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(514)

143 (Sell): Part 2: Weaving showmanship into your sales process (Vin Matano, Sr. Account Executive IC-5 @ Demandbase)

143 (Sell): Part 2: Weaving showmanship into your sales process (Vin Matano, Sr. Account Executive IC-5 @ Demandbase)

Join the most tactical sales newsletter in the world: https://hubs.ly/Q01-R33G0 Download Vin's 5 Emails from Prospecting to Close FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Keep your multithreading separate to first establish direct lines of communication, and then weave them together later.  Once you have the group threaded together, separate out the master recap email from individual recap emails.  Put on a show! Vin used the number 282 to start a presentation, which was the number of LMS providers on G2 crowd, and the person who guessed the number correctly received a bottle of wine.  Attach discount percentages to levers so prospects have control over how they can buy themselves a discount. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Sr. Account Executive IC-5 @ Demandbase Strategic Advisor @ Aligned Strategic Partner @ Outplay RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

26 Apr 202328min

142 (Sell): Part 1: Energize your prospecting with multi-channel mastery (Vin Matano, Sr. Account Executive IC-5 @ Demandbase)

142 (Sell): Part 1: Energize your prospecting with multi-channel mastery (Vin Matano, Sr. Account Executive IC-5 @ Demandbase)

Join the most tactical sales newsletter in the world: https://hubs.ly/Q01-R33G0 Download Vin's 5 Emails from Prospecting to Close FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Pick 5-10 accounts per week and focus all of your energy on them. That might look like sending emails Monday and Wednesday, then going multichannel on Friday. Use email as your hub and other channels as your spokes with your CTA on the other channels pointing back to your email. The email channel can get flooded; get creative with other channels like Twitter. Vin was able to book a meeting off of a backward jump shot. Use email to keep threading throughout your sales cycle. One way to do this is through direct mail. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Sr. Account Executive IC-5 @ Demandbase Strategic Advisor @ Aligned Strategic Partner @ Outplay RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

19 Apr 202327min

141 (Sell): Mapping the path to close and navigating to your destination (Justin Solis, Enterprise Account Executive @ Pave)

141 (Sell): Mapping the path to close and navigating to your destination (Justin Solis, Enterprise Account Executive @ Pave)

Join the most tactical sales newsletter in the world: https://hubs.ly/Q01-R33G0 FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Start your demos by setting the scene. Orient your buyer as to who they are in the demo and what they are doing in their day. If you get a mild “yes” at the end of the demo (e.g. “it could be interesting, I want to debrief internally”), use timeline and sales process steps to see if they’re willing to work to take a step forward. When asking for power, make it us vs. them. Align the timeline to close with their best interest in mind, not yours (e.g. Get them excited about more time to implement means a much better customer experience for them). PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Enterprise Account Executive @ Pave Sales Trainer @ Flockjay Head of Revenue @ Whistle Enterprise Account Executive @ Chili Piper RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

12 Apr 202332min

Playbook: The Multithreading Playbook

Playbook: The Multithreading Playbook

Join the most tactical sales newsletter in the world: https://hubs.ly/Q01-R33G0 WHAT YOU'LL HEAR The Golden Path Top Down Selling Bottom-Up Selling RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

5 Apr 202340min

Club Playbook: Scaling email personalization (Charly Johnson)

Club Playbook: Scaling email personalization (Charly Johnson)

Download Charly Johnson’s Cold Email Drip Templates ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Section 1 - Research: Have the top 5 things you look for ready to go and jot down the templates you’ll use for each. Section 2 - Trigger Templates: Create scalable templates for each trigger - do it with your team to create a pool of common templates you can pop in. Section 3 - Deposits: Apply the same concepts above to create ‘deposit’ templates that don’t always take value, they give it back. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Account Executive @ Salesloft Team Lead, Sales Development @ Integrate SDR @ Akkroo, an Integrate company Enterprise SDR @ PatSnap RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

4 Apr 202314min

Product Roadmap: Q2 2023

Product Roadmap: Q2 2023

Join the most tactical sales newsletter in the world: https://hubs.ly/Q01-R33G0 RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

3 Apr 202318min

140 (Sell): Optimizing your time-consuming sequences (Sam Nelson, Founder @ SDRLeader.com)

140 (Sell): Optimizing your time-consuming sequences (Sam Nelson, Founder @ SDRLeader.com)

Join the most tactical sales newsletter in the world: https://hubs.ly/Q01-R33G0 Download Sam's Agoge Sequence FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Analyze a low performer's time allocation to identify areas for improvement. Filter time-consuming sequences in your SEP and review the people included. Categorize your sequences to prioritize opportunities effectively. Segment people into immediate opportunities, helpful but not immediate, and irrelevant. Standardize your value proposition based on persona to streamline your process. Use templates and snippets for personalization triggers while keeping the core sequence consistent. Keeping a healthy population of overdue tasks is good for prospecting momentum. Avoid letting tasks get more than 2-3 days overdue, but embrace the benefits of always having something to do. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Founder @ Agoge Founder @ SDRLeader.com SDR Leader @ Outreach Co-founder @ Emberall RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

29 Mar 202327min

139 (Sell): Building trust when selling at early-stage companies (Miles Kane, VP, Sales @ Tenderly)

139 (Sell): Building trust when selling at early-stage companies (Miles Kane, VP, Sales @ Tenderly)

Join the most tactical sales newsletter in the world: https://hubs.ly/Q01-R33G0 FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Grow your existing pipeline 50% by asking for referrals. Use these 3 common PLG (product-led growth) triggers to engage freemium users: sign-ups, increased usages, and multiple users on one account. Don’t immediately sell your roadmap. Instead, find customers who are 80% aligned with the vision and use the roadmap to bridge the 20%. If you’re selling early-stage, focus on the early adopters / innovative buyers. PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB VP, Sales @ Tenderly Director, Enterprise Sales @ Drift VP, Sales @ Altocloud | Acquired by Genesys Director, Sales @ SmartBear RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

22 Mar 202332min

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