Carmen LarrumbideCarmen Larrumbide 
December 1st, 2014 
If you are a Salesperson probably one of your main worries is getting new opportunities and new customers.
Today, I am going to share some Discovery Tactics in order to get what you need.
The process of discovery means to:
- Understand the customer’s business problem.
- Find the business owner and influencers and understand how they perceive value.
- Engage in a collective problem finding and solving process.
Solutions have no inherent value
The reason we ask about problems and/or results is because solutions have no inherent value. They derive value from the problems they solve and/or the results they produce.
- Problems (Current State): Problems are those existing or current issues that evoke pain and a desire to move away from something or situation.
- Results (Future State): Results are those issues or future state you wish to achieve and represent gain and a desire to move toward something.
Why do anything? Why now? Investigate – Collaborate – Validate.
No Guessing! Don’t assume you and the prospect are using words in the same context. No guessing begins with a mutual understanding of the words we use. How mutual will that understanding be?.
The key question for “No Guessing” about a requested solution is:
“What do you mean when you say __________?”.
Move to the underlying PROBLEMS: What kinds of problems have you been experiencing by not having_________?.
Move to the desired RESULTS: Let’s say you could put in a world-class ____. What would that allow to do that you can’t do today?.
Six step process for structuring the conversation: The Heart of Discovery.
- Get a quick list of the KBRs/critical business issues.
- Make sure the list is complete. Find out which issue is most important.
- Elicit proof (evidence and tactical pain/gain).
- Determine consequences (impact).
- Summarize: Did I get it right? Did I leave anything out?.
- Prioritize: Take each issue in order of importance.
Get started: So tell me about what you are trying to do?.
- What do you mean by…
- What lets you know that…
- How would you know that…
- How would you judge that…
- What would you see, hear, or experience that..
- Discovering Consequences.
- What is it that makes ____ so important?.
- How is it that ____ came to be so important?.
Hard (measurable) Evidence: 5 Golden Questions No evidence, no value.
- What is it now?.
- What would you like it to be?.
- What is the value of the difference.
- Over time? (2-3 years).
Qualify if you can’t Quantify.
Soft Evidence (how do you measure it?): Peel the Onion. How. What & Where.
Tactical pain/gain (proof) questions, these questions help us understand the problem or result from both a business and technical aspect.
- What lets you know that this is a problem.
- Where does that problem show up?.
- What measures, if any, prove that is a problem?.
These questions help you see how important the issue is that you are discussing.
- If you _____, what would that allow you to do?.
- …what are the consequences?.
- …where does that hurt your business?.
- …how would that benefit the business?.
Context: Who else is Affected?. Who or what else is affected by this issue?. Some of the context issues include how our solution impacts the company’s:
- Mission, Vision, Values.
- Key Strategies, Internal and external pressures.
- Political landscape.
Some good Context Questions include:
- How do these issues align to the key strategies or initiatives of your organization?.
- What has caused the need for (product/service) to come up at this particular time in the organization.
- Just to make sure I understand the big picture, what’s going on in your organization that affects any action you take?.
Constraints: Why not?.
The impact of any solution is Big, Small, or Not agreed Upon. If the impact is Big what are the constraints:
The impact of any solution is Big, Small, or Not agreed Upon. If the impact is Big what are the constraints:
- Current State: What has stopped the organization from successfully resolving these issues before now?.
- Future State: What, if anything, might stop the organization from successfully resolving these issues in the future?.
There are two types of Constraints:
- Good: things we can do that the customer cannot.
- Bad: things that have stopped the customer in the past, which, if uncorrected, will stop them again.
Take away the Solution if the Impact is small:
- I could be wrong. It doesn’t sound like this is a substantial problem. Or…
- Is it likely the organization will fund this when it could fund higher priority projects?.
Ask and Probe if the Impact is not agreed upon.
Structured Conversation:
 |
- Get a QUICK list.
- Make sure it is COMPLETE.
- Find out which is MOST IMPORTANT.
- Elicit PROOF.
- Determine IMPACT.
- Summarize:
- Did I get that RIGHT?.
- Did I leave anything OUT?.
- Take the KBRs in order of priority.
“The most effective account managers and teams discover how their customers define value, then engage and execute accordingly”.
