Closing a call is not that easy. It involves the hard work of multiple days or probably months. The first stage of the sales process is the discovery call. It is the call you make to a prospect reached to you through your website or email newsletters to unravel their needs and goals.
You cannot move ahead unless you know what your prospects want from you – what expectations they have with your products and services. In other words, a discovery call is the first step of the sales process, and if you slip up here, you will not be able to deliver the best experience to your users. This is why a discovery call becomes an important call for your business.
It will help you establish the relationship between you and your prospects. It is crucial to make the most of discovery calls because it enables you to understand the needs of your prospects.
Tips to make the most of discovery calls
If you want to make the most of discovery calls, you should ask your prospects the following questions. This can help you better understand their needs and goals so you can provide them with what they exactly want.
What are your goals?
You must know about the goals of the user so you can get a better idea of their expectations. For instance, if you sell HR management software solutions, you should what exactly they want – whether they need a software solution that handles all HR-related tasks or they just need it for payroll services.
Knowing about their goals beforehand can help you meet their expectations. Most of the time, you lose potential prospects just because you do not have clarity about their goals, and you serve them the product that does not fulfill their goals.
How soon do you want to achieve those goals?
Although you can get a hint about it when you ask about their goals, it becomes crucial to know how soon they want to achieve it. For instance, if they have decided to buy the software from you, they can say they need it by the following year. The next year may do not mean after 12 months. It may mean that as soon as the new financial year starts.
For instance, if you are talking to your customers in the month of October, the next year may mean from January instead of April, when the new financial year starts. This is why it is crucial to be specific about the timeframe.
What problems do you want to solve?
If you have received a query from a potential client through a product page, it does not mean that they need that product. It is not unusual to know that people are often confused about all features of all products displayed on your website.
This is why they do not just blindly believe that they need the product about which they have made the query. You should simply ask them about the problem they are trying to solve. This will better understand you their needs and goals.
You will not be able to deliver them the right kind of product if you do not precisely know what they want. This is why it is crucial to understand their problems. However, you need to be specific here. For instance, you should ask them if they have any problems in areas that your product deals with. This will be helpful for you to better observe their problems.
What were the reasons for not being addressed it before?
Even if your client has come up with a problem, you must ask them why it was not addressed before. Your prospects may have several reasons for not addressing it before, and most of the time, the significant reason is budget.
You may have to keep this essential factor in your mind this time because otherwise, you may have a problem closing the deal. You may have to negotiate at the time of closing the deal. Make sure that you straightaway ask them about current budgeting.
It is good if they have already enough money to pay for your product because if they fund it with bad credit loans, you cannot be sure about closing the deal. This is because lenders may not sign off on loans.
Do you have an alternative?
It may not sound good to ask if they have another alternative if they do not choose your product, but it is crucial to ask this question. If they say that they have an alternative, they will likely not be a good prospect for you.
The user just wants to get some information about your products like cost and features so it can compare. You cannot set your heart on such types of prospects, so you do not have to spend too much time. However, if your client says they do not have an alternative, they can be a good fit.
Are you the person who have Authority to make the decisions?
This is one of the most crucial questions you need to ask your prospect because this can make it difficult for you to close the deal in the end. It generally happens when the company shows interest in your product.
The person who talks to you on the phone generally does not have the right to decide. You can ask that person to connect you with the concerned person who has the decision-making power.
The bottom line
If you want to close the deal as soon as possible, you need to make the most of a discovery call. This can help you understand what your prospective clients actually need from you. You must know about their problems and goals so you can serve them the right product.
Ensure that you invest in the appropriate tools and talk to the client when they have enough time to answer your questions. Tell them why you must ask these questions. By doing so, you can make a healthier conversation.
Description
To make your discovery call useful, you should ask the questions mentioned in this blog.
