Modern SaaS users are overloaded with choices and want personalized solutions.

Your software may have all the best features that blow the competition out of the water. Still, if your sales reps can’t communicate how it addresses your customers’ unique challenges, you risk losing valuable sales opportunities.

Through sales discovery calls, we can identify customer needs and pain points, and match them with the perfect solution: your product.

Love them or hate them, there’s a right and wrong way to conduct a discovery call to make the biggest impact for both you and your prospects.

So, how can you set your team up for success during these crucial conversations?

We’ve asked three sales experts to share their tips for conducting effective discovery calls that build real relationships, lead to meaningful discussions, and ultimately drive sales.

What is a sales discovery call?

A sales discovery call is an initial touchpoint between your sales team and a potential customer.

Done correctly, discovery calls help your team gather important information to determine if the prospect is a good fit for your product, and vice versa. If all signs point to go, then your team can continue nurturing the lead.

The importance of discovery calls in sales

Discovery calls help your team determine if the prospect is a good fit for your specific product, build a positive relationship, and inform your sales strategy and tactics, which can be tailored to the customer.

Discovery calls help sales reps:

• Know what a prospect wants to achieve and what’s stopping them from succeeding.
• Determine if the customer is a good fit for your product or service.
• Build relationships with prospects.
• Position your product in a way that provides the most value and solves real problems based on the prospect’s specific goals and challenges.

Sales discovery call best practices

PandaDoc team members shared their secrets to effective discovery calls, including how to put prospects at ease and ask insightful questions.

Focus on the person, not the product

Before you hop on the phone, Zoom, or Teams, remind yourself that discovery calls are conversations, not just questionnaires.

Rather than going in guns blazing with a list of questions and the reasons your product is the best, approach your prospect with genuine curiosity and empathy.

“A discovery call, in a nutshell, is a conversation between two humans,” Helen Balash, Account Executive at PandaDoc, says. “You need to have genuine curiosity and be really interested in what’s happening on their business side. Try to put yourself in their shoes and be as empathetic as possible. These are all skills that everyone may or may not have, but they’re like a muscle that you should develop. Genuine curiosity, not just fake smiles and actually being open and empathetic.”

What stands in the way of them doing their jobs to the best of their ability? What problems are they trying to solve?

You want to come out of the call with a better understanding of their role, their objectives, and their challenges.

Make them feel comfortable

Your prospect may already be on the defensive. They might be anticipating a sales pitch, so it’s important to focus on their needs first to build trust and lower their defenses.

“Discovery is where you don’t need to be afraid to ask tough questions–especially if it helps you disqualify a deal,” Roman Kukhta, Manager, SMB Sales at PandaDoc, says. “It’s not just about understanding the use case; it’s also about spotting red flags early. Don’t be a yes-man. Don’t overpromise or assume you’ll figure things out later–that’s how you set yourself and the customer up for a bad experience. Discovery is about clarity, not just connection. Learn to let go when it’s not the right fit.”

Engage prospects with curiosity

Don’t just focus on uncovering pain points; your questions should also open up the prospect’s awareness to potential solutions they haven’t considered.

By asking thoughtful questions, you can help prospects see problems and solutions from a different perspective.

“A good discovery call is about more than just asking questions; it’s about creating a conversation where you both explore the problem together,” Roman says. “The right questions can lead to insights even the prospect didn’t realize they had. It’s not about pushing your solution, but helping them see the bigger picture of what’s possible.”

Your questions can help your prospect spot problems and recognize larger, underlying issues.

Do your homework: prepare for the call

To prepare for a call, research the other person’s job title and duties beforehand. Check their website and LinkedIn and ask questions during small talk at the beginning of the call.

“I pay a lot of attention to the key competencies of the person I’m talking to,” Helen says. “Sometimes you see that one person books a call with you, but you also see five acceptance notifications in your inbox, meaning they’ve invited someone else. So I check those people as well, like who they are. And sometimes, just by knowing their positions, you can determine the use case. Sometimes, you can even guess what kind of CRM they’re using because it’s a HubSpot CRM administrator. This way, I’m not surprised, and I know how technical I should be and can talk in their language.”

Doing this homework allows you to walk into the discovery call with a deeper understanding of your prospect’s business, role, and needs, making it easier to tailor your approach and ask the right questions.

Asking the right sales discovery call questions

The goal of your discovery questions should be to uncover real pain points and business insights and connect with the potential customer, rather than just gathering data or asking product-specific questions.

A common mistake, especially for new or inexperienced reps, is making the call about the product or the sales rep’s commission.

“The discovery call is not about the sales rep, but rather about the company and the client the rep is working with,” Roman says. “So where a lot of junior reps fail is making it about the product or their commission and asking questions like, ‘how big of an order you are planning to make?’ or ‘how many licenses are you eventually going to purchase?’ I’ve seen calls where this was literally the first question asked, and it’s probably not the most ideal way to show people that you’re genuinely interested in their business and the issues and pains they brought to the table.”

Avoiding obvious questions and sticking to more insightful ones helps keep the conversation engaging and focused on the prospect’s needs rather than the sales rep’s agenda.

Helen adds, “Buyers are not perfect, and even when using all the tactics, sometimes chemistry doesn’t happen. Usually, prospects tend to answer questions because they understand their value. So every time I ask something, I try to add why I’m asking, building this bridge between the answer and the value they can get if they answer this question. So give them a reason behind the question and make it seem like a conversation, not just a prosecution.”

Help the prospect understand why you’re asking the question and show them the value they’ll gain by answering.

For example, asking a question that makes the prospect rethink their current process (e.g., “Do you track how many documents you’ve sent for eSignature?”).

It’s also important to ask questions that reveal the prospect’s motivation for seeking a solution.

Roman shares the question and thought process he uses to get these important details.

“What’s happening in the business at the moment that makes this a priority for you?

Somehow, on your busiest day, you found a 30-minute slot and you decided not to drink coffee, go for a walk, or finish a report, but to talk to me. Something big definitely happened, so I suggest and preach this opener to a lot of my sales reps.”

Discovery call mistakes to avoid

Knowing what not to do on a discovery call is just as essential as knowing what to do.

Avoid these common mistakes.

Not doing a discovery call

Many salespeople assume they already know the prospect’s pain points or needs and skip the discovery process, which can lead to missed opportunities.

Failing to build a connection

Another key mistake is failing to establish rapport or build a connection.

“One of the key outcomes of a good discovery call is when a salesperson understands what problems their solution can solve for a prospect,” Larry Shapovalov, Strategic Account Executive at PandaDoc, says. “No matter if you’re liked or not, as soon as you find the technical root cause of the pain and identify the impact it has on a business, you’re close to the finish line. Just make sure what you’re selling actually solves the problem.”

Roman adds, “Despite you not being charismatic or interesting, if you are actually showing them the solution to their problems, it usually constitutes a good discovery call.”

Building this connection is crucial to earning trust and uncovering the true issues your prospect is facing.

Going in with a script vs. being flexible

Having a sales discovery script may seem like best practice, but it can prevent natural conversations and insights that may be uncovered organically. Actively listen and respond empathetically versus reading from a list of preset questions.

“Sometimes they aren’t even aware that a problem exists,” Larry says. “They come because of problem A, and then they realize there’s problem B, which is way bigger. All it takes is to know what you’re searching for and ask relevant questions.”

Rather than relying on a strict script, be flexible and adjust your approach as the conversation unfolds. A good discovery call adapts to the prospect’s needs and their evolving responses, which helps uncover deeper insights and build a stronger rapport.

Conducting better discovery calls to drive more sales

By incorporating these insights and tactics, you’ll transform your sales discovery calls into powerful, results-driven conversations. When you approach each call with curiosity and focus on understanding your prospect, you gain a clearer picture of their pain points and build a foundation of trust and rapport.

So, don’t just view discovery calls as a step in the sales process—use them as an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to solving your prospect’s problems, leading to more meaningful connections and better sales outcomes.

If you’re looking for a platform to help you create professional proposals and boost your sales process, PandaDoc offers a comprehensive solution. With CPQ features like dynamic pricing and guided selling, seamless CRM integration with top platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive, document creation, and eSignature functionality, our platform can help you close deals faster and more efficiently.

Start your free 14-day trial and see how PandaDoc can help you transform your sales process.

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