Interview HELP!! Mock Discovery Call

Like the title says I need help and general advice for this task in my upcoming panel interview. It’s a mock discovery call with the CTO. This is new to me as I come from a very old school sales industry, selling a commodity based on price.


My Questions for you all are:


what are the basics to the call?

what questions do I ask?

Is there a step by step process to a discovery call?

what research do I do before the interview?


If you have any advice or tips for me, please let me know. I really appreciate all the help.

☁️ Software Tech
🥎 Training
🔍 Discovery
15
Kirby
Politicker
12
Sales Representative
Don’t overcomplicate it. Stick to the basics of gap selling. Begin by a tiny amount of small talk, and then asking what caught their interest, why you’re on the call today. Ask questions about their present situation. How are you currently solving for X? How’s that been going? Etc. Ask questions about their ideal future. What are you hoping to achieve? Briefly explain how your product could get them there. And then close them on the next meeting. “If my XYZ strategist could show X value, would you have the budget to move forward with this in the next few months? Fantastic — when are you free?” The point isn’t to have predetermined questions. Your goal in discovery is to get a clear image, both for yourself and for them, of where they are, what they want, and how you could take them there. If it takes one question to figure out where they currently are, then move on. But if after 2 or 3 questions you don’t know, then keep asking. The goal is to find the truth of whether/how you can help, not read a script.
MCP
Valued Contributor
1
Sales Director
This 👆🏻
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
5
☕️
Did they not give you any prep? Given that you come from an industry that does not run discovery calls, it would seem they should help you understand the process for how to run discovery if they want you to complete the task successfully.
Reezy
Contributor
0
AE
Yes they just gave me the name of a company I would be doing this call with. 

The discovery calls I do are specific to my industry, question I prospects to get a sense of their business. Usually asking about the company size, usage and current competitors they are using. 

They told me to use existing cases on the company website to relate it back to the prospects company. 
braintank
Politicker
0
Enterprise Account Executive
Some of those questions will still be valid (e.g. usage and current competitors they are using). I'd avoid asking about company size and stuff you could glean from the website or LinkedIn.
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
2
☕️
At the most simple level, a discovery call is designed to help you do just that: discover why you're having a call. What is going on in the org that has pushed them to the point of having to seek out a solution? Is it a new project, a shitty current vendor, a broken process, a problem of scale? Start with why you're even talking, and then dig into the whys and hows beyond that.
SaaSam
Politicker
3
Account Executive
Look into the Gap sales method. It puts a lot of emphasis in discovery. Should be a good place to start.
braintank
Politicker
3
Enterprise Account Executive
When I'm struggling for Q's I always go back to TED:
1) Tell me ...
2) Explain ...
3) Describe...

Even if you know know jack about the product, those types of open ended questions will get the "prospect" talking, which is what the interviewer wants to see/hear.
alecabral
Arsonist
3
Director - Digital Sales Transformation
In my experience, it really depends on the industry and buyer persona you're calling. I see from your answer to @poweredbycaffeine that you're already asking some qualification questions. A discovery call is a more in depth call around their business and scenarios that could give you an idea on how to place your solution, so it's aimed to find pain points and confirm them with your customer.

I use a flow like this:

1. After introductions, I state the purpose of the call, which is for us to have a conversation around their operation so I can better understand and help.

2. I start by asking really open questions like "Other than what I can find online, can you explain what your core business is as a company?" . That usually lets them gain build some confidence. I just let them speak. I then move to "and what about your business area / line of business?" so we can get more specific.


3. From there on, I move from very open, to slightly open, mixed with a few confirmation / closed questions to see if I got it right.


4. When possible (i.e. if we're using zoom) I share my screen with them and my notes so they can correct me. When I was in Tech, I would map out their teck stack together with them and that was awesome, they'd actually end up telling me exactly how their datacenters were setup.



Also, just found this video that might help:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DbSgU5naDQ . A quick disclaimer here, I didn't watch it completely, just a couple of minutes. Hope it's not crap.

Go kick some butt, you've got this!
UserNotFound
Politicker
2
Account Executive
You should definitely have had some coaching- but my biggest piece of advice is no yes/no questions. "How are you currently" "Tell me about" "How do your users currently" "Would it be helpful if" etc. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
Wait. They just left you hanging?
Justatitle
Big Shot
2
Account Executive
Typically when companies do this they want to hear you get into 2nd level questions and not just accept the surface level answers they give. Also quantify what their goals are. They’ll probably give you a few brush offs and objections to see how you handle them in terms of acknowledging them and overcoming them. Ie.( no budget, no time,etc…) let us know how it goes and crush it my friend 
LordBusiness
Politicker
1
Chief Revenue Officer
At the end of the day the purpose of discovery is to uncover the “why behind the want” …Coming out to the gate I’d hit them with the old “I’m sure if your calendar looks like my CTOs your day is full, what made you jump on a call with me today?” If your talking to a CTo, then his technology stack is prolly important to what your selling, so maybe ask a few stack questions? Tough to really laser in with help here without knowing the nitty gritty
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Totally sounds like the company I have worked for in the past and their process to assess both internal and external candidates.   BTW, some people will be far better at the role play than others, but by all means, sell to the roles and company provided to you by the interview team.

So, to knock it out of the park: do your research.   They've given you the company name; look at the website, know their industry, etc.   If the interview team has named the CTO, it's possibly a real person.   Look that person up on LinkedIn and Google search, find out about him or her.   Know the pain points of a CTO for the industry they're in and what the solution you hope to be selling solves for.   Others have provided great ways to get the CTO to open up - open ended questions that aren't basic and things you should know if you've done your research, but leads them to discuss what it is they are trying to solve and why they are having the call with you.  Do not forget to summarize the call and discuss next steps as you would for a real prospect.   

It's different solving problems than providing commodity products based on price, but it's more fun, IMO.   Best case scenario, you're working with the prospective customer to figure out how to solve their issues and provide value to them.   Good luck!
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