How Harnessing AI Can Improve Discovery Calls

If you’re reading this, we’re guessing you already know that discovery calls are one of the most important parts of the sales process. They are the opportunity for salespeople to learn about the customer's needs and pain points and to qualify them as a potential buyer. But, while all this is true, the problem is that discovery calls can often be time-consuming, challenging, and difficult to get right.

This is precisely where artificial intelligence (AI) comes into play. To clarify AI's role in this context, let's briefly recap the key elements of a successful discovery call, as it directly ties into the capabilities AI can offer.

How to nail your discovery conversation

Here’s a brief rundown of the best practices to keep in mind during a discovery call. These steps will help you build trust and momentum for your product:

• Be a good listener. The most important thing you can do during a discovery call is to listen to your prospect. Ask open-ended questions and really listen to their answers. Don't just wait for your turn to talk.
  Want to get a follow-up call? Keep in mind that, according to Gong's research, the most effective talk-to-listen ratio in B2B sales calls is approximately 43% speaking and 57% listening.

• Understand their pain points. The goal of a discovery call is to understand your prospect's pain points. What are they struggling with? What are their goals? Once you understand their pain points, you can start to see how your product or service can help them.
• Be solution-oriented. Don't just focus on the problems your prospect is facing. Show them how your product or service can solve those problems. Explain how you can help them achieve their goals.
• Be patient. It takes time to build trust and rapport. Don't expect to close a deal on the first discovery call. Just focus on getting to know your prospect and understanding their needs.
• Do your research. Before the call, take some time to research your prospect. Learn about their company, their industry, and their challenges. This will help you ask more informed questions and build rapport.
• Be prepared. Have a list of questions ready to ask. But don't be afraid to go off script if the conversation takes a different direction.
  Remember: according to research, sellers who asked 11-14 questions achieved a success rate of over 70% in cold calls, whereas agents who asked only one to six questions had a success rate nearly 30% lower.

• Discuss the next steps and pricing. Studies found that it’s important that sellers include two things during the first call: what’s next and pricing. 
  According to Gong, in the fastest deals, sellers dedicated 53% more time to discussing the next steps during the initial sales process meeting, compared to deals with a lengthier sales cycle.
  In addition, Gong also found that win rates are 10% higher when sellers discuss pricing during the first call. 

• Follow up. After the call, send a thank you note and reiterate the next steps.

How AI can help

Ideally, AI can improve some of the most crucial parts of discovery calls to help sellers. This can include:

• Providing sales reps with the right questions to ask. AI can understand the prospect's profile and their past interactions and identify the most important questions to ask during a discovery call. 
  This can help reps get the information they need to qualify the customer and deal with objections (a Gong study states that “the top reps respond to objections by asking questions - at a rate of 54.3% of the time compared to 31% for average sales reps.”), and move the deal forward.

• Generating personalized sales scripts. AI can generate personalized sales scripts that are tailored to the specific needs of each customer. This can help reps to build rapport with the customer and to deliver a more effective sales pitch.
• Tracking and analyzing call data. AI can track and analyze call data, such as the questions asked, the answers given, and the customer's engagement level. This data can be used to improve the sales process and to identify areas where reps can improve their performance.
• Providing real-time insights. AI can provide reps with real-time insights during a discovery call. These insights can help reps improve their communication skills and ensure they are asking the right questions.
• Increased efficiency. AI can help sales reps to be more efficient by automating tasks such as research, scheduling, and follow-up. This frees up reps' time so they can focus on building relationships with customers and closing deals.
• Improved accuracy. With the right AI tool, sales reps can be more accurate by providing them with the right information at the right time. This can help them to avoid making mistakes and to make better decisions.
• Enhanced customer experience. AI can help sales reps provide a better customer experience by being more responsive and by understanding the customer's needs. This helps build trust and loyalty with customers.

The Mastermind for Discovery solution

Luckily, our innovative Mastermind for Discovery tool does all that. 

Mastermind for Discovery is an AI-powered sales tool that offers several features that help sales reps get the most out of their discovery calls. These include:

• Best-in-class playbook templates and sales assets. Mastermind provides sales reps with a library of best-in-class playbook templates and sales assets, such as slide decks, URL links, and more. This can help reps to create a much more effective discovery call.
• Pre-call preparation screen and 2-way CRM integration. Mastermind provides sales reps with a pre-call preparation screen that includes all the information they need to know about the customer, such as their contact information, company, and pain points. Mastermind also integrates with CRM systems, so reps can easily access customer data from their CRM.
• Voice-triggered battle cards, live call speaker insights, and transcript. Mastermind uses voice-triggered battle cards to identify and pull the relevant questions or assets to help reps deflect deal-stopping objections while creating initial interest. This AI tool also provides live call speaker insights, so reps can see how the customer is reacting to the call. Additionally, Mastermind provides a transcript of the call so that reps can review it later.
• Generative AI summary and AI-generated follow-up email. Mastermind uses generative AI to create an easy-to-digest summary of the discovery call. This summary includes the key points of the call, as well as any next steps. Mastermind also provides an AI-generated follow-up email so reps can easily, efficiently, and more effectively complete the follow-up stage.

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By providing sales reps with the right questions to ask, generating personalized sales scripts, tracking and analyzing call data, and providing real-time feedback, Mastermind helps businesses close more deals and grow their revenue.

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