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This article is to help new Blue partners on structuring discovery calls with prospects.

The main thing to note is that the sale is typically won or lost during discovery.

If you don't get enough information on key points, you'll misdiagnose the problem, miss the customer's desired future state, and miscalculate the gap between where they are and where they want to go.

The result?

You offer a solution that doesn't actually address their problems, and they don't buy. Or worse - they buy, realize it doesn't solve their issues, and churn after 2-3 months.

Great discovery isn't about shoving product down customers' throats. It's about being professional enough to understand where we can genuinely assist - and honest enough to walk away when we can't.

The Discovery Framework

Here's the structure that works for direct customer calls and joint partner calls:

Section	Duration	Purpose	Key Outcome
Introduction	5 minutes	Set agenda, establish credibility, show social proof	Position as expert advisor, not vendor
Current State	20-25 minutes	Deep dive into workflows, hunt down problems	Identify 3-5 core pain points with root causes
Impact	10-15 minutes	Quantify consequences, build urgency	Calculate cost of inaction per month
Future State	10 minutes	Understand desired outcomes	Clear success criteria defined
Brief Demo	5-10 minutes	Show specific solutions (optional)	Prove capability on their exact problems
Wrap-up	10 minutes	Confirm process, book next steps	Next call scheduled with stakeholders identified

Critical Rule: The buyer should be talking at least 50% of the time. If you're talking more than they are, you're selling, not discovering.

1. Setting Authority

Most Common Mistake: Partners spend too much time presenting company history and features. Prospects don't care about your company - they care about their problems.

How to Establish Credibility (Without Being Boring)

Keep it to 2-3 minutes max:

• Personal authority: "I've helped 50+ similar companies solve this exact problem"
• Company proof: "Blue powers 17,000+ organizations like yours"
• Relevant experience: "We just helped [similar company] reduce process time by 60%"

For Blue's CEO approach: "I ran a consulting firm, traveled globally helping enterprises optimize processes, previously senior PM at United Nations. Now I help 17,000+ customers modernize their operations."

Setting the Agenda

"Here's what I'd like to accomplish today: understand your current workflows, identify specific bottlenecks, and determine if Blue can genuinely help. This is about your challenges, not our product. Sound good?"

2. Current State

This is where deals are won. You're not interviewing - you're having a conversation. You're not guessing - you're diagnosing.

Conversation Starters (Not Interview Questions)

Instead of: "What's your current process?"
Try: "Walk me through what happened the last time you had to [relevant task]"

Instead of: "Do you use Excel?"
Try: "Help me understand how your team tracks this today"

The Root Cause Investigation Framework

Use "why" and "how" probes until you can explain why the problem exists. Think of it like the scientific method - critically investigate why they're doing things, not just accepting "that's how we've always done it."

Example Conversation Flow:

Prospect: "We're using Excel for project tracking and it's getting messy."

You: "Tell me more about 'messy' - what specifically is breaking down?"

Prospect: "Different versions everywhere, people don't know which is current."

You: "How does that happen? Walk me through the typical scenario."

Prospect: "Well, someone downloads it to work offline, makes changes, emails it around..."

You: "And why do they need to work offline? Is it Excel online or desktop?"

Prospect: "Both actually. Some people don't have Office 365 licenses."

You: "So the root cause is actually inconsistent tool access leading to version control issues. What impact does that have on deadlines?"

Now you've found the real problem: Not just "messy Excel" but "inconsistent tool access creating version conflicts that impact delivery."

Questions That Always Uncover Real Problems

1. The Motivation Question: "What motivated you to spend an hour with us today? Something must have triggered this call."

2. The Root Cause Question: "Why do you think this problem keeps happening?" (Let them diagnose themselves)

3. The Process Evolution Question: "How did you end up with this current process? Was it designed or did it just evolve?"

4. The Failed Solution Question: "What have you already tried to fix this?"

5. The Personal Impact Question: "When this problem happens, what does it mean for your day?"

3. Impact

Don't just identify problems - quantify them. Build urgency by calculating the cost of inaction.

The Impact Calculation Framework

When they can't quantify impact, help them:

Time Waste Calculation:

• "How many people deal with this problem?" → 10 people
• "How many hours per week?" → 3 hours each
• "What's the average hourly cost?" → $75/hour
• "So that's $2,250/week or $117,000/year on this one issue alone"

Opportunity Cost Framing:
"If you weren't spending 30 hours a week on manual coordination, what strategic initiatives could your team tackle?"

Competitive Impact:
"How does this slow response time affect your position against competitors who can move faster?"

Making It Personal (The Emotional Hook)

Listen for offhand comments and connect to personal impact:

• They mention "late night emails" → "Wouldn't it be nice to actually disconnect after 6pm?"
• They mention "constant firefighting" → "What would it feel like to be proactive instead of reactive?"
• They mention "team frustration" → "How would it change team morale if this just worked?"

4. Future State

Don't assume - ask explicitly what success looks like.

The Three Levels of Success

1. Organizational: "What would solving this mean for the company?"
2. Departmental: "What would change for your team specifically?"
3. Personal: "What would this mean for you personally?" (promotion, less stress, more strategic work)

Success Metrics That Matter

Get specific commitments:

• "If we could reduce process time from 5 days to 2, would that be meaningful?"
• "What's the one metric that would prove this is working?"
• "What would need to happen for you to consider this a win in 6 months?"

5. Demo

Critical Rule: Show 5 features or less. Only show features that directly solve their stated problems.

What to Show

✅ Always Winners:

• Automation replacing their manual process
• Dashboard solving their visibility problem
• Approval workflows fixing their accountability issue
• Audit trail for their compliance needs

What NOT to Show

❌ Feature Parade Mistakes:

• Dark mode
• Color customization
• "Cool" features that don't solve their problems
• Generic capabilities they didn't ask about

The Live Configuration Approach

Best approach: "Based on what you've told me, let me actually configure Blue right now to show exactly how this would work for your specific process."

This proves you listened and can deliver immediately.

6. Wrap-up

No discovery call ends without clear next steps.

Understanding Their Process

"Help me understand your decision process:

• Who else needs to be involved?
• What's the last time you bought something similar?
• What were the key factors in that decision?
• What's your timeline for making a change?"

If they're evasive: "I'm not trying to game your process - I want to ensure you have all the information needed to make the best decision for your organization."

The Calendar Commitment

"Let's get calendars out and schedule our next conversation. We'll build a customized demo based on everything we discussed today."

If they resist: "Even if you need to move it, let's pencil something in so we have a placeholder. When would work best - Thursday or Friday?"

Handling Common Objections

"Our current system works fine, we're just exploring"

Response: "That's great that it's working. Help me understand - if it's working well, what triggered you to spend time exploring alternatives? There must be something you're hoping could be better."

Then probe for:

• Recent incidents that exposed limitations
• Upcoming changes that current system can't handle
• Team feedback about frustrations

"We need to think about it"

Response: "Of course. What specifically would you like to think through? Is it the cost, the implementation, or whether it solves your problems?"

Then address their specific concern directly.

Red Flags to Walk Away

🚩 Deal Killers:

• No clear pain points after 30 minutes of discovery
• Extremely complex integration needs Blue can't meet
• Decision process longer than 6 months
• No budget or authority identified
• Comparing only on price, not value

When you identify a deal killer, be professional: "Based on what you've shared, I don't think Blue is the right fit for your specific needs. Have you considered [alternative]?"

Discovery Call Checklist

Before the call:

• Research their company and industry
• Prepare 3-5 relevant case studies
• Test your demo environment

During the call:

• Customer talking 50%+ of the time
• Identified 3-5 specific pain points
• Quantified impact in dollars or hours
• Understood personal motivation
• Showed 5 or fewer targeted features
• Identified all stakeholders

After the call:

• Next meeting scheduled
• Follow-up email sent within 2 hours
• Custom demo environment prepared
• Relevant case studies and documentation shared

The Most Important Skill

If partners master only one thing, it should be this: Be a good listener.

Pick up on cues. Dig deeper. Ask "why" until you understand the real problem. The best discovery calls feel like consultative conversations, not sales pitches.

Remember: You're not there to push product. You're there to diagnose problems and prescribe solutions. Sometimes the solution isn't Blue - and that's okay. The professionalism to walk away from bad fits builds more trust than any sales technique ever could.