Finance2Sales

Financial Consultant

I Need Help - AE Discovery

Warriors,

I am moving from Finance to Sales. I have made it to the final rounds of an AE role with a dream company. Given my background in Financial Consulting, I want to be best prepared for that interview round, which is an initial discovery role play call next week.

Will any of you be willing to invest 20 minutes of your time to do a mock discovery role play with me? I will appreciate your time.

🔎 Prospecting

📈 Closing

🚀 Career Goals

41 comment

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CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

@GrizzleMcThornBody

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

Hey @Finance2Sales, give me a buzz. Let’s exchange guerillamail and chat.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

Hey @GrizzleMcThornBody, I appreciate it. I am watching out this space - [email protected]

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

Just sent you a message. Jesus I’m sorry I’m 8 hours late. I just got off a plane and checked bravado.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

Hey @Finance2Sales I realize you’re probably not at your computer. Want to shoot for like 2pm est tomorrow? I can mark it in my schedule to be on guerilla and bravado at that time tomorrow so we can line up. Would that work?

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

Hey @GrizzleMcThornBody that works perfectly! See you at 2pm EST.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

here anytime you are ready @GrizzleMcThornBody

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

I'm ready. message me at [email protected]

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

@Finance2Sales

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

reached out @GrizzleMcThornBody

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

whats yours? i have nothing yet.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

[email protected]

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

sent as well

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

sent again. this is being goofy

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

big time! i took up another domain and sent you something from there - [email protected]

let me know if recieved

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

sent to that one as well. if it doesnt work i'll drop a conf. call line and we can both dial in then i'll delete the message in here @Finance2Sales

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

ok, i'm getting the notice that your email is being blocked for some reason. anyother avenue to explore here?

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

yes, dial in to this line: lets chat. when you dial in i'll delete the number.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

that works for me

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

im on the line. its free. ignore any bullshit they tell you about $1 a minute. they're poor and trying to raise money.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

It was a pleasure speaking with you @Finance2Sales . I hope it was helpful and let us know if you get the job!

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

I appreciate the help! I will keep you posted @GrizzleMcThornBody.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

thanks. this was a better love story than twilight. i hope you enjoyed my sultry tones on the phone.

E_Money

Big Shot

💰

One piece of advice for interviewing for sales positions in general is always close the interview. Ask something along the lines of "given what you have learned about me so far in the interview process, is there anything that would prevent you from moving me forward in the process or anything you think I should work on?" something like that. Managers love that shit and it shows that you know how to ask those types of questions.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

BOOM! Love it!

What if they say, "We really enjoyed chatting with you. We'll confer internally and get back to you?"

Can I push ahead? Something like "Is there something in particular stopping you from making a decision now?"

E_Money

Big Shot

💰

IMO I wouldn't push too hard. You want to show them you know how to have convos like that and that you aren't too pushy/annoying. A fine line to walk

Wellss

Tycoon

Channel sales

Brainstorm a list of discovery questions. It's kind of tough to say exactly what questions to ask since I don't know anything about the company or product, but some could apply in different situations. My team lead sent out this sales blog a few months back that we all found helpful. It basically has a list of different questions you can ask during discovery https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/discovery-call-questions

SuperSaasMan

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Discovery is all about asking good questions that will get your prospect talking about their current issues and their desired future state. You'll use the information gained in your disco to eventually close the deal.

Disco is probably the most important call in the salescycle. Best of luck!

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

Appreciate it!

newsalesguy14

Politicker

Account Executive

Here are some tips I would do. Anyone feel free to give me feedback on my process as well as it's been awhile since I've interviewed (though a lot of this pertains to the mock call):

Set an upfront contract before diving into discovery before the interview. Something like:

"My goal is to find out if there is a fit for us to help you out with X. Typically, these conversations go 1 of 2 ways. Either there is no fit or there's no interest on your end, in which case you can tell me up up front and we can go separate ways or keep in touch periodically. Or, we find some ways to streamline [X process] or drive [Y outcome], in which case the next step would be to take a look at the platform and loop in anyone else who would use it. Sound like a plan to you?"

Then dive into discovery. As others have said, prepare a list beforehand. Be genuinely curious. Do not conduct an interview - be conversational. Add nuggets here and there so it flows better.

And last and perhaps most importantly for a sales interview - make sure you close it. Close the mock call by summarizing how you think you can help them and push for next steps.

And then close the interview by asking about their process for deciding on a candidate and their timeline for a decision (BANT!! Literally what you need to find out in a sales process). And then, again, summarize your value to the organization and how you can help, and say you want to take the next steps with the company and are looking forward to hearing their decision.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

Great points man! Thanks a lot.

I'm looking to loop the meeting agenda and upfront contract together. Something like:

"This conversation typically go 1 of 2 ways. We'll start by uncovering the issues you're facing with X, and depending on what you share with me, I can share how we've helped similar organizations tackle those problems and achieve their goals. And if you or I perceive that there is no fit, we'll go our separate ways. But if we can help you solve those issues and achieve your goals, we'll discuss next steps which would be a demo for you to take a look at the platform and loop in anyone else whom it would be beneficial for. Does that sound fair?"

What do you think?

newsalesguy14

Politicker

Account Executive

That sounds great! Good luck, you're going to crush it. The advice here in WR is great and has helped me in many situations

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

How would you do it here? All are anonymous here and you can't dm.

Why don't you elaborate what you want to know and you will start to hear back from all the experts.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

Thanks Diablo. I will like to particularly work on my closing skills. I have been self-learning but I feel like it is worthwhile to put sometime into actual practice.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

I understand. Why don't you read some articles from Bravado's Academy section -- https://bravado.co/academy/sales-interviewing
All the best!

saaskicker

Celebrated Contributor

Enterprise AE

Call your neighborhood Cutco rep and you can both practice.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

Thinking of sending this to the Sales Managers interviewing me, Do it or its an overkill?

"Hi X,
I will be having a discovery role play exercise with you next week. Flora and Mark had shared with me some general expectations. I also wanted to gather your expectations before the call.
Are there things you'd specifically like to see during the call? And are there anything I should definitely steer clear of?
Thanks,Matt"

@GrizzleMcThornBody @Diablo @saaskicker @CuriousFox @SuperSaasMan @Wellss @newsalesguy14 @DungeonsNDemos

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

Does the SM know you're already role playing? No need to send it if they already know. Also, if they're worth their salt, they won't tell you what they're looking for. The biggest mistake interviewers make when conducting an interview is telling the applicant what answer they want to hear.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Since none of us can help without breaking the rules, you might ask around on Reddit. Checkout r/sales if you haven't already.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

Yeah, I did. Appreciate the pointer.

Finance2Sales

Contributor

Financial Consultant

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Finance2Sales

I Need Help - AE Discovery

41 comment

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