\u201cIt is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 James Thurber<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a collection of poor strategies, failed tactics, bad errors, and faulty discovery that increases the likelihood that your entire sales process will be a failure.<\/em> I recommend that you avoid<\/em> these!<\/p>\n If your discovery conversations are not as successful as you wish, consider using this list as an assessment tool. If any of these items occur frequently you may want to make some changes!<\/p>\n Bite-size or full meal learning: Your choice! You can sample each of these on their own or consume the full article. Either way, you win! Here\u2019s the menu:<\/p>\n Plus, a special bonus \u201cDon\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n Each delightful \u201cDon\u2019t\u201d also includes a solution to help you improve and avoid SAD (Stunningly Awful Discovery) outcomes. Enjoy!<\/p>\n The Stunningly Awful Discovery (SAD) Top Ten List:<\/p>\n Assume that all prospects are completely alike and have exactly the same needs, interests, and situations. While parts of this may<\/em> be true (that\u2019s what defines a market), this SAD assumption results in stunningly awful Harbor Tour demos, unnecessary POCs, numerous No Decision<\/a> outcomes, and far-too-frequent losses to your competitors who actually do<\/em> discovery!<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an analogy of how ridiculous this is:<\/p>\n Imagine you feel very sick, and you head to the hospital. A doctor meets with you, but instead of asking any questions or performing any tests, they point you to the pharmacy and say, \u201cTry each of the medications we have available and let me know if any work\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s prescription without diagnosis, also known as medical malpractice<\/em>!<\/p>\n Solution? Do discovery<\/a>! Remember, discovery is done for both <\/em>parties: to enable you as the vendor to propose a precise solution and to enable your prospect to feel confident that you have a sufficient understanding of their situation to be able<\/em> to propose a precise solution.<\/p>\n Far too many vendors simply identify \u201cpain\u201d and then launch immediately into proposing \u201csolutions.\u201d This is amusingly known as \u201cpremature elaboration,\u201d and is nearly<\/em> as bad as doing no discovery at all!<\/p>\n Many vendors confuse qualification with discovery. Once a prospect meets their qualification criteria, they are off to the solution and proposal races!<\/p>\n Even qualification<\/em> can be insufficient (as every mature salesperson knows). Here are some unproductive<\/em> qualification criteria for your amusement:<\/p>\n In Doing Discovery<\/em>,<\/a> I identify seven levels of discovery:<\/p>\n When vendor individuals honestly<\/em> evaluate themselves, after digesting the definitions of each level, they typically place themselves at Levels 2 or 3. This leaves a lot<\/em> of room for improvement!<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: You arrive at a hospital and say, \u201cI don\u2019t feel well.\u201d A doctor asks, \u201cWhere does it hurt?\u201d and you reply, \u201cMy stomach\u2026\u201d The doctor announces, \u201cThis patient has stomach pain: Let\u2019s get \u2018em into surgery and open \u2018em up right away!\u201d (If I were you, I\u2019d head for another hospital!)<\/p>\n Hospital Qualification Analogy: The doctor asks, \u201cDo you have insurance?\u201d to which you respond, \u201cYes, full healthcare insurance.\u201d The doctor then immediately<\/em> whisks you into surgery!<\/p>\n Solution? Define an example of what \u201cgreat\u201d looks like. One excellent approach is to generate a template based on a fully completed discovery document from a real prospect conversation that includes both the question prompts and the prospect\u2019s responses. Optimally, it includes all the relevant portions of the full Doing Discovery<\/em><\/a> methodology.<\/p>\n Two additional thoughts:<\/p>\n \u201cDisco Demos\u201d or \u201cDiscovery on the Fly<\/a>\u201d are simply other terms for Harbor Tour demos, but where the vendor asks (over and over!), \u201cIs this something of interest to you?\u201d These are often inflicted on prospects in response to prospects\u2019 requests to \u201cjust show me a demo!\u201d<\/p>\n While the intent is to provide your prospect with examples of your offering and associated advantages, most of these demos devolve into a flood of features, resulting in very little useful discovery information and suffering from severe risk of Buying It Back<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Imagine, again, you\u2019ve headed to the hospital because you feel very sick. A doctor meets you at the entrance and, instead of asking any questions, they take you on a tour of the hospital. They show you the X-ray equipment and say, \u201cWe have a terrific, state-of-the-art X-ray system \u2013 is that something you might want?\u201d and repeat that process for each department!<\/p>\n Solution? When possible, gently (but firmly!) convince your prospect of the value of doing discovery first<\/em>, followed by a demo that focuses crisply on what was learned in discovery.<\/p>\n The doctor analogy can be an effective approach: \u201cBefore I offer a diagnosis and suggest a cure, I need to perform an examination\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n If your prospect still demands, \u201cJust show me a demo\u2026,\u201d use the highly effective Vision Generation Demo method to satisfy your prospect\u2019s desire to \u201csee what\u2019s possible,\u201d while moving them comfortably into a discovery conversation: Win-win! (Chapter 11 in Great Demo!<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n This is a valid concern! Too many one-way questions can feel like an interrogation or inquisition.<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Imagine being handed a ten-page questionnaire that you need to complete before you can see the doctor, including line after line of detailed questions about your medical history, relatives, prescriptions, insurance, and on and on. Even worse, you don\u2019t have answers to many of the questions, leaving you concerned that you\u2019ll ever see the doctor at all!<\/p>\n Solution? While we need to be complete in gathering the information we require in our discovery processes, we must also offer information, guidance, and insights in return. Discovery needs to be perceived as a two-way conversation, where both<\/em> parties each learn something new. In doing discovery, we accomplish this by offering quid pro quo comments, observations, and success stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n These can range from insights into how other customers have addressed similar challenges, or even simple comments such as, \u201cYou are not alone\u2026!\u201d See the section on \u201cEmpathy and Quid Pro Quo\u201d in Doing Discovery<\/em><\/a> for more guidelines on this important practice.<\/p>\n Your prospect should feel that they also took away new and useful information from the discovery conversation. Again: Think win-win.<\/p>\n This is bad enough when inflicted over the web; it\u2019s even worse when done face-to-face! The real issue isn\u2019t the questions themselves, but rather the delivery<\/em>. Reading verbatim from a script of questions is just painful for both<\/em> parties.<\/p>\n It feels awkward, and it is!<\/p>\n True story: I was listening to a recorded discovery conversation and heard the vendor rep recite a long paragraph of a question that only yielded a \u201cno\u201d response from the prospect. There was a brief lull when the rep wrote down the prospect\u2019s reply. And then the vendor launched another<\/em> lengthy passage in question format that resulted in another \u201cno\u201d answer. This went on for nearly an hour! Boring, painful, and clearly an inquisition!<\/p>\n This approach stifles responses that might include more \u201ccolor\u201d and nuance, and it certainly suppresses the ability to make the call a real conversation.<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: How would you feel if a doctor read long, detailed questions from a thick pad of paper or a tablet, one after another after another? It would feel uncomfortable rather quickly!<\/p>\n Solution? Know what you need to ask or use a \u201cprompter\u201d document. A prompter reduces the written questions down to a word or two, or brief word phrase. This ensures that you cover the discovery space necessary while enabling you to phrase the actual questions dynamically, using your own words. The result is a more natural delivery that spurs bidirectional, productive conversations.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve watched and listened to hundreds<\/em> of discovery calls and a very<\/em> large percent suffer from this serious malady! It seems to be a result of (less mature) salespeople\u2019s desire to \u201ctake control\u201d and \u201cpresent something.\u201d In many SAD cases, presenting a corporate or product overview is considered a critical part of the vendor\u2019s sales process.<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Imagine arriving at a hospital after suffering a bicycling accident. You are bleeding moderately, you hurt in multiple places, and you are concerned that you may have a broken bone or two. A doctor sees you, notes that you\u2019re bleeding, and asks, \u201cWhere does it hurt?\u201d and then starts a twenty-minute presentation covering the hospital\u2019s mission statement, founding history, growth and revenues over time, patient statistics, departments and services\u2026 All the while you\u2019re still<\/em> bleeding, and the pain has only been made worse by suffering through the presentation!<\/p>\n Solution? Do discovery, not a presentation! This is the time to ask<\/em>, not to tell<\/em>!<\/p>\n This is only slightly different from number 6 above, yet hundreds<\/em> of vendors still plod unproductively down this pathway. Again, it appears to be driven by vendors\u2019 urge to show and tell<\/em> rather than ask and listen<\/em>.<\/p>\n The results are as one might expect: prolonged sales cycles, frustrated prospects, multiple demos, unnecessary POCs and POVs, poor solution \u201cfit,\u201d and losses to No Decision and to competitors who do a superior job in discovery.<\/p>\n Remember: The vendor who is perceived by the prospect as doing a superior job in discovery is in a competitively advantageous position.<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Imagine arriving at a hospital after suffering a bicycling accident, as before: You\u2019re bleeding, in pain, and concerned about broken bones. A doctor asks, \u201cWhere does it hurt?\u201d After your brief response (\u201cEverywhere\u2026!\u201d) they take you on (yet another) tour of the hospital, pointing out the wonderful equipment, staff, supplies, systems, and services available\u2026<\/p>\n Solution? Put your offerings and your company \u201cbehind your back\u201d in a virtual sense and engage in a fruitful, mutually beneficial discovery conversation. Then you\u2019ll able to present a crisp, focused Technical Proof Demo<\/a> that may eliminate the need for any further proof!<\/p>\n As a prospect, imagine investing several hours in discovery discussions with a vendor, only to have the vendor ignore<\/em> the information you provided. Instead, they show you features or entire modules you told<\/em> them you aren\u2019t interested in. They show you a list of hundreds of reports, but you only specified needing a handful. How would you feel? (I\u2019d move on to another vendor who actually listens!)<\/p>\n Despite how incredibly insulting this is to the prospect, I see this happen far too frequently! Why does this happen? Several possible reasons:<\/p>\n In complex sales involving multiple players from both the prospect and vendor, it is even more important to communicate effectively. Great Demo! Situation Slides<\/a> are a terrific currency for passing discovery information from person to person and team to team.<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Regardless of the diagnosis, everyone in this hospital is treated for appendicitis!<\/p>\n Solution? Execute crisp and complete information handoffs<\/a> between team members. Review and discuss discovery notes prior to any demo to reach agreement on what to show and what not<\/em> to show! Bonus: Communicate that same information to your implementation\/professional services folks and your customer success team!<\/p>\n According to Gartner (and many others), No Decision outcomes (also known as \u201cDo Nothing\u201d or \u201cStatus Quo\u201d) comprise forty-five percent of forecasted opportunities. For many vendors, the number is even higher! Most vendors report that No Decision is their single largest competitor, yet very few vendors actively seek solutions.<\/p>\n Effective discovery that explores three key elements can dramatically reduce these No Decision rates. They are:<\/p>\n Hospital (Patient) Analogies:<\/p>\n Solution? While there are many other reasons that could yield a No Decision outcome, including management or major business changes, economic challenges, etc., you can avoid overinvesting in many fruitless sales processes by doing discovery specifically for each of these elements!<\/p>\n A salesperson colleague shared a sad story that offered a great lesson: Discovery questions and topics need to align with your prospect players\u2019 job titles. Here\u2019s his story:<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a great deal of work, I finally got a meeting with an executive at a key prospect. I had my discovery template ready to go and launched into my questions as soon as the call began.<\/p>\n The executive\u2019s initial responses to my questions were clipped: \u2018I don\u2019t know,\u2019 \u2018You\u2019ll need to ask my team,\u2019 \u2018That\u2019s an IT issue,\u2019 and similar. I was getting nowhere, and the executive was losing patience.<\/p>\n Thankfully, he offered me some great advice, saying, \u2018Listen. The questions you\u2019re asking me should be asked of the team running the workflows, and of IT for the infrastructure info. I can give you guidance regarding the importance<\/em> of our project, and our objectives and timeline. I can help you by delegating you down<\/em> and introducing you to the right players.<\/p>\n In return,\u2019 he said, \u2018I need to you report back to me with your key findings. Let me know if you run into any roadblocks along the way.\u2019<\/p>\n What a terrific person\u2026! That exec helped me realize that my discovery questions need to align with each level and job title. Prospect staff members are highly knowledgeable about their specific workflows. Middle managers deal with short-term challenges, such as problem identification and team resource allocation. Execs offer insights into the overarching goals, objectives, projects, strategies, and timelines.<\/p>\n I was asking staff-level questions of executives and middle managers! Now I have several discovery templates, each aligned to my prospects\u2019 specific job titles. And guess what? Now I\u2019m making my numbers\u2026 No, I\u2019m consistently crushing<\/em> my numbers every quarter!\u201d<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Don\u2019t see a podiatrist about an ear infection, don\u2019t ask a gastroenterologist to set a broken bone, and don\u2019t seek a diagnosis from a hospital administrator!<\/p>\n Solution? Discovery is dependent on job title as this story illustrates. \u201cSpeeds and feeds\u201d are workflow topics; strategy is a subject for executives. Remember that \u201cpain flows downhill\u201d and \u201csolutions flow uphill!\u201d<\/p>\n Most vendors\u2019 discovery questions focus on uncovering and understanding \u201cpain,\u201d and few examine impact and tangible value. But it is the rare vendor who explores cultural<\/em> prospect attributes. These can provide a wealth of surprisingly valuable information!<\/p>\n For example, your prospect\u2019s position on the Technology Adoption Curve is a leading indicator of the amount of proof they will require. Innovators may never need proof, for example, and a crisp demo can satisfy Early Adopters. Late Majority prospects, on the other hand, are likely to publish extensive RFPs and then require multiple demos, POCs, and POVs, and are still<\/em> at risk of yielding a No Decision outcome!<\/p>\n Implementation strategies give another clue to culture. Do they prefer an initial test group followed by tuning, or rollout in waves, or all at once? How frequently do they onboard new applications? Do they embrace new technologies or avoid them? Do they perceive themselves as a leader or \u201cfast follower?\u201d Note that the age of their workforce may provide clues, as well.<\/p>\n Along similar lines, inquire about your prospect\u2019s prospects<\/em>! Companies that are most comfortable selling to the Late Majority are likely to have a similar culture.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an important cultural attribute: Organizations that have suffered a failed implementation or purchased a product that did not generate the expected ROI may be shy to pursue new solutions. They are \u201cBurn Victims\u201d who require additional investigation into \u201cwhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Don\u2019t go to a Catholic hospital if you are looking for an abortion!<\/p>\n Solution? Ask! Ask how they perceive themselves. Ask about their customers. Ask about their purchasing history and technology adoption habits. Ask if they\u2019ve had a bad experience or suffered unsatisfactory performance with a prior purchase.<\/p>\n The information you learn may be extremely important in your sales process and in supporting your buyers\u2019 processes!<\/p>\n Have you ever purchased shoes or clothes that didn\u2019t fit? Most likely they saw more closet time than their colleagues! Poor product or solution fit is a direct result of inadequate discovery (or worse, vendors who ignore<\/em> what was learned in discovery and still<\/em> push for the sale!).<\/p>\n Why does it happen? The more complex a prospect\u2019s situation, the more likely it is that confusion takes place about vendor offerings. And the more vendors that a prospect explores, the more confused they can become: \u201cWhich vendor had the biframulator function? I can\u2019t remember\u2026!\u201d This is aggravated by inaccurate or (ahem) devious answers to prospect questions and demos that make products look much better than reality.<\/p>\n What happens after the sale? If the fit is poor, the result will be a failed implementation or inability to achieve the desired objectives and ROI. This turns the customer into a Burn Victim, who won\u2019t renew and will never<\/em> buy from that vendor again!<\/p>\n While compensation drives performance<\/a>, those of us who are solely compensated for \u201cnew name\u201d sales still<\/em> risk the impact of poor product fit. Each customer who churns because of inadequate fit is a negative<\/em> reference and people who have suffered bad experiences tend to be vocal about them!<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: Your insurance, which costs a bundle<\/em>, didn\u2019t cover your surgery, medications, or post-op care. The insurance company said, \u201c\u2019Life\u2019 is a pre-existing condition, and we don\u2019t cover that!\u201d<\/p>\n Solution? Do detailed discovery, especially with respect to the Specific Capabilities your prospects need and the associated value. Analyze and apply a numeric scale for product fit measurements and back away from any opportunity where fit is below a rational threshold.<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d said the salesperson, \u201cWe\u2019ve covered all the questions on the list. Thanks for your time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The prospect had been contemplating revealing another, very important issue, but since the vendor was closing the meeting, the prospect player didn\u2019t offer anything. Bad move, vendor!<\/p>\n Years ago, Steve Jobs was famous for casually remarking, at the apparent end of a presentation, \u201cOh, one more thing\u2026\u201d and then he\u2019d reveal an amazing new product, feature, service, or concept.<\/p>\n Hospital Analogy: You\u2019ve been discussing some gastrointestinal discomfort with your physician, who has prescribed an antacid medication. You are about to leave the examination room and, as your doctor\u2019s hand reaches the doorknob to exit, you remark, \u201cActually, I\u2019m kind of worried about a recurring headache I\u2019ve been having. Can we talk about it?\u201d<\/p>\n This is known as the doorknob effect<\/a>, where patients are uncomfortable to reveal critical information until the last possible moment.<\/p>\n Solution? Here\u2019s my favorite<\/em> discovery question, used at the very end of your conversation: \u201cIs there anything we haven\u2019t discussed that we should <\/em>be discussing?\u201d This opens the (ahem) door for any additional non-structured information from your prospect. Try it!<\/p>\n \u201cThe vendor perceived by the prospect as doing superior discovery is in a competitively advantageous position.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Me<\/p>\n Pursuing these twelve<\/span> thirteen SAD practices will certainly increase the probability that your discovery conversations will fail <\/em>to help you achieve your goals. Instead, of course, follow the \u201cSolution\u201d guidelines in each section to improve your results! Doing effective discovery is the key to crisper sales cycles, buyer enablement, and happy customers who renew and offer glowing references.<\/p>\n For a fun story that illustrates many of these concepts, enjoy reading A Prospect\u2019s Tale<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Save yourself years<\/em>! The Doing Discovery<\/em><\/a> book and Workshops<\/a> are time machines, compressing decades<\/em> of learning, experimentation, improvement, and evolution into a few hours. You can acquire discovery skills the long, painful, hard way, or you can leverage this existing knowledge the fast, easy, effective way!<\/p>\n Is this the end of the list? Certainly not<\/em>! Follow our blog<\/a> and peruse our articles<\/a> for much more discovery and demo do\u2019s and don\u2019ts!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2006-2024 The Second Derivative \u2013 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n To learn the methods introduced above, consider enrolling in a Great Demo! Doing Discovery or Demonstration Skills Workshop<\/a>. For more demo and discovery tips, best practices, tools and techniques, explore our books<\/a>, blog and articles on the Resources pages of our website at https:\/\/GreatDemo.com<\/a> and join the Great Demo! & Doing Discovery LinkedIn Group<\/a> to learn from others and share your experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIt is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers.\u201d \u2013 James Thurber Here\u2019s a collection of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,8,10],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-35481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doing_discovery","category-great-demo-blog","category-methodology_basics","tag-articles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35481"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35483,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35481\/revisions\/35483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What \u201cDon\u2019ts\u201d Are in This Article for You?<\/h2>\n
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1. Don\u2019t Do Discovery at All.<\/h4>\n
2. Don\u2019t Do Enough.<\/h4>\n
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3. Use a \u201cDisco Demo.\u201d<\/h4>\n
4. Make It an Inquisition.<\/h4>\n
5. Read<\/em> Questions From a Long List.<\/h4>\n
6. Do Five Minutes of Discovery and Then Present Your Corporate or Product Overview.<\/h4>\n
7. Do Five Minutes of Discovery and Then Deliver Your Standard Overview Demo.<\/h4>\n
8. Don\u2019t Communicate Discovery Info Throughout the Team.<\/h4>\n
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9. Ignore Key Elements That Help You Avoid No Decision Outcomes.<\/h4>\n
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10. Don\u2019t Align Discovery with Job Title.<\/h4>\n
11. Don\u2019t Explore Cultural Attributes.<\/h4>\n
12. Ignore Poor Solution \u201cFit\u201d and Proceed with the Sale.<\/h4>\n
Bonus! Don\u2019t Encourage Your Prospect to Go Off Script.<\/h4>\n
A Bakers Dozen Don\u2019ts<\/h2>\n
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