Tips to Improve Discovery Calls

I’ve done 350+ discovery calls in the past 3 years and closed 7+ figures in contract value. I always structure my 1st call in the same 5-step format: Great sales is nothing more than a structured approach to help prospects make a decision. It shows them that I’m understanding and have their best interest at heart. I consider sales to be part of the service. It’s consulting. Here's how my discovery calls look: 𝟭. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 I want to find out as much as possible about them. My goal is to understand their journey & personality, and also make them feel heard & understood off the bat. They talk, I shut up. If they jump straight into business, I gently steer them back. ___ 𝟮. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘁 Next, I dive into their business model, bottlenecks, and top goals: • Who’s your ICP? • What do you offer? • What’s your marketing status quo? • etc. I figure out if a collaboration makes sense and whether they need our help or something else entirely—like coaching, a new tool, a different vendor, or just advice on improving their current setup. ___ 𝟯. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 I recap what they’ve shared and then introduce myself. Here, I try to mirror how they shared their story: • what topics did they focus on? • how far back did they go? • what did they highlight? At the same time, I look for similarities between us to create relatability. Then at the end, I explain what I do on a high level. ___ 𝟰. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘀 & 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 From there, I introduce the 3 key theses they need to believe for us to work together. • Thesis 1: The decisions we make are influenced by the people we trust and the content we consume. • Thesis 2: Content helps build relationships & trust at scale. • Thesis 3: Content is an infinite game If they're not aligned with this thesis, it usually indicates we're not a fit. At the same time, I also discuss the rough budget range to make sure we're on the same page about expectations early on. ___ 5. 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 If it feels like a fit, I lock in a follow-up call right then. I never leave this for later—it just adds uncertainty and hassle. If it’s not a fit, I still try to offer value—maybe I send some free resources or give advice. ___ 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗜 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄: • I call out any elephants in the room. • I recap what they say to confirm my understanding and give them a chance to add details. • This also helps me process what they’ve shared. • I always leave room for their questions. • Their needs are #1 priority. #b2bsales #founderledsales #consultativesales

If you are still asking "what are your biggest challenges?" on discovery calls, you are asking prospects to lie to you. I cringed watching a rep ask this on a recorded call. The prospect's body language changed instantly. Shoulders tensed. Tone shifted. Classic defense mode. His response? Generic corporate speak about "optimizing processes" and "driving efficiency." Translation: I don't trust you enough to tell you our real problems. This rep spent the next 30 minutes trying to extract pain points while the prospect gave him absolutely nothing useful. Deal died two weeks later. Here's the brutal truth about discovery. Prospects don't want to admit their problems to strangers trying to sell them something. It makes them feel vulnerable. Incompetent. Like they're painting a target on their back. So they lie. Not maliciously. Defensively. They give you sanitized, politically correct answers that reveal nothing about their actual pain. Meanwhile, their real challenges are keeping them up at night. Budget constraints. Team turnover. Missed deadlines. Political landmines. Systems that break constantly. But you'll never hear about those if you ask direct problem questions. So what actually works? Ask about situations, not problems. Ask about initiatives, not challenges. Ask about their boss's priorities, not their own frustrations. Here's my favorite discovery question that opens everything up. "Walk me through how you currently handle [specific process]." They'll describe their workflow step by step. And naturally... they'll mention what's broken. What takes too long. Who gets frustrated. Where things fall apart. But now they're not admitting problems. They're just explaining their world. Completely different psychology. The follow up that seals it? "How does your team feel about that process?" Suddenly they're telling you everything. Who complains. What breaks. Why leadership is frustrated. Internal politics. Resource constraints. All the real pain that drives buying decisions. Because you didn't ask them to admit problems. You asked them to explain situations. The best AEs don't interrogate prospects about pain points. They guide prospects to discover their own pain through natural conversation. And natural conversation reveals everything interrogation never will. P.S. If your reps are struggling with discovery, there's usually a deeper system problem underneath it. The free Revenue Leak Diagnostic Playbook shows you exactly where deals are dying on your team, how much it's costing you, and what to fix in the next 90 days. Built for CROs and sales leaders with 5-25 person teams. Grab it here:https://lnkd.in/gDexefD5

Top reps ask 4x more implication questions than average ones. Here’s why SPIN Selling still works. Most reps jump straight into pitch mode. They ask a few surface questions, then start talking features. That’s not selling. That’s presenting. SPIN flips the script. It gets the buyer to sell themselves. Start with Situation questions. Learn their current state, but keep it short. Experienced reps ask fewer of these than you’d expect. Move to Problem questions. Uncover what’s not working. Where they’re stuck. What’s costing them time or money. This is where small deals get won. But for complex sales, you need more. That’s where Implication questions come in. Show the consequences of inaction. What does this problem cost them? How does it affect other areas? What’s the revenue impact? Top performers ask these 4x more than average reps. They build urgency without being pushy. Finally, Need-Payoff questions. Let the buyer articulate the value. How would solving this help? What would the impact be? Why is this important? When they say it, they believe it. Here’s the key insight: Buyers don’t just want you to solve their problems. They want to understand why solving them matters. SPIN gives you the framework to guide that conversation. Not through charm. Not through pitch decks. But through the right questions in the right order. Save this framework. Use it on your next discovery call. Watch how fast urgency builds.

Your discovery questions are terrible because they produce predictable answers. "What's your biggest challenge?" "What keeps you up at night?" "What's your goal this year?" Prospects have answered those questions 100 times already. The best discovery questions make the buyer stop and think. Here are 10 of my favourites and why they work: 1. What changed in the last 90 days that made you take this call? - This is my favorite discovery question. - Because buyers don't wake up one morning and randomly book demos. - Something changed: A missed target, a new leader, a budget shift or a customer complaint. - Find the trigger and you'll usually find the real opportunity. 2. What happens to your team in 6 months if this stays the same? - Most reps talk about pain. - Top reps uncover the cost of inaction. - If there's no consequence, there's usually no urgency. 3. Walk me through how you handle this today. - Not: "What tool are you using?" - Actually walk me through it, step by step. - This is where you understand manual work, bottlenecks, spreadsheets, workarounds and hidden frustrations. 4. What have you already tried and why didn't it work? - This question saves months. - You immediately learn: What they've tested? What they hated? What failed before? - And what you should avoid pitching. 5. Six months after we go live, what's true that isn't true today? - This forces buyers to define success. - In their words, not yours. - Those answers become your future ROI story. 6. Walk me through how a decision like this gets made. - Don't ask: "Who's the decision maker?" - Ask about the process. - The process reveals the people, the reverse rarely works. 7. If you had to rank your top 3 priorities for the quarter, where does this fit? - Everything sounds important on discovery calls. - Very few things are actually urgent. - This question helps separate the two. 8. If we agreed on terms tomorrow, what happens next on your side? - A real buyer and a real champion knows. - Someone who says "I'm not sure" usually doesn't control the process. 9. Who else are you evaluating and what's pulling you toward them? - The second part matters. - Most reps ask who, but very few ask why. - The "why" tells you what buyers actually care about. 10. What's the worst-case scenario if you choose the wrong vendor here? - This is where the real risk shows up. - Not company risk or personal risk, but the fear nobody talks about. - And those are often the real reason deals stall. One last thing: Don't ask all 10. Discovery is a conversation, not an interrogation. Pick the questions that fit the situation. Then listen longer than feels comfortable. Most prospects will tell you exactly how to win the deal if you stop trying to pitch and start trying to understand. — Follow Noam for more AI × Sales systems.

I’ve joined 100s of discovery calls as a buyer—only 1 in 10 was run to help me vs the AE. Most companies treat discovery as just a stage and rely on weak BANT. That’s why AEs get stuck at ‘Level 1’ thinking Disco = Qualification and NEVER win 6-figure deals. Here’s my breakdown of Discovery Levels 1–3 (and the exact steps to finally break free): LEVEL 1 - Thinks: “Discovery is for me—are they worth my time?” - Uses BANT as box ☑ qualification (and to get managers off their backs).  - Asks a few surface questions (“Why are we here?”, “Do you have budget?”). - Disco isn’t leveraged throughout the sales process; it sits in call-1 notes. - If it is used, it’s only for ‘guilt-trip’ moves—“I guess solving X is not a priority?”. - Deals lost/stall/heavily discounted; disco never influenced the buying process. LEVEL 2 - Thinks: “Discovery is for prospects; to help THEM see why they should buy”. - Levels up from BANT to *real* disco using GAP Selling, MEDDIC, SPICED, etc. - Dives deeper than Need—to Impact, Priorities, and Rout Causes of Problems. - Disco is leveraged to tailor demos—give problem-solving tours vs generic tour. - Deals close at OK win rate. Buyers feel understood and see high $$$ problems. LEVEL 3 - Thinks: “Discovery IS the sales process—shaping buying and sales decisions”. - Framework agnostic; digs deep, letters only used for consistency & forecast. - Every call is about shaping the ultimate buying moment—the Business Case. - Every call gets documented; discovery continuously builds their Account Plan. - Doesn’t use a bank of questions; but prepares points to explore (e.g. urgency). - Leverage MAPs to discover & align on how to best run the process—together. - Disco drives unstoppable business case narratives that unlock $6-7 fig budgets. —— Stop treating discovery like just another task. Turn it into your entire selling strategy. Business Case > BANT Qualification. Mutual Plan > “What’s your Timeline?” Discovery as a Service. That’s how you go from chasing… To being a partner that gets trusted with 6-7-figure budgets. Always be discovering.

I average 8 discovery calls/week. These are my top questions to uncover pain. “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙡?” - Uncovers intent and urgency. Are they casually browsing or actively looking? “𝙄𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬?” - Org changes, growth, or new markets = perfect storm for problems you can solve. “𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢?” - One of the most powerful questions. Gets past symptoms and into real consequences. “𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚?” - Reveals past vendors, blockers, and decision-making history. “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚?” - Creates urgency. Forces them to consider the cost of inaction. “𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨?” - Helps visualize the current workflow and pinpoint friction. “𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?” - Smooth way to identify stakeholders without forcing it. 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽: Always ask “𝘸𝘩𝘺?” as a follow-up. Peel the onion until you hit the root cause. No fluff. No small talk. Just questions that lead to real discovery.

Ask a rep how their discovery call went and you'll get "really good" about 97% of the time. Pull the recording and there's a non-zero chance you hear a 40 min monologue where the buyer said "we need better reporting" and the rep immediately showed a dashboard. We say "go deeper" all the time. We've just never defined what deeper actually looks like. So managers coach off of their unquantifiable gut, reps keep doing the same thing, and everybody agrees discovery is important while nobody measures it. So we built a scorecard. Six skills, each scored 1-4: - Pre-call research. - Depth of questioning. - Numbers, Names, and Dates captured. - Status quo identified. - Cost of inaction surfaced. - Talk-to-listen ratio. Each skill has a "what to listen for" column and a "what good sounds like" column. A 1 on depth of questioning is hearing "we need better reporting" and pitching the dashboard. A 4 is asking what decisions they can't make today because of the reporting gap. No ambiguity. Pull one recorded call per rep per week. Score it before your 1:1. Pick one skill to work on. Just one. One skill per week compounds into a fundamentally different rep by quarter end. Also in here is a completed scoring example with evidence notes and a coaching assignment for the following week, plus three ways to run it (weekly 1:1, team calibration, rep self-assessment). Hope this is useful!

I interviewed 150+ B2B buyers in the last 6 months. Here’s the most surprising thing I learned: AE's asking for a 30 minute demo call kills pipeline For a buyer, 30 minutes is a HUGE ask. And if you are using a scheduling link and making them wait 2 weeks for that call, you're dead on arrival.    There are over 1,000,000 sales reps in the United States. These 30 minute demo calls add up to millions of decision maker hours every month. You need to use your buyers time (and attention) more responsibly Buyers want instant answers. They do not think 30 min is fair ask just to get clarity on a few questions The problem isn’t the demo but how and when you do it. Here’s what's actually working for sellers today: 1. ChatGPT: Get the answers to your qualifying questions on ChatGPT and spare the buyer with obvious questions 2. Trust : Use the time to build trust and “really” understand the buyer needs. Ask “What value can I provide you with today to earn the right to another call?” 3. Actively Listen: Let the buyer speak. Listen between the lines. Record the call and listen to it again. 4. Reduce time: Reduce the time for discovery calls to 15 min but try to do it within 24-48 hours 5. Solve problems : 30 minutes isn’t enough to build trust. Trust develops over repeat interactions through consistent problem-solving. Get the process started. 6. Many 15 min calls: Try to do multiple 15 min calls with emails or slack. Use the cadence that works best for the buyer to get immediate value. 7. Provide Micro Value: In every call try to deliver something of value - content, free demo, insights, recommendations or introductions. Ask how you can be useful. When buyers reach out they are often looking for expertise and not a demo Sooner they get the answers, the faster they can move through the buyer’s journey Don’t try to slow them down with relentless qualifying questions or irrelevant demos. The future of sales will not be driven by 30 min demo calls It will be won by sellers that respond fast, solve real buyer problems and earn trust in every interaction.  At Zeer AI, we are building research tools that make this future possible. Until then review your content for the 30 min demo calls and keep earning the right to your buyers time.

Most buyers don’t  know exactly what they need in the first few calls. That’s what I’ve learnt from 500+ successful discovery calls. And yet too many discovery calls start with: “So, tell me your requirements.” But what if… they don’t know? A great discovery call isn’t just asking questions, but understanding context. Inbound ≠ Outbound ≠ Referral. Different entry = different energy. Here’s how we run discovery at Leadle 👇 1. Outbound leads (aka: you showed up uninvited) You interrupted their day, not the other way around. They’re likely 3 steps behind in awareness. So… ❌ Don’t: “Here’s what we do” ✅ Do: “Here’s what we often see [people like you] struggling with, does that ring a bell?” Then: → Dig into what resonates → Ask: Why now? What’s the cost of ignoring this? Would they invest in fixing it? → Share a relevant use case → Lock in next steps (incl. who else should join) 📌 Call #2 is still semi-discovery. Don’t rush the pitch. 2. Inbound leads (aka: they came to you) They want to solve something. You just need to uncover what. Start with: “Hey - saw you filled out the form for [X]. Mind sharing what you’re hoping to solve?” Then: → Unpack their “why now?” → Clarify ideal outcomes → Dig into past failures (if any) → Share a focused story of how you’ve solved this before → Invite stakeholders for a deeper dive 📌 Your job: match interest to the right solution. 3. Referrals or partner leads (aka: the warm handoff) Trust is already there. Don’t ruin it with a hard pitch. Instead: “Appreciate you reaching out - always grateful for [Referrer]’s trust.” Then: → Ask what they’re exploring → Validate what’s working / what’s not → Be honest if they don’t need you → Proactively share references 📌 They’re hopeful. Treat the trust with care. No matter where they come from, a good discovery call does one thing well: Meet people where they are, not where you want them to be.

Are you spending more time asking questions... Or getting real answers to the ones you’ve already asked? When I watch recorded calls Or join sellers on their calls, this is the biggest area of opportunity It is also the thing that holds back real understanding And often is the #1 culprit for stalled deals. Most sellers think great discovery means asking lots of questions. They build long checklists. Try to get all of MEDDPICC in a single call. Follow all the "Qualification" frameworks. They race to check every box. "Do they have pain?" ✅ "Economic Buyer?" ✅ "Decision process?" ✅ But here’s the problem: They collect answers. They don’t uncover truth. Real discovery isn’t about how many questions you ask. It’s about how deep you go on the ones that matter. You don’t win deals because you asked 14 questions. You win because you found one problem so sharp and urgent That your buyer can’t ignore it. They must explore a solution. Try this instead: Ask fewer questions. Ask better follow-ups: >Can you tell me more about that? >What happens then? >Who else does this impact? >How often has this been going on? >What have you tried to fix it, what has worked and hasn't? >Is this talked about as a business priority? >Financially, what do you think this is costing the business? Press for deep understanding Quantify the impact Ask what happens if nothing changes Hypothesize impact and seek to be corrected. And then...listen deeply Repeat back to show mutual understanding. Anyone can ask, “What are the top problems you are focused on?” Or, "If you could wave a magic wand" THERE IS NO MAGIC WAND 🤣 Elite sellers uncover what it’s costing them, how it’s affecting their team, what their CFO thinks, and why this needs to be solved now. That’s discovery. That builds your influence. That’s when problems get prioritized.