Sales discovery questions are the heart of any sales process. They should be asked early and often to uncover needs, wants, and pain points that can then be addressed throughout the sale cycle. In this blog post, we'll cover how to ask these important questions in a way that will drive more revenue.
The sales discovery questions during a call are an initial contact that you have with a prospect after you have found them online through digital marketing efforts. This might be through social media, an advertisement on AdWords or Facebook, lead generation forms, email blasts, etc. Discovery calls are not sales calls per se but they are close to it. You both want to uncover what the other person wants so that they can assess whether your product or service fits their needs.
The main difference between Sales calls and discovery calls is that Salesmen are supposed to always be closing whereas the Salesman's role in discovery call is only to open the conversation for business opportunities by providing value first then transitioning into Sales at another call if appropriate.
Discovery Calls are Sales calls where Salesmen are supposed to 'discover' the prospects’ problem or need before asking anything about their business. So, the sales discovery questions should be done with the intention of uncovering needs, not closing Sales. Salesmen should be very careful to listen first and ask questions second in Sales discovery because prospects will often pick up on the Salesman's intentions if they are trying to sell something right off the bat instead of finding out what they want first.
Discovery Calls allow Salesmen to see whether they have a potential prospect that has pain they can solve or at least enough interest that they would like to work with you further. If Salesmen walk away from Sales efforts without qualifying anyone and without getting any prospects, Salesmen will never be able to conduct Sales. Salesmen need those prospects, or Sales efforts become meaningless and unproductive.
Discovery Calls can take place on the phone, on Skype, over email, and even over text messaging. However, Sales calls should always start with a Sales discovery call on the telephone first because you can hear what the prospect sounds like and pick up on their demeanor. That way is more than if you were talking to them over text where you might not get as much information about them right away.
This is important because how they sound and react will give an indication of whether they are going to be receptive to what you have to or resistant. You don't want to waste Sales efforts on someone who is negative or uninterested in Sales if it can be helped. So, be prepared with your discovery call questions or a discovery call template so as not to waste time and come out better in front of your prospects.
When Salesmen are setting up the Sales discovery call, Salesmen need to do their research first before calling so that they will be able to ask more insightful questions and create value for the prospect right away instead of just asking them what their pain points are without any context. Salesmen should Google the prospect's company name along with other keywords like "pain", "problems", etc. to see what information pops up about them online.
Salesmen might also want to look at LinkedIn profiles of their executive contacts or anyone else who works closely with their prospects because you can learn a lot about potential clients by consulting people who already know them.
Salesmen might even want to look at the prospect's website to see if they have any Sales material on there like blog posts or videos that Salesmen can read beforehand if possible. Never be caught off guard when you are Sales calling someone by trying to figure out what their pain points are; do your Sales discovery homework first - be ready with the discovery call template.
Sales discovery questions should be done with similar enthusiasm as Sales calls. However, it is important for Salesmen not to put too much pressure on themselves because they might trigger a defensive reaction in their prospects if they seem too eager. It is good for a Salesman to smile when speaking with prospects because it will make them sound more positive and that Salesman is a happy, enthusiastic person. Salesmen should also match the tone of their prospects by speaking in a similar fashion as them.
This might be difficult at first because Sales sometimes take on an aggressive or forceful tone for closing Sales but it does not have to continue during Sales discovery calls. You want to sound like you are on your prospect's side instead of making the Sales discovery call seem like an interrogation if possible so take note of what they say and how they speak so you can imitate them while speaking with them over the phone.
Before Sales proceed to ask prospective clients any questions, Sales should always start their Sales discovery calls by explaining their value proposition to their prospects first. Salesmen should tell their prospects what they are going to do during the Sales calls so that Sales can ask them more insightful questions later on instead of just bombarding them with questions right away.
Sales call guidelines are rules for Sales to follow while Sales are conducting Discovery Calls so Sales can focus on asking good questions instead of worrying about Sales call etiquette. Sales guidelines should be specific to Sales' situation and talking points so Sales can easily follow them without thinking too much during Sales discovery calls. Guidelines for Salesmen engaging in Sales Discovery Calls might include not using aggressive language when speaking with prospects, listening more than talking, asking the right questions, etc.
Successful Salesmen are always building rapport with sales prospects. Sales discovery calls should be no different. Sales will want to make their Sales discovery calls conversational because it makes the Sales conversation feel more natural and less like an interrogation if possible. Sales also need to listen carefully while talking over the phone during Sales discovery calls because Sales might miss something that leads them to new value-adding questions that they can ask prospects later on.
It is important for Sales to empathize with their prospects too so Sales can get a better understanding of where their prospects are coming from if they tell Sales about their pain points or problems. It is good for Sales to pause every once in a while during Sales discussions so they can give prospects time to open up if need be. They should also try to get prospects to talk about themselves so Sales can have something to work with later on, mostly when getting ready with the discovery call template.
After Sales wrap up their value proposition, Salesmen should ask Sales prospect one good discovery question at a time during Sales discovery calls. This means Sales will want to avoid asking too many questions at once because doing that might overwhelm prospects and make them feel too pressured into answering everything which is not what Sales want.
Inquiry-based questions are typically used for Sales Discovery Calls where inquisitive words like how, why, etc. are included in the question which encourages prospects to participate in sharing information with you instead of just giving Sales a one-word reply.
Sales should ask prospects open-ended questions too so Sales can get prospects talking and if Sales listen closely, Sales might be able to learn something new that they did not know about their Sales prospects before. Questions like "What does ____ mean to you?" and "How do you feel about ____?" are good inquiry-based questions for Salesmen to use on their Sales discovery calls.
There is more than one way of listening during Sales Discovery Calls which means Sales should make sure they listen carefully while conducting Sales discovery calls after asking good discovery questions. Visual Listening is where Sales visualize what prospects are saying by picturing words in their heads and Paraphrasing is when Sales rephrase what Sales prospects said to make sure Sales understood Sales prospects correctly.
They should be paraphrasing their sales discovery questions on the calls because it shows how well they have been listening and it will help get the sales team a better overall picture of where they stand with their prospects.
Salesmen should go into a sales call expecting objections. This means that Sales need to know what kind of objections they might get from Sales prospects so they can find ways around these possible interruptions during Sales Discovery Calls. There are two kinds of objections - the easy objection which needs only a one-sentence response and the hard objection which requires more than just a quick response.
Before reps could conclude their sales discovery calls, they need to ask prospects for feedback on how things are going so far. If they did not connect with their Sales prospect in some way or asked the right sales discovery call questions or did not meet sales expectations of the outcome then it’s a good time to get that feedback.
After asking for honest feedback about your business services, it is time to set up the next steps with your prospects which can also include their Sales schedule and Sales calendars. Setting up the next call with the prospects will help sales reps seem like a true partner because they can show prospects how important their business is to them. Also that they value their time, so the sales discovery questions should be scheduled strategically during the sales call.
When Sales finish conducting their sales discovery calls, it is good practice for them to evaluate how successful their sales discovery calls might have been so Sales can determine if there was anything they could improve on before ending the phone call. Evaluating during your sales discovery calls will also allow you to see what you did well and where you need improvement so your Sales discovery calls will become more successful Salesmen as you improve Sales skills.
They also need to follow up with prospects after Sales discovery calls which can be done by sending a thank you email or with a handwritten note. This personal touch with your prospect will set your sales service apart from others in the market.
This is where the task happens. Sales can ask Sales prospects if Sales can schedule a regular cadence meeting, Sales send Sales prospect a Sales call agenda with topics to cover, and Sales attach Sales calendar invite. If Sales have Sales follow-up questions for Sales prospects after the sales discovery call, Sales should include these in this step.
Don't forget to set your next step! This is where you should schedule your next sales call or email the next steps that should be taken together moving forward (e.g., sending agenda prior to next phone call, next steps outlined in the agenda).
Here are some good examples of questions you can ask on sales calls:
Sales should schedule Sales discovery calls for 15-30 minutes, Sales also need Sales prospect's permission to record Sales calls Sales prospect must agree before Sales start to record Sales call if Sales don't get it in writing prior to the call, Sales will assume Sales cannot record the sales discovery call. If your business is new or you are still in the process of building up Sales skills and expertise, you could make it a goal at this stage in your career to become an expert at conducting sales discovery calls.
There are a lot of Sales tools you can use to create Sales presentations, Sales reports, Sales datasheets, and more. You could use Sales email plug-in apps to help prospects download proposal documents from email without having to leave the email platform. Sales might want to consider using sales presentation software as well if your Business requires that level of customization or sophistication in order for your clients/sales prospect to receive the value that Sales offer. So, be ready with the discovery call template.
Sales should also use a calendar invite management tool so Sales have all this information stored in one place – whatever is convenient for your organization's Sales team – whether it's a shared Google Docs/spreadsheet or a shared Outlook calendar where anyone on the team can view and edit the records.
