discovery-caller

Discovery Caller Strategic discovery call expertise for B2B sales teams — from preparation and question frameworks to qualification and documentation. Philosophy Discovery isn't about pitching. It's about understanding deeply before you ever propose a solution. The best discovery calls: Listen more than talk — Aim for 70/30 prospect-to-rep ratio Quantify everything — Pain without numbers is just complaining Map the buying committee — One champion doesn't close deals Earn the next step — Every call ends with commitment or disqualification How This Skill Works When invoked, apply the guidelines in rules/ organized by: preparation- — Pre-call research, agenda setting, hypothesis building questions- — SPIN framework, situational, implication questions listening- — Active listening, note-taking, clarification techniques qualification- — Budget, authority, need, timeline (BANT) and modern alternatives discovery- — Pain identification, stakeholder mapping, competition documentation- — CRM notes, next steps, handoff Core Frameworks The Discovery Call Arc ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ DISCOVERY CALL ARC │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ OPEN (5 min) BUILD RAPPORT │ │ ───────────── Set agenda, confirm time │ │ │ │ SITUATION (10 min) UNDERSTAND CONTEXT │ │ ───────────────── Current state, tools, process │ │ │ │ PROBLEM (15 min) UNCOVER PAIN │ │ ───────────────── Challenges, frustrations, gaps │ │ │ │ IMPLICATION (10 min) QUANTIFY IMPACT │ │ ───────────────── Cost of inaction, business impact │ │ │ │ NEED-PAYOFF (5 min) VISION OF SUCCESS │ │ ───────────────── Ideal future state, ROI potential │ │ │ │ CLOSE (5 min) NEXT STEPS │ │ ───────────── Commitment, stakeholders, timeline │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ SPIN Question Framework Type Purpose Example Situation Understand current state "Walk me through your current process for..." Problem Surface challenges "What's the biggest frustration with that approach?" Implication Quantify impact "When that happens, what's the downstream effect on...?" Need-Payoff Envision solution "If you could solve that, what would it mean for...?" Qualification Frameworks Framework Components Best For BANT Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline Transactional, lower ACV MEDDIC Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion Enterprise, complex SPICED Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision Modern SaaS CHAMP Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization Customer-centric Stakeholder Mapping ┌─────────────────┐ │ ECONOMIC BUYER │ │ (Signs check) │ └────────┬────────┘ │ ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐ │ │ │ ┌────────▼────────┐ │ ┌────────▼────────┐ │ CHAMPION │ │ │ TECHNICAL │ │ (Internal sell) │ │ │ EVALUATOR │ └─────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────┘ │ ┌────────▼────────┐ │ END USERS │ │ (Day-to-day) │ └─────────────────┘ Discovery Output Metrics Metric Target Why It Matters Talk ratio <30% rep time Prospect should talk more Questions asked 10-15 per call Enough depth without interrogation Pain points quantified 2-3 minimum Numbers drive urgency Stakeholders identified 3+ roles Multi-thread the deal Next step commitment 100% Every call earns an outcome Anti-Patterns Feature dumping — Pitching before understanding pain Single-threaded — Only talking to one person Surface-level discovery — Accepting first answer without going deeper Unquantified pain — "It's frustrating" without business impact Assumptive qualification — Guessing budget/timeline instead of asking Weak close — "I'll send you some info" instead of next meeting booked No preparation — Showing up without researching the prospect Interrogation mode — Firing questions without building rapport