Have you found yourself frustrated by deals that seem promising but somehow never reach the finish line? It might be tempting to attribute this to a problem with your closing techniques, but what if I told you that the issue usually lies much earlier in the sales process?
In my years of direct sales experience as well as conducting many pipeline and opportunity reviews for clients, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern: deals get stuck in limbo because they were never properly qualified as opportunities to begin with. This discovery problem isn’t exclusive to new business sales; it affects expansion sales too.
The root of the issue often stems from a lack of clarity regarding what constitutes a qualified lead or opportunity. Without standardized definitions and requirements, sales teams end up pursuing prospects that were never a good fit in the first place.
Additionally, inadequate discovery and diagnosis by Account Executives (AEs), Account Managers (AMs), or Customer Success Managers (CSMs) exacerbate the problem.
When these critical elements are missing, it creates a perfect storm characterized by:
- Over-inflated pipelines
- Low win rates
- Wasted time on doomed deals, diverting resources from more promising opportunities and lead generation efforts.
Finding Solutions
So, how do you fix it? One important step is establishing clear, standardized definitions that all team members must adhere to when qualifying leads and opportunities.
Once you’ve established these definitions, the next crucial step is training your reps to have discovery conversations.
Note that I say ‘have discovery conversations’ and not ‘ask discovery questions’.
Asking great questions is just part of the process. In order to facilitate effective conversions we need to train our reps on how to engage effectively and have conversations that get the prospect or client to open up to us so that when we do ask questions the answers are meaningful, honest and detailed.
This helps to ensure that they gather all necessary information to accurately qualify or disqualify leads and opportunities. It also helps to set the foundation for a strong rapport and relationship that will help AEs and CSMs gain trust and and enable their buyers to buy and clients to adopt.
Discovery questions shouldn’t be approached as a mere checklist to complete. Instead, approach them with genuine curiosity, asking layered questions that delve into the nuances of your client’s business.
Another tactic that helps improve discovery is to go into discovery calls with a hypothesis and a problem statement prepared to demonstrate you understand the prospect or clients world. Even if your hypothesis is wrong, if it’s well informed, it will show the person you are talking to that you understand them and their business and it will help to get them to open up. This will allow you to pull out so much more useful information during your discovery calls.
Moving Forward
By addressing the discovery problem head-on and implementing these strategies, you can improve pipeline health and increase closed-won rates. Don’t underestimate the importance of thorough qualification and discovery—it’s the foundation upon which successful deals are built.
It is often better to take your time through discovery, even if it takes more than one call to properly qualify because it will help prevent you from spinning your wheels later in your sales cycle. Wheels tend to spin when requirements, problems and goals aren’t clearly understood and when an opportunity is being ‘worked’ that should never have been qualified as an opportunity in the first place.
So, the next time you find yourself staring at a stalled deal, remember: your closing problem might just be a discovery problem in disguise. Take the time to ask the right questions, qualify leads effectively, and watch as your win rates rise. After all, there’s nothing more satisfying than earning that commission check!
Stay tuned for upcoming posts where I’ll share some tips on HOW to do great discovery. Don’t want to wait? Or want in depth discovery skills training? Check out our Quest to Quota Attainment course series, which includes Discovery Skills.
