Most discovery calls are fine. They gather the right information. They follow a logical structure. The rep asks about the problem, the timeline, the budget, the decision process.
And then the deal stalls. The prospect goes quiet.
The calls weren't bad. They were good. Good just isn't enough.
The Difference in One Sentence
Good discovery collects information about the prospect's situation.
Great discovery changes how the prospect thinks about their situation.
That's it. One leaves the prospect where they started. The other leaves them somewhere new.
What Good Discovery Looks Like
A good discovery call covers the basics:
- What's your current situation?
- What problem are you trying to solve?
- Who else is involved in this decision?
- What's your timeline?
- What's your budget?
These questions are necessary. You need the answers to qualify the deal and plan your approach. Any sales playbook will tell you to ask them.
The rep talks maybe 40% of the time. The prospect shares useful information. Everyone leaves with a clear next step.
This is fine. This is competent. This is what most trained reps do.
What Great Discovery Looks Like
Great discovery goes somewhere else entirely.
The prospect says "we're struggling with X." Instead of moving to the next question, the rep stays there. "When you say struggling, what does that actually look like day to day?"
The prospect describes the symptoms. The rep digs further. "How long has that been going on?" A year. "What have you tried?" A few things, nothing worked. "What happens if it doesn't get fixed?" The prospect pauses. They haven't really thought about that.
Now they're thinking about it.
Great discovery helps prospects connect dots they hadn't connected. It takes a vague frustration and turns it into a real problem with real consequences. It creates urgency that didn't exist before the call.
The best discovery calls leave prospects saying things like:
- "I hadn't thought about it that way before"
- "That's a good question, let me think..."
- "Yeah, that's actually a bigger deal than I realised"
When you hear these, you're not just gathering information. You're changing how they see things.
The Three Levels
Think of discovery questions in three levels.
Level one: situation. What's happening? What tools do you use? How many people on the team? These are necessary but not enough. They tell you about the world but don't create any momentum.
Level two: problem. What's not working? What's frustrating? What would you like to change? Better. Now you're talking about gaps and pain. But lots of prospects have problems they live with forever.
Level three: impact. What does this problem cost you? What happens if nothing changes? How does it affect you personally? This is where urgency lives. This is where good becomes great.
Most reps stay at level one and two. They gather information about situations and problems. They miss level three, where problems become urgent enough to act on.
Questions That Create Urgency
"What happens if this doesn't get solved this year?"
This forces the prospect to imagine the consequences. Often they haven't. The problem has just been there, annoying but tolerable. Now they're thinking about another year of living with it.
"How does this affect you personally?"
Business problems feel distant. Personal stakes feel real. Is this making their job harder? Are they working weekends because of it? Is their reputation on the line? Personal stakes drive action.
"What made you take this call?"
Something changed. They didn't wake up randomly deciding to talk to vendors. There's a trigger. Finding it tells you what they actually care about.
"What have you already tried?"
This reveals how serious they are. Have they put real effort in or just complained? It also stops you suggesting things they've already done.
"Why now? Why not six months ago?"
Urgency lives in this question. Something shifted. A new boss. A missed target. A competitor doing something scary. The answer tells you how hot this really is.
The Silence Trick
After you ask a good question, shut up.
Most reps can't handle silence. Three seconds feels like forever. They jump in with a follow-up or rephrase the question.
Don't. Let the prospect think.
The best answers come after a pause. The prospect is thinking, going deeper than their first instinct. If you fill that silence, you get the surface answer instead of the real one.
Count to five in your head. It's uncomfortable. Do it anyway.
Talk Ratio
In great discovery, the prospect talks 70% of the time or more.
If you're talking more than 30%, you're not doing discovery. You're presenting. You might be answering questions they didn't ask. You might be jumping to solutions too early. You might just be nervous.
Record your calls. Check the ratio. Most reps are shocked to find they're talking 50-60% when they thought they were listening.
The Trap of the Checklist
Bad discovery treats questions like a checklist. Ask about budget, tick. Ask about timeline, tick. Ask about decision makers, tick.
The prospect feels it. They're being processed, not understood. They give short answers and wait for the next question.
Great discovery follows threads. The prospect mentions something interesting, and you pull on it. You go where the conversation leads, not where your list says.
This requires actually listening, not just waiting for your turn to ask the next question.
When to Stop Digging
Not every thread is worth following. Sometimes the prospect mentions something that sounds important but isn't.
The test: does this connect to a problem you can solve? If yes, dig deeper. If no, acknowledge it and move on.
Discovery should feel focused, not all over the place. You're trying to understand their situation deeply, not learn everything about their life.
Moving to Your Pitch
Great discovery doesn't end with information. It ends with the prospect ready to hear how you can help.
The bridge sounds like: "Based on what you've told me about [specific problem] and [specific impact], let me show you how we've helped companies in similar situations."
Notice what this does. It connects your pitch directly to what they care about. It shows you listened. It earns the right to present.
A bad bridge sounds like: "Great, let me tell you about our product." This ignores everything they just said.
The Real Test
Here's how to know if your discovery was good or great:
After the call, could you explain to a colleague why this deal will or won't close? Not just what the prospect said, but why they'll act or not act.
If you can explain the problem, the impact, the personal stakes, the trigger, and the urgency, you did great discovery.
If you can only recite facts about their situation, you did good discovery. Good isn't enough.
Practice This
On your next discovery call, try one thing differently.
When the prospect describes a problem, don't move on. Ask "what happens if that doesn't get fixed?" Then wait.
See where the conversation goes. See if the energy changes. See if the prospect starts selling themselves on the urgency.
That's the difference between good and great. And it starts with one question you weren't asking before.