We have been using a very similar discovery meeting agenda since we started VA Partners almost 20 years ago. Discovery meetings are one of the most important steps in the sales process. It makes sense that sales people should have a plan and be prepared for the meeting. Here is our typical discovery meeting agenda.
Introductions
At the start you can review the planned agenda verbally. I also like to ask what they are hoping to get out of the meeting. If you have multiple people on each side this becomes especially important.
Prospect overview
It is key that you have the prospect provide an overview of the organization, situation, and challenges at the start. I like to say that we have been to their website and reviewed notes from the early interactions, but it would be great to have a brief summary from them. You should also have a list of planned questions to dig into the situation with the prospect. It is important to draw out this information to better link your solution to help the prospect. There is a fine line between asking too many questions before you get into your overview.
Your overview
It is good to start with a brief overview of the company. This could include the origin story, when you started, and to build trust. You can build trust by reinforcing subject matter expertise, providing customer examples, or explaining your longevity. From there you can get into how you can help them and solve their challenges. The key in the overview is to link back to the things that are important to them. This may mean changing your talk track. Many software companies like to do a demo early, I would suggest that is secondary in a discovery call to determine the fit for your solution and the prospect.
Next steps
The key to sales is moving the opportunity forward. You need to make time for next steps at the end of the meeting. If you have 30 minutes for the meeting, that means at the 25 minute mark you stop for next steps. I like to ask the prospect what they would like to see as a next step. This is a great way to determine part of their decision making process. You should also have an idea of what should be a good next step from your side so you can help guide them if needed. In some cases they may say that they need to review internally. That is a totally valid next step. I would suggest that if they want to review internally find out the time frame so you can follow-up after that internal meeting.
Don’t forget to record the information into your CRM and schedule the follow-up task. Connect with me if you would like some help with your sales planning or with your discovery meeting agenda.
