[Playbook] Nail your discovery call and deal close rates.

Nailing closing calls is a rush.

Contracts signed, deals closed, and commissions hitting the bank.

But,

Getting there isn’t possible without nailing one of the highest-impact parts of the sales process –

The discovery call.

Get this right, and it’ll accelerate your conversion rates and deal velocity.

A good discovery call closes about 60-70% of the deal – the rest of the process becomes more of a formality.

Don’t underestimate the power of these – it’s pure gold.

Wondering what a killer discovery call looks like?

You’re in luck.

Check out the playbook below 👇🏾

Use this playbook to help guide your first call with a prospect.

During this call, you want to:

1. Ask questions to uncover the prospect’s needs, challenges and goals as they relate to your offerings
2. Qualify in good leads or qualify out bad fit leads. Qualifying out bad leads or those with unrealistic expectations is critical.
3. Assess whether the client’s goals are realistic, educate the client on what’s realistically possible, and ascertain whether they are ready to move ahead given these reset expectations.

Before the call, you should:

1. Research your prospect’s business
2. Create an agenda and send it to your prospect
3. Set a time and date that works for both of you

Below are some key questions to ask during your discovery call:

General questions:

• What made you decide to reach out to us today?
• How did you find out about us?
• What is your business’s unique value proposition vs your competitors? (why would someone go with your business vs others)
• What does your ideal customer look like per service/product line?
• What is the average order value for each product/service you offer?
• What do you feel are the top 3 things holding you back from achieving the growth you desire?

Uncovering goals & challenges:

• Roughly, what’s your annual revenue?
• Where would you like your annual revenue to be in 12, 24, 36 months?
• For each of the above goals, what does success look like? 
  • (eg: X leads/month, Y% increase in sales per month, etc)
• Given the above goals, what does the monthly marketing budget look like to support this growth?
• Do you have any specific channels/strategies you’d like to invest in? 
  • eg: creative, branding, SEO, google ads, Facebook, ads etc… If so, why these channels?
• Have you tried these channels/strategies in the past? 
  • If so, what worked well, and what didn’t?
• Who do you consider your top 3 competitors for each product/service you offer?
• When people search for your business online, what are the top 3 keywords (or phrases) they would be typing into Google to find your product, service or company? (per product & service line)

Understanding their marketing team:

• What does your marketing team currently look like? 
  • How many people, roles, etc…
• Are there any external agencies/contractors/developers you work with currently that assist with marketing or website efforts? 
  • If so, who are they?
• What CMS is your website built on?

Understanding the decision-making process

• Have you used an agency in the past to assist with your marketing? 
  • If so, what worked well, and what didn’t?
• In working with an agency, what are the top goals you’d like to achieve?
• What would be your top criteria for picking an agency partner to work with?
• If we were to take you through the process, and you really liked what we had to offer – when would you be looking to sign off on such a project?
• What does the sign-off process look like for such a project? Is there anyone else at your company that needs to sign off?

General thoughts/comments from the salesperson

• [Insert general notes/thoughts here for review later on]