This blog breaks down a proven 30-minute discovery call framework used by top tech sales reps to uncover real pain, qualify effectively, and close more deals in both SMB and enterprise motions.
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A weak discovery call kills deals before they start. A great one makes the close inevitable.
This blog breaks down exactly how to run a high-impact 30-minute discovery call, based on a real conversation between Eric Finch and Kris Hari: two President’s Club AEs who have sold across SMB, mid-market, and enterprise segments.
Whether you’re an SDR trying to get promoted, an AE tightening your process, or a founder learning to sell, this is your tactical guide.
Discovery is the most important part of the sales cycle. Period. If you uncover the right pain, align on outcomes, and set the tone correctly, the rest of the process gets easier.
But most reps botch discovery by:
“You don’t win by sounding like a rep. You win by acting like someone who’s done this before and who cares about understanding what unique problems their prospect has.”
Let’s get into the structure that actually works.
Here’s the basic flow that top reps use (full video breakdown here):
This isn’t rigid. It’s meant to keep you focused so you don’t burn 27 minutes and realize you haven’t even shown value yet.
Set the tone early. Don’t open with a script. Read the room. If they’re warm, engage lightly. If they’re cold, get to the point.
Sample opener (make it your own):
“Appreciate you taking the time. What I had in mind today was learning more about your current setup and what prompted you to take this call. If there’s alignment, I can show you how we might help and set some next steps. Anything else specific that you want to cover?”
Avoid the slide deck. Your confidence and clarity are what build trust early. The second you share your screen, everyone's brain shuts off. We'll get there, but until you have something meaningful to show, don't risk losing their attention by showing a slide with an agenda. Just share it verbally.
This is where top reps separate from average ones. Most reps ask surface-level questions. Great reps go deep into context, pain, and impact.
While the format below has been used and rebranded across companies like Force Management with their Command of the Message framework, this is a great framework that you can inject your company specific questions and conversation into.
For the next 18 minutes (after your 2 minute intro + agenda setting), these are the questions I would use as a foundation and make them specific to your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) and company:
Eric’s tip: Spend 60 to 70 percent (or more) of this block on the current state and negative consequences. If there’s no real pain, the deal has no teeth.
If the prospect is diving deep into the current state and pain (and the pain is significant) your time is better spent there to fully understand it before even positioning a solution. I've had calls where I even let them talk basically the entire call, and because we were so engaged I positioned another call to continue the conversation. Because I was actively listening and attentive to their needs, a follow up call made a ton of sense.
Lastly, it's possible that your prospect may not truly know the ideal future state and/or business outcomes they need. That's rather normal and not a show stopper. What that means is that if it's a serious enough of an issue, you should set up a follow up call with other team members that it impacts to ensure that the problem is in fact large and worth solving.
In my career I've sold directly to engineers and it's rare on the first call that they have a clearly defined impact/cost of the problem. But I position a second call as "This has been great and I want to make sure if we go into a trial that we have alignment and we wouldn't be wasting our effort on something that's going to get shot down anyway. Could we sync on our next call with [your manager/team member/exec/etc....] to ensure that it's worth evaluating further and ultimately purchasing if successful?"
But with that being said, let's say you've gone through 20 minutes of the call and have a great sense for their current problems and where your solution fits. Now let's look at how to run the last ~10 minutes of the call.
Don’t do a full demo. Tie your overview directly to what they shared.
If they told you the database crashes under load, show the scalability. If they said onboarding is too manual, show how you automate setup. Don't show them boring and irrelevant features like 'how to create an account', or 'how to start/stop a service' unless they specifically asked to see those things.
Instead, go immediately to the most valuable 1-3 things that creates enough interest for you to set up a follow up call.
Kris’s tip:
“Most buyers already know what your tool does. They’re talking to three other vendors. Your edge is showing that you actually listened and tailored the conversation.”
If it’s a competitive deal, subtly plant seeds:
“Most teams like yours that looked at Vendor X ended up choosing us because of A, B, and C. I encourage you to ask them about it.”
For more on how to present like a top AE, read How to Give a Sales Presentation.
Most reps close the call with “I’ll follow up” and leave things loose. Don’t do that.
Use this time to:
Example:
“Before we book another session, I want to make sure this is a good use of everyone’s time. Based on what we discussed, would it make sense to bring in your [CTO / VP / security lead] for a deeper session? That way we can tailor it and make sure we cover everything important.”
If they hesitate to involve others or commit to a next step, that’s a yellow flag. They personally may love your solution, but it might not be as big of a deal to the entire company as you think.
You'll learn a lot here, and if they object I always recomend bringing it back to what's in it for them.
"I understand it may not make sense to bring others in at the moment, the biggest thing I want to avoid is us spending 2-3 months of our time on something that is just going to get shot down anyway. What do you think is the best way to have others validate this is worth pursuing? Have you bought software before for [COMPANY]? What did that process look like?
Even with the right structure, most reps still fall into common traps that stall deals before they start.
The first mistake is asking scripted questions that don’t match the conversation. If your questions feel unnatural or overly rehearsed, the buyer will immediately tune out. Great discovery sounds like a real conversation, not a checklist.
Another issue is pitching too early. Just because a prospect mentions a pain point doesn’t mean it’s time to talk product and show what you do. If you haven’t explored who the problem impacts, what it’s costing them, or what they’ve tried to fix it, your pitch will fall flat.
Reps also forget to qualify urgency or identify key stakeholders. Interest doesn’t mean intent. If you don’t ask who else needs to be involved or how decisions like this are made, you’ll waste time with someone who can’t move the deal forward.
One more mistake: running out of time before delivering value. If you spend the entire call asking questions and never connect anything back to your solution, the buyer will leave the call unsure why they should continue. You should at least use ~3-5 minutes to discuss how their problems are relevant to your solution and use that as justification to set up an additional call. Just setting up another call because you ran out of time leads to higher no show rates, versus making it clear why another call would be extremely beneficial.
And finally, never end a call without setting a clear next step. Confirm a date, include the right people, and recap the call while you still have their attention. Loose endings lead to ghosting. Tight handoffs build pipeline.
Q: How long should a discovery call be?
A: Most initial discovery calls are 30 minutes. Use a flexible structure like 2 minutes intro, 18 minutes discovery, 6 minutes value overview, 4 minutes next steps.
Q: What’s the most important part of a discovery call?
A: Understanding the current state and negative consequences. Without real pain, you’re selling a nice-to-have.
Q: Should I show the product on the first call?
A: Yes, but only briefly and only after tying it to what they shared. This creates relevance and interest for the next step.
Q: What’s the biggest mistake reps make?
A: Talking too much or pitching before listening. Discovery is not about convincing — it’s about understanding.
Q: How does this compare to Command of the Message?
A: Very similar structure. In fact, you can go deeper on that in our full breakdown of Command of the Message.
→ If you’re ready to enhance every aspect of your game and close bigger deals, join our AE Mastery program. It’s the fastest way to level up your discovery skills (along with every other aspect of your AE game) and start closing with confidence, all the while getting direct live support from top performers in tech sales.
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