🧩 discovery signals

In partnership with

Want your team on SalesDaily? Just forward this email and tell them to subscribe here.

The Future of Sales: Agents Take Over

Agentic Distribution Summit – Sept 16–18 | Free & Online

3 days. 100+ CXOs. 30+ exec roundtables.

Learn how AI agents are replacing broken GTM channels and running Sales, Marketing, CS, and RevOps end to end.

Speakers from ZoomInfo, Salesloft, Gainsight, Lovable, Meerkat + more.

Register here

If you haven’t attended an HSE event this year, this one is a must - they’re doing amazing work!

Why perfect discovery call still go nowhere

Marcus Chan explains why so many “perfect” discovery calls lead nowhere—and how to fix it with a structured, buyer-focused approach. Prevent systematic discovery mistakes:

1. Zero warm-ups done

❖ Starting off with: “Here’s my agenda, tell me your pain points”

❖ This response puts your buyers in defensive mode

❖ Build transactional, agenda-focused conversations

Example:

“I noticed your team just launched [initiative]. How’s things changing for you personally?”

2. Ask generic questions

↳ “What keeps you up at night?” gets recycled answers.

↳ Instead, use the RIM framework:

➔ Relevance: “Tell me more about how that shows up day to day?”

➔ Impact: “What ripple effects does that cause across performance”

➔ Motive: “How often does this happen? What triggers this result?”

3. Failing to measure impact

✱ Prospects might shrug everything off as “not urgent.”

✱ Understand problems with cost associations:

– Direct: lost revenues, wasted time

– Indirect: productivity drag, customer churn

– Opportunity: delayed launches, missed markets

Example:

“If product launches are delayed by 3 months, how does that affect revenue targets?”

4. Ignore the buying process

✔ Assume prospects buy like recent customers is a huge mistake

✔ Trace out stakeholders, decision criterias, and approval steps

Ask these questions instead:

⇒ “Who else involved cares about solving this problem?”

⇒ “What steps happen before deals get approved here?”

⇒ “What could possibly derail this even if people like it?”

5. End without next moves

• “I’ll send you more details” isn’t a prospect’s commitment.

• Replace uncertainty with:

“If we regroup next week with [stakeholder], would that help validate if this moves forward?”

• Mutuality builds progress not hopeful follow-ups.

Questions uncovering buyer decision criterias

Paul Leon provide discovery questions that upgrades your sales reps into effective closers by letting your prospects do most of the selling themselves instead of pushing too hard:

1. Define outcomes upfront

Ask: “How does this meeting need to end for you to say it was worth your time?”

↳ Redirects control to prospects by stating what “wins” look like

↳ Prepares tone for conversations, uncovers their main priorities

2. Shed light on confusions

Ask: “What are your current points of confusion that I can help clarify?”

✱ Prevents surface-level talks, digs into concerns themselves

✱ Frame solutions around clarity, not just product features

Example:

A mattress rep Paul met asked right away if anything on the floor was confusing, potentially opening the door to a $6K sale, well above Paul’s budget.

3. Define condition for “yes”

Ask: “What needs to be true about our solution for you to say yes to this investment?”

⇒ Using “investment” propels conversation around gain, not loss

⇒ Forces prospects to outline buying criteria from their perspective

⇒ Sales objections are roadmaps for what needs to be addressed

4. Evaluate your perceptions

❖ Stop answering “no” directly in responses.

Instead: “It doesn’t do that, but what it can do is…” 

❖ Reframe your negatives as positives instead.

5. Role-plays build consistency

➤ Role-play with others and practice scripts with your team.

➤ Great practices build confidence to find your own voice.

➤ Improve your language when selling high-value products.

Building questions prove you’re working hard

Kyle Asay points out that even veteran reps are still doing these common seller mistakes causing prospects to space out instead of leaning in towards your proposition:

1) Asking some lazy questions

➔ When you question with uncertainly, you signal lack of preparation.

➔ Buyers instantly doubt whether you understand their problems.

Better approach:

✔ Look at their press releases to see how they’re operating

✔ Read their LinkedIn profile before asking about job positions

✔ Use specifics:

“I saw your team recently expanded into APAC. How is that changing your priorities?”

➔ These kinds of questions prove you’ve really done the work.

2) Offering “high-level analysis”

Prospects are interested whether you can solve problems fast.

➤ If your first slide prepared is “Who we are,” you’ve instantly lost them.

➤ If you talk about being “the #1 platform in XYZ” they stop listening.

Instead, cut to the chase:

“You’re growing quickly, which usually means X and Y challenges. We help companies like yours solve those exact issues by…”

➤ Make relevance obvious during the first minutes.

➤ Leave the company overviews on your website.

3) Using generic statements

❖ Saying “We help companies save money” never differentiates you.

❖ A stronger structure would be:

1. How you’re different

2. Why that really matters

3. Proof you can back it up

Example:

❖ Weak proposition: “We reduce risk.”

❖ Strong proposition:

“Most companies like yours struggle with compliance because they track data in spreadsheets. Our platform automates reporting and has helped [Company A] cut audit prep time by 70%. That’s what reducing risk looks like.”

❖ That statement is goal-oriented, and resonates with the present.

Partnering with these newsletters:

• The Follow Up: We talk about Sales like your friend, not your manager

• Big Desk Energy: Startup stories and lessons

• B2B Whales: Proven B2B sales strategies

• Creator Spotlight: Grow with social media and newsletters

Check them out!

P.S. Get access to all my premium resources and infographics - subscribe to Premium.