How to Start Outbound Discovery Calls

90% of salespeople run terrible discovery calls. At best, they "check the boxes." At worst, they annoy the hell out of buyers. Use these 5 tips for discovery calls that buyers actually THANK you for: 1. "Prime" the call for success. Bad discovery calls start with bad expectations. You do one thing (ask questions). Your buyer expects another (demo). Get the first 5 minutes of the meeting right: After a few min of small talk, say "Do you mind if we talk about the agenda?" Then ask: "Here's what I have in mind for this call. Lmk if you're thinking something different. This meeting will be successful if ________________. Does that feel right?" Fill in the blank with an objective. THEN set the agenda to get there: "The way we'll accomplish that is first by talking about X, then Y. Anything to add or remove?" Do that, and you're ahead of most sellers. 2. Match your questions to the buyer's journey Meet your buyer where they stand. If they're exploring solutions, ask: "What's driving you to explore this category?" If they're not, and they're still crystallizing their challenges, ask: "Let's talk about the top challenges in [you area] that would be an issue if you didn't solve in 6-12 months." The point? Your first few questions should "meet them where they stand." Match your questions with the buyer's journey stage. 3. Firm up the 'why' When your buyer gets off the Zoom call: - they have 100s of emails - they have missed phone calls - their Slack is lit up like a Christmas tree They'll forget about you. Unless you get to the 'need behind the need.' Ask this: "What's going on your in your business that's driving [challenge they shared] to be a priority? What's the origin story of how this challenge got prioritized?" That question is as close to magic as you'll find. 4. Banter on the root cause Bad salespeople do nothing but get information. Great salespeople *create value* in the sales cycle. Here's how: Help your buyer think through the 'root cause' of their problems. - Offer new perspectives - Share what you see with customers - Ask challenging (but tactful) questions Business problems are messy. They're hard to figure out. If you help them do that, you create value. 5. Quantify the value 'Quantifying value' is misunderstood. Most sellers: Do it because it serves you, the seller Great sellers: Do it because it serves the buyer When you help your buyer quantify the value: - you help them appreciate the full magnitude - you help them know what they can ignore - you help them set priorities Try asking: "What metric will improve the most if you solve this issue?" That will start the process. - What tips would you add for better discovery calls that buyers enjoy? P.S. I've kept a list of 39 questions that sell over the last 12 years. These come from watching 3,000 Gong calls, and running over 1,000 discovery calls myself. Here's the free list of 39 questions that sell: https://go.pclub.io/list

I lost 22 of my first 23 opportunities when I first joined Gong. I focussed on our 10+ competitors and learning every unique feature we had. Since then, my win rate shot up and it all centers around one principle: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗼. Before any selling is effective, you need to deeply understand their problem. You need strong mutual buy-in on 'why change.' 6 non-negotiables for me to uncover: 𝟭. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 How to ask: ↳ "Gong aside, what are the top 2-3 strategic priorities you're most focussed on." ↳ "What company-specific objective does Gong align most to, in your eyes?" Example: ↳ New product being launched 𝟮. 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘁 How to ask: ↳ “For this new launch, through your lenses, what's the biggest single risk to making this a success?” Example: ↳ Sellers are all over the place demoing + messaging it 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 How to ask: ↳ "What metric is that most affecting today?" ↳ "Where is that at today?" Example: ↳ 20% win rate 𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 How to ask: ↳ "In an ideal world, where would you want to get that to?" Example: ↳ 25% win rate 𝟱. 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗢𝗜 How to ask: ↳ "If you bridged that gap, have you done the math on what that would be worth? Example: ↳ Growing 5% in win rates, is worth $2M / annually 𝟲. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. How to ask: ↳ What have you already done to try and solve that? Example: ↳ Having managers sit in on more calls which has been time intensive. You won't uncover all 6 of these on the first call and that's okay Build on each and uncover them through the entire cycle Discovery is a never-ending process Not just a sales stage 😁 P.S. Join 700+ sellers who've grabbed my full discovery blueprint: https://lnkd.in/g-uspxrA

Discovery calls often go wrong for a few reasons, but in almost all of the hundreds upon hundreds I've heard, it goes south with the first business-related question we ask. It starts with a narrow question. "My BDR said the incumbent has this product issue?" "Tell me a bit about what interested you in today's call." "I see you operate in 20 cities? And you're opening another office?" "So, I know single sign on is a big thing you wanted, right?" Those questions lead to either more narrow questions or replies that focus on product issues. What we're looking for is to identify company challenges, larger pain points ...NOT product issues. So, how to do it? After you've done your rapport building (you're rapport building, right? and it's not about the weather, right? 😏), use this script: "So, I could tell you a million things about #samsales (insert three pillars of your work here that's related to the buyer)...about our Show Me You Know Me #SMYKM trainings, how we teach discovery calls, or how we build brands for leaders on LI, but I'd love to hear from you first (insights, what you learned from your BDR to show the notes conveyed - quick hits) - I read up on my team's notes from your first call, saw you're going through an acquisition, and read a bit about your recent raise, but tell me about your team, challenges, what's the overall landscape like on your side, if that's okay?" Super broad Gives them time to think Shows them you did your homework Asks for permission of how they want to run the call What you'll get the majority of the time? A deep sigh followed by an unloading of information that tells you their exact business (not product) challenges, and let's you dig in/qualify/learn everything you can about how you can help their business, not the product issues. Best part? You'll skip demo'ing and slides on the first call, you'll story tell through out, and you'll earn the right to multi-thread immediately on the second call. Want more? We're dissecting a recorded call on Friday @ 12pmET - come join us as we walk through our idea of a perfect framework and then breakdown a call from one brave AE @ Insightly - Modern CRM 🧡! You know were to find the details to join us!

The key to mastering discovery has nothing to do with asking questions. Here's a flip in perspective that recently changed my discovery calls: Before deciding which question to ask...you need to know what you're trying to get your prospect to say in the first place! When you know what you need them to say...it's much easier to reverse-engineer what to ask. Great discovery requires that you understand the relationships between: 1. The most common prospect "types" you'll encounter. 2. The most common problems for each type of prospect.  3. The broader business impact each given problem creates. When you know the flow of how situations --> problems --> impact, you can just authentically ask questions that lead the call in that direction. But if you just ask questions for the sake of asking questions, you come off as canned and don't even guarantee you'll "discover" what you needed to. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲: Define in advance what you need to "discover" for YOUR sale. 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 What information do you need to know about your prospect to determine what problems they are likely to have? --- 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟮: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 Based on the "type" of prospect you're meeting with, what problems do they usually have? If you know the top 3 pain points you solve for this type of prospect...just ask if they have any of those 3 problems. --- 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟯: 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 "Pain points" are usually 4-5 figure problems. You won't sell a 6-figure deal solving a 5 figure problem. Map out in advance why the "pain" you discovered might actually matter to an Exec. Hint: You can usually tie the operational problem to 1 of these things: 1. Help them make $ 2. Help them save $ 3. Mitigate risk --- 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝟰: 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 You probably won't get here on the first call. But if you can eventually get your prospect to articulate how the Exec problem impacts the entire business, you have a much stronger business case. Look for things like: 1. A C-Level Metric 2. A Board-Level Priority  3. Existential Business Risk ____ TL;DR Knowing where you need to take the call is FAR more important than knowing the "perfect" discovery questions to ask. Liking this concept and want help building out your discovery plan? You may enjoy the new 30 Minutes to President's Club discovery course where we teach you step-by-step how to build this for whatever YOU sell.

I hired a sales coach last month. First session, he asked to observe my discovery call. I was confident: - I had my 27 discovery questions ready - My demo was perfectly polished - My objection-handling guide was open The call started well. But 10 minutes in, the coach passed me a note: "STOP TALKING." I was confused, but I paused. The prospect filled the silence: "Actually, what I'm really struggling with is getting various stakeholders aligned. We keep having the same conversations over and over." This wasn't on my script. After the call, the coach explained: "Your discovery process is all about YOU getting information. Not about helping THEM discover their own problems." This hit me hard. I had been: - Asking questions to fill MY knowledge gaps - Taking notes to build MY sales strategy - Following MY playbook regardless of their responses The next discovery call, I tried something different: Instead of firing questions, I created a collaborative digital space where the prospect could: - Map out their own buying committee - Prioritize their challenges visually - Document their questions in real-time - Outline what success would look like to each stakeholder The call took half the time. The prospect did most of the talking. And they left with clarity they didn't have before. They signed 3 weeks later. What changed? Old discovery: Interrogation disguised as conversation New discovery: Collaborative problem-solving Your prospects don't need your questions. They need clarity. And often, they'll sell themselves if you just create the right space. Agree?