Welcome to issue 82 ! Did someone forward this to you? If so, Subscribe here!

It’s a story as old as time.

You’ve done your research and know their website by heart.

From the outside it looks like they could be a great fit.

The call starts…you feel good.

You have light banter…you’re still okay but getting nervous.

You start to transition to talking business…You freeze or freak out.

30-minutes later, after the call ends, you’re like, “WTF just happened?”

So, what did happen?

This happens because you’ve become too reliant on your “checklist questions”.

Since you’re nervous, you feel that if you script the call to perfection you’ll be able to systematize it and get through unscathed.

It never works out that way.

Because that’s not how conversations work.

They are fluid and malleable.

So, when you try to fit it into a box, one step outside of it can throw you off your game.

Let the buyer lead you in the direction they want to go.

There is likely a reason the buyer wanted to get on the call. It was in something you said, or something they saw or learned about.

Nobody takes a call just to chit chat especially when they know it’s a sales call.

So, instead of assuming what they want and dragging them down some path with your standard questions, leave it open ended.

Let them start.

How? Ask one simple question…

“What interested you in having the call today?”

→ Their answer is your jump-off point.

No matter what they say, you know it’s something they care about.

More times that not it’ll start with something like…

It will most likely be tied to the thing that is most top-of-mind at the moment.

From there, you start learning more.

When you start learning, remember to:

→ Remove the ambiguity when you hear it (ICYMI: learn how to do that here)

→ Define the impact that specific thing has on their business (quantify where you can)

→ Recap what you are hearing and understanding along the way.

You’ll be amazed how much 15-25 minutes evaporates when you spend time digging deeper into one area versus skipping around on the surface.

When you’re struggling with discovery, let’s not try to solve everything at once.

Start at the beginning.

Help your buyer share what’s on their mind.

The easiest way to do that is to find out why they even showed up in the first place.

I know you have a discovery call coming up in the next few weeks.

I’d love to know how it worked once you do.

Reply to this newsletter and tell me. I read every email.

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