How to Quantify Business Pain Without Feeling Salesy | Meredith Chandler | Ep. 308 (Sell)

🎁 Save $50 — Get our step-by-step discovery video course for just $249 with code PODCAST https://www.30mpc.com/course/discovery-course -- FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Match Tonality to Questions: Tone discongruence kills trust. If your tone doesn’t match your question, prospects get skeptical. Adjust your delivery to align with the intent of your ask. Don’t Push Economic Impact Too Soon: Mid-level managers may not care about bottom-line impact. Save deep financial discussions for decision-makers who influence the balance sheet. Three Levels of Problem Questions: First, identify the problem. Second, uncover its effects. Third, quantify the impact in time or money to drive urgency. Use Questions with Leads: Instead of open-ended asks, provide multiple-choice-style prompts. This makes answering easier and positions you as an informed advisor. KD'S PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB CRO @ Finally SVP of Sales and Partnerships @ Bench Accounting Practice Lead, Revenue Leadership @ Winning by Design VP of Inside Sales @ PatientPop Inc. Head of Sales Enablement & Development @ ServiceTitan VP of Sales @ SnackNation RESOURCES DISCUSSED Read: Join our weekly newsletter Steal: Templates, drips, scripts

18 Mar 40min

Sign up for the 30MPC Discovery Course today and learn how top sellers lead high-impact discovery calls that land bigger deals: https://www.30mpc.com/course/discovery-course ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Limit Pricing Options to Three: Offering more than three options overwhelms prospects. Present only the most relevant three to simplify decision-making. Leverage Value-Add Incentives: Highlight low-cost-to-you, high-value items (like waived fees or extra features) to steer prospects toward larger packages. Present Pricing with a Range: Start with a floor price and give a range based on factors, allowing flexibility while avoiding sticker shock. Use Strategic Comparisons: Position your premium option near a slightly lower-tier offer to make it an attractive choice, while avoiding comparisons to much cheaper options. BELAL'S PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB Founder @ LearnToSell.io Head of Sales @ GTM Buddy Enterprise Account Executive @ ClearBit Head of Business Development @ BioIQ RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

17 Mar 39min

Sign up for the 30MPC Discovery Course today and learn how top sellers lead high-impact discovery calls that land bigger deals: https://www.30mpc.com/course/discovery-course ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Give Immediate Feedback: Don’t wait until later—debrief with reps right after a call while the details are fresh. Sales has lost this habit with back-to-back Zoom meetings, but it’s critical for development. Create a Coaching Cadence: If you don’t set a structured coaching schedule, it likely won’t happen consistently. Define clear coaching sessions, including frequency and focus, to ensure real progress. Structure Call Reviews: Block two hours weekly to review calls. Assign themes (e.g., discovery, negotiation), require reps to provide timestamps, and have them self-diagnose before your feedback. Expand Practice Beyond Role Plays: Role plays aren’t the only way to improve. Have reps document key impact questions, map org charts for multithreading, or identify missing stakeholders in deals. CHARLES' PATH TO PRESIDENTS CLUB Founder @ Carroll Sales Consulting VP of Enterprise Sales @ FullStory Head of Enterprise & Strategic Sales @ Recurly Sales Director @ NewsCred RESOURCES DISCUSSED Discovery Course Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

13 Mar 38min

🎁 Save $50 — Get our step-by-step discovery video course for just $249 with code PODCAST https://www.30mpc.com/course/discovery-course -- ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Use Humbling Disclaimers: Preface tough questions with softening statements like, “I’m not quite sure how to ask this,” or “This might feel direct.” It lowers defensiveness and makes hard questions land better. Dig Into Prospect Rumblings: Prospects often hint at problems rather than state them outright. Listen for vague concerns and use a humbling disclaimer to drill deeper into the real issue. Refine Bucket Questions: Instead of stating, “Every CRO faces these three problems,” add nuance: “Many CROs I speak with mention challenges like…” This avoids defensiveness and keeps the conversation open. Follow a Clear Flow: Get permission to ask questions, surface problems without assumptions, prompt for real examples, then use humbling disclaimers to quantify impact without making prospects uncomfortable. CHARLES' PATH TO PRESIDENTS CLUB Founder @ DiscoveryCoach.io Sales Enablement Manager @ AlphaSense Lead Revenue Enablement Manager @ CB Insights Senior Sales Training Manager @ CB Insights RESOURCES DISCUSSED Discovery Course Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

11 Mar 41min

There is an extreme over-rotation in sales on setting next steps. Setting next steps is NOT always a good thing. 🛑 Bad: Never setting next steps 🟡 Okay: Setting steps on every deal 🟢 Good: Setting steps on REAL deals Instead, first determine if the deal is worth setting next steps with at all. Then, you should recommend the appropriate next step, but only if your prospects have proven that it's worth keeping them in your pipeline. That's where the Five Minute Drill comes in: Three questions you can ask at the end of every single call to determine if and how you set a next step. 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 1: 𝐃𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐮𝐲? If you can practice ONE THING, it's this. Any time you offer a demo, a pilot, a proposal, you are giving your time away to a prospect. And that's fine. But only if you get something in return. If you're investing more time with them, you should expect that they won't waste it and affirm that this is actually leading somewhere. 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 2: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐲? You can't properly suggest a next step until you understand their timeline to solve the problem we just agreed upon. If they want to solve this problem in 3 weeks, we'll use their answer to drive far more urgency than if this weren't a problem to solve for 6 months. 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 3: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐲. Guess what, the last question isn't a question. You should always suggest and confirm next steps because you've sold your software far more times than they've bought it. Frame your ask in terms of their best interest, not yours. Based on what you learned in the first two questions: what is the next step you need to take to solve their problem by the time they want it solved? And don't just suggest one next step, suggest next-next steps so they explicitly buy into a sales process, not a free 60 minute demo. Full breakdown of the 5 minute drill: https://www.30mpc.com/newsletter/how-to-set-next-steps-in-sales-with-the-5-minute-drill Join our weekly newsletter: https://hubs.li/Q02NJQ8p0 Things you can steal: https://linktr.ee/30mpc_youtube #30Minutestopresidentsclub #30mpc

10 Mar 3min

ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: No Last-Minute Coaching: Avoid changing a rep’s game plan in the 30 minutes before a call. It signals distrust and forces them to scramble, leading to a worse outcome. Stick to One Coaching Theme: Don’t introduce a new area of improvement after every call. Focus feedback on a consistent theme to drive real progress. Align on Call Emotion: Before a discovery call, ask your rep how they want the prospect to feel. This sets the right tone and helps shape their delivery. Know Your Role in Calls: As a manager, decide if you’re leading, coaching, or just reading the room. Adapt based on the rep’s experience level and the call type. ALEX'S PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB: Founder & CEO @ Alluviance Director of Sales Commercial @ Outreach Director of Sales Corporate @ Outreach Territory Account Executive @ Microsoft RESOURCES DISCUSSED: Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

6 Mar 41min

🎁 Save $50 — Get our step-by-step discovery video course for just $249 with code PODCAST https://www.30mpc.com/course/discovery-course -- ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Deflect Product Questions Early: When a prospect asks about your product upfront, redirect by asking what’s happening in their business that made them look in the first place. Avoid the trap of leading with features. Reduce Technical Objections: If a prospect fixates on a small technical blocker, refocus on the bigger business problem. Aligning on major pain points can make minor technical concerns less of a deal-breaker. Dig Beyond Surface Problems: Low win rates aren’t the real problem. The true impact is missing revenue targets, losing reps, or struggling to hit quota. Always tie issues to business consequences. Identify the Root Cause Before Solving: Before proposing solutions, confirm the real problem, its impact, and the root cause. Then present your solution in a way that connects all three. KEENAN'S PATH TO PRESIDENTS CLUB: CEO @ A Sales Growth Company Author of Gap Selling VP of Sales @ 2Wire VP of Sales @ Avaya RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

4 Mar 39min

ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Provide Hypotheses, Not Generic Questions: Instead of broad questions, offer informed hypotheses to invite deeper discussion. Ask Questions to Guide Next Steps: Use questions to guide the process without being pushy, keeping the prospect engaged. Teach Process Over Just Problems: Beyond identifying issues, recommend processes (like a custom demo over a POC) to build trust. Uncover Intent Behind Extra Steps: When extra steps are requested, ask what they aim to learn to suggest simpler options. DAN'S PATH TO PRESIDENTS CLUB: Senior Vice President of Global Sales @ Challenger VP of Sales, Account Management @ Challenger VP of Sales, Major Accounts @ Challenger Managing Vice President, Sales & Community @ Evanta RESOURCES DISCUSSED: Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

3 Mar 38min