Discovery calls represent an important moment in the sales process: They’re when teams separate the strong opportunities from the weaker ones. These calls move past surface-level conversations to uncover what’s motivating a buyer’s decisions. A well-executed discovery process in sales helps build trust, qualify leads, and prioritize the right deals.
Explore how to make every discovery call count with preparation tactics and follow-up steps that get results.
What’s a Discovery Call and Why Is It Important?
A discovery call is a conversation between a sales rep and a prospect, which aims to identify needs, challenges, and buying intent. This part of the sales process uses targeted questions to find out whether an opportunity is worth pursuing.
A strong discovery call builds rapport and brings out critical details, like budget and timeline, that indicate if a deal will move forward. By qualifying leads early, reps reduce wasted effort on low-value prospects. This helps accelerate pipeline velocity and ultimately, results in more closed deals.
When sales reps rely on small talk or push products too soon, calls fall flat and deals stall. But when the discovery phase is structured and data-driven, every call captures crucial information and clearly defines next steps.
What’s the Difference Between a Discovery Call and a Sales Call?
While both play a big role in the sales process, discovery calls and sales calls serve different purposes. A discovery call centers on asking questions to figure out the prospect’s goals and pain points. This gives reps the insight needed to determine if they’re a fit. A sales call comes after reps confirm it’s a match, and it’s when they’ll typically present solutions and demonstrate the value of their product or service. Think of discovery as the “why” and sales as the “how”: One call sets the stage, and the other moves the deal forward.
How To Run a Discovery Call in 4 Steps
An effective discovery call requires structure and focus. By following a set framework and asking thoughtful sales discovery questions, reps can qualify leads faster and define actionable next steps to speed up the sales cycle. Here’s a four-step guide for making every discovery call time well spent.
Prep With Purpose
Discovery starts long before you dial. Sales reps should research the prospect’s recent activities and role at their company by leveraging CRM history, LinkedIn profiles, and intent signals. Online tools and platforms offer a glimpse into the prospect’s world and may even point to immediate needs or challenges. Thorough discovery call prep includes reviewing connections, competitor news, and funding announcements. Having this background knowledge ensures the conversation is relevant and positions the rep as informed and helpful.
Rox enhances this step by automatically pulling insights from your CRM, past touchpoints, and public sources like LinkedIn and Crunchbase. It provides a tailored briefing document with key talking points and recommended questions. This way, sales reps begin every call with context and confidence.
Set the Agenda and Build Rapport
Setting an agenda at the start of a discovery call keeps things focused. Salespeople should outline what the conversation will cover and align with the prospect on timing. This shows respect for the prospect’s schedule and creates a roadmap for a productive call.
Ask and Adapt
The best sales discovery questions are open-ended, leaving room to learn more about the prospect’s needs. Reps should guide the conversation and adapt in real time to the responses shared. By listening more than talking, sales reps gain meaningful insights that shape next steps and inform future outreach.
Rox supports your sales team by suggesting smart, dynamic questions based on the flow of conversation. It also transcribes, helping reps stay present during the call instead of juggling speaking with notetaking.
Summarize and Define Next Steps
At the end of each discovery call, sales reps should summarize key takeaways, confirm whether it’s a mutual fit, and propose next steps. This could include scheduling a product demo or looping in additional stakeholders. Clear follow-up actions reduce the risk of stalled deals and keep prospects engaged in the process.
Rox’s AI simplifies this final step by instantly generating call summaries and action items. In addition, Rox can trigger follow-up emails and Slack tasks to prevent ghosting and help deals move down the pipeline.
Discovery Call Questions That Surface Real Sales Opportunities
A successful discovery call is built on asking the right questions that uncover real business needs, help reps understand the decision-making process, and lay the groundwork for next steps. Below are 10 discovery question examples, broken down by category, to guide purposeful conversations with each prospect.
Business Context and Current Priorities
Understanding where the company or prospect is, and where they’re trying to go, helps sales reps frame solutions around the buyer’s reality. The idea is to open the dialogue and show genuine curiosity. Questions here might include:
What are your top priorities this quarter, and how does your team measure success?
Has anything recently changed in your team or process that prompted you to explore solutions like ours?
Pain Points and Impact
This next set of questions helps you recognize the obstacles your prospect faces and how those issues affect the rest of the organization. A great discovery call script connects product value directly to pain points and business outcomes. It might include prompts like:
What’s the biggest challenge your team faces in this area right now?
How is this issue impacting your team’s productivity, revenue, or customer experience?
Budget and Urgency
Budget and urgency aren’t always obvious, so asking the right questions helps sales reps spot buyers ready to move. This way, reps avoid wasting time on unqualified leads and can focus their energy and efforts on the prospects most likely to convert. Consider asking the following questions:
Have you already allocated a budget for solving this problem, or would that come later?
If you don’t address this issue soon, what impact could it have on your business?
What would need to happen for this to be a priority in the next 30 to 60 days?
Process and Decision-Making
Even when there’s strong interest from a prospect, deals can stall without alignment on process. These questions help sales reps understand how decisions are made and who should be involved, so they can steer the conversation toward next steps. Good questions might be:
How does your team typically evaluate and buy software or services like this?
Who else should be part of this conversation as we move forward?
What does your timeline look like for finding and implementing a solution?
Run Sharper Discovery Calls With Rox
Better discovery calls drive more closed deals, but only when reps prioritize active listening instead of getting caught up in prep and notetaking. Rox can be invaluable here. It acts as an AI-powered agent to make sure every discovery call hits the right notes. The platform prepares reps with tailored insights before the call, suggests dynamic questions in real time, and automates follow-up tasks to keep momentum going.
With Rox, teams spend less time on manual research and admin work and more time engaging with prospects on a deeper level. If you want to run productive discovery calls that lead to more sales, watch the demo today.
FAQ
What Should You Avoid on a Discovery Call?
During a discovery call, avoid dominating the conversation or turning it into a sales pitch. Likewise, don’t rely on small talk or surface-level questions. It’s more effective to pose open-ended questions so you get a real sense of the prospect’s pain points and decision-making process.
How Long Should a Discovery Call Last?
Your first call with a prospect should last around 30 to 45 minutes, giving you plenty of time to ask questions and uncover meaningful insights. It’s important to balance depth with efficiency so prospects stay engaged. Calls that are too short might miss critical information, while long calls risk losing focus and direction.
How Many Questions Should You Ask During a Discovery Call?
The goal is to ask eight to 12 thoughtful, open-ended questions related to the prospect’s priorities, pain points, and budget. Still, the quality of your questions matters more than quantity. This keeps the conversation natural and lets you gather enough details to guide next steps.
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