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Doing Discovery: The Single Most Important Element of Software Sales and Buyer Enablement Processes
A head of sales commented, “80% of my team believes they do a good job with discovery, but sadly they do not – they don’t know what they don’t know…!”
Where do you stand with your discovery skills? Most sales, presales, and customer-facing teams are operating at Level 2 or 3, with a few at Level 4 – this leaves a lot of room for improvement!
And, as Cohan notes, “the vendor who is perceived by the prospect as doing a superior job in discovery is in a competitively advantageous position.”
Reading and following the exercises in Doing Discovery can transform individuals, teams, and organizations from undifferentiated sellers into high-performing practitioners who achieve their sales objectives while truly enabling buyers, resulting in mutually successful outcomes that endure.
Where do you stand with your discovery skills? Most sales, presales, and customer-facing teams are operating at Level 2 or 3, with a few at Level 4 – this leaves a lot of room for improvement!
And, as Cohan notes, “the vendor who is perceived by the prospect as doing a superior job in discovery is in a competitively advantageous position.”
Reading and following the exercises in Doing Discovery can transform individuals, teams, and organizations from undifferentiated sellers into high-performing practitioners who achieve their sales objectives while truly enabling buyers, resulting in mutually successful outcomes that endure.
384 pages, Paperback
Published August 5, 2022
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September 7, 2022
Think about the last deal you lost. Was it to a No Decision? How much time had you spent on that deal? How many resources got thrown at it? How much were you counting on that deal for your month/quarter/year?
If you have been in Sales or Presales for more than one month, you have had this deal. And if you take a good long look at it under the Truth Microscope, you would probably admit to yourself that you should have done a more effective job during Discovery.
Discovery is the most important investment that you make in your success as a professional yet there have been few books written with the sole focus being on Discovery. Well, Peter Cohan has addressed that with his new book Doing Discovery. Peter has taken his experience working with Presales teams around the globe in addition to his own time in the field and drafted an amazing playbook for conducting effective Discovery.
While this book was targeted specifically towards Presales Pros in the Software as a Service space, as a recovering sales professional I can tell you that anyone who is putting themselves in front of customers to lead a Discovery session will benefit from this book.
And this isn't just a book that you read and have to figure out how to apply the concepts. Peter includes exercises throughout to help you take the concepts that you just studied and immediately apply them to your own customer interactions.
One of my favorite parts is when he dives into the notorious Curse of Knowledge. It includes a tremendous quote from Claude Bernard "It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning."
So if you've been in Sales/Presales for 30 minutes or 30 years, this book is a must-read if you want to win more of those No Decision deals.
If you have been in Sales or Presales for more than one month, you have had this deal. And if you take a good long look at it under the Truth Microscope, you would probably admit to yourself that you should have done a more effective job during Discovery.
Discovery is the most important investment that you make in your success as a professional yet there have been few books written with the sole focus being on Discovery. Well, Peter Cohan has addressed that with his new book Doing Discovery. Peter has taken his experience working with Presales teams around the globe in addition to his own time in the field and drafted an amazing playbook for conducting effective Discovery.
While this book was targeted specifically towards Presales Pros in the Software as a Service space, as a recovering sales professional I can tell you that anyone who is putting themselves in front of customers to lead a Discovery session will benefit from this book.
And this isn't just a book that you read and have to figure out how to apply the concepts. Peter includes exercises throughout to help you take the concepts that you just studied and immediately apply them to your own customer interactions.
One of my favorite parts is when he dives into the notorious Curse of Knowledge. It includes a tremendous quote from Claude Bernard "It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning."
So if you've been in Sales/Presales for 30 minutes or 30 years, this book is a must-read if you want to win more of those No Decision deals.
Displaying 1 of 1 review