How to Master Discovery Calls: A Guide

Jumping on an intro call or deeper discovery conversation? Here are three go-to resources with my best advice.  

Discovery calls are one of the most crucial parts of the sales process.

If you’re a founder or subject-matter expert selling B2B services, it wouldn’t be unusual for you to approach these calls with equal parts excitement and dread.  

You can talk excitedly about your area of expertise for days, but it’s easy to feel out of your depth when faced with a potential buyer and a lucrative deal.

But discovery calls don’t have to be intimidating or awkward. By following a predetermined process, you’ll feel more confident and in control.

In this blog post, you’ll learn three best practices to make your discovery calls easier to lead, more productive, and far more likely to result in an exciting contract. 

You might also discover that these strategies are very different from those you’ve been using and offer a new way to approach challenging situations. 

Alright, let’s get going.

Listen First, Pitch Second

One of the most effective sales skill-building tools we have is what I call a sales ride-along.

In these sessions, I observe initial discovery calls and provide feedback to my clients to help them improve their results. 

To illustrate my first recommendation — to listen before launching into a pitch — we’ll delve into what went wrong with one of my clients who had a pressure-packed meeting with a global financial institution.

The call started great, with the potential client opening the conversation with a pretty lovely invitation: “Tell me about you and your company. How do you work with people?”

My client responded by spending the next 25 minutes talking about herself, her startup, and how she works with other institutions. She finished by pitching her solutions. 

Here’s what’s wrong with this scenario …

Although my client had a long career in corporate sales and knows better, she is susceptible to being put on the spot like many subject-matter experts selling their B2B services.

The critical learnings for my client — and for anyone who has found themselves in this situation — are the following: 

Ask Questions and Actively Listen

Ask insightful questions to understand your buyer’s specific challenges, goals, and needs. This shows that you’re genuinely interested in their problem and require their input to propose a solution.

Use Client Stories

With the information you learn, demonstrate how you’re uniquely positioned to help them with stories from past clients. Weaving stories to illustrate how you’ve solved similar clients’ problems makes the conversation more engaging, relevant and compelling. 

Center Your Client

Keep the client’s perspective and interests at the forefront throughout the meeting, making them the star of the conversation. In other words, don’t do what my client did! 

Showing interest and empathy in your buyer’s situation helps to establish a stronger connection. 

Bonus points if you noticed that my client made another misstep in this conversation: she allowed the client to lead the discovery call. 

In the next section, we’ll discuss how to stay in the driver’s seat in sales conversations.

Read more on this point here.

Stay In The Driver’s Seat

If you’ve read any book on selling or received any sales training, you know the number one rule of executing a sales conversation is to listen.

If you’re like my curious, super-smart clients, performing discovery is the easiest, most joyful part of the sales process.

But what happens when you encounter a buyer who isn’t interested in doing much talking? Or expects a presentation instead of a conversation?

Both of these scenarios put you at a significant disadvantage in the sales process, so when this happens during a discovery call, it’s your job to bring the conversation back to them. 

Here are some practical strategies for ensuring you remain firmly in control of the sales call before, during, and after it.

Set an Agenda

Lead the conversation by setting expectations. 

Start with a brief rapport-building, then say something like, “We have 45 minutes today. I’ll ask some questions to understand your needs and then share the most relevant information about my services. And we’ll be sure to leave time to plan next steps before wrapping up — sound good?”

Ask Questions First

From the outset, indicate that you’ll be asking questions to gather information before talking about your services. If your potential buyer is coming in fast and furious with the questions, respond respectfully and then ask a clarifying question to keep the focus on their needs. 

Plan Next Steps

I’d be rich if I had a dollar for every client who forgets to solidify the next steps before ending the first discovery call!

Outline any next steps as part of the agenda to avoid getting stuck in follow-up loops and reduce ghosting.

Finally, let’s explore how to make the most of the limited time you will likely have with your busy buyer.

🎥 Watch this video for more on this.

Make the Most of Your (Limited) Time

Imagine you’ve scored a 30-minute discovery call with a potential client you’ve been pursuing for months, maybe even years.

Congratulations! 

Your next challenge will be to make the most of this tiny timeframe and accomplish your one goal — to book another call. 

Yes, another call!

Read more of that here.

In addition to the advice I’ve shared in the two sections above, namely setting an agenda and expectations, leading by asking questions and listening more than you speak, you must capitalize on this time to embrace and own your expertise. 

After all, your potential buyer has made time in their calendar to meet with you because they know you possess specialized knowledge and skills, so prove them right by showing them your stuff. 

Take charge of the sales process and lead confidently from the beginning. Ask intelligent questions, address fears/tensions head-on, and demonstrate a deeper understanding of their needs.

If, in 30 minutes, you’ve successfully uncovered some, if not all, of their internal challenges and inspired confidence in your ability to be a trusted partner, you’ve likely earned another spot on their calendar for what I call the fingerprints meeting — much more on that here.

How to Master Discovery Calls: A Recap

In this post, you’ve learned practical strategies for doing everything you can to get the information you need from your potential buyer, establish rapport, and put yourself in the best position to continue the sales process.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog or attend my monthly Sales Roundtable sessions, then you know I believe that it takes more than one call to finalize a proposal (remember the next step is to continue the conversation), but the best practices you’ve learned in this post will help you to:

• Confidently lead calls so you can get the information you need to pave the way for continued dialogue
• Remain firmly in control of the conversation, even when your buyer tries to take the reins
• Embrace your expertise so you can position yourself as a strategic partner who is the right person to help them solve their problem

I invite you to implement some or all of these recommendations in your next discovery call. Have questions about anything you’ve read here? 

Bring them to the next Sales Roundtable or email me at [email protected].