Know the Field.   Start with a B2B Sales Discovery Call

We hear a lot about how to generate new leads, but what happens when it’s time to close that lead?  If you want to get to the endzone, the sales discovery call is the play to run on first down.

A hand’s been raised.  You’re 1^st and 10.

A prospect told you they want to talk – or as one client puts it, “they’ve raised their hand.”  Are you ready for that?  This is not the time to “wing-it.”  This is the time to look polished, confident, and fully focused on solving that hot lead’s problems.  This is the time to look at the field so you can call the best play.

Do you need to be a professional salesperson to close the deal?  Well, it helps.  But you can still be successful if you’re a rookie quarterback with a stellar O-line (i.e. not the Riders in 2021) and a receiving core that can catch that 50/50 ball.  Processes and marketing support can help you overcome your inexperience.

What is a B2B Sales Discovery Call?

This is your chance to understand what the client needs and if you can provide the best solution for them.  This might look very different for someone who you’ve been interacting with one-on-one for a while.  If that’s the case, you likely have some of these answers already.  But let’s assume this new lead is someone you’ve not directly interacted with before.

Let’s start out by being clear that the sales discovery call is not about you.  This is your time to ask questions and learn about the prospect by actively listening.  You’ll want to ask questions like:

1. What prompted you to search for a solution/ product like ours? This is likely the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back” or trigger event.  This is critical to know what their ‘pain’ threshold is.  The answer to this question is also gold for your marketing team because if this business has experienced it, others might, too.
2. What is your current situation? Up to now, how have you been solving the problem or doing this work?  They might be using a competitor, something/someone in-house, or nothing at all. (Again, marketing gold.)
3. What do you want to improve about your current situation? This will help reveal their pain points, goals, and wishes.
4. How are you measuring your current situation/ what metrics are you using? This will tell you what needle you have to move.
5. What would happen if you didn’t change anything? You’ll get a better understanding of how serious the pain is and the likelihood that they’ll do nothing.  Having the potential customer answer this helps them realize that they truly need to solve this problem – when they think it through and speak it aloud, the future without a solution becomes more real.
6. Do you have specific goals and timelines? Their answer will reveal a bit about how serious they are to get this done and their expectations on ROI.
7. Who is part of the decision now and who might be part of the process later? This will help you understand all the stakeholders so you can prepare to meet their goals and support their decision making.  You’ll be able to formulate what information these people need to know and what language they speak.
8. What do you see as the next steps? Understand if they want to buy right now and what they need to make a decision.  If they want to move ahead with your solution, don’t keep selling if they’ve already been sold.
9. Let’s schedule a time for us to present you with a proposal. Does *Date* at *time* work for you?  Confirm this day and time while on the call so you don’t have to chase it down later.

Before the Sales Discovery Call

Here are a few things you’ll want to consider before you jump on that call.

• Research the company and the contact(s) so you don’t go into the call unprepared. You also want to demonstrate to the prospect that you’re genuinely interested in getting to know and understand them.
• Find out how that contact has interacted with your company. Are they already in your CRM?  Have they received email from you in the past, opened it, clicked on links?  Some CRMs let you see what pages that prospect visited on your site.  If your Google Analytics are set up properly, you can track their history on your site including how they found you in the first place.  This is all great insight into what they are thinking.
• Notify and engage any other team members who need to be part of the process. This might be different based on the client’s role in their company.
• Customize the discovery call questions for the specific contact.
• Connect with them on LinkedIn. You might have wanted to before, but now you have a reason to connect.  This also might connect you to others in the company who will be involved in the purchase and to peers who work in other similar companies.
• Send the contact an email introducing yourself and explaining what they can expect on the call. This is also potentially the time to share information that will help them define and quantify their problem.  This information can be pieces of content you already have in place like a checklist or a web page.
• Update your CRM.

After the Sales Discovery Call

Here are some post-call steps to follow.

• Complete your Go/ No-Go evaluation of this opportunity if you haven’t already. Not every lead is a good lead and you shouldn’t use resources to chase prospects that aren’t a fit.  Don’t base this on your ‘feelings’ after the call – be objective.
• If it’s a Go, send a follow up email with a Thank You message, a calendar invite to the Solution Presentation, and a note about the next steps.
• If it’s a No-Go for you, let them know sooner rather than later, explain why you’re not a fit for them, and give them some alternatives, referrals or recommendations to move forward without you. Who knows when your paths will cross again (especially if they don’t have the budget today – they might have the money to buy from you in the future and you want to leave them with a good impression).
• Update your CRM

In the same way a quarterback has to look at the field before calling the play, a sales discovery call sets the groundwork for the next steps.  Do it well and you’ll have what you need to prepare for the next play.  2^nd down is your sales presentation.  You can read more about best practices and processes for a solution presentation in our blog Drive to the Endzone.  How to Create a Winning B2B Sales Presentation.