What are the best practices for conducting a solution discovery workshop with your prospects?

1 Prepare in advance

Before you conduct a solution discovery workshop, you need to do some homework. Research your prospects' industry, market, competitors, and current situation. Identify the key stakeholders, decision-makers, and influencers who will participate in the workshop. Prepare a list of open-ended questions that will help you uncover their pain points, motivations, expectations, and criteria for success. Also, prepare some relevant case studies, testimonials, or demos that will showcase your solution's benefits and capabilities.

2 Set the agenda and objectives

At the beginning of the workshop, you need to set the agenda and objectives for the session. Explain the purpose, scope, and duration of the workshop, and what you hope to achieve by the end of it. Align with your prospects on the expected outcomes, deliverables, and next steps. Establish some ground rules and norms for the workshop, such as respecting each other's opinions, asking for clarification, and providing feedback. Also, confirm the roles and responsibilities of each participant, and how they will contribute to the workshop.

3 Facilitate the discussion

During the workshop, you need to facilitate the discussion and guide your prospects through the discovery process. Use your prepared questions to elicit their needs, challenges, goals, and desired outcomes. Listen actively and attentively, and probe deeper into their responses. Use paraphrasing, summarizing, and reflecting techniques to confirm your understanding and show empathy. Avoid jumping to solutions or features too soon, and focus on the value and impact your solution can deliver. Encourage participation and collaboration from all attendees, and use visual aids, such as whiteboards, flip charts, or sticky notes, to capture and organize the key points.

4 Validate and prioritize

After you have gathered enough information from the discussion, you need to validate and prioritize your findings. Review the main needs, challenges, goals, and desired outcomes you have identified with your prospects, and ask them to confirm or correct them. Rank them in order of importance and urgency, and assign them a value or score. Use a matrix, such as the impact-effort matrix or the Eisenhower matrix, to help you categorize and prioritize them. This will help you determine which ones are the most critical and feasible to address with your solution.

5 Present and align

Once you have validated and prioritized your findings, you need to present and align them with your prospects. Summarize the key insights and takeaways from the workshop, and highlight the gaps and opportunities you have uncovered. Show how your solution can fill those gaps and capitalize on those opportunities, and how it can help your prospects achieve their goals and desired outcomes. Use your prepared case studies, testimonials, or demos to demonstrate your solution's value proposition and differentiation. Align with your prospects on the fit and feasibility of your solution, and address any objections or concerns they may have.

6 Follow up and propose

After you have conducted the solution discovery workshop, you need to follow up and propose your solution. Send a thank-you note to your prospects, and restate the main points and agreements from the workshop. Provide them with any additional information or resources they may have requested, such as references, specifications, or pricing. Draft a proposal that outlines your solution's features, benefits, costs, timeline, and terms. Use the insights and priorities you gained from the workshop to tailor your proposal to your prospects' specific needs and expectations. Send your proposal to your prospects, and schedule a meeting to discuss it further.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?