6 Steps for Running a Killer Discovery Call

PLUS: talk tracks your team can use

đź”– Start Here

Without understanding the priorities of the individual you are speaking to, the priorities of the department they work in, and what they are doing today, you are going to have a hard time getting to other stakeholders.

I’ll say it again: priorities, priorities, priorities.

Take the time to understand whether your solution solves a problem that is Priority #58 or Priority #10 for your ICP. If you are priority #10, you’re doing pretty good.

Here’s an approach on how to run a discovery call:

👉 Read 512 words below.

#1: Do your homework

You can spend hours researching a company. Here’s what is most useful from a multi-threading perspective:

  • What other stakeholders should be involved?

  • What does the company do?

  • Who are the company’s competitors, and are any of them already customers?

For small deals, this could take 5-10 minutes. For larger deals, count on hours.

#2: Set the agenda

Here’s a blurb you can use:

“Based on what I’ve seen, you all are focused on X and Y. We do a lot of work with <customer>, so I’m really looking forward to conversation. But first, each organization we work with has different priorities — and obviously with COVID there are a lot of moving pieces. I want to spend 5-10 minutes doing a quick high level overview to understand those nuances. Then, we’ll spend a bulk of time talking about Outreach. And if it seems like a fit, we can talk about next steps. Does that work for you?”

#3: Understand roles and responsibilities of the individual

Use this blurb to frame your question:

“I work with many <persona> who typically focus on X and Y to lead the agenda. Now I’m curious, what are your top two priorities as <persona>?”

#4: Understand roles and responsibilities of the department

After you get through the individual priorities, ask something along the lines of:

“Thanks! If I understand correctly, your top two priorities are X and Y. Typically, I see the top two priorities of <department> being A and B. What would the top two priorities of your department be if the CEO came and asked you today?”

#5: Get into the tactics

Us sales reps tend to love speaking to “how-to” tactical items. If you start off on this front, Lily the VP is going to push you off to Henry the Manager. Only get into tactics once you understand (you guessed it) the prospect’s priorities.

Here’s how you get into the tactics:

“Lily, I now understand your own priorities are X and Y, and the priorities of the department are A and B. Let me ask, what are you doing today to handle these items?”

#6: Ask for next steps

This is where your multi-threading journey really begins.

You are the expert. You know how deals get done. You know who is typically involved. And in step one you did your homework (right?), so you already know who the other potential stakeholders are.

Say something like this:

“Lily, I enjoyed the conversation today. I know you are eager to see the demo. Typically, marketing gets involved as they see value in XYZ. It’s also very common to have sales operations involved as they see value in how we do XYZ. Would it make sense to bring along Stephanie and Charles to the demo?”

That’s it. You know who you have to get to. You just have to call it out.

I like to even pull up a table that shows the potential stakeholders. If your buyer can help get the deal done, they’ll know who the right people are 👇

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