2.13.25 – SIW – Chris Peterson
The Skinny
- Move Beyond Transactions: Combine business and personal motivators in discussions to uncover deeper problems and position yourself as a subject matter expert.
- Use Tech & Personalization: AI tools and deep research help tailor discovery questions, anticipate objections, and show expertise in the customer’s industry.
- Shift from Selling to Dialogue: Modern B2B buyers are wary of sales pitches; effective discovery calls should focus on balanced conversations that build trust and credibility.
Dump the transactional conversations and dominate initial sales calls with these six tips
Everything about business-to-business buying has changed in the last 20 years. Today’s customers do their own research, do not want to meet with another person until they need a price, and are very skeptical of any tone that sounds like a sales pitch.
Despite these changes, many salespeople conduct discovery calls in the same way they used to, which has led to frustration and in many cases, failure – or worse, chronic mediocrity.
Although it sounds dire, this scenario has created an opportunity. While others remain stuck in transactional conversations, differentiating yourself as the subject matter expert during discovery has become easier. Here are six ways to help dominate discovery calls.
1. Don’t sell; spark dialogue. Today’s customer smells a sales pitch ten miles away, and they consider standard discovery questions as “sales pitchy.” If you are the only one talking, then it is a sales pitch. If they are the only one talking, it is a Q&A session. Great salespeople can balance questions and anecdotes to spark dialogue, which deepens trust and credibility through the sales cycle.
Great salespeople can balance questions and anecdotes to spark dialogue, which deepens trust and credibility.
2. Use technology to prepare deeply. Customers will not respond to anything that is not personalized. In the past, it was acceptable to prepare for a discovery meeting by asking standard probing questions. Today, to be great, you must go much deeper. Use the Internet and AI tools to understand a customer’s industry trends. Ask an AI tool for common objections from the specific roles with whom you are meeting. Use AI to brainstorm detailed and deep discovery questions.
3. Confirm and send an agenda ahead of time. Nothing novel about this idea, but today’s customers will love you for it because they are focused on every minute, and don’t want to meet with another human unless it is productive. By sending an agenda, it tells them that you are prepared and committed to a timeline.
4. Know their business. Today’s customer expects you to be a security technology expert at minimum. They want someone who also knows their industry and specific business. Early in the meeting, make sure they know how much you know about them. Reference work at other sites like theirs, use their lingo, and ask questions that point to rules or regulations specific to their space.
5. Reference something personal that you learned about them on LinkedIn. As you build rapport, mention something that you saw on LinkedIn about them – where they went to college, clubs they’ve joined, or posts they made. This will spark dialogue and demonstrate that you have prepared for the meeting.
6. Ask questions that move to business and personal motivators. Most salespeople stay at the transactional level with questions: How many readers, size of fence line, etc. While these answers are necessary for proposals, those types of questions do nothing to help solve problems. Ask transactional questions, but then ask about the business impact – how much does the problem cost, how long does it take, etc. Then, move to personal questions, such as how it impacts their job, etc. Combining business and personal questions sparks dialogue about problems, pain, and opportunities…and you will walk out of a sales call as the subject matter expert!
About the Author
Chris Peterson
Chris Peterson is the founder and president of Vector Firm, a sales consulting and training company built specifically for the security industry. Use “Security Business” as a coupon code to receive a 10% lifetime discount at the Vector Firm Academy. www.vectorfirmacademy.com • (321) 439-3025
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of Security Business magazine. Feel free to share, and please don’t forget to mention Security Business magazine on LinkedIn and @SecBusinessMag on Twitter.