🔍 Rethinking Sales Discovery
Hello! Adam Thornhill here. ‘The Podcast Guy’ saving you 10 hours a week.
Enjoy the 137th Podup, with special thanks to RhinoRating.
Today, we’ll dive into the best insights and ideas from Marketing Against The Grain.
Sales discovery is more than just listening. It’s about leading the conversation. This insight from April Dunford challenges a common misconception that customers should do all of the talking.
Sales discovery mistakes
People think sales discovery is about asking customers to discuss their problems and explain what they’re looking for.
People think they should tailor the whole pitch around being the perfect solution to what the customer just said.
If you go through good sales training, that’s not how they teach discovery at all.
We need educate the customer about our point of view on what is and isn’t important.
April Dunford
Sales discovery template
Really good discovery sounds like this:
‘What’re you doing right now?’
[customer reply]
‘Oh, that’s really interesting. Have you tried anything else to solve the problem?’
[customer reply]
‘When you tried that thing, how did it go?’
[customer reply]
‘We’ve heard that a lot. Our customers chose us because…’
April Dunford
The science behind the script
You’re learning a lot about the customer’s situation - what they know, what they don’t know, what their constraints are.
You’re also educating them on your point of view. You’re establishing trust and credibility based on your experience.
That’s what a buyer really wants in a sales conversation.
They want reassurance that they’ve done their homework. They want the sales rep to have their best interest at heart.
April Dunford
Why it matters
During discovery, you need to steer the conversation to a place where your product shines, not just as a solution, but as the solution. It’s like being a detective and a mentor rolled into one. You’re uncovering the customer’s true needs while leading them to an ‘aha’ moment where your product becomes the obvious choice.
Next steps
Don’t let customers do all of the talking. Shift from just listening to actively guiding the conversation.
Educate and inform. Share your perspective on the customer’s problems and potential solutions.
Build trust. Establish yourself as a knowledgeable guide, not as a pushy salesperson.
Refine your script. Develop a discovery script that balances inquiry with helpful insights.
Role play. Practice with team members to hone your skills in guiding discovery conversations.
Your thoughts?
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Quotes were pulled at different points of the episode. Sentences were left out to make the narrative more concise. Podup is not associated or affiliated with any podcast.