Ultimate guide to discovery calls in 2025

What is a discovery call?

A sales discovery call is a structured conversation between a sales rep and a prospect to determine whether there’s a good fit between the prospect’s needs and the product or service the rep is selling. 

Unlike a cold call — which is an unsolicited outreach attempt — a discovery call is typically scheduled in advance and focuses on understanding the prospect rather than just pitching to them.

Discovery calls play a crucial role in pipeline generation. The goals are straightforward:

• Understand the prospect’s use case. What problems are they trying to solve? How does their business operate? Knowing the answers to these questions helps reps ensure the conversation addresses the prospect’s specific needs.
  
  
• Gauge their interest. Are they actively looking for a solution or just exploring options? The prospect’s level of engagement helps reps determine how to move forward.
• Determine whether they’ll be a good customer. Not every prospect is a great fit. A discovery call helps reps assess budget, timeline, and decision-making power while also seeing how the prospect matches up against their ideal customer profile (ICP).

While some folks confuse sales discovery calls with cold calls, the key difference is intent. A cold call is an initial outreach effort, often to someone who isn’t expecting it. A discovery call, on the other hand, is a two-way conversation designed to qualify a lead and set the stage for a meaningful sales relationship. 

Steps to successful sales discovery calls

A successful sales discovery call isn’t just about asking questions. It’s about building rapport, uncovering real needs, and determining whether there’s a strong mutual fit. By following a structured approach, sales reps can guide the conversation effectively, ensuring they gather the right insights while also providing value to the prospect.

From preparation to follow-up, each of the following steps plays a crucial role in turning an initial conversation into a meaningful sales opportunity.

Step #1: Schedule the call and share the agenda

Before hopping on a sales discovery call, it’s critical to set expectations. Once a prospect agrees to a meeting, schedule it at a time that works for them and send a calendar invite with clear details of what you’re going to cover.

A simple discovery call agenda might include introductions, a discussion of current challenges, an overview of potential solutions, and next steps — all of which keeps the call focused and productive (more on this in a bit). 

To reduce the chance of no-shows, send a quick reminder email a day before the call and give the prospect a chance to share any concerns in advance. By taking the time to thoughtfully communicate upfront, you set the stage for a smooth, effective conversation — increasing your chances of moving the deal forward.

Step #2: Do your research

Going into a discovery call blind is like showing up to a test without studying: you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Before the call, conduct thorough sales prospecting research. Start by reading their company website, then check their LinkedIn profile to get insights into their role, responsibilities, and professional background along with how they generally communicate (such as a more professional or laid back tone). If possible, dig into past interactions they’ve had with your company — like previous conversations or downloaded content. 

By doing so, you can ask relevant, informed questions while demonstrating that you respect your prospect’s time and have a genuine interest in solving their problems.

Having a solid b2b data provider is also really helpful to speeding up the prospect research process. From LeadIQ’s free Chrome Extension, which gives you high-level information about prospects including their social media accounts, to working with us for in-depth customizable data enrichment, teams can have all the information they need at their fingertips. 

Step #3: Ask about pain points and listen to answers

A discovery call isn’t just about pitching. It’s about listening.

Once you’ve built some rapport, shift the focus to your prospect’s biggest challenges. Ask open-ended questions like What’s your biggest frustration? and What’s preventing you from hitting your goals? before doing the most important thing: closing your mouth and listening.

Let your prospect thoroughly explain their pain points, using follow-up questions to dig deeper. Often, prospects reveal hidden needs they didn’t initially mention; taking the time to understand their struggles helps build trust, which increases the chances you’ll find those valuable insights.

Step #4: Connect answers to your product

Now that you understand your prospect’s pain points, it’s time to connect the dots. Instead of leading with a generic sales pitch, make sure your response addresses the prospect’s specific challenges. For example, if they struggle with inefficiency, talk about how your solution automates tedious tasks and helps teams accomplish more in less time.

Keep in mind that this step isn’t just about listing every feature. It’s about making your product feel like the natural answer to their problems. To build credibility, lean on real-world examples, case studies, and testimonials. And be careful not to overpromise. Be honest about what your solution can do so there aren’t any surprises down the line.

Pro tip: Use softening statements to get buy-in from your prospects and ensure they feel heard. Examples include:

• Based on what you’ve said…
• I’m curious about…
• This might seem like a weird question…
• I totally understand where you’re coming from, but I’m wondering…
• If it’s alright with you, I’d love to ask a quick follow-up question…

Step #5: Get actionable next steps

Closing a discovery call without clear next steps can lead to confusion and lost opportunities.

Before ending the conversation, summarize key takeaways and confirm mutual understanding. Once that’s done, iron out a concrete follow-up plan. Will the prospect need a demo? Should you rope in other buying committee members for another call?

Whatever you decide, be specific about what comes next. Instead of saying, I’ll follow up soon, say I’ll send you a case study that matches your use case and a personalized video walkthrough of our product features that I think align best with your use case by tomorrow afternoon. This keeps the process moving forward and provides an opportunity for the prospect to ask for additional information while ensuring clear next steps.

Step #6: Follow up after the call

In many ways, following up after a sales discovery call is just as important as the call itself. By following up, you reinforce the conversation, keep the momentum going, and demonstrate that you’re committed to helping the prospect.

After a call wraps up, send over a recap email that summarizes key points, the prospect’s main challenges, and how your solution can address them. Include any promised resources — like case studies or white papers. If you scheduled a follow-up call, confirm the time and agenda. If not, suggest a logical next step — like a demo, proposal review, or another discussion.

We’ve got you covered with a handful of personalized follow-up email templates. 

LeadIQ’s Scribe, an AI sales email generator, can also help you craft the perfect follow-up in a matter of seconds.   

Sample discovery call agenda template

A well-structured discovery call helps both you and your prospect get the most out of the conversation. At the same time, it allows you to align expectations and guide the discussion toward uncovering valuable information. 

With that in mind, let’s examine a sample discovery call agenda template you can follow to ensure your discovery calls stay on track and deliver the results you’re hoping for.

Intro and rapport building (4 minutes)

Start by briefly introducing yourself and establishing a friendly connection. Build rapport to make the prospect feel comfortable and valued. For example, if they just recently got a promotion or their company was recently in the news, these can show that you’ve done your homework.

Agenda setting (2 minutes)

Outline the purpose of the call, setting clear expectations for what you’ll cover and how long it’ll take.

Understanding the prospect’s situation (8 minutes)

Ask about their business, challenges, and goals to get a better idea of the context they’re operating in.

Pain points and challenges (8 minutes)

Dive deeper into pain points and issues that need to be resolved. Ask how they identified these issues and their existing workarounds today.

Your solution (5 minutes)

Explain how your product or service addresses your prospect’s challenges.

Next steps (3 minutes)

Summarize key takeaways and agree on the next steps moving forward.

11 discovery call questions to ask

Asking the right discovery call questions helps you understand your prospect’s needs, challenges, and decision-making process. To help you crush your next discovery call, here are 11 essential discovery call questions to guide the conversation and ensure you’re offering the right solution:

1. What challenges are you currently facing in your business?
2. How are you currently addressing these problems?
3. What motivated you to explore new solutions?
4. What goals are you hoping to achieve in the short and long terms?
5. What’s your decision-making process like for choosing new solutions?
6. Who else is involved in the decision-making process?
7. What features or benefits are most important to you in a solution?
8. What’s your timeline for implementing a new solution?
9. How will you measure success for this type of solution?
10. What obstacles are preventing you from moving forward?
11. What is your current budget for this type of solution?

While this isn’t a comprehensive list of sales discovery call questions, it should give you a good idea of the kinds of questions you’ll want to ask.

What to avoid in sales discovery calls

When you make a sales discovery call, your goal should always be the same: building rapport and understanding the prospects needs — not making a quick sale. 

That said, there are common pitfalls that often prevent reps from making the most out of discovery calls. In this section, we examine the key mistakes you should avoid during discovery calls to create a productive experience for prospects — and win more business because of it.

Pitfall #1: Talking too much

Far too often, reps hop on discovery calls and dominate the conversation by talking too much about the bells and whistles of their products. 

Eager to talk about features and functionality, reps end up overwhelming the prospect by sharing too much information, much of which might not even be relevant in the first place.

Instead of talking too much about what you’re selling, learn as much as you can about your prospect by asking discovery call questions and actively listening to what they have to say. The more you listen, the better you’ll understand how to position your solution as the right fit.

Pitfall #2: Sticking too much to the script

Many reps head into discovery calls with a script designed to guide the conversation. But when you rely too heavily on a script, you risk coming across as robotic and impersonal — someone who doesn’t grasp the prospect’s circumstances. 

Rather than leaning on a script, come to the call with a basic agenda like we discussed before. Every prospect has unique challenges; strictly sticking to a script can prevent you from being agile enough to adapt to specific concerns. 

When your goal is understanding, flexibility is key. Use the agenda as a guideline, but allow the conversation to flow naturally based on what your counterpart says.

Pitfall #3: Giving full-on product demos

While you might be super excited to demo your product, a discovery call isn’t the right time. If you overload a prospect before you understand their unique challenges, you risk pushing them away.

Use the discovery call to focus on your prospect’s circumstances and day-to-day pain points they’re looking to solve. Just give them a bird’s-eye view of how your solutions address them.

Save the demo for another day. Once you’ve qualified the prospect’s interest, book that call.

Pitfall #4: Overpromising

Every rep knows how tempting it can be to assure your prospect about how your solution can solve all of their problems. But overpromise at your own risk; doing so sets unrealistic expectations, which can lead to a whole slew of issues — lessened credibility, negative reviews, unhappy customers, you name it.

There’s an easy fix: be honest about what your product can do. Manage expectations by focusing on how, specifically, your solution can address their needs.

Pitfall #5: Not asking open-ended questions

The goal of your discovery call is to learn more about your prospect and their challenges. It’s a lot harder to do that when you ask yes or no discovery call questions, which limit the flow of conversation.

By asking open-ended questions — like the ones we included in the previous section — you give your prospect the space they need to elaborate on their challenges, needs, goals, and decision-making process. Instead of asking Do you currently have a solution to this problem? ask How do you currently solve this problem?

How LeadIQ helps thousands of teams improve their sales discovery calls 

Discovery calls have the power to make or break deals. Kick off a call on the right foot, and you can rapidly develop rapport with prospects, understand the challenges they face, and articulate how your solutions can help them solve those pain points. 

Start a call on the wrong foot, and the deal could blow up before you know it.

With so much at stake, sales reps need to do everything in their power to make sure they’re prepared for every discovery call they book — especially in today’s highly competitive markets.

This is an area where LeadIQ’s Prospecting Hub can make a huge impact. By seamlessly combining real-time data capture and automatic data enrichment with the ability to easily identify buying signals and automatically track champions when they move jobs, LeadIQ helps reps prepare for productive discovery calls rapidly while quickly building personalized agendas based on real-time prospect-specific data.

Even better, reps can also generate personalized emails to schedule discovery calls with prospects in just a few clicks using LeadIQ Scribe, our generative AI writing tool.

To learn more about the easiest way to ensure your next discovery call is a smashing success, book a one-on-one LeadIQ demo today.