Tips for Honesty in Sales and Product Discovery

As a VP of Sales, I've heard hundreds of cringey sales calls -- here are the 4 keys to making discovery NOT sound like an interrogation: 1️⃣ 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Horizontal questions constantly change the topic: - How do you do X - How do you do Y - How do you do Z But vertical questions use the previous question to build the next? - How do you run comp reviews? - Typically when comp's on spreadsheets that means X or Y, which is it for you? - Sounds like Y is a problem. When'd you realize that was a problem? These not only demonstrate that your listening, but get you into 1 DEEP problem instead of 3 SHALLOW problems. 2️⃣ 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝟐+ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 This often happens when you ask "why'd you take the call?" and they barf 3 random problems at you. Playback the 3 problems so that they know you're actually listening. Then isolate the 1 that matters the most first. 3️⃣ 𝐔𝐬𝐞 "𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐞-𝐨𝐧𝐬" 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 A pile-on is when your prospect shares a problem and you take it a step further, like this:   --> Prospect (Problem): Ugh, these employees don't realize that we pay so much money for benefits and it's not just about salary! --> Rep (Pile-on): I know. I remember the first time I got a cobra letter... it was freaking $800 a month for my own health care. --> Prospect (Elated): I KNOW!!!!! Do it right and they'll think "finally, someone gets it!!!" 4️⃣ 𝐔𝐬𝐞 "𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬" 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 It doesn't matter if your prospect is writhing in pain at the end of the call if they literally have no idea how you can help them. A parallel story is the most powerful form of a "pitch" Once you get a painful story from your prospect, trade a story from a customer that you helped (and your solution will be implicit). *** If you hate cringey discovery calls as much as I do, I broke down each of these tactics in this week's noozy. There's a button below my name -- go check it out there :) #sales #saassales

Most discovery calls are worthless small talk that costs you deals. Listen to any 'discovery' call and you'll hear the same tired questions: 'What keeps you up at night?' 'What are your biggest challenges?' 'How are you solving this today?' 'What would success look like?' Surface level garbage that every rep asks and every buyer expects. Here's what actually happens on these calls: Buyer gives generic, safe answers. Rep nods along. Everyone feels good about the 'productive conversation.' Then the deal dies in procurement. Why? Because you never uncovered anything that matters. Real discovery isn't about asking questions. It's about understanding the business. Here's what top performers discover that average reps miss: → The REAL reason they're looking (not the one they tell vendors) → What happens if they do nothing (status quo consequences) → Who actually makes decisions (not who they say makes decisions) → The political landscape (who wins or loses with change) → Previous failed attempts (what went wrong before) → Budget reality (what they've spent on similar initiatives) → Timeline drivers (what's forcing action now) → Success metrics (how they'll measure ROI) Most reps never get past feature level pain points. They hear 'we need better reporting' and start demoing dashboards. Elite reps understand that behind every feature request is a business problem. And behind every business problem is a personal consequence. The buyer who says 'we need better reporting' might really mean 'I'm tired of getting embarrassed in board meetings when I can't answer basic questions about our performance.' THAT'S what you sell to. The personal pain, not the technical requirement. But you only uncover this with business level questions: 'Help me understand the downstream impact when reporting is delayed...' 'Who's affected when you can't get accurate data quickly?' 'What's the cost of making decisions with incomplete information?' 'How does this reporting challenge impact your team's credibility?' Stop asking what everyone else asks. Start uncovering what everyone else misses. Your discovery quality determines your close rate. Make it count. — Surface level discovery kills deals. If you want me to personally review your team's discovery process and show you what's missing, book a free diagnostic call: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

Prospects aren’t targets. They’re humans. Humans respond best when they feel understood, not convinced. The best salespeople know how to make others feel heard. When you ask a question, then another question, then another unrelated question, discovery calls can feel like interrogations. If you don’t listen and instead rapid-fire scripted questions, it feels like you’re not genuinely interested in the response but rather focused solely on your agenda of quantifying pain so you justify your solution. If people don’t feel understood, they’re not going to trust what you recommend. The way out? Ask fewer questions on discovery calls. Go deeper. Like a therapist: “What’s on your mind?” (Inbound.) “How's it going?” Mute. (Digging deeper) “Afraid to dial?” (Digging deeper) “It’s like the phone is a cactus.” Mute. (Digging deeper) “What else?” Mute. “There are so many sales trainers. What prompted you to call us?” “What's the real challenge?” (Digging deeper.) “What's your perspective on why that is?” “If you're looking back 6 months from now, what has to have happened for you to feel really happy with your progress?” (Digging deeper.) “How so?” Don't ask a digging deeper question if you're not curious about the answer. When people feel understood, you build trust. And in a world of similar products, trust is why people choose you. Seller’s don’t have the answers. Buyers do. The seller’s job is to draw them out. Learn the gentle art of making others feel understood here: https://lnkd.in/eVfUevmz

I used to oversell a lot and then I stopped and switched to full honesty and my win rates went up. Here is how my sales call looks like: - duration: 20 minutes (sometimes 30 minutes); - structure: 1 min intro; 5 min qualification; 5 min demo; 8 min discussion; 1 min next steps; - win rate: ~30%. Here is what I do at each stage: Intro: introduce myself, thank a person for joining, set the agenda for the call Qualification: ask what are they doing in outbound now and what are the results - based on that explain where AiSDR could help and where it will fall short. I am really honest. Sometimes, I just say: "You don't seem to have product-market fit yet, so it is too early for you to start using AiSDR" or "If all of your meetings are coming from cold calls and you've never done outbound email before, we can't know if it's the right channel for your audience". Demo: I always adapt it to the process that they have in place and focus on explaining where we would fit and highlight 3 core values: (1) great quality of emails; (2) emails always land in the inbox; (3) AI always responds to engaged prospects in <10 minutes, when they are still in the inbox. I highlight those core values at the beginning, during and at the end of the demo. I never promise: "it will book 2-3 meetings for you per week on autopilot" Discussion: Just answering prospects' follow-up questions. Briefly and to the point. No overselling, no secrets. Next steps: Discuss decision-making timeline and agree on a next call or action point. I also send a follow-up with a summary of a discussion 5 minutes after the call. What would you do differently? How do you run your sales calls?

I've closed $1M doing founder-led sales in less than a year. I have no sales background, and never understood how to do discovery. Until this mindset shift: Instead of trying to “qualify” prospects, you should actively try to disqualify prospects. ----- Ask scary questions that lead prospects away from your product, such as: ▶️ Why don’t existing solutions such as X, Y and Z work for you? ▶️ Why are you taking time out of your day to chat with me? ▶️ Is this something you need right now, or are you just window shopping? ----- It’s not the standard way to do discovery, but it: ▶️ Helped us understand why people bought and why people didn’t. ▶️ Maximized our learning per conversation, which is more valuable than revenue when you’re early-stage. ▶️ Helped us find early users with a burning pain. People would self-select out if the pain wasn’t strong enough. ----- Don't worry about losing prospects. If your product is valuable, you’ll have hundreds of thousands of potential customers. If it’s not, it’s better to know sooner rather than later.

Ever caught yourself in a conversation where someone's trying to sell you something, and instead of feeling engaged, you're just overwhelmed with info? Or on the flip side, have you ever chatted with someone so chill yet confident in their game that you're convinced without them hardly selling anything? That's the sweet spot in sales we're diving into. It's not just about what you're saying; it's about how you're being while you're saying it. Picture this: A pro walks in, no fluff, just a solid "I got you," and you feel it. They're not just throwing words at you; they're bringing an aura of "we've got this under control." It's like they're not even selling, but you're already buying. What gives? Here's the breakdown: • Confidence is Key: When you know your stuff inside out, it shows. You don't need to hide behind jargon or over-explain. Your vibe does half the talking. • Value Over Volume: The real pros? They listen more than they talk. They understand what you need, sometimes better than you do, and they offer solutions that hit home. • Honesty Sells: People respect straight shooters. If you're in it to make a real difference, don't just tell folks what they want to hear. Get real with them, even if it's not the easiest route. • Experience Speaks Volumes: Sure, knowing your product or service like the back of your hand comes with time. But it's more about evolving from someone who does to someone who truly understands. So, how do you level up your sales game to embody this effortless sell? Here's the playbook: • Deep Dive into Your Craft: Know your product or service better than anyone else. The more you know, the less you have to try. • Master the Art of Communication: It's not just about words; it's about presence, body language, and listening. • Lead with Integrity: Be the person who's not afraid to have the tough conversations. Build respect, not just a client list. Stepping into the world of sales with this mindset isn't just about closing deals; it's about building genuine connections. It's about shifting from proving your worth to simply being the best at what you do. Let's cut through the noise, focus on what matters, and change the sales game by being unapologetically real.

A few members of the #samsales squad recently took a demo for a product that seemed to solve a bleeding issue for us: speeding up efficiency on LinkedIn in something a lot of our team does every day. Here's why the opp didn't move forward - 🙁 The first call was a demo, with no discovery. When we do this, the pitch becomes a pitch, vs. understanding the issues the client is facing. 🙁 Twitter came up. A lot. Our team politely piped up, "We don't use Twitter, can we focus on LI", the focus remained mostly on Twitter. 😳 Why? This happens often when a company excels at one thing and hope that's enough to sell the buyer. 🙁 "Our integrations are baller with CRMs!" We tried the integration. It failed. We asked a question to resolve it. The answer? "Let's get on a call." 😐 Some things are complex and are often user-error, but articulating if there's a quick fix or why the call is needed can be helpful to save frustration. The next step? Random cal invites put on our team's cal without checking availability. 🙁 When we lightly pushed back, "Could you give us a little guidance so we can solve ourselves vs. another call?", we got...more cal invites instead. What to do instead: 😀 Qualify in advance + don't square peg/round hole. If you don't kill it on LI but you do on Twitter, ask what platforms matter before you burn valuable time all around. 😀 Run discovery first - what are the challenges the buyer has? Know what you can do for them - no one knows how you can solve challenges better than you. If you just demo, you'll show them what you have with your fingers crossed that they "get it" vs. painting a bespoke story for them. 😀 Pivot if your buyer asks you to. I wish I could say this is rare but the frequency of buyers asking questions and sellers just continuing with the demo as planned is high. 😀 As obvious as this may be, ask for availability before blindly adding cal invites 🤪

When you think “differentiation” of your solution versus a competitor, where does your brain go? To your features? To your pricing? To your customer list? To your position on an analyst’s “magic quadrant”? … I believe there’s an easy opportunity for you to create an extra differentiator - 👉 Differentiate in the WAY that you sell. 👈 I don’t know about you, but honesty & transparency is worth multiple features and multiple dollars: ✅ Honesty and transparency from a vendor will beat a couple of missing features with me 100% of the time. ✅ Honesty and transparency is worth $$$ to me 100% of the time. I will pay for that feeling of trust. I hired a bookkeeper for my small business. While things seemed a bit fishy on the billing side the first couple of months, he claimed he needed 13 hours to reconcile my books for December - which is a slow month. When I asked him to itemize, he wouldn’t. I ended the relationship with that bookkeeper. I just did my own books for January - which was a busy month. I timed it - finished in less than 45 minutes. And I’m a financial dullard. I am consistently baffled by how many businesses and individuals overlook this simple opportunity… …to add a differentiator. 😍 Transparency sells better, retains better, grows better, creates advocates better, leads better… Be the customer’s partner. Be the customer’s advocate. And if the truth won’t sell it, don’t sell it. 

Advanced Discovery:The Discovery Compass: Navigating Toward Value 🎯 Get Real with Advanced Discovery: Stop settling for surface-level insights. Dive deep to understand your client's real challenges and opportunities. 🌐 Know the External Environment: Do your homework. Understand the industry headwinds and tailwinds that impact your client. 🧠 The Sales Champion’s Subjective Truth: Don't just listen; interpret. Your sales champion's views are a mix of fact and opinion. Know the difference. 📊 Objective Facts Are Your Friends: Ask for hard data like win rates to understand how your client’s organization truly operates. 🤝 Collective Subjective = Consensus Building: In B2B sales, it’s not just one opinion that matters. Understand the collective views to navigate toward a solution. 🧭 The Discovery Compass: Use this approach to ask questions that lead you to the root cause of your client’s problems. 🛠 Navigating Toward Value: Your role is to add value at every interaction. Tailor your questions to help your client realize what they need to understand and act upon. 🔍 Self-Check: Reflect on your last deals. Did you identify the root causes? Were you consultative enough to guide your client through what they needed to learn? Remember, advanced discovery isn’t just about identifying problems; it’s about co-creating solutions. Your clients are looking for more than a salesperson; they want a partner who can navigate complexities and drive real value. For further reading: Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away from Your Competition: Link Here Elite Sales Strategies: A Guide to Being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative:

🌟 Unlocking Insights: The Top 10 Best Discovery Questions to Elevate Your Sales Conversations! 🚀 Hello Small Business Sales Leaders! Mastering the art of discovery is the key to understanding your customers and tailoring your approach effectively. Here are some of the best discovery questions to guide your sales conversations: **1. "Can You Walk Me Through Your Current Challenges and Pain Points?" Understanding the challenges your prospect is facing provides valuable insights into their immediate needs and priorities. **2. "What Goals Are You Looking to Achieve in the Next Quarter/Year?" Aligning your solution with the prospect's goals allows you to position your product or service as a strategic asset to their success. **3. "How Does Your Decision-Making Process Typically Work?" Uncovering the decision-making dynamics within the prospect's organization helps you navigate the sales process more effectively. **4. "Who Are the Key Stakeholders Involved in This Decision?" Identifying and understanding the key decision-makers and influencers ensures you engage with the right individuals throughout the sales journey. **5. "What Solutions Have You Tried in the Past, and What Were the Results?" Learning about past solutions provides insights into what has or hasn't worked for the prospect, guiding your recommendations. **6. "What Timelines Are You Working Within for Implementation?" Understanding the prospect's timelines allows you to tailor your proposal to align with their urgency and priorities. **7. "How Would You Measure Success in Implementing a Solution Like Ours?" Defining success metrics ensures that both you and your prospect have a clear understanding of what a successful partnership looks like. **8. "What Concerns or Objections Do You Have About Implementing a Solution?" Addressing concerns upfront allows you to build trust and tailor your pitch to alleviate any reservations the prospect may have. **9. "Can You Share Insights About Your Current Vendor or Solution?" Gaining insights into the prospect's current relationships helps you position your solution as a valuable enhancement or alternative. **10. "How Can Our Solution Best Support Your Unique Business Needs?" Tailoring your solution to the prospect's specific business needs demonstrates a commitment to a personalized and impactful partnership. 🚀 Pro Tip: The art of discovery lies in active listening and adapting your questions based on the prospect's responses. Make it a conversational exploration rather than a checklist. Ready to Elevate Your Discovery Conversations? Let's Connect! If you're looking to refine your discovery process or discuss how to tailor these questions to your unique sales landscape, let's connect. Together, we can unlock valuable insights that drive successful sales outcomes. Here's to impactful discovery conversations and the thriving journey ahead! 🌟💼 #SalesDiscovery #ElevateConversations #UnlockInsights 🚀✨