We can all agree that, in sales, the buyer is the central figure, and successful engagement starts with effective discovery.
For clarity, when I say ‘discovery’ I mean ‘the buyer discovers’. I’m not talking about sales qualification discovery, so forget BANT, MEDDIC or any other qualification model usually associated with a series of “discovery questions”.
Discovery is about getting your stakeholders to discover what they need to know to generate consensus around the need to change, what change looks like, who to buy from and actually to commit.
So, let’s shift the paradigm – it’s not about sales-driven interrogations but collaborative conversations. Lead with insights first and then earn the right to ask questions.
Key steps for buyer-centric discovery:
- Objective: Define what you want the buyer to discover.
- Discussion: Share insightful, researched stories that add value. It’s about creating light bulb moments, not interrogating.
- Action: Guide the conversation towards tangible commitments with measurable outcomes and timeframes.
Let’s look at these in more detail:
1. Objective
- Why change? Uncover quantifiable reasons, driven by risks or opportunities the buyer faces.
- Change to what? Identify solution criteria that align with promised results, forming a compelling business case.
- Change to who? Pinpoint the best supplier to deliver outcomes as outlined in the business case.
- Commit to change: Illuminate the necessity of change and the consequences of standing still.
2. Discussion
- Insightful sharing: Present relevant insights backed by thorough research. Use stories that are memorable and shareable.
- Impact validation: Confirm how insights resonate with the buyer’s situation.
- Strategic questions: Ask questions that facilitate understanding and demonstrate the value of moving forward.
3. Action
The commitment is driven by what stage the buyer and their colleagues are at in their buying process. As with any commitment, for it to be real it must be associated with a timeframe and some form of measurable outcome. Typically, this commitment could include:
- Agreement to share the insights with other stakeholders. This could be done by the sales executive or by someone within the customer (your champion).
- Agreement to introduce new stakeholders.
- Agreement to agree to discuss the next step in the buying process.
Success recipe
Success in the discovery process hinges on thorough preparation and collaborative conversation. Understanding the customer, market, and region, then converting this knowledge into compelling insights, sharing these insights via memorable stories and confirming the impact of the stories to enable the conversation to move forward.
AI can provide us with the tools to speed up the research, specifically combining the industry/regional issues with the specifics of the company.
Try the following prompts is your favourite Chatbot AI:-
- What are the catalysts for change within <<insert target industry>>?
- Are there any regional differences in <<insert region>>?
- How is this affecting <<insert company of interest>>?
It can also help turn research into insights and stories that will resonate with the Buyer. But, as was highlighted in a previous article, the AI is a start it still needs the Sales Executive to invest time in ensuring they understand the Insight, can tell the story, and can share the potential impact with the Buyer. I will continually repeat this: Use AI to make you more effective not just more efficient!
The magic still lies in the sales executive’s ability to collaborate, share impactful stories, and confirm their resonance.
So, are your discovery conversations truly buyer-centric, or are you stuck in the cycle of repetitive interrogations? It may be time to challenge yourself.
Having, hopefully, persuaded you of the need to help the buyer discover, then the next question is how do we create a compelling reason to change that becomes the focus of a Buyer Centric Discovery conversation? We will look at that next.
If you’d like us to teach your team how to sell with a buyer’s perspective, please contact us via the form below and a member of our team will get back to you promptly.
