The Question of the Discovery Call

I've been writing about the value and process of demos. But before you even get to a demo, there’s the question of whether to have a discovery call first.

Some believe discovery is mandatory in all cases. Others argue that it slows things down and adds an unnecessary barrier.

There isn’t a universal right answer. There is only what makes sense for your product, your buyer, and the size of the decision you’re asking someone to make. For instance, if you’re selling a $49-per-month tool that takes 10 minutes to understand, a formal discovery call is probably unnecessary. The buyer likely already has a good idea of what your product does, and the demo can do double duty and also function as discovery. You show the product, observe where the prospect focuses, and ask questions as you go.

But this all changes the moment you move into meaningful B2B contracts. For instance, if you're selling a $10,000+ annual contract into an organization with multiple stakeholders and internal approval processes, skipping discovery is a mistake. In that scenario, the mostly likely isn't just one decision-maker. Rather there are almost always competing priorities, hidden objections, internal champions, committees, and skeptics. 

If you jump directly into a demo, you’re relying on your own assumptions about what matters most to the organization. Sometimes those assumptions are correct. More often, they’re only partially right, and the demo is likely to miss the mark. 

The right way to think about a discovery call is as and early element of a complex sale. The more expensive and consequential the decision, the more context you need before you present your solution. 

Thus, how you structure your sales process should be a function of deal size, stakeholder involvement, and buyer risk.

Back