Disco Diaries
Discovery Best Practices
Happy Holidays Friends -
I’ve been asked this question a fair amount recently:
“Where do sales teams have the most opportunity for improvement?” or
“What can we as sales leaders help our teams accelerate growth?”
My answer: Discovery.
If you’ve followed along here the past few years, become a regular subscriber, or have worked with me, this probably doesn’t come as a surprise.
I’m adamant that discovery isn’t just a stage in the sales process, but it a mindset throughout.
Better discovery leads to better closing percentages, larger ACV, a healthier pipeline, and overall -quicker path to quota achievement.
So with the end of the year insight - I thought It’d be helpful to revisit one of my favorite topics and content I’ve shared on Discovery.
In this week’s edition of Stretch Weekly -
Charles Muhlbauer joins Nick and Armand with the roadmap for asking the RIGHT questions in discovery.
Kevin Dorsey (along with Charles Muhlbauer) take us to school discussing why discovery is everything!
And addition to freshly squeezed snippets on discovery, if you’ve missed these (or just one of the hundreds of newer subscribers this year) check out a couple of my most popular editions on Discovery like Questions & Impacts, and Panic At The Disco.
THANKS for reading!!
-Grant
And lastly - as always, if you find this newsletter valuable- subscribe or share it with someone who might as well 👊.
STRETCH SHARES
Asking the Right Questions to Break Down Your Disco Call
Two things: 1) I’ve shared plenty of 30 Min to President’s Club episodes with others as it’s one of the more relevant and actionable podcasts for sales leaders and reps alike today. 2) I’m also a huge Charles Muhlbauer fan (Humbling Disclaimer Episode HERE) as well, so this episode was a must-listen.
Want to close more? Get better at discovery. Too much to summarize here, but check out Charles’ 7-part roadmap for discovery.
Small Talk. Something relevant to their team. “I noticed you came out with X….”
Upfront Contract + Purpose of the Call. (ANOT = Appreciate, Naturally, Of-Course, Typically). Establish an agenda, goals, expectations for the call.
High-Level Context. (How much do you know? Permission to provide context on what we do? 25 seconds max) “What we do is very simple - we do XYZ…”
Clarify What/How. “Curious to understand how your team operates? “What do you do? How do you do it?” Clarifying questions etc.
Raising Problems Question. “We speak to a number of teams, this is what they tell me, these are the problems they have… curious to what extent that resonates/surprises you?” Have you tried to address that on your own? What happened? (WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO ME) Identify pain. Humbling Disclaimers for better impact questions.
Map the Pain to Solution. “Would it be helpful to give you some context on where we might be helpful here?” Tailor the pitch etc. Then…<<Pause>> “What questions do you have for me?
Confirm/Qualify Next Steps. “Assuming we can help…does it make sense to show how on another call?
Awesome insights for everyone to get better at discovery.
Discovery is Everything
Two steps to better discovery.
Step 1: Follow Charles Muhlbauer and Kevin Dorsey on LinkedIn. They continually share tactics, scripts, phrases, and best practices to get better at discovery.
Step 2: Listen, bookmark, share, relisten to this episode over and over again. I’m a big fan of both Charles and KD. Especially because they share my belief in the importance of discovery. So clear 47 min and listen to these two gents wax poetic while dropping some serious wisdom to get better at discovery. Too many quotes, practices, and tactics to list here. This one is a MUST LISTEN!
Highlights for me:
Difference between qualification and discovery
Status Alignment Questions - (provide insights to build trust and talk problems)
Using Humbling Disclaimers to ask tough questions
THREADING (keep that conversation and dialogue going)
The "I'd rather be more accurate than optimistic" approach
Active listening and Upfront Contract to manage expectations
Recapping to clarify and continue to discover (not Parroting)
Asking for permission to ask a very direct question
Layered questioning provides a better way to get buy-in for future discovery
STRETCH SNIPPETS
✅ Sam McKenna tells us to “Ditch the intros” in a discovery call and do your homework. Show up in the first few minutes to build the proper rapport to effectively help you answer: "Who are all of you, why are you here, and what can we help you solve?
👀 Doug Landis stirs the pot by saying “Discovery is Dead, and it should be!”. Hot take aside, I think what he and Jen Allen debate is a valuable lesson on the do’s and don’t to better discovery.
🎯 Chris Orlob says You'll lose more deals in Q4 to no-decision than anything. Here's how to find business pain that MONEY follows.
🤔 Most sales are made during discovery, NOT at the closing stage of a sales cycle, Ian Koniak says - so rather than pitching your product or scheduling a demo early on, pitch your discovery process first.
👉 Revisit this early Stretch VP post on Discovery - The Most Important Part of the Sales Process
🧠 Mindset
Thanks for reading!
My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).
— Grant 👋
About stretch vp: confessions, learnings, and insights from sales leaders in SaaS
Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights, and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles, and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.
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