Discovery Guide

Discovery Guide

Help reps run better discovery calls by asking the right questions in the right order. Discovery is the most important part of the sales process — everything downstream (demo, proposal, close) depends on how well you understand the prospect's situation.

Why Discovery Matters

Bad discovery leads to generic demos, weak proposals, and lost deals. Good discovery:

• Uncovers the real problem (not just the stated one)
• Identifies all stakeholders and their priorities
• Quantifies the impact of the problem (sets up ROI conversations)
• Establishes urgency and timeline
• Gives you everything you need for a compelling demo and proposal

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How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     DISCOVERY GUIDE                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  MODES                                                            │
│  1. Call Prep — Generate a tailored discovery guide for a call    │
│  2. Framework Training — Learn SPIN, Sandler, or Challenger      │
│  3. Question Library — Browse questions by topic and stage        │
│  4. Call Review — Evaluate discovery quality from a transcript    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  FRAMEWORKS                                                       │
│  • SPIN — Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff           │
│  • Sandler — Pain, Budget, Decision                              │
│  • Challenger — Teach, Tailor, Take Control                      │
│  • MEDDIC-aligned — Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  SUPERCHARGED (when you connect your tools)                      │
│  + ~~CRM: Deal/contact/company data for pre-call context         │
│  + ~~conversation intelligence (Gong): Past calls with prospect  │
│  + ~~conversation intelligence (Gong): Call review from transcript│
│  + ~~data enrichment (ZoomInfo): Company research, org chart     │
│  + ~~data enrichment (Clay): Person enrichment for attendees     │
│  + ~~data enrichment (LinkedIn): Prospect profiles and background│
│  + ~~calendar/email: Meeting context and prior correspondence    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Getting Started

• "Prepare discovery questions for my call with [Company]"
• "Give me a SPIN framework call guide for [industry/persona]"
• "What questions should I ask a VP of Engineering about [topic]?"
• "Build a discovery question library for our SDR team"
• "Review my discovery call transcript — did I miss anything?"

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Execution Flow

Step 0: Automatic Data Pull (Before Asking the User Anything)

CRITICAL: Before asking for prospect context, pull everything available from connected tools. The best discovery calls start with thorough pre-call research — and tools can do that research in seconds.

CRM Data Pull

Check if you have access to CRM tools (look for tools containing search_crm_objects, get_crm_objects, or similar).

If CRM tools ARE available:

1. Find the deal. Search deals for the company/prospect name the user mentioned.

• Properties: dealname, amount, dealstage, closedate, pipeline, hubspot_owner_id, dealtype, description, notes_last_contacted, num_notes

1. Pull contacts. Get associated contacts for the deal.

• Properties: firstname, lastname, jobtitle, email, phone, company, lifecyclestage
• Identify which contact the rep is meeting

1. Pull company. Get associated company data.

• Properties: name, domain, industry, numberofemployees, annualrevenue, description, about_us, founded_year, country
• Use this to pre-fill the "Pre-Call Context" and skip Situation Questions you already know answers to

Sales Intelligence Data Pull

Check if you have access to sales intelligence tools (look for tools prefixed with zoominfo_, clay_, linkedin_).

ZoomInfo (if available):

1. Research the company. Use zoominfo_search_company with the prospect company name/domain.

• Company size, revenue, funding, tech stack, industry

1. Get org chart. Use zoominfo_get_org_chart to understand the prospect's reporting structure.

• Who does your contact report to? (potential Economic Buyer)
• Who reports to your contact? (potential users/influencers)

1. Get tech stack. Use zoominfo_get_tech_stack for the prospect company.

• Know what tools they use today — feeds Situation Questions and competitive context

Clay (if available):

1. Enrich the contact. Use clay_enrich_person with the attendee's email or name+company.

• Background, tenure, career path — personalization gold for building rapport

LinkedIn (if available):

1. Get prospect profile. Use linkedin_get_profile for the meeting attendee.

• Career history, education, shared connections, recent activity
• Feeds the "Build Rapport" section of the call guide

1. Search the company. Use linkedin_search_companies for company updates, hiring trends.

Gong Data Pull

Check if you have access to Gong tools (look for tools prefixed with gong_).

If Gong tools ARE available:

For Call Prep mode:

1. Search for prior calls with this prospect. Use gong_search_calls with company name or contact email.
2. If prior calls exist, pull transcripts and analytics:

• What was discussed previously? (don't repeat questions they already answered)
• What pain points were uncovered? (go deeper this time)
• Were there any unresolved objections? (prepare for these)
• What next steps were agreed? (follow up on commitments)

For Call Review mode:

1. Pull the call transcript. Use gong_get_transcript with the call ID.
2. Pull call analytics. Use gong_get_call_details for talk ratio, question count, topics.
3. Pre-fill the evaluation metrics with actual data.

Calendar/Email Data Pull

If calendar/email tools are available (outlook_calendar_search, outlook_email_search):

1. Search for the meeting details — attendees, agenda, any prep notes
2. Search email history with the prospect — prior correspondence reveals context
3. Check for any materials shared by or to the prospect

Present What You Found

> "I pulled context for your call with [Name], [Title] at [Company]: a [industry] company with [N] employees and $[X] revenue. Per ZoomInfo, they use [Tech Stack]. Per LinkedIn, [Name] has been in this role for [N] years, previously at [Company]. Per CRM, this is a $[X] deal in [Stage] stage. [If prior calls exist:] I found [N] prior Gong calls — last call covered [topics]. Building your discovery guide now..."

Step 1: Gather Remaining Context

After the auto-pull, ask ONLY for what couldn't be found:

• Framework preference — SPIN, Sandler, Challenger, or "whatever works"
• Your goal for this call — What specific things do you need to learn?
• What you sell — If not in memory/product.md

When tools are connected, you already have prospect context, company data, and prior interaction history.

Step 2: Generate the Call Guide

Build using ALL evidence. Mark Situation Questions as "SKIP — already known from research" when the answer is in the tool data. Cite: "Per CRM:", "Per ZoomInfo:", "Per Gong:", "Per LinkedIn:"

Step 3: Store Insights

• After the call, update memory/deal-patterns.md with discovery findings
• Note the prospect's qualification status for the deal-qualification skill

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What I Need From You (When Tools Aren't Connected)

For a tailored call guide:

1. Who are you meeting? — Name, title, company
2. What do you sell? — Your product and key value propositions
3. What do you know already? — Any context from prior conversations or research
4. What's the goal? — First meeting? Follow-up? What do you need to learn?
5. Framework preference? — SPIN, Sandler, Challenger, or "whatever works"

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The SPIN Framework

The most universally applicable discovery framework. Questions progress through four stages, each building on the last:

S — Situation Questions

Understand their current state. Keep these brief — don't interrogate. You should know most of this from research.

Purpose: Establish context without wasting the prospect's time.

P — Problem Questions

Identify pain points, challenges, and gaps in their current approach.

Purpose: Get the prospect to articulate what's not working.

I — Implication Questions

Explore the consequences of the problem. This is where deals are won or lost — most reps skip this entirely.

Purpose: Help the prospect realize the problem is bigger than they thought.

N — Need-Payoff Questions

Get the prospect to describe how a solution would improve their situation. Let them sell themselves.

Purpose: The prospect articulates the value, not you.

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Output Format: Call Guide

# Discovery Call Guide: [Company Name]

**Prospect:** [Name, Title]
**Company:** [Company] — [Brief description]
**Date:** [Call date]
**Framework:** [SPIN / Sandler / Challenger]
**Goal:** [What you need to learn from this call]

---

## Pre-Call Context
[What you already know about the prospect and company, relevant news, any prior interactions]

---

## Opening (2-3 minutes)

**Agenda Set:**
> "Thanks for making time, [Name]. I was hoping to learn more about [their situation] and see if there's a fit. I've got a few questions, and of course I want to leave time for yours too. Does that work?"

**Build Rapport:**
- [Personal connection point from research]
- [Company-specific observation: recent news, growth, initiative]

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## Situation Questions (3-5 minutes)

Keep brief — show you've done your homework.

1. "[Question about their current setup/process]"
2. "[Question about team structure or ownership]"
3. "[Question about tools they're using today]"

**Listen for:** [What signals to pay attention to]

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## Problem Questions (5-8 minutes)

This is where discovery really begins.

1. "[Question about challenges with current approach]"
2. "[Question about what's not working]"
3. "[Question about what they've tried before]"
4. "[Question about impact on their goals]"

**Listen for:** [Pain indicators, frustration signals]

**Follow-up prompts:**
- "Tell me more about that..."
- "How does that affect [downstream outcome]?"
- "How long has that been an issue?"

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## Implication Questions (5-8 minutes)

Help them connect the dots to bigger consequences.

1. "[Question about business impact: revenue, cost, time]"
2. "[Question about team impact: morale, productivity, retention]"
3. "[Question about strategic impact: competitive position, growth goals]"
4. "[Question about what happens if they don't solve this]"

**Listen for:** [Quantifiable impact, emotional reactions, urgency signals]

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## Need-Payoff Questions (3-5 minutes)

Let them describe the ideal outcome.

1. "If you could wave a magic wand, what would [process/outcome] look like?"
2. "What would solving [problem] mean for [their goals]?"
3. "How would your team's day-to-day change if [pain point] went away?"

**Listen for:** [Their vision of success — use this in your proposal]

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## Qualification Check

Before wrapping, confirm:

- [ ] **Pain:** Clearly articulated problem with measurable impact
- [ ] **Champion:** This person can advocate internally
- [ ] **Timeline:** There's a reason to act now (or within a defined window)
- [ ] **Budget:** They have or can get the resources
- [ ] **Decision Process:** You understand who else is involved

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## Close the Call

**Summarize:**
> "Let me make sure I've got this right — [recap key pain points and desired outcomes]."

**Propose Next Step:**
> "Based on what you've shared, I think [specific next step] would be valuable. How does [date/time] look?"

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## Notes Template

After the call, capture:
- **Key pains:** [What they said in their words]
- **Impact:** [Quantified if possible]
- **Decision process:** [Who, how, timeline]
- **Next step:** [What you agreed to]
- **Red flags:** [Anything concerning]

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Question Library

When building a reusable question library, I'll organize questions by:

1. Framework stage (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff)
2. Buyer persona (C-suite, VP, Director, IC)
3. Industry vertical (SaaS, Healthcare, Financial Services, etc.)
4. Topic area (Budget, Timeline, Decision Process, Technical Requirements, etc.)

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Call Review Mode

Paste a transcript or notes from a discovery call, and I'll evaluate:

1. Coverage — Did you hit all four SPIN stages?
2. Depth — Did you go deep enough on implications?
3. Balance — Prospect talk time vs. rep talk time (aim for 60/40 prospect)
4. Missed Opportunities — Questions you should have asked
5. Next Steps — What to follow up on based on what was uncovered

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Related Skills

• deal-qualification — Use discovery findings to formally qualify the deal
• objection-handling — Handle objections that surface during discovery
• proposal-builder — Turn discovery insights into a compelling proposal
• buyer-persona — Understand your buyer before the call

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: jbalbu01
• Source: jbalbu01/sales-enablement-plugin
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.