Having sold in B2B, B2C, Channel, and Consulting environments, discovery is a bit of a mixed bag. There are purists who absolutely insist on it. And others, who recognize the nuance.
To be fair, discovery is definitely needed. You just need to know when and how deep – and when not to at all. Here are four scenarios:
- Transactional sales – as the name implies, transactional sales do not need a deep dive into pain, challenges, and root causes – just transact.
- Known problems – some problems are so clear that discovery would just waste time…it’s more a question of details, fit, features, and price.
- Consulting – there may be some light discovery prior to an engagement. But the real discovery is often the first and paid phase of the kick off, e.g., a deep dive into the organization complete with surveys, interviews, executive meetings and more to uncover and validate concerns – root or otherwise.
- SaaS or enterprise sales – typically there is strong discovery in these contexts, but depending on the situation, sometimes it’s less about discovery and more about helping organizations think in new and different ways – it can be more education.
Regardless of the level of discovery needed, you always need to be solving the customers problem.