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Discovery: a pillar of the PreSales success model since the dawn of time, (or so they say).
Since I entered PreSales I’ve heard the same sentiment: Discovery can make or break a demo, and that I should do whatever it takes to get discovery before we get to demo. So, without question, I requested the discovery. Throughout my experience I’ve learned it’s not exclusively about identifying the customer process or understanding their pain points, but instead about creating a human connection with the stakeholders over a common bond: technology.
Picture this: You arrive on your family vacation. You check into your hotel on the hotel brand mobile app, have a digital room key and begin exploring the amenities yourself. It’s a great hotel and you have an awesome time. You check out digitally, hop on your plane, and home you go. The hotel experience was nice, and when asked what we remember about the trip, you share one or two details about the hotel room being spacious and the gym being conveniently located.
But what happens to this experience if we pair it with a memorable human connection? Upon arrival, you check in with the hotel staff, who is delighted that you’re there and wants to be sure you have everything you need on your trip. They remind you of the hotel restaurant hours, explain the easiest way to get to your room from the lobby, and clue you in on some free perks like a shuttle bus to another beach area that you can enjoy during your stay. Every night when you enter the lobby for dinner that same hotel representative waves and asks how that day's adventures were and when you leave, they’re there to make sure you have time to catch your flight and hope to see you again soon. This time when asked about your trip, you remember the hotel room being spacious and the gym’s location, but you also remember feeling important, like a VIP, with special insider information and tips to make the most of your trip.
Make Your Customers Feel Like VIPs
What if I told you that discovery and demos could be the same? Rather than interrogating a customer with technology use cases and process questions, you ask how long they’ve been in their position, where they are located, if they’ve used any software like the one you’re about to discuss. When they leave the discovery, they remember you, the person on the other side of the conversation. Then they arrive at the demo, and they see you again. You ask how the weather is in their area of the country, you pinpoint features of your technology to things you know will be important to that person based on the conversation you previously had. This stakeholder is leaving your interactions feeling like they have had an engagement, not that they’ve simply been a part of a sales cycle.
When you use discovery to make an initial human connection, go beyond just learning about the customer — get to know your stakeholders. Your demo will be a better use of time for both parties. Your customer will feel more comfortable asking questions and in turn, your lecture style demo becomes a conversation.
Put it into Practice
Sounds great, but how can you do this in your own calls? Here are three easy ways to start making more meaningful human connections in your discovery sessions.
1. Turn on your camera
In the age of virtual meetings, it is too easy to hide behind your laptop screen. I love it as much as the next person, but in discovery settings, it is critical for the customer on the other side to know that you are a human and have a personality! Being on camera allows you to add facial expressions and show you’re listening. It also encourages others to turn on their cameras, enabling you to read their non-verbal cues.
2. Ask about something less solution based and more human.
I like to use a wishlist. I can’t promise my customers that my solution will solve all their problems, but I ask them to share a wishlist for themselves of their teams that would improve their lives at work. Most of the time, these answers either help me build a demo story that feels relatable and identify areas of opportunity I hadn’t considered yet as a part of their overall solution.
3. Come prepared, but ready to pivot.
We’ve all seen the long lists of discovery questions. While it’s important to come prepared to a conversation with a plan for gathering information that will make your demo more meaningful, you also need to go along with the conversation more naturally. This may require going off script, but it’ll turn your interrogation into a conversation almost immediately.
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About Carly Whitaker
Carly is a Commercial Solution Consultant at Veeva with a career dedicated to almost exclusively serving the life sciences industry. She currently serves as a 2023 PSC Ambassador and is energized by contributing to shaping the future of solution consulting both for Veeva and beyond. Outside of work, Carly is a mom to a 1-year-old boy and a 6-year-old labradoodle, a murder mystery addict, and a mediocre baker.
Discovery: a pillar of the PreSales success model since the dawn of time, (or so they say).
Since I entered PreSales I’ve heard the same sentiment: Discovery can make or break a demo, and that I should do whatever it takes to get discovery before we get to demo. So, without question, I requested the discovery. Throughout my experience I’ve learned it’s not exclusively about identifying the customer process or understanding their pain points, but instead about creating a human connection with the stakeholders over a common bond: technology.
Picture this: You arrive on your family vacation. You check into your hotel on the hotel brand mobile app, have a digital room key and begin exploring the amenities yourself. It’s a great hotel and you have an awesome time. You check out digitally, hop on your plane, and home you go. The hotel experience was nice, and when asked what we remember about the trip, you share one or two details about the hotel room being spacious and the gym being conveniently located.
But what happens to this experience if we pair it with a memorable human connection? Upon arrival, you check in with the hotel staff, who is delighted that you’re there and wants to be sure you have everything you need on your trip. They remind you of the hotel restaurant hours, explain the easiest way to get to your room from the lobby, and clue you in on some free perks like a shuttle bus to another beach area that you can enjoy during your stay. Every night when you enter the lobby for dinner that same hotel representative waves and asks how that day's adventures were and when you leave, they’re there to make sure you have time to catch your flight and hope to see you again soon. This time when asked about your trip, you remember the hotel room being spacious and the gym’s location, but you also remember feeling important, like a VIP, with special insider information and tips to make the most of your trip.
Make Your Customers Feel Like VIPs
What if I told you that discovery and demos could be the same? Rather than interrogating a customer with technology use cases and process questions, you ask how long they’ve been in their position, where they are located, if they’ve used any software like the one you’re about to discuss. When they leave the discovery, they remember you, the person on the other side of the conversation. Then they arrive at the demo, and they see you again. You ask how the weather is in their area of the country, you pinpoint features of your technology to things you know will be important to that person based on the conversation you previously had. This stakeholder is leaving your interactions feeling like they have had an engagement, not that they’ve simply been a part of a sales cycle.
When you use discovery to make an initial human connection, go beyond just learning about the customer — get to know your stakeholders. Your demo will be a better use of time for both parties. Your customer will feel more comfortable asking questions and in turn, your lecture style demo becomes a conversation.
Put it into Practice
Sounds great, but how can you do this in your own calls? Here are three easy ways to start making more meaningful human connections in your discovery sessions.
1. Turn on your camera
In the age of virtual meetings, it is too easy to hide behind your laptop screen. I love it as much as the next person, but in discovery settings, it is critical for the customer on the other side to know that you are a human and have a personality! Being on camera allows you to add facial expressions and show you’re listening. It also encourages others to turn on their cameras, enabling you to read their non-verbal cues.
2. Ask about something less solution based and more human.
I like to use a wishlist. I can’t promise my customers that my solution will solve all their problems, but I ask them to share a wishlist for themselves of their teams that would improve their lives at work. Most of the time, these answers either help me build a demo story that feels relatable and identify areas of opportunity I hadn’t considered yet as a part of their overall solution.
3. Come prepared, but ready to pivot.
We’ve all seen the long lists of discovery questions. While it’s important to come prepared to a conversation with a plan for gathering information that will make your demo more meaningful, you also need to go along with the conversation more naturally. This may require going off script, but it’ll turn your interrogation into a conversation almost immediately.
About Carly Whitaker
Carly is a Commercial Solution Consultant at Veeva with a career dedicated to almost exclusively serving the life sciences industry. She currently serves as a 2023 PSC Ambassador and is energized by contributing to shaping the future of solution consulting both for Veeva and beyond. Outside of work, Carly is a mom to a 1-year-old boy and a 6-year-old labradoodle, a murder mystery addict, and a mediocre baker.
Discovery: a pillar of the PreSales success model since the dawn of time, (or so they say).
Since I entered PreSales I’ve heard the same sentiment: Discovery can make or break a demo, and that I should do whatever it takes to get discovery before we get to demo. So, without question, I requested the discovery. Throughout my experience I’ve learned it’s not exclusively about identifying the customer process or understanding their pain points, but instead about creating a human connection with the stakeholders over a common bond: technology.
Picture this: You arrive on your family vacation. You check into your hotel on the hotel brand mobile app, have a digital room key and begin exploring the amenities yourself. It’s a great hotel and you have an awesome time. You check out digitally, hop on your plane, and home you go. The hotel experience was nice, and when asked what we remember about the trip, you share one or two details about the hotel room being spacious and the gym being conveniently located.
But what happens to this experience if we pair it with a memorable human connection? Upon arrival, you check in with the hotel staff, who is delighted that you’re there and wants to be sure you have everything you need on your trip. They remind you of the hotel restaurant hours, explain the easiest way to get to your room from the lobby, and clue you in on some free perks like a shuttle bus to another beach area that you can enjoy during your stay. Every night when you enter the lobby for dinner that same hotel representative waves and asks how that day's adventures were and when you leave, they’re there to make sure you have time to catch your flight and hope to see you again soon. This time when asked about your trip, you remember the hotel room being spacious and the gym’s location, but you also remember feeling important, like a VIP, with special insider information and tips to make the most of your trip.
Make Your Customers Feel Like VIPs
What if I told you that discovery and demos could be the same? Rather than interrogating a customer with technology use cases and process questions, you ask how long they’ve been in their position, where they are located, if they’ve used any software like the one you’re about to discuss. When they leave the discovery, they remember you, the person on the other side of the conversation. Then they arrive at the demo, and they see you again. You ask how the weather is in their area of the country, you pinpoint features of your technology to things you know will be important to that person based on the conversation you previously had. This stakeholder is leaving your interactions feeling like they have had an engagement, not that they’ve simply been a part of a sales cycle.
When you use discovery to make an initial human connection, go beyond just learning about the customer — get to know your stakeholders. Your demo will be a better use of time for both parties. Your customer will feel more comfortable asking questions and in turn, your lecture style demo becomes a conversation.
Put it into Practice
Sounds great, but how can you do this in your own calls? Here are three easy ways to start making more meaningful human connections in your discovery sessions.
1. Turn on your camera
In the age of virtual meetings, it is too easy to hide behind your laptop screen. I love it as much as the next person, but in discovery settings, it is critical for the customer on the other side to know that you are a human and have a personality! Being on camera allows you to add facial expressions and show you’re listening. It also encourages others to turn on their cameras, enabling you to read their non-verbal cues.
2. Ask about something less solution based and more human.
I like to use a wishlist. I can’t promise my customers that my solution will solve all their problems, but I ask them to share a wishlist for themselves of their teams that would improve their lives at work. Most of the time, these answers either help me build a demo story that feels relatable and identify areas of opportunity I hadn’t considered yet as a part of their overall solution.
3. Come prepared, but ready to pivot.
We’ve all seen the long lists of discovery questions. While it’s important to come prepared to a conversation with a plan for gathering information that will make your demo more meaningful, you also need to go along with the conversation more naturally. This may require going off script, but it’ll turn your interrogation into a conversation almost immediately.
About Carly Whitaker
Carly is a Commercial Solution Consultant at Veeva with a career dedicated to almost exclusively serving the life sciences industry. She currently serves as a 2023 PSC Ambassador and is energized by contributing to shaping the future of solution consulting both for Veeva and beyond. Outside of work, Carly is a mom to a 1-year-old boy and a 6-year-old labradoodle, a murder mystery addict, and a mediocre baker.
