answering your prospects' queries, aim to approach them as a consultant and aid them towards the right solution, even if it means recommending your competitors.
All in all, break away from the pack and focus on serving your client's needs rather than strictly selling your product.
What Is the Discovery Call Process?
The discovery call process is a blend of research, comprehension of the prospect's needs and goals, active listening coupled with appropriate questioning, and addressing objections. Let's talk about the process in detail.
1. Do Your Research
As mentioned previously, before a business discovery call, invest 15-20 minutes researching the prospect and their organization on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, and review any content they've shared on social media.
This helps you engage in relatable conversations and make informed statements about their role, business impact, and reasons for considering your product. Tools for understanding personality styles can also give you a solid starting point for the discussion.
2. Make a Good First Impression
Making a solid first impression in your discovery call can lead to valuable opportunities for prospective customers. Start by introducing yourself, your role, and your company, then provide a brief overview of your company and outline the call's purpose to set expectations.
Focus on engaging dialogue rather than a one-sided sales pitch. Show empathy, express genuine interest in the prospect's needs, and maintain a professional tone while staying on topic.
3. Identify Goals and Pain Points
To optimize your sales discovery call, focus on understanding your potential client's goals, business challenges, and pain points, including the cost of their current solution. Encourage an open conversation that allows them to discuss their short-term and long-term objectives and specific challenges.
Balance your questions, starting with broad ones like, "What does your company hope to achieve this year?" and then getting more specific, such as, "What pain point is your team facing right now?" This approach helps you align your offerings with their needs.
4. Link Pain Points to Product Solutions
An effective discovery process aims to identify your prospect's pain points and demonstrate how your product can address the prospect's pain points. Connect their challenges to your product's features, showcasing how it provides solutions. For instance, if they mention productivity issues, highlight relevant features that improve efficiency. Be ready to anticipate objections and respond thoughtfully.
Sample Pain Points and Solution Matrix:
5. Handling Objections
Handling objections is essential during discovery calls, reflecting the prospect's concerns about your product or services. Listen attentively to their objections, ask clarifying questions, and address their concerns with realistic solutions.
You can even support your responses with relevant case studies or testimonials. Stay calm and composed, avoid defensiveness, and foster a supportive atmosphere for open dialogue.
6. Recap and Reaffirm
At the end of your discovery call, recap the key points discussed to ensure clarity and avoid misinterpretation. This validates your understanding of the prospect's needs and challenges.
Maintain transparency, allowing the prospect to add or correct any misunderstandings. This approach builds trust and nurtures a positive rapport, facilitating the sales cycle toward a successful close.
7. Agree on the Next Steps and Follow-up
Conclude your discovery call with a mutually agreed-upon next step, such as scheduling a product demo demonstration at the end of the call and setting clear timelines.
Additionally, a timely follow-up is essential for maintaining momentum and keeping prospects informed. According to Brevet, 80% of sales require an average of five follow-ups to close the deal. Send a summary email addressing key points, any questions raised, and promised information.
What Are Some Sample Questions to Ask Prospects?
The backbone of a prolific discovery call lies in the right questions laid on the table. Here are some examples of practical discovery questions that could help you dive deeper into the prospect's business needs and get a clearer understanding of how your product might cater to those:
Can you elaborate on the main challenges your sales team faces now?
What goals does your company aim to achieve in the short term and long term?
How critical is it for your company to resolve this issue promptly?
Could you provide a gist of what your existing processes look like?
What would be the ideal solution for your current challenge if there were no constraints?
In your opinion, what could potentially obstruct your team from achieving these goals?
Are you the primary decision-maker for decisions like this, or are there others involved as well?
What Are Some Common Mistakes of Making A Discovery Call?
Now that you have a good understanding of how the process of a discovery call works let’s take a look at some common mistakes that you should avoid.
1. Jumping into a Call Without Scheduling
Jumping into a call without scheduling can hinder the effectiveness of a discovery call. It may catch the prospect off guard or unprepared, leading to a less focused conversation. Additionally, scheduling demonstrates professionalism and respect for the prospect's time, helping to foster a more positive relationship and setting the stage for a more productive discussion.
2. Not Validating Your Assumptions
While you've researched the company's pain points and formed hypotheses about what matters most to your prospect, failing to validate these assumptions can lead you off track. This oversight may cause you to miss the mark during your demo and result in the prospect losing interest in the call.
3. Doing the Lion's Share of Talking
Be mindful of dominating the call. The goal of discovery is to gather information about the prospect's pain points, which is best achieved by asking open-ended questions and allowing them to speak. While it's essential to maintain control of the meeting, balancing the conversation is critical to effective discovery.
4. Starting to Sell Too Soon
Resist the urge to jump into your pitch when you hear something that aligns perfectly. The prospect isn't ready for a sales pitch yet; they want to discuss their pain points and provide valuable insights first. Once they feel understood, they'll be more receptive to your offer.
5. Not Listening Deeply
Sales reps are often trained to talk, handle objections, and maintain conversation flow. However, discovery requires the ability to listen deeply without interrupting. Even mentally planning your response counts as an interruption, as it shifts your focus away from the current conversation. Prospects can sense when they're not heard, so prioritize active listening to build rapport and gather valuable insights.
Enhance Your Discovery Calls with Pre-Engaged Prospects Using SmartCue
When organizations use SmartCue demos on their website or in marketing collateral like emails and ad campaigns, they notice a significant shift in their discovery calls. Prospects who have interacted with a SmartCue demo before the call come prepared with specific questions and a deeper understanding of your product.
For SDRs, this means less time spent on initial discovery from scratch. Instead, they can focus on addressing the prospect's specific inquiries and concerns. The prospects have already made the connection between their challenges and how your solution can address them because they've experienced a tailored demo firsthand.
This pre-engagement leads to more productive conversations, as SDRs essentially fill in the blanks rather than starting from the ground up. It streamlines the sales process, saves time, and increases the likelihood of moving prospects further down the sales funnel.
Conclusion
In the realm of sales, a discovery call is your prime opportunity to forge a lasting impression on prospects and establish mutually beneficial relationships. An effectively conducted discovery call can have astounding results, from qualifying potential clients to building trustworthy relationships. Comprehensive research about the prospect's business and engaging in a dialogue focused on their needs lies at the core of conducting a successful discovery call.
On this expedition of demystifying the art of discovery calls, one critical understanding to adopt is that it's absolutely fine if a discovery call does not mature into a closed deal. There are numerous opportunities ahead. Always remember that sales's art lies not in just closing but in persisting and evolving.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main objectives of a discovery call?
The main objectives of a discovery call are two-fold: qualifying the potential clients to assess their compatibility with your product and establishing a rapport by showing genuine interest in their business goals and challenges.
How do you know if a prospect is a good fit during a discovery call?
The effectiveness of your questions and your understanding of the prospect's responses during a discovery call directly impact finding whether the prospect is genuinely interested and has needs aligned with your product's offering.
How can you keep the prospect engaged during the call?
To keep the prospect engaged during the call, use a conversational tone, listen actively, and encourage them to speak more about their business needs. Ask open-ended questions to prompt detailed responses.
What happens after a discovery call?
A discovery call should conclude by summarizing the key points discussed, agreeing on the next steps, and ensuring timely follow-up to reiterate the high points of the call and provide any additional information requested.
What are some common challenges salespeople face during discovery calls, and how can they overcome them?
Some common challenges include handling objections, maintaining a balanced conversation, and accurately understanding the prospect's needs. These can be overcome by active listening, asking open-ended questions, showing empathy, and addressing objections promptly and effectively.
