You're only scratching the surface on discovery calls
Last week, I reviewed a batch of sales calls for an IT company we’re working with.
Their close rate has dipped in recent months. The team’s decent—some deals are getting closed—but they knew there was room for improvement.
And I spotted something that’s common across B2B sales, especially when you’re selling a consultative service:
They were running discovery like it was a checklist.
Standard questions. Standard answers. Then onto the next.
But great discovery isn’t about checking boxes—it’s about double-clicking on the things your prospects say that should make you pause and dig deeper.
Let me explain…
Surface-Level Discovery vs. Strategic Discovery
On one call, a prospect casually mentioned: “We’ve got a decent provider now. I’m just not sure we need all this—it might be overkill.”
The rep acknowledged it and moved on, saying they'd help assess if the services were too much or just right.
Missed opportunity.
What they should have asked was: “What makes you think it’s overkill?”
That one follow-up could’ve unlocked a deeper conversation:
Is the concern about cost?
Are they overwhelmed with unnecessary cybersecurity features?
Is the support experience clunky or confusing?
Do they just not understand what they’re paying for?
Without understanding what’s beneath the initial comment, you’re left guessing. And guessing doesn’t close deals.
Another Call, Another Iceberg
Another rep asked a prospect what wasn’t working with their current IT provider.
The answer: “The response time is absymal.”
The rep launched into a monologue about their SLAs, how they track response time, how their process is different…
But they never asked:
“How bad is the current response time?”
“What’s the actual impact?”
“Is this costing them money? Productivity? Trust with their own team?”
You can't speak to pain you don’t understand.
And you can’t present a compelling solution if you’re blind to the real problem.
Why Digging Deeper Matters
Here’s what follow-up questions unlock:
Deeper Insight
Like that famous iceberg visual—what’s visible is only a sliver of the real problem. The deeper you go, the better you can position your offer as the only logical solution.Emotional Engagement
When prospects relive frustrations, they become emotionally invested in solving them. That creates space for you to step in as the better option.Value Reframing
You help prospects think differently. “Price” might be their top concern—until you help them realize it’s really about value, reliability, and trust.Why Digging Deeper Matters
Here’s what follow-up questions unlock:
Deeper Insight
Like that famous iceberg visual—what’s visible is only a sliver of the real problem. The deeper you go, the better you can position your offer as the only logical solution.Emotional Engagement
When prospects relive frustrations, they become emotionally invested in solving them. That creates space for you to step in as the better option.Value Reframing
You help prospects think differently. “Price” might be their top concern—until you help them realize it’s really about value, reliability, and trust.
This Doesn’t Just Apply to Discovery
The same mindset applies to objection handling.
When a prospect says: “We just need to run this by a few department heads…”
You can either nod politely and end the call—or you can double-click: “Of course, it’s a big decision. Out of curiosity, where are you personally at on this decision—on a scale of 1 to 10?”
Their answer tells you everything: Are they bought in? Are they stalling? Are they just being polite?
And you’re set up to ask a follow-up: “What’s it going to take to make it a ten?”
The key is curiosity.
