The Salespeople I Have Seen Who Run The Best Discovery Calls. The Explorers.
Today, I want to talk to you about discovery calls.
Most importantly, it is about the salespeople I have seen and those who run great discovery calls.
I call them "The Explorers".
If you are an early-stage startup, you want to sell your product to as many people as possible.
You must grow your customer base to get traction and show KPIs to raise funding.
But your product is early. Maybe it's not fully developed and not sold consistently.
Most people at this stage try to sell it. Push it.
You push it down the prospects' throats, even if they are not convinced or don't have a real need.
You are given free months, trials, delayed payment terms, and anything else to get you a closed win.
But, we are getting into trouble.
Why?
Because early-stage startups don't need clients, they need help.
They need customers who buy and buy for a specific reason, but they understand the product is in its early stage.
They give you feedback, and you give them access to something special for them, which they get at a reduced price.
However, in all this, there is usually a missing or overlooked problem: the discovery call.
Due to the fear of missing out, early-stage sales teams focus on the product, not the need.
They focus on the demo and proposal but do light discovery calls.
And after 12 months, their churn rate goes up, customers are unhappy, and everything goes down a rabbit hole.
I have coached and shadowed 100+ salespeople in my career. The harsh reality is that only 10% run great discovery calls.
I call them "The Explorers".
Explorers are obsessed with discovery calls and bringing in the right customers.
To avoid high churn and to waste time on the wrong customers, a discovery call is the most essential stage in your sales cycle.
It is more important than finding the leads, demo, or closing.
Discovery calls are where the magic lives.
You must be excellent at discoveries, but most importantly, you must teach your team to be Explorers and make great discoveries.
Here are the top characteristics of the Explorers
Curiosity
Business Acumen
Industry Knowledge
Accountability
Closing
Curiosity
Great discoveries come from great open questions. Great open questions come from curiosity.
Curiosity about your prospect's business, pains, challenges, and what they are trying to solve.
Ask the right questions, but be curious. Curious about them.
Business Acumen
Explorers have excellent business acumen.
They can understand somebody's challenges and build a solution in their mind in seconds.
To have business acumen, you must train yourself to create solutions and paths for your prospects when they tell you their pain.
Simultaneously, you take notes and figure out how your product can help.
You are not selling and pushing the product but tailoring it around your prospect's needs.
Industry Knowledge
Explorers understand the industry they are in and what the key trends are.
Indeed, during discoveries, you should find the time to help your prospects with insights, trends, and what you have seen working around.
For example, If your prospect is seeking to learn from competitors, show them.
Tell about your competition, list your competitors and highlight the key differentiations.
Accountability
Explorers keep you accountable.
A sales call is an even discussion. There is no difference of importance between the salesperson and the prospect. They are at the same level.
For that reason, they drive the conversation, they disqualify, and they ask for more information. If they need more, they will tell you.
They keep their prospects accountable, and they protect their time.
Closing
Discovery calls are for closers.
You never leave a discovery call without closing, a.k .a. next steps.
Explorers do this at the end (I have heard it live):
"Mr Prospect, do you have your calendar open? Alright, can we schedule a demo tomorrow at 11 am"?
They do two things very well:
They close the call with a scheduled next step;
They give urgency, offering the closest time/date;
Summary
I'm lucky to have met and worked with some of the best salespeople in my career.
I have managed, shadowed and coached 100+ people.
Only 10% run great discoveries.
But everybody can learn from them.
Aim to explore and build your skills around those characteristics, and you will learn the art of great discovery calls.
You will learn how to become an Explorer.
Thank you for reading this far, and happy holidays; see you all next Friday.
