The discovery call is among the most crucial steps in any sales process. It is the call where the salesperson gathers information about the prospect's needs and pain points. It is also an opportunity for the sales rep to build rapport with the customer and establish trust. Since sales professionals are always looking for ways to boost their pipelines and fill them with quality prospects, how can they prepare to be effective during a discovery call?

In this episode, Ron Halbert and Rusty Jensen talk about the discovery call. They will discuss how to prepare for a discovery call, the three key components to a successful call, and how to close it.

Enjoy!


In This Episode

00:48 - What is a discovery call?

04:09 - Why discovery calls are important in the sales process

05:15 - How to prepare for a discovery call

11:20 - Why it is important to assist sales reps in building credibility with prospects

14:08 - The three key components to a successful discovery call

• 15:15 - Environmental questions
• 18:52 - Pain funnel
• 21:21 - Translating the issues to a business outcome

28:59 - How to close a discovery call

• 30:32 - Foreshadow the sales process
• 33:31 - The summary email

Favorite Quotes

03:15 - "There's a mentality in the sales world where in a discovery call, do I qualify out or do I qualify in? Do I try and turn this into something that I sell, or do I try and figure out whether or not I'm wasting my time by trying to sell to this person?" - Ron Halbert

04:09 - "Regardless of what you're doing as a salesperson, you should be able to be conducting these discovery calls and these first calls in a way where you are selling, you are finding value. You are helping a customer to see the light and what your solution can do for them." - Rusty Jensen

05:34 - "The first thing that you need to understand about any prospect or customer that you're talking to is you need to be able to understand what it is that they do as a company, what department your prospect is in, and what their typical role might be like." - Rusty Jensen

11:20 - "If you're an enterprise sales rep and you're talking about a potentially huge account or very important relationship, get prepared and get ready so that you can align yourself and your psychology in the way you communicate with them." - Rusty Jensen

13:07 - "When you think about sales as 90% building trust, it doesn't matter how smart you are and what you know, if they don't trust you, you're done." - Ron Halbert

23:24 - "You mentioned how they might defend the way they're doing things. There's a reason, and it's not easy to change. And they have to decide, are we going to go through? Is this worth trying to go through and replace all of this architecture, all these systems, these processes, and change, they can decide. And I'll tell you what, they're not going to make that decision just based on how personal individual feels about it." - Rusty Jensen

30:32 - "One of the most important parts of closing any call is to ask questions about the next steps, and the way you do that is you foreshadow the sales process." - Rusty Jensen

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Rusty Jensen on LinkedIn
Ron Halbert on LinkedIn
The Sales Prescription on LinkedIn

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The best salespeople have a deep understanding of what makes their customers tick, and they use this understanding to shape their selling approach and establish long-term relationships with them. In a complex sale, it isn't enough to know what your product can do or how to position it. You must also understand the buyer's motivations, fears, and concerns. It is only then that you can create an effective sales strategy that takes all of these factors into account.

In this episode, Rusty and Ron talk about the psychology of the complex sale. They will discuss the three phases of the sales cycle and the key elements that prospects care about, what to keep in mind when starting a sales process, and how to navigate each phase effectively.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

00:57 - Why the psychology of a complex sale matters

02:55 - How the psychology of sales can be related to dating

07:14 - The three phases of the sales cycle and the four key elements that prospects care about

13:01 - The most important thing to remember when starting a sales process

17:28 - How risk is more important than price

22:53 - How to navigate the evaluation phase effectively

26:03 - What you should keep in mind during the commitment phase

30:10 - Why you should stop selling at the commitment phase

31:20 - Key takeaways from this episode

Favorite Quotes

02:13 - "Cold calling is awkward. But there are people that are very successful cold callers. They do it very well because they can take an awkward situation and make it better." - Ron Halbert

06:53 - "You need to be open to having the awkward conversation. But you need to think, how can I make this as least awkward as possible moving forward? And the way that you do that is by caring about what they (prospects) care about." - Ron Halbert

22:53 - "In the evaluation phase, when things get serious, get everything out on the table, everything. Every possible price component, every possible expectation you can set in terms of implementation timelines, and everything. Because remember price is not just dollars, it's also a time investment. It's also resource commitment internally. Get it out on the table because this is a time when it's actually received the most." - Rusty Jensen

23:24 - "Early in the research phase, you have to be a little careful with how you give initial ballpark pricing. When it comes to the evaluation phase, you got to be thorough and get everything out on the table because this is when it matters the least. So, that's when you want to hit that component hard and you want to make sure the expectations are set really well in terms of resource investment and pricing." - Rusty Jensen

29:33 - "Win-win means you win as your company and the employee and the sales rep. And they win as the prospect and the new customer. That's what everyone needs to walk away feeling and experiencing through the commitment phase." - Ron Halbert

Connect with our Hosts
Rusty Jensen on LinkedIn
Ron Halbert on LinkedIn
The Sales Prescription on LinkedIn

Listen to more episodes of the Sales Prescription Podcast
Spotify
iTunes
Google Podcast