Conducting a Successful Sales Discovery Call

A sales discovery call is a conversation between a salesperson and a potential customer to learn more about the customer's needs and determine whether the company's products or services can meet those needs. Here are some tips for conducting a successful sales discovery call:

1. Do your research

Before the call, make sure you have a good understanding of the customer's business and the challenges they are facing. This will help you tailor your pitch and ask relevant questions. If you have time, consider rehearing with a team member or manager.  

2. Record your calls

Use a service like Otter.ai to record and transcribe your discovery calls so that you can focus on the questions and answers.  You can review and share the notes after the call. You can play back the audio to ensure you understand both the words and the emotion behind the words.  

3. Establish rapport

Start the call by introducing yourself and building rapport with the customer. This can help create a more positive and productive conversation.

4. Set the agenda

Before jumping straight into questions take a moment to outline the agenda for the call and to get buy-in from your customer prospect that the call will be useful for them.

5. Ask open-ended questions

During the call, ask open-ended questions that encourage the customer to share more information about their needs and goals. This will help you better understand how your company can help them.

6. Listen actively

Pay attention to what the customer is saying and show that you are listening by nodding, asking clarifying questions, and repeating key points.  If you use live transcription software like Otter.ai - you can highlight and comment in the transcript to easily recall the information after the call.

7. Use features and benefits

When discussing your products or services, focus on the features and benefits that are most relevant to the customer's needs. This will help demonstrate how your company can help them achieve their goals.

8. Close the call with a clear next step

At the end of the call, summarize what was discussed and agree on a clear next step. This could be scheduling a follow-up call, sending over more information, or setting up a meeting to discuss further.

If you are interested in learning more about how you and your sales colleagues can use Otter.ai to record and transcribe discovery calls - contact us today.

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