Creativity in Discovery – CR3

Conducting Discovery sessions with a prospective customer helps you mutually determine requirements with the customer.

Here are tips on using creativity to conduct effective Discovery sessions.

Use a Problem-Solving mindset – Think of creative ways to frame your discussion around what it will take to solve the problem, not just what fits your solution.

Focus the Discovery on generating business value.

Listen intently to ensure that you have a good understanding.

Then go down three levels to deepen your understanding:

Level 1 – Questions and dialogue to understand the business issue and clarify the current situation

Level 2 – Questions to understand the business impact of not addressing this business issue

Level 3 – Questions and dialogue to explore the potential business value that a solution can deliver

Be creative in the way you ask questions to avoid repetition. Ask in a different way if not getting through or if they fail to open up.

Draw it up. Create some graphical representations to show your customer how they will benefit and when the benefits will be realized.

A discovery session could get down in the weeds and could get dry. Use your creative talents to inject stories and analogies to keep it interesting.

Act out a couple of scenarios with some dialogue to show the before and after:

– Like the sales team using shovels to dig up leads in the past, and with the new solution the powerful excavator and bulldozer dig them up and sort them out…

Tailor your Discovery based on the customer needs and the personality of the customer. This should not be a one-size-fits all exercise.

Being creative during the discovery process positions you as a valued consultant and an advisor, not just a vendor… and increases your chance of winning.

I’m DJ Sebastian, and we will continue the discussion on creativity in sales in the next briefings.