Discovery with virtual selling
Discovery is arguably the most important part of a sales cycle. This article explores how the discovery is different with virtual selling.
What is discovery?
Discovery is essentially a conversation you have early on in your sales cycle with your prospect to qualify them. This can help you decide whether your SaaS solution is the right one for them and whether they are a prospect that you can convert from a lead into a customer. Discovery is also a great opportunity to gather useful information that can be handy later in the sales cycle. The ability to conduct an effective discovery is one of those factors that separates the top salespeople from the average ones.
How is it different with virtual selling?
How is discovery different with virtual selling? Generally speaking, it boils down to two things:
- Additional technology is available at your disposal.
- More openness to engage virtually during the discovery portion of the sales cycle by the prospects.
Prior to 2020, majority of prospects would typically want to have a discovery meeting with you either in person or on the phone. If you told them, “hi, I’m going to organise a video call for this discovery”, they probably would not be so keen to jump on a video call as they would prefer to do it in person or on the phone. However, with the recent shift towards virtual selling, it is easier to ask to have a discovery call via Zoom or another video conferencing software. This shift in attitude towards these tools is great news for salespeople.
Pre-discovery survey
Prospects are now more open to receiving a survey or something similar that asks for a bit more of their information after you book the discovery call with them. Essentially, the idea is that you book a discovery call, and prior to the call taking place, you send the prospect a survey where they can give you some initial information.
One of the key things here is that you ensure the survey is both professional and is easy for the prospect to complete. The tip here is that you should try to sell it to them and explain why they should do it, typically as a time-saving mechanism. Let them know that you are going to be able to cover more and take that discovery to the next step because they can get some preliminary information out of the way in that survey.
In addition to a pre-discovery survey, it is important that you also set the agenda in your invite to the prospect for the discovery, and it is consistent with the survey.
Leverage your screens
One of the great benefits that come with doing discovery on a video call is that you can leverage multiple screens as you are talking to the prospect. This is important, and anyone who is serious about selling today should be able to leverage multiple screens at their primary working station.
There’s quite a bit you can do with multiple screens. For example, as you are talking to a customer with the video on one screen and on the other, you can take notes. What is game-changing that you cannot get with having a discovery in person is that you can have a cheat sheet. You can have pre-written notes that helps you structure the discovery and ensures you cover everything needing to be discussed.
Use visuals
As you are talking to a prospect the other thing you can do is make use of the screen sharing function to share some visuals with them. You want to ensure that the visuals or short demo brings value to the discovery and do not distract or prevent the right questions from being asked by either you or the prospect. Asking the right questions rather than going too much into a showing mode is very important in discovery.
Depending on the prospect, it can be quite effective to take notes and share that very screen with them. We all write notes based on how we hear it, so sharing the screen with the notes allow the prospect to validate/correct anything you potentially have gotten wrong.
Record the conversation
Another game-changing thing to do when it comes to leveraging virtual selling for discovery is the ability to ask the prospect to record the conversation. Depending on what kind of prospect they are, what industry they are in, etc. you can decide whether it is a good idea to ask to have the virtual meeting recorded. The recording is an awesome tool for you that allows you to revisit all the information and ensure your notes covered everything. A recording can also be valuable to the prospect, especially if you answer their question or share some visuals or information about your offering.
A couple of years ago, calling a customer to inform them that you will be recording the conversation would have been very awkward and potentially negatively impact how far you would get with them. Today, more customers are comfortable with the discovery meeting being recorded, especially if you communicate the benefits of doing so.
Collaboration platforms
Another game-changing thing to do when it comes to leveraging virtual selling for discovery is the ability to ask the prospect to record the conversation. Depending on what kind of prospect they are, what industry they are in, etc. you can decide whether it is a good idea to ask to have the virtual meeting recorded. The recording is an awesome tool for you that allows you to revisit all the information and ensure your notes covered everything. A recording can also be valuable to the prospect, especially if you answer their question or share some visuals or information about your offering.
A couple of years ago, calling a customer to inform them that you will be recording the conversation would have been very awkward and potentially negatively impact how far you would get with them. Today, more customers are comfortable with the discovery meeting being recorded, especially if you communicate the benefits of doing so.