Why Your Discovery Call Isn’t Finding Real Problems | Bite-Sized Tactics

Why Your Discovery Call Isn’t Finding Real Problems | Bite-Sized Tactics

Max Licht (Enterprise AE @ MaestroQA) breaks down his shadow-based discovery process. This technique goes beyond typical discovery calls, allowing you to witness firsthand where inefficiencies and bottlenecks are happening. 1. Identify the Painful Process - Research the customer's current workflow and tools (e.g., Excel, Salesforce) to understand the manual, time-consuming steps involved. - This reveals where inefficiencies exist, giving you a clear picture of the pain your solution can alleviate. It also helps you identify the "drag them through the glass" moments where the pain is most acute, which is critical for building urgency. 2. Set Up the Shadowing Session - Frame the shadow as a collaborative step to fully understand their process. Instead of just making claims, say something like, *“Before I make any promises, I want to fully understand your current reporting process to see where we can add the most value.”* - This approach shifts the focus from selling to problem-solving, making you a trusted partner rather than just a vendor. It also sets the stage for a more meaningful business case. 3. Conduct the Shadow - Watch the prospect use their current tools and processes. Take notes, capture screenshots, and pay attention to friction points, inefficiencies, and workarounds they rely on. - Seeing the workflow in action often reveals unspoken pain points and limitations that even the prospect might not articulate in a standard discovery call. This firsthand observation helps you tailor your pitch to the reality of their day-to-day work. 4. Use Shadows to Build a Business Case - Use the insights gathered to frame your solution as a direct response to the pain points you observed. For example, highlight how your tool eliminates specific inefficiencies, reduces manual steps, or streamlines complex reporting. - This concrete evidence makes your pitch more credible and aligns your solution directly with their business goals, increasing the likelihood of internal buy-in. 5. Follow Up Strategically - After the shadow, summarize your findings in a follow-up email or meeting, highlighting specific pain points you observed and how your solution can address them. Use this to drive urgency and move the deal forward. - This reinforces your credibility as a problem-solver and keeps the conversation anchored in real, observed issues, rather than hypothetical value propositions. 6. Use the Shadow as a Catalyst for Future Conversations - Reference specific pain points in later stages of the sales cycle, using them to frame your solution as a clear, tangible fix for their current frustrations. - This approach keeps the focus on solving their problems, reducing friction in the decision-making process and increasing the likelihood of a successful close. RESOURCES DISCUSSED: ⁠Join our weekly newsletter⁠ ⁠Things you can steal⁠ ⁠Save $50 on any 30MPC course with code “PODCAST”

Episoder(516)

Hall of Fame: Cory Bray Ep. 80

Hall of Fame: Cory Bray Ep. 80

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Establish next steps at the end of your meeting to prepare yourself for new stakeholders / questions. Avoid open-ended q’s, instead use “typically” or “usually” language to demonstrate credibility. Keep your demo’s interactive by asking the prospect what jumps out to them right away. Start your demo’s with the exciting outcomes and work backwards to reality (integrations, permissions) COREY'S PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB: Co-Founder @ CoachCRM Co-Founder & Board Member @ ClozeLoop Co-Author of The Sales Enablement Playbook, Sales Development, and Sales Playbooks: The Builder's Toolkit Head of Sales @ Ravel Law RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

25 Mar 202429min

Product Roadmap: Q2 2024

Product Roadmap: Q2 2024

Q2 ROADMAP We wrote the book on Cold Calling: Preview the Intro Mr. Miyagi Method: 18 Cold Call Objections & How to Handle Twitter: Follow Armand YouTube: Stay Tuned Tactic Teardowns: Register for Q2 Sessions Kevin “KD” Dorsey Joins the Club: Congratulate KD RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

22 Mar 202414min

204 (Lead) Tactics for Tackling Team Promotions and Behavior Changes (Jonah Mandel, Guesty)

204 (Lead) Tactics for Tackling Team Promotions and Behavior Changes (Jonah Mandel, Guesty)

FOUR ACTIONABLE LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS Increase the surface area of your luck. Sometimes, getting promoted takes luck. So help out as much as possible in all the places you can. Don’t let a slow burn hurt others. If a rep isn’t ready to be promoted, provide feedback early. Don’t create an environment where a toxic attitude spreads. Test drive managers before promoting. Insert the best candidate in actual situations. Communicate your decision with the team so everyone is on the same page. Make prospecting initiatives universal. If you’re driving your team to outbound — update your hiring profile, team meetings, and dashboards. Make it crystal clear PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB VP of Sales @ Guesty VP of Sales & Customer Success @ Capchase VP of Sales & Partnerships @ Alibaba Group Dir. of Sales @ Alibaba Group RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

21 Mar 202431min

203 (Sell) Blueprint to Establish Business-Level Impact in a POC (Amelia Burke, Databricks)

203 (Sell) Blueprint to Establish Business-Level Impact in a POC (Amelia Burke, Databricks)

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS When you’re doing a POC, you should be surveying the users and participants in that POC about their experience. If you’re working in a fairly technical sale, don’t shy away from answering technical questions with your depth of understanding, but let the customer know that is your depth of understanding. Use a pre-POC questionnaire to ensure that the champion is the right person to lead the POC. Do a POC kickoff call to set yourself up for success. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Enterprise Account Executive, Financial Services @ Databricks Account Executive, Commercial @ Databricks Sr. Account Executive, Mid-Market @ Databricks Sr. Account Executive @ Datafox RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

19 Mar 202428min

Hall of Fame: Doug Landis Ep. 110

Hall of Fame: Doug Landis Ep. 110

FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Don’t just set an agenda. Use PPO (purpose, plan, outcome) to set clear expectations for you and your prospect. Avoid deep-diving into features until you've established “why change?” and “why now?”. Show up to your discovery with a theory about their pains and your solutions. Don’t just start peppering questions. Soften the CTA with “would you be open to” instead of heavier asks before the customer is ready to dive deep. PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB Growth Partner @ Emergence Capital Chief Storyteller @ Box VP of Sales & Productivity @ Box Sr Director, Corporate Sales Productivity @ Salesforce RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

18 Mar 202432min

202 (Lead) How to Break Down Rep Discovery Into Digestible Pieces (Chase Macaione, Zip)

202 (Lead) How to Break Down Rep Discovery Into Digestible Pieces (Chase Macaione, Zip)

Chase Macaione's Discovery Call Prep Sheet & Guide FOUR ACTIONABLE LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS How engaged someone is on LinkedIn is a proxy of how good of a champion they'll be for you as a buyer. What you do in a call differs from what you want to get out of a call. The agenda is what you want to do, but make sure to explicitly say what you want to have coming out of the call. Have reps come in with a hypothesis or a POV based on what they see about the company. If the company is shrinking, the way you do discovery will be different from if it is growing. List out discovery questions to get people from high-level pain to deeper pain. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Director of Commercial Sales @ Zip Sales Director @ Celonis Strategic Account Executive @ Celonis Regional Sales Manager @ Oracle RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

14 Mar 202433min

Sales Playbook: Armand and Nick Teach You How to Handle ANY Cold Call Objection

Sales Playbook: Armand and Nick Teach You How to Handle ANY Cold Call Objection

Every 10th episode, we tear down one topic. This time, we’re talking about objections. ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Most objections are actually reactions. So if you know how to handle the reaction, you’ll swat away any objection. The intro to the Mr. Miyagi method - agree with the objection to remove the pressure, incentivize conversation to get them to share more about the objection, and sell the test drive. For dismissive objections be disarmingly blunt; for “not interested” objections, handle the reaction, not the objection; for situational objections, like “no budget”, or “too expensive”, remove the pressure of the sale entirely. Existing solution objections like “we already use X (your competitor)” are essentially “not interested” objections in disguise. Tackle them as such. RESOURCES DISCUSSED 18 Cold Call Objections & How to Handle Them The Book on Cold Calling Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

12 Mar 202432min

Hall of Fame: Keenan Ep. 75

Hall of Fame: Keenan Ep. 75

Four Actionable Takeaways: * Don’t talk about root causes/technicalities until you get to the business impact first. * Condense the problem you solve into a single sentence - stop overcomplicating things. * Lean on their desired future state instead of talking about the past. * Get to the question/reason behind those unexpected/general questions. ====================== Keenan’s Path to President’s Club: * CEO @ Noted Analytics * CEO @ A Sales Guy Consulting * Author of Gap Selling * Author of Not Taught RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

11 Mar 202432min

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