AMA: AlphaSense Director of Strategic Sales, EMEA, Brian Tino on Discovery Tactics

Research and preparation are essential to great discovery. When coaching my reps to prepare for discovery, I advise preparation across the dimensions of: * Individual: this is broken down into personal & professional... * Personal: understand the foundation of the human you're talking to by researching their social profiles to uncover where they live, where they went to school, what do they like to do outside of work, etc. to help build a genuine connection * Professional: understand the basis of their professional life to unpack their title/role within the company, who they are connected to in their network, the types of topics they post/write about publicly, etc. * Company: what is the most recent/relevant news happening across the company, what are the strategic initiatives, what were the key themes of the latest earnings calls/press releases, etc. to understand the most important aspects happening around the company * Market: how are macroeconomic effects impacting the business, how does your prospect's company compare to their competitive set, etc. to understand the environment they are operating in With a solid foundation across each of these dimensions then you can start to craft your "value hypothesis" and suggestive discovery questions to most effectively engage in a purposeful conversation with your prospect to understand if their pain aligns with your solution.

When handling objections throughout the sales process, I generally advise first understanding the 'why' behind the objection/question, and then when you are comfortable with your understanding of the objection/question, then use a variation of the ARC Process (shown below) to manage the objection/answer. Understanding the Why behind an objection In sales you never want to answer questions that are not asked, and you never want to answer questions without knowing the intent behind the question/objection. If you have a suspicion as to the objection or the question, then I’d suggest normalizing it and better understanding it by reversing and framing your question back by saying, “Typically when a customer asks…it is because…to what extent would you say that is the case here?” Then once you fully understand the objection and the why behind it, you can use a variation of the ARC Process to overcome it: * Acknowledge: validate the objection/question and normalize it * Re-frame/Respond: clearly & succinctly provide your perspective * Confirm: then finally confirm that part of the conversation with a proposed path forward and validate that is acceptable with the prospect Example The prospect raises concerns over the cost of your solution, and you understand it's because they are also investigating a competitors who is cheaper but of lower quality. The ARC framework would sound something like this... (Acknowledge) Naturally, cost is always a consideration and I would be surprised if you hadn't raised it. (Re-frame) Our customers have shared that while we are a premium offering compared to other providers, the enhanced quality, speed, and performance of our solution not only provides better peace of mind, but also saves money over the long-term duration of the relationship, which makes it a sound investment. (Confirm) throughout our conversation, you've said that quality & speed are your top two criteria in choosing the right solution for you. If that's the case, is there any reason why you would not choose to invest in the best option?

I'll start with the 2nd question first... Personally, I coach my team that leading with a well positioned "suggestive discovery" question is the most effective at opening a conversation focused to get to pain and uncover value. At AlphaSense, that may sound something like... "Typically when I speak with other EVPs of M&A, they'll usually come to us because they are are either struggling with ensuring they do not 1) miss potential targets that fit within their investment thesis, 2) overlook critical information as part of the due diligence process, or 3) lose on the right opportunities because they are too slow to act compared to the competition. I'm curious to understand to what extent each of those challenges resonate with you?" Let's break that apart into it's important parts... * Social Proof: by starting with something like "typically when I speak with other [insert title]" it creates the perception that this is a regular type of conversation in my line of work, and I'm creditable in working through these situations * Focus on pain: by starting with typical problems that other similar individuals are "struggling with", I'm immediately bringing the focus of the conversation into pain * Relevant pain: then I proceed to mention 3 relevant pain points that I know is 1) common to my prospect and 2) that my solution can solve, and I do so in a way that invokes "negative language". Words like "miss", "overlook", and "lose" are all negative words that an individual wants to avoid * Open ended question: Finally, I close with an open ended question the turns the conversation over to the prospect the share which of their struggles relate, and even opens them up to introduce a new struggle that I may not have already listed Once you then understand their pain through the "suggestive discovery" framework, you can use whatever product focused data or industry trends to effectively craft a way to continue the conversation. Supplemented by product value propositions, use-cases, success stories, etc.

Firstly, it is important to recognize that discovery is not one stage of a sales process nor is it only the questioning that occurs on your first meeting. Discovery is a continuous journey of leading with curiosity, probing deeper, summarizing your understanding, and validating your takeaways through the sales process and with each new individual in the sales process. To ensure your discovery is efficient & effective... * Do Your Research & Prepare: the better you prepare for the conversation and align on the answers you need to best identify if/how your solution may be of value to the prospective customer the more effective you'll be able to use your time * Stay Curious: if you engage in curious, open-ended questions you will be able to uncover more critical information than if you focus on a standard set of pre-defined & closed questions * Probe Deeper: don't take just the surface level answer to questions, keep digging deeper to get to the root of their current state, goals, challenges, pain, etc. * Summarize & Validate Your Understanding: always make sure to summarize what you heard and validate you heard that correctly. Ultimately, the underlying business case is your prospective customer's story in their own words, so while you can craft it through discovery, to align on the true narrative, it needs to be in their words. If through your conversations you cannot get the prospective customer to articulate 1) why they need to do anything, 2) why they need to do it now, and 3) why your product is the best solution, then that may indicate you have sufficient holes in your deal which could require you qualifying out.

Customer feedback and insights from discovery serves as the foundation for the business case that will support your deal. Ultimately, the business case is "the story that is being told when you are not in the room" - this means whatever story your prospective customer has crafted based on your conversations, articulated product value proposition, and data/details to support their needs is the narrative they're using to build a case to buy internally. Your job is to leverage what you were able to uncover from your discovery to help your prospective customer tell that story in the best way possible without you being there. The main aspects you'll want to uncover to help them craft that story is: * Why Do Anything? what is the cause for change? * Why Now? what is the urgency for them to do it now vs. in the future? * Why Your Solution? compared to every possible solution, why is your solution uniquely the best? Without a business case, you do not have a deal. However, with a strong business case narrative built from deep discovery, you can expedite your sales process and strengthen your deal, so take those insight you learned from discovery and co-create with your prospect their business case narrative in their own words.

If a prospect is dragging this out, the most important aspect is getting to understand why... * Did their priorities change? * Is the underlying business case not compelling enough? * Are they not convinced of your solution, so they are buying time to consider competitors? * Do they intend to move forward but internal circumstances have just pushed out the timeline? * Have they decided not to move forward, but don't want to hurt your feelings? * Something else? Regardless of the situation, you need to find out why because Yes's are great, No's are good, but Maybe's will kill you. Therefore, I would suggest having a direct conversation with your prospect. You can do that by... 1. Start with the Why: re-summarize the underlying business case narrative by sharing your understanding in their own of words of the Why: 1) why the prospect needs to do anything, 2) why they need to do it now, and 3) why your solution is the best for their situation 2. Objective Observation: share the objective observation that it seems like the deal has stalled, agreed timelines are slipping, or the prospect hasn't met your mutually agreed commitment, etc. 3. Curiosity: explain to the client it is okay if things have not gone according to plan, but in order to be the best partner to them you need to understand why, and then lead with curiosity to understand what may be going on 4. Way Forward: collaborate to align on the best way forward in partnership with your prospect...it needs to be mutual. Then allow that "Way Forward" to direct what you do next, whether that is marking Close/Lost, circling back when timing is better, or proceeding the sales process with a new found energy.

My two favorite technique to use when you believe a client may not be telling you the whole story is: 1) Humbling disclaimer - you can disarm a prospect who may be withholding information by humanizing the conversation and providing a humorous, self-deprecating "humbling disclaimer". This could sound like, “I’m sorry, but I must need another cup of coffee, because I just don’t get it, can you help me understand why that may be the case?” 2) Suggestive discovery - normalize the situation or state, and then asking a question informed by your perspective to probe deeper to get to the truth. That could sound like, “Got it, typically I’ve observed when other clients…it’s because of…to what extent would you say that is what is going on here?” With those two tactics, you can usually get to the truth of what may be happening.

Clarity of expectation setting early on is important as it is the foundation of your relationship with a prospect and the rest of the sales process. When I'm operating at my best, I start the conversation by informing the prospect that I view my role as helping them get to a point of clarity as soon as possible to determine if & how our business/product may be able to help them, and then aligning on our social contract outlining what to expect from me and what I expect from them. From me they can expect: * Curiosity: I will take a genuine interest in them, their business, their needs and will spend the time probing deep to really make sure I understand what they need * Honesty: through all of the business I conduct, I will do so honestly, and will directly share if we are not a fit and will direct them in the direction of another possible solution for their problems * Customer Experience: through accountability, speed, and responsiveness, I will work to create the best customer experience I can for them, and if I ever feel like I can't then I'll communicate to them the reason ahead of time From them, I need: * Information: the more information they can empower me with, the more effectively I'll be able to help them * Honesty: this is a two way street as honesty goes both ways. I'll expect they will be respectful of me & my time, just as I am of theirs and if circumstances change that may affect our working relationship, then I'll need them to tell me honestly * Communication: building on the first two, communication is critical, so I recommend spending time here understanding how they prefer to communicate (method, frequency, etc.) and I'll normalize the fact that bad news doesn't get better with time, so if either of us has bad news for the other, let's address it promptly and directly With that understanding of a relationship & social contract established, both myself & the prospect can continue with clear expectations, and I've found when done well, it can lead to the most pleasant buy/sell process for both parties.