Glossary
Discovery call
A discovery call is the first real sales conversation with a qualified prospect, where the seller asks questions to understand the buyer's situation, problem, goals and buying process before pitching anything. It decides whether a deal is worth pursuing.
What Is Discovery Call?
In short A discovery call usually runs about 30 minutes and follows an agenda the seller states at the start: understand the current setup, the problem and its cost, what a fix would be worth, who else is involved, and what happens next.
The buyer should do most of the talking. Frameworks such as SPIN selling, BANT and MEDDPICC give the question list.
Everything later in the deal depends on it. A demo built on good discovery shows the two features that solve the buyer's stated problem; a demo without it tours the whole product. Deals that skip discovery tend to stall at proposal stage, when it turns out the economic buyer or the budget was never confirmed. On complex deals, discovery continues across several calls with different stakeholders.
Discovery Call Example
Example agenda for a 30-minute discovery call with the VP of Sales at a 150-person software company: 2 minutes to agree the agenda, 15 minutes on how they prospect today and what isn't working, 5 minutes on what fixing it would be worth (for example, 20 more meetings a month), 5 minutes on who else decides and how, and 3 minutes to book a demo with their sales operations lead.
Discovery Call in Practice
In outbound, the discovery call is usually the meeting an SDR or BDR books. The AE reviews the reply thread and account research before the call, confirms why the prospect agreed to meet, and ends with a dated next step, such as a demo with the wider team.
FAQ
How long should a discovery call be?
About 30 minutes for most B2B deals. HubSpot puts the typical range at 20 to 45 minutes; Salesforce advises under 60 minutes and 30 if you can, with complex enterprise deals spread over several calls.
What questions should you ask on a discovery call?
Ask about the current setup, the problem and what it costs, what a fix would be worth, who else is involved in the decision, and the timeline. SPIN selling, BANT and MEDDPICC each give you a structure.
What is the difference between a discovery call and a demo?
Discovery comes first and is about the buyer: you ask questions and decide whether there's a fit. The demo comes after and is about the product, focused on what discovery showed the buyer needs.
What is the difference between a cold call and a discovery call?
A cold call is a short, unscheduled first contact to earn a meeting. HubSpot describes discovery calls as more detailed and consultative: a scheduled meeting with a prospect who has already agreed to talk.
How do you prepare for a discovery call?
Research the company and the person, read any earlier emails or replies, write down your best guess at their problem, and set an agenda you can state in the first minute. Plan to end with a dated next step.
Do This in Ken
Do This in Ken
When a prospect replies to a campaign, read the whole thread in Inbox before the discovery call. Ken Scheduler (Coming) and Ken Notetaker (Coming) will handle booking and call notes.
- Module
- Inbox
- Open in Ken
- /features
The new Ken opens to the waiting list in batches.
Related
- GTM Glossary
Every GTM term, grouped by topic.
- SPIN selling
- BANT
- MEDDPICC
- Account executive
- Stakeholder mapping
- Objection handling
- Ken features
Sources
| Source | Checked |
|---|---|
| Salesforce: What Is a Discovery Call? | |
| HubSpot: Discovery Call Questions |
Changelog
- Page published.