Bad discovery accepts vague words like “easy,” “scalable,” or “better visibility.” Great discovery turns them into behavior: “When you say easier, what would your team stop doing on Monday morning?” That’s where real buying criteria hide.
🎯 Try this today: Pick one vague phrase from a live deal and write two follow-ups: “What does that look like day to day?” and “How would you know it improved?”
A buyer can have pain and still not have a deal. In discovery, listen for the forcing function: board deadline, missed target, renewal, hiring plan, audit, exec mandate—the calendar event that makes inaction expensive. If you can’t name it, your next step is hope dressed as process.
🎯 Try this today: Open one active opportunity and write the answer to: “Why must they solve this now?” If you don’t know, ask it on your next call.