“Discovery Baggage: The Silent Killer of Pipeline Creation (And How to Ditch It)”

What Is Discovery Baggage?

Discovery baggage is the extra, unnecessary fluff (think all that extra that people bring on planes even though they are limited to two items) that sellers unknowingly bring into sales discovery meetings. It’s the stuff that weighs down the conversation, gets sellers caught in the product loophole, and kills any chance to actually build pipeline. Chances are, if you are in sales leadership, many of your individual contributors are lugging this extra baggage with them to their calls and you do not even know.

Instead of diving into the buyer’s world, their problems and shying away from making it all about the seller, these baggage-heavy discovery meetings become a one-sided show.

Here’s what discovery baggage might look like:

• A laundry list of questions: Sellers show up with a script of 30 questions they feel obligated to check off, regardless of relevance or flow. Yes, I realize you, the sales leader, or front line manager may have given them these lists. Tisk tisk.
• Product obsession: Instead of focusing on the buyer’s problems, sellers tend to dive right into the product and how they can help. Sellers love rattling off everything about the features and keep overstuffing that luggage.
• Slide decks locked and loaded: Starting a discovery meeting by sharing your screen screams, “This is about me, not you.”
• A hard-sell mindset: Pushing to close instead of uncovering problems leaves buyers feeling unheard.
• Rigid thinking: Sellers stuck in the “this is how I’ve always done it” mindset refuse to adapt to new approaches.

This isn’t just about bad habits; it’s about ruining opportunities before they even get off the ground. Are you catching yourself wondering why your team isn’t able to create more meaningful pipeline? You may want to check for that baggage…

How to Spot Discovery Baggage

As a sales leader, it’s your job to catch these red flags early. Discovery baggage isn’t always obvious, but here’s how you can start spotting it:

1. Listen to their calls: Are they talking more than the buyer? Do they skip over opportunities to dig deeper into buyer’s problems? Do they monopolize the conversation with product talk? Did you roll your eyes a few times?
2. Look for rigid attitudes: Tenured reps who refuse to evolve with the times might cling to outdated practices.
3. Inspect their CRM entries: Or, more accurately, the lack of them. No discovery notes? That’s a sure sign they’re winging it or didn’t prioritize listening.
4. Review their upfront contracts: Is their focus on selling rather than helping? This is a major indicator of a seller who’s carrying too much baggage into their meetings.
5. Gauge openness to coaching: Sellers who resist feedback or refuse to follow a framework are likely the ones dragging baggage into every discovery.

Discovery baggage doesn’t just hurt individual calls—it hurts your pipeline, conversion rates by stage, win rates and your ability do drive revenue. Reps discounting? Check that baggage…..

What Can Sales Leadership Do About Discovery Baggage?

Now that you can spot it, let’s talk about fixing it.

Use the Sales Behavior Quadrant

Think of performance and behavior as two axes:

• High Performance, Bad Behavior: This is a recipe for team toxicity. If they won’t change, you have to let them go—pipeline performance alone isn’t worth the baggage they bring to the team.
• Low Performance, Good Behavior: These sellers are open to coaching and growth. Invest in them. Provide coaching, training, and guidance to turn potential into results.

Build a Culture of Curiosity

Teach your team to show up to discovery meetings with a learner’s mindset. The goal is to uncover the buyer’s world, not to push a sale, nor to talk about products and features until the buyer’s eyes glaze over. Encourage sellers to lean into curiosity, ask meaningful questions, and truly listen to the answers.

Reinforce often and Never Stop

Reinforcement is the name of the game and the only way to lighten that load that sellers bring into discovery. Yes, reps should do their homework, understand how a prospect’s company makes money, what their world looks like and hands down, the unique business problems you solve for them. Reps cannot exist in a silo. That means that you have to be willing to have Front Line Managers/Leaders who understand how to coach, have a coaching framework that they use with reps and who are willing to put in the repetition to reinforce what good looks like. Oh, and this should never go away.

Coach Early, Coach Often

Don’t let discovery baggage fester. If you see signs of it, address it immediately. Be clear about the behaviors that need to change, why they matter, and how to fix them.

Hold the Line on CRM Discipline

Discovery notes are non-negotiable. Period. If a seller isn’t documenting what they learn in the CRM, they’re not just failing themselves—they’re failing the team and the buyer.

Haven’t met an airline yet that allows more than two carry on items – so why are you letting your team carry all their baggage into discovery and harm your pipeline?