Discovery Effectiveness and Product “Fit”

 

 

Discovery is a simultaneous exploration of prospect “fit” on the part of the vendor and solution “fit” on the part of the prospect. Good fit for both parties results in less friction for all subsequent steps in their relationship. Discovery should measure fit, accordingly, and is an enormous point of leverage for everything downstream!

 

Prospects know this, intuitively, and often express it when they terminate a sales cycle. They’ll (literally!) say, “Your product isn’t a good fit for us.”

 

Sadly, many salespeople ignore fit and instead live in the “Land of Hope.” Poor fit can result in enormous waste and inefficiencies. In cases where the prospect moves forward with a purchase, poor fit can cause that customer to churn and become an outspoken negative reference.

 

Presales must determine and measure the quality of fit. Most organizations do this qualitatively today, if at all! You’ll hear evidence of this at QBRs, when presales folks are asked, “How good is this opportunity…?” Sadly, many answers are ignored partly due to the lack of metrics and partly in the pursuit of “making the numbers” for that quarter!

 

How can we measure fit? 

 

Great Demo! Situation Slides offer one simple and effective method (see Chapter 6 in Great Demo!). For each important Specific Capability desired by your prospect, assess your ability to deliver satisfaction on a scale or percent:

 

-       Workflow Number 1: 80%

-       Workflow Number 2: 90%

-       Report Number 1: 100%

-       Dashboard Number 1: 80%

-       Root Cause Identification: 60%

-       Etc.

 

This can be represented, ultimately, as an overall score, either as a simple average or (better) as a weighted average based on relative importance each capability to the prospect:

 

-       Workflow Number 1: 80% fit; Relative Importance 100

-       Workflow Number 2: 90% fit; Relative Importance 80

-       Report Number 1: 100% fit; Relative Importance 100

-       Dashboard Number 1: 80% fit, Relative Importance 70

-       Root Cause Identification: 60% fit; Relative Importance 100

-       Etc.

 

Incorporating the opportunity size enables you to compare opportunities to determine where to invest your resources. It also solves the challenge of the rep’s traditional claim “It’s a huge opportunity…!” when analyzed in comparison to others.

 

For example, a $1M opportunity with a 20% fit metric gives a normalized score of $200K, but a $600K opportunity with 80% fit yields a score of $480K. I know where I’d invest my time!

“Oh, good question…!”

 

When doing discovery, any time your prospect says, “Oh good question…!” it means you're doing really well!

 

Why? Because you’ve tapped a topic that is relevant and meaningful. And it’s also likely that your prospect hadn’t previously connected its importance with their problem(s). You’ll typically hear “Oh good question…!” when you probe for impact, value, or related pain areas.

 

To learn more tips and skills like this one, consider enrolling in a Doing Discovery or Great Demo! Workshop or explore our books, blog and articles on the Resources pages of our website at https://GreatDemo.com. Join the Great Demo! & Doing Discovery LinkedIn Group to learn from others and share your experiences.

Demo Hack: New vs Save As

 

In demos, how many times have you seen someone build a new dashboard or process flow from scratch, step by step?

 

I’m always amazed to see three sets of mistakes:

 

1.     Showing all the options and possibilities, which makes the process look complicated and only suitable for experts

2.     Similarly, this extended pathway makes the effort take much longer than necessary

3.     The presenter often never finishes the project, leaving you without a vision of the deliverable or its value!

 

This unproductive demo pathway is presented frighteningly frequently. Amazingly, it is often highlighted by vendors in their demos!

 

In day-to-day life, most of us rarely start from scratch, particularly if good examples already exist. For instance, how often do you open an existing document, spreadsheet, or other entity, and choose “Save As”? Your next steps are often simple edits to the existing entity. 

 

Doing this in your demos makes your software appear much easier to use than if you started with a blank page. “Save As” is a terrific strategy!

 

There are DOZENS more hacks, tips, ideas, and VALIDATED best practices in Great Demo!

Discovery Don’t BONUS! Don’t Encourage Your Prospect to Go Off Script

 

“Well,” said the salesperson, “We’ve covered all the questions on the list. Thanks for your time…”

 

The prospect had been contemplating revealing another, very important issue, but since the vendor was closing the meeting, the prospect player didn’t offer anything. Bad move, vendor!

 

Years ago, Steve Jobs was famous for casually remarking, at the apparent end of a presentation, “Oh, one more thing…” and then he’d reveal an amazing new product, feature, service, or concept.

 

Hospital Analogy: You’ve been discussing some gastrointestinal discomfort with your physician, who has prescribed an antacid medication. You are about to leave the examination room and, as your doctor’s hand reaches the doorknob to exit, you remark, “Actually, I’m kind of worried about a recurring headache I’ve been having. Can we talk about it?”

 

This is known as the doorknob effect, where patients are uncomfortable to reveal critical information until the last possible moment.

 

Solution? Here’s my favorite discovery question, used at the very end of your conversation: “Is there anything we haven’t discussed that we should be discussing?” This opens the (ahem) door for any additional non-structured information from your prospect. Try it!

 

 

This is BONUS from The Dirty Dozen of Discovery Don’ts – you can find all twelve here! https://lnkd.in/evUnp8YV

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Doing Discovery: 

https://lnkd.in/g28PXx55 

Start Your Demo in Email?

Oh, yes!

 

What do most people do when they arrive at their desks on Monday morning? They check email. (Yes, and some browse their favorites/bookmarked websites first, and then they check their email!)  

 

So, consider starting your demos in email, if possible. 

 

For example, start by saying, “It’s Monday morning and you’ve just arrived in your office…” You then show an unopened message, open it to reveal a link, then click the link to launch a browser that takes the user to the dashboard, report, or appropriate portion of a workflow. The user then consumes the deliverable or enters a process in accord with what your software enables.

 

That’s the way most people start their day: Why not map to it?  

 

For Great Demo! practitioners, the above pathway of starting in email and proceeding to the dashboard, report, or workflow element is a truly terrific “Do It” pathway, leading crisply back to a compelling “Illustration.” Delightful!

 

There are dozens more tips and ideas in Great Demo!

Coffee with Sales Engineers!

 

“Discovering the Journey and Wisdom of a Sales Engineering Legend: Peter Cohan

 

In this insightful episode of Coffee with Sales Engineers, we sit down with Peter Cohan, founder of the Second Derivative and author of 'Great Demo!' and 'Doing Discovery.' Peter shares his transformative journey from a chemist to an SE legend, offering valuable lessons for current and aspiring sales engineers. Topics covered include the critical pillars of a successful SE, the importance of discovery, and the dynamic relationship between account executives and sales engineers. This episode is packed with actionable advice for anyone in or considering a career in sales engineering.

 

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:23 Guest Introduction: Peter Cohan

01:05 Peter's Early Career Journey

02:47 Transition to Pre-Sales and Marketing

04:09 Founding and Growing a Business Unit

04:53 The Role of a Sales Engineer

09:14 The Importance of Learning and Teaching

12:18 Core Skills and Attributes of a Great SE

22:26 Effective Collaboration with Account Executives

32:15 Final Thoughts and Recommendations”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIvE0ynDig 

 

Enjoy!

Discovery Don’t #12 Ignore Poor Solution “Fit” and Proceed with the Sale

Have you ever purchased shoes or clothes that didn’t fit? Most likely they saw more closet time than their colleagues! Poor product or solution fit is a direct result of inadequate discovery (or worse, vendors who ignore what was learned in discovery and still push for the sale!).

 

Why does it happen? The more complex a prospect’s situation, the more likely it is that confusion takes place about vendor offerings. And the more vendors that a prospect explores, the more confused they can become: “Which vendor had the biframulator function? I can’t remember…!” This is aggravated by inaccurate or (ahem) devious answers to prospect questions and demos that make products look much better than reality.

 

What happens after the sale? If the fit is poor, the result will be a failed implementation or inability to achieve the desired objectives and ROI. This turns the customer into a Burn Victim, who won’t renew and will never buy from that vendor again!

 

While compensation drives performance, those of us who are solely compensated for “new name” sales still risk the impact of poor product fit. Each customer who churns because of inadequate fit is a negative reference and people who have suffered bad experiences tend to be vocal about them!

 

Hospital Analogy: Your insurance, which costs a bundle, didn’t cover your surgery, medications, or post-op care. The insurance company said, “’Life’ is a pre-existing condition, and we don’t cover that!”

 

Solution? Do detailed discovery, especially with respect to the Specific Capabilities your prospects need and the associated value. Analyze and apply a numeric scale for product fit measurements and back away from any opportunity where fit is below a rational threshold.

 

 

This is #12 from The Dirty Dozen of Discovery Don’ts – you can find all twelve here! https://lnkd.in/evUnp8YV

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Doing Discovery: 

https://lnkd.in/g28PXx55

“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”

“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”

 – Albert Einstein

 

Nothing crystalizes our understanding of an idea or topic like having to teach it to someone else! Consider:

 

-       We take away about 5% of what we hear in a lecture.

-       We remember about 10% of what we read.

-       Activating additional senses increases retention by 10% for each sense (see, hear, touch, smell, taste).

-       Interestingly, the average retention for demos is 30%.

-       When we discuss concepts, retention increases to 50%. (E.g., book clubs.)

-       When we put new ideas or skills into practice, retention jumps to 75%.

-       And when we teach someone else, our own memory increases to 90%!

 

So, if you really want to learn something, teach it to someone else!

Discovery Don’t #11 Don’t Explore Cultural Attributes

Most vendors’ discovery questions focus on uncovering and understanding “pain,” and a few examine impact and tangible value. But it is the rare vendor who explores cultural prospect attributes. These can provide a wealth of surprisingly valuable information!

 

For example, your prospect’s position on the Technology Adoption Curve is a leading indicator of the amount of proof they will require. Innovators may never need proof, and a crisp demo may satisfy Early Adopters. Late Majority prospects, on the other hand, are likely to publish extensive RFPs and then require multiple demos, POCs, and POVs, and are still at risk of yielding a No Decision outcome!

 

Implementation strategies give another clue to culture. Do they prefer an initial test group followed by tuning, or rollout in waves, or all at once? How frequently do they onboard new applications? Do they embrace new technologies or avoid them? Do they perceive themselves as a leader, “fast follower,” middle of the pack, or reluctant to change? Note that the age of their workforce may provide clues, as well.

 

Along similar lines, inquire about your prospect’s prospects! Companies that are most comfortable selling to the Late Majority are likely to have a similar culture.

 

Here’s another important cultural attribute: Organizations that have suffered a failed implementation or purchased a product that did not generate the expected ROI may be shy to pursue new solutions. They are “Burn Victims” who require additional investigation into “what happened?”

 

Hospital Analogy: Don’t go to a rural clinic if you need heart surgery!

 

Solution? Ask! Ask how they perceive themselves. Ask about their customers. Ask about their purchasing history and technology adoption habits. Ask if they’ve had a bad experience or suffered unsatisfactory performance with a prior purchase.

 

The information you learn may be extremely important in your sales process and in supporting your buyers’ processes!

 

This is #11 from The Dirty Dozen of Discovery Don’ts – you can find all twelve here! https://lnkd.in/evUnp8YV

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Doing Discovery: 

https://lnkd.in/g28PXx55

The Reverse Demo: A Fabulous Discovery Method!

If you are looking to displace an existing system (either a competitor or customer-built), a wonderful approach is to ask for a “Reverse Demo.” Your objectives are to:

 

1.     See what your prospect likes in the incumbent product. This enables you to avoid disparaging the capabilities that your prospect appreciates!

2.     See what your prospect doesn’t like and then explore the depth of pain, impact, and value etc. associated with making a change.

3.     If you are familiar with the competitive offering, you may realize that there are capabilities your prospect may be unaware of. This can help your cause as well.

 

Many Great Demo! practitioners report they have incorporated this step in their standard discovery process with great success: “Before I demo to you, why don’t you demo to me?”

 

What a great way to flip the script!

 

You’ll find much more about Reverse Demos starting on page 225 in the Elements of Discovery sections in Doing Discovery.

Discovery Don’t #10 Don’t Align Discovery with Job Title

A salesperson colleague shared a sad story that offered a great lesson: Discovery questions and topics need to align with your prospect players’ job titles. Here’s his story:

 

“After a great deal of work, I finally got a meeting with an executive at a key prospect. I had my discovery template ready to go and launched into my questions as soon as the call began.

 

The executive’s initial responses to my questions were clipped: ‘I don’t know,’ ‘You’ll need to ask my team,’ ‘That’s an IT issue,’ and similar. I was getting nowhere, and the executive was losing patience.

 

Thankfully, he offered me some great advice, saying, ‘Listen. The questions you’re asking me should be asked of the team running the workflows, and of IT for the infrastructure info. I can give you guidance regarding the importance of our project, and our objectives and timeline. I can help you by delegating you down and introducing you to the right players. 

 

In return,’ he said, ‘I need to you report back to me with your key findings. Let me know if you run into any roadblocks along the way.’

 

What a terrific person…! That exec helped me realize that my discovery questions need to align with each level and job title. Prospect staff members are highly knowledgeable about their specific workflows. Middle managers deal with short-term challenges, such as problem identification and team resource allocation. Execs offer insights into the overarching goals, objectives, projects, strategies, and timelines.

 

I was asking staff-level questions of executives and middle managers! Now I have several discovery templates, each aligned to my prospects’ specific job titles. And guess what? Now I’m making my numbers… No, I’m consistently crushing my numbers every quarter!”

 

Hospital Analogy: Don’t see a podiatrist about an ear infection, don’t ask a gastroenterologist to set a broken bone, and don’t seek a diagnosis from a hospital administrator!

 

Solution? Discovery is dependent on job title as this story illustrates. “Speeds and feeds” are workflow topics; strategy is a subject for executives. Remember that “pain flows downhill” and “solutions flow uphill!”

 

This is #10 from The Dirty Dozen of Discovery Don’ts – you can find all twelve here! https://lnkd.in/evUnp8YV

 

You can find the full set of DO’s and DON’Ts in Doing Discovery: 

https://lnkd.in/g28PXx55