If a prospect is unresponsive to discovery questions, describe the specific priorities and blockers of similar customers. Framing case studies around their demand ('they were trying to do X but were blocked by Y') can prompt recognition and help the prospect articulate their own 'pull'.
Instead of asking about generic pain points, use the 'Pull' framework (Project, Unavoidable, Looking, Lacking) during discovery. The goal is to uncover the customer's single most important, blocked priority, which is the only thing they will act on.
Sales teams often treat discovery as a prerequisite to their demo, blindly searching for any 'problem' to pitch to. This wastes up to 90% of the call because they aren't listening for the customer's true, top-priority need, leading to sales *despite* the call, not because of it.
Don't assume a warm intro guarantees a sale. If the prospect is just 'doing a favor,' the call will go nowhere. You must immediately identify their 'pull'—their top, blocked priority—to convert the opportunity. The intro only opens the door.
Conventional wisdom says to pause sales outreach in late December. However, many prospects remain highly responsive as they look for distractions from family events. The decrease in overall business noise can also make your message stand out more easily.
If a prospect deflects an opening discovery question by saying you initiated contact, re-center the conversation on their decision-making. A good response is, 'Yes, but you don't take every call. Was there anything in particular you were hoping to get out of it?' This redirects focus to their needs.
Instead of starting with intros and a list of questions, ask the prospect why they accepted the meeting and what they hope to get out of it. This simple question cuts through the noise and gives them an opportunity to state their intent and priorities upfront, revealing their 'pull' from the very beginning.
Founders often rush discovery to save time for a long demo. This is backward. When you precisely understand a customer's 'pull' (their top blocked priority), your pitch becomes hyper-relevant and can be delivered in 90 seconds, making the entire sales process more efficient.
In sales discovery, if you find yourself thinking 'that's useful,' you're likely gathering irrelevant context like team structure or company history. Truly useful information is identifying the customer's top blocked priority ('pull'), not accumulating interesting but unactionable facts.