Hey Niepodam,

I’ll say it: Most “discovery calls” are time-wasting, pipeline-killing disasters.

They die for 3 reasons:

1. You talk more than the buyer.
2. You rush to demo before the pain is confirmed.
3. You never quantify the cost of doing nothing.

Last week, I shadowed a rep who was guilty of all three.

He opened with a 7-minute company pitch. The VP’s camera turned off halfway through.

By the end, there was no urgency, no follow-up booked, and no deal.

When a Great Discovery Call Happens

• Timing: Early stage, before you’ve shown the product
• Goal: Diagnose the real problem and attach a price tag to it
• Outcome: A buyer who believes fixing the problem is more urgent than staying the same

The 5 Moves That Make It Work

1. Start with a researched trigger

When you open with “How’s it going?” you waste the first 30 seconds. 

Instead: “I saw you just rolled out a new customer success tool, how’s that impacting onboarding speed?”

Why it works → It proves you’ve done your homework and makes the buyer lean in.

2. Find the business pain

Skip fluff questions like “Tell me about your role.”

Go straight to: “What’s slowing you down most right now in hitting target?”

Why it works → It moves the conversation to outcomes instead of features.

3. Quantify the cost

If the pain isn’t measured, it’s not real.

“How many hours/dollars are you losing each month because of that?”

Ask them to walk you through the process step-by-step so you can see where the pain is. Most don’t realize how much time or money it’s costing them, or won’t say it. Your job is to uncover that. 

For example:

"Based on what you’re telling me, it sounds like this process is taking longer than expected, and that’s impacting the rest of your workflow. In similar projects, I’ve seen teams lose 8–12 hours a week here and there that could be spent on higher-value work. Would it be fair to assume your case is similar?"

Why it works → The bigger the cost, the bigger the urgency to fix it.

4. Make it personal

Get them talking about how this affects them.

“If this isn’t solved by Q3, what happens for you?”

Why it works → Personal stakes drive faster decisions than abstract business metrics.

5. Paint the win + lock the next step

Future-cast the result, then secure the calendar slot.

“If we solved this in 60 days, what would that mean for you? Let’s book time Thursday to map that rollout.”

Why it works → Ends the call with momentum, not “I’ll follow up.”

What NOT to Do

• Talk about your company first: Buyers don’t care yet
• Show the full product: You’ll solve problems they never said they had
• End without a booked next step: You’ll lose them to “other priorities”

BAD vs. GOOD

❌ Bad Discovery Call:

• Opens with 5–7 min company pitch
• Generic “Tell me about your role”
• Feature tour with no confirmed pain
• Ends with “I’ll send over some info”

✅ Good Discovery Call:

• Opens with a researched trigger
• Uncovers business pain
• Quantifies the cost
• Makes it personal
• Paints the win and books the next meeting

If you skip these 5 moves, you’re just giving a free product tour.

Do them well, and you’ll leave the call with a buyer thinking: “I can’t afford to wait.”

Alan "Modern Seller" Ruchtein.

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