Master Discovery Calls

1. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator, a relationship intelligence tool, helps salespeople in researching interested prospects and gathering customer insights before crafting a personalized introduction email via InMail to request a discovery call.

Sales reps use the tool to research a prospect’s role within their organization, personal and professional achievements, interests related to the product or service, social media activity, degree of mutual connections, and engagement with company pages.

2. Warm introductory email or phone call

On LinkedIn, sales reps can leverage Sales Navigator TeamLink to identify leads connected to their team's network. They can then request warm introductions to key stakeholders. 

Reps can send a concise introductory message and a calendar link for a discovery call. If a phone call is preferred, they can arrange an introductory conference call through a mutual connection, followed by a detailed discussion with decision-makers.

3. Cold calling and emailing

If prospects haven’t expressed interest in advance through inbound email or phone channels, outbound sales teams can identify leads by cold-calling potential customers. They can use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify prospects that fit their buyer persona or ICP, then save that information to their account to track their progress. 

The first cold call or email should be short to ask if a prospect has challenges related to what the business solves. Tailor questions to insights research has surfaced about the prospect's roles and responsibilities and what competitive products fail to deliver to customers.

Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, sales reps can personalize those first calls or InMail messages with customer insights to turn cold outreach into a warm introduction. From there, a sales representative can ask to schedule a time with the stakeholders on their team for a full discovery call.

Existing customer relationship management (CRM) data

LinkedIn Sales Navigator also integrates with tools like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365, enabling sales reps to import insights into their existing CRM data for further analysis. 

For instance, a past sales rep may have already started a conversation with a prospect. There might be logged call notes on essential details or materials they previously shared, or intel about the prospect’s pain points or challenges reps can use to prepare for the call. Reps can also add other team members or stakeholders from that company to their CRM to include all stakeholders in the decision-making process.

Trade magazines and industry reports

Finally, look for profiles about the company and its market or industry in trade magazines, news articles, third-party industry reports, and consultant company whitepapers offering additional trends and insights to paint a clear picture of the target account’s business challenges and needs.

Ask who'll be on the call

Knowing which stakeholders will be on the call can help sales teams to research each prospective company employee in advance. Use the information gathered from various sources to understand the roles, responsibilities, and personal interests of every stakeholder you expect to meet to share mutual interests and personal anecdotes that break the ice.

Plan for potential questions, objections, or concerns

Anticipate and plan for any questions, concerns, or objections the prospective customers may have. Being prepared builds trust and credibility, makes the call more efficient, demonstrates expertise, and provide a security for the prospect.

Write out key questions to move the conversation forward

Finally, write out all guiding questions sales teams want answered on the call. These questions can also be shared with prospects, when appropriate, to help them prepare beforehand and make the conversation go smoothly and quickly.