What is a discovery call?
The discovery call isn’t the same a normal sales call. A discovery call is usually the first time you will contact a lead or prospect. Some may refer to this as “cold calling” because they’re usually done out of the blue and are not scheduled beforehand.
A discovery call has a purpose: to qualify or disqualify a prospect. The goal here is to ask questions to see if they and their company are a good fit for yours – see if both of you will mutually benefit from a business relationship.
Keep in mind though that you’re not here to ask just any question. There are certain kinds of questions that you should ask, mainly to find out their needs and goals. This information will be helpful later in the sales process.
You may already know how to do a sales call, but the discovery call is a bit different. There’s a lot at stake here so keep on reading to see how you should prepare.
4 steps to prepare for sales discovery call
As mentioned above, the sales discovery call is there for you to be able to qualify a prospect and vet if they’re a good fit. This means asking questions about them and their company. But you can’t just ask any question, especially ones that you can find the answers to online.
Do your research
The first thing you must do is research. Before making that call, do some desk research into the person you’re calling and their company. Find out who they are, what their company and industry does, and what the person does within that company. This information will help you narrow down the specific questions you’ll ask on the call.
Send an agenda
Using the information you gathered, you can then set a clear agenda for the call. Within the first five minutes, quickly review this agenda with the person you’re talking to set the tone of the call.
When doing this, introduce yourself, your company, and your role in the company. Then, share the goals of the meeting to manage expectations. Don’t be afraid to use humor to make a connection. Personal information like their interests that you find during your research will be a big help here – so don’t forget to look them up on social media.
Keep this intro short and sweet. You’re cold calling and the prospect is new to your company, they’re not yet ready to hear your sales pitch. You can save this for the next call.
Ensure two-way conversation
Although the main goal here is to get information, don’t make the prospect feel like they’re being grilled. Make sure the conversation is two-way and natural. Avoid asking questions that can be answered by a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ so they can share their thoughts.
During this conversation, it’s good to empathize and learn about their perspective; try to find out their pain points and validate them so they feel understood.
Have a positive sign-off
After talking about the prospect’s troubles, you want them to feel good by the end of the call and not agitated since they had to recall all their pain points.
Share how your product or company has helped similar businesses. This is a kind of social proof that will also help sell the idea of your product being effective.
Summarize their pain points to show that you clearly understand. You can also share how you think your company can help addresses these areas of concern, but don’t go into too much detail and turn it into a sales pitch.
Before you end the call, be sure to schedule a follow-up so you can discuss your products and services in more detail and get closer to a sale.
Refine your technique through coaching for small business
The discovery call is an art, so there are infinite ways that this can be done. Refining your technique can be done through practice and experience, but of course this can take time. Quicken this learning curve with the help of business coaching for small business from experienced consultants like Shawn Tiberio. Gain the wisdom of years of business experience from a veteran sales coach and give Shawn a call today!
