You Want the Truth About Discovery Calls?

Brought to you by Jody Geiger, Jenna Bugiardini and Klue

Voices of Revenue is a monthly newsletter spotlighting revenue operators making waves and sharing best practices.

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Volume 14

If your discovery calls feel more like Colonel Jessep's courtroom interrogation in A Few Good Men than a productive conversation, we need to talk. While that famous "You can't handle the truth!" scene makes for great cinema, it's exactly how NOT to conduct your B2B SaaS discovery calls..

Think about it - nobody wants to feel like they're on trial, defending their business decisions under harsh fluorescent lights while you bark questions like a JAG lawyer on a mission.?

According to all GTM research as of late, consensus is that 70% of B2B buyers already know what they need before talking to sales.

Your job isn't to break them on the witness stand - it's to build trust and uncover opportunities.

We're breaking down how to transform your discovery calls from high-pressure interrogations into collaborative conversations that actually drive results. We'll show you how to ditch the Colonel Jessep approach ("I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself!") and instead master the art of discovery that makes prospects feel understood, not under attack.

Grab your coffee - let's make those discovery calls less "Code Red" and more green light!

Running an effective first Discovery call

Discovery Masterclass 2.0 Created by Chris Orlob

Link to Original Voice: Discovery Masterclass 2.0 by Pclub.io

Quote: “Discovery is not just about asking questions, it’s about asking the right questions... the kind that really help you to understand the root causes that they’re trying to address."?

Takeaways:

• Meet the prospect where they are.?
• Come to the meeting prepared with a clear objective and get an understanding of where they are at in their buying cycle.?
• Align discovery to their needs.
• If you can quantify pain and paint the benefits of future state you will be able to move deals forward.
• 5 Step Discovery Framework:

Experimenting at Klue:?

• At Klue, we believe discovery skills are fundamental to our success as a revenue organization. We have both our SDR and AE teams going through the Discovery Masterclass course and practicing the questions and techniques Chris speaks to in his course. These learnings have significantly leveled up the conversations our teams are having.?

Running an Impactful Discovery Call Created by Will Aitken

Link to Original Voice: Here’s My Discovery Call Flow

Quote: “So this problem has been an issue for {time} you’ve tried to fix it with {DIY}, but that was ineffective, the example you shared had {impact} & is happening {frequency} so we can napkin math that this issue is costing the business {impact} as well as {other impacts}… is that a fair call?”?

Takeaways:

• Will’s 5 Parts of a Discovery Call
• Each of Will’s discovery questions are human. Discovery should be a two way conversation and these questions will allow prospects to open up and allow you, the salesperson, to dig deeper.

Experimenting at Klue:

• At Klue, we have created discovery question libraries that our reps can pull from in different scenarios. These are a combination of open-ended, targeted and context-led questions. We find that by providing a list of questions to ask they are able to focus on more natural and genuinely curious discovery without worrying about “what question do I ask next?”.

7 Data-Backed Discovery Tips Voice: Gong Labs

Link to original voice: Discovery Call Cheat Sheet

Key Quote: “C-Suite executives are pressed for time. So they have a lot less patience. Use only 4-8 high-quality, open-ended questions to uncover their business needs. After that, win rates decline drastically.”

Takeaways:?

• Gong analyzed over 519,000 discovery calls and uncovered the patterns in the most successful calls:

Experimenting at Klue:?

• At Klue we use Gong scorecards and trackers to evaluate the effectiveness of our discovery calls. We look weekly at things like talk ratios, questions asked, pain questions to uncover if your reps are running strong discovery. We then take our findings and apply them to coaching and 1:1 conversations with reps.?

Top 5 Discovery Question Types Created by Nate Stoltenow

Link to Original Voice: Types of Disco Questions

Quote: ?“Then I realized: closing large, complex deals wasn't about my pitch or demo. It was about digging deep to uncover problems.”

Takeaways:

• Five key question types are identified: Probing, Hypothetical, Open-ended, Closed-ended, and Multiple-Choice questions.
• Nate offers examples of each type of question in his post.
• Practice crafting one question of each type to use within your own sales scenario.

Experimenting at Klue:

• We update our discovery questions for each product or positioning launch. We encourage folks to digest the questions and then spend the time to make them their own. Taking the time to craft questions in their own words is a very important step in being able to embody them.
• Another critical step is making space for discussion and practice. We have found that if sellers don’t understand why they are asking a question and what they are trying to uncover with it, the question falls flat. Discussion and dissection of the questions helps with this. Once everyone understands the why behind the question it is time for practice.

But First, Build Rapport!

It Starts with Trust Created by Roffey Park Institute

Link to Original Voice: Eight Behaviors That Build Trust

Quote: “Interpersonal trust is essential.”

Takeaways:?

• Transparency builds credibility: Being open and honest in communication assures clients there's no hidden agenda, fostering trust.
• Consistency is key: Delivering on promises and maintaining consistent behavior allows clients to rely on you.
• Personal connection matters: Investing in relationships beyond transactional interactions helps build deeper trust.
• Active listening drives understanding: Genuinely listening to clients' perspectives demonstrates respect and helps you better understand their needs.

Experimenting at Klue:

• We have all experienced people jumping right into discovery without establishing credibility and without taking the time to connect personally. It sets the wrong tone at the top of a call. You spend the rest of your call trying to go deep but can’t break the surface.
• Worst is when the seller is so busy following their process that they don’t respond in a human way. For example, a buyer might tell a seller that their win rates are tanking. Many sellers respond with “great”. They may think this is great to hear as a seller if their product increases win rates, but they forget they are talking to another human who just shared about an area of their business that is suffering. The human response would be to empathize with the buyer or mirror the buyer. You might say something like “win rates are tanking…?” and give the buyer space to elaborate.
• People buy from people and human skills are sales skills. If your sales are suffering, start by upping the human to human connection time in your calls.

Exploring Solutions Created by Eddie Soloway

Link to Original Voice: Let it Be Their Discovery

Quote: “ I smiled when, moments later, the forest reverberated with their shouts of “Cave! We found a cave!”

Takeaways:

The main theme of Eddie's story is the power and value of self-discovery. Eddie illustrates this theme through his experience of withholding information about a cave from his students during a river trip. The story emphasizes several key points:

• Restraint in sharing information: Eddie consciously decides not to tell his students about the cave immediately, despite his own excitement about it.
• Allowing natural discovery: By keeping quiet, Eddie gives his students the opportunity to find the cave on their own.
• Enhanced excitement through personal discovery: When the students eventually discover the cave themselves, their excitement is palpable, as evidenced by their shouts.
• The joy of unexpected finds: The story highlights how stumbling upon something unexpectedly can be more thrilling than being told about it in advance.
• The role of a guide: Eddie demonstrates that sometimes the best way to lead is by stepping back and allowing others to make their own discoveries.

This theme resonates strongly with the idea of explorative learning that happens on adventures, as it can in sales calls. It suggests that the process of discovery itself is often as valuable, if not more so, than the thing being discovered.

Experimenting at Klue:?

There are a few phrases we use to help guide discovery. Here are a few:

• A way to find common ground and establish credibility:“I don’t know about you, but…”
• A way to share the big challenge you are seeing that they might not be: “I am noticing/thinking/seeing something...it might be complete rubbish, so feel free to toss it aside if it doesn’t ring true for you”. The softening of your pointed observation will allow the buyer to consider the idea and not become defensive in the process.
• A way to communicate customer stories: When telling customer stories, make them slightly indirect, or not “on the nose”. Meaning, you don’t need to hit your buyer with a “isn’t that the exact same as you are experiencing?”. Instead, let them connect the dots and ask the follow up questions. Keep them eager to learn more.

As we continue to spot trends, we'll keep you updated. See ya next month!