Sales Discovery Call Prep
1-page prep brief in CRM: prospect snapshot, top hypothesis, discovery questions, case study notes, objection responses, agenda. AE reads brief 15 minutes pre-call.
Before you start
- Discovery framework documented (BANT, MEDDIC, GPCT, or custom)
- Question library mapped to framework
- Access to prospect research and CRM
- Booked discovery call (prospect, company, time)
- Form data and any prior conversations
- AE's recent deal context (similar wins/losses)
The steps
- Pull prospect and company snapshot — Capture: company size, industry, funding, recent news. Pull prospect's LinkedIn: tenure, prior companies, recent posts. Note any signals — hiring spree, exec change, public goal — that hint at why now.
- Identify 3 hypotheses on their pain — Based on company context and any form data, draft 3 hypotheses on what they likely care about. For each: a 1-sentence pain hypothesis, the evidence supporting it, and a discovery question that would confirm or kill the hypothesis. Going in with 3 hypotheses beats going in with zero.
- Map hypotheses to discovery questions — From the question library, pick 5-7 questions that probe the top hypothesis without being leading. Mix: open exploration ('Tell me about how your team handles X today'), implication ('What happens when X breaks?'), and budget/process ('Who else weighs in on a decision like this?'). Avoid yes/no questions.
- Prepare a relevant case study — Pick one customer case study most aligned to their context (industry, size, use case). Note 2-3 specific metrics from the case study to reference. Do not bring 5 case studies — one well-chosen story beats five generic ones.
- Anticipate likely objections — Pre-draft responses to 2-3 likely objections (e.g., pricing, integration, timeline). Each response: 1 sentence acknowledging the concern, 1 sentence reframing, 1 specific data point or example. Have these ready — discovery is not the right time to fumble objections.
- Compile a 1-page prep brief — Structure: prospect snapshot, top hypothesis, 5-7 discovery questions, case study notes, objection responses, agreed agenda for the call. Save in CRM as the meeting attachment. Read it 15 minutes before the call — not at the start of the call.
If it goes wrong
AE doesn't read the brief before the call
Send the brief as a Slack DM 15 minutes pre-call (not just an email or attachment). Track read receipts and flag chronic skippers to the manager.
Hypotheses turn out to be wrong on the call
That's fine — the goal is to test, not be right. Note the corrected understanding in CRM and update the hypothesis library so future briefs improve. Wrong hypotheses are useful data.
Discovery questions feel like an interrogation
Mix questions with sharing — after 2 prospect questions, share something useful. Discovery is a conversation, not a deposition.
All OpenLabor playbooks