Two Tips for Successful Sales Discovery Calls

As I’ve been setting up my business and website the last few months, I’ve had virtual discovery calls with a number of third-party tech solutions. These calls are my first opportunity to speak to someone who works at the solutions I’m considering, get a feel for how they operate and their customer service and support levels, and suss out if a particular solution is right for me.

I had a call with one last week. Below I share one thing they did right, and another thing they could improve upon to increase their close rate.

What follows is for all the business development and sales representatives out there who are the first point of contact for hot leads via discovery virtual or phone calls.

But first, what makes me qualified to speak to this? Well, besides being a business owner who talks to BD and sales reps, previously, inside several companies I was the point of contact to assess potential new, third-party solutions in both marketing director and project director capacities. And in the project director capacity, I also cold-called brands to sign them up for my employer’s package advertising program.

Here’s what the vendor I spoke to last week did right…and not the most right.

1. When he reached a stalemate with me on price, he started his next question with “Is there a world where…?”

Whether you’re a BD or sales rep — or really any role, including where you want to sell someone in your own organization — this is an incredibly powerful phrase/question. It wipes the slate of what’s been discussed up to this point on the call clean, and allows the rep to reframe the ask with modified or all new parameters. It also acknowledges prospect absolute sticking points and signals that the rep wants to work with the prospect to find the best solution as a means to develop a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.

In my case on my call last week, this reframe didn’t get me to budge, but I appreciated the rep’s ability to calmly pivot.

And speaking of remaining calm….

2. If your prospect “No” rate is too high, and you’re doing 45+ minute calls, consider shortening your call window to 30 minutes or less (and revising your pitch/presentation length accordingly).

This second tip assumes that your offer is unique, high value, proven, and, therefore, you can rule it out as contributing to a high “No” rate.

In my call last week, the sales rep spent minutes 30-40 talking with me about price, his company’s guarantee, and my options to opt out within an introductory window to incur no charge if I wasn’t happy. The longer we kept talking, I could hear his inner voice saying I need to close this guy as he kept steering me to answer, “Is it a Yes or No today?” When I affirmed it’s a No today — as I needed more time to think about the offer and contract price commitment over several months — he let his poker face slip, suddenly appearing crestfallen and slightly detached. He kept it very brief at the end of the call and just said, “OK. I’ll send you a follow-up email so you can find me in your inbox if you change your mind.”

While I don’t think this rep’s presentation is too long, he could have saved us both time by shortening the call to 20-30 minutes. For this rep, the benefit of this move is a calendar more stacked with lead calls. (Who in sales doesn’t like that?)

And on the topic of short discovery calls….

If you’re understaffed for the marketing projects you want to launch, let’s talk. I offer a free 20-minute call — with no hard or even soft sell in sight. You’ll come away with an insight or two for only the investment of the amount of time it takes for your morning coffee.