Discovery + Demo At The Same Time? NO

Sellers: STOP Mixing Discovery and Demo!

Sales Leaders: Free your sellers from doing this!

I see this all the time, and it’s killing deals. Here’s the problem with doing discovery and demo together:

• No Context: You don’t even know what problem they need solved—or if they have one. You’re flying blind.
• No Relevance: You have zero clue which parts of your solution actually matter to them.
• No Business Reason: You can’t tell why the buyer would invest, what’s in it for them, or what’s going to pass the CFO’s sniff test, especially now, in a tight economy.

But the worst part? Mixing discovery and demo tells your brain, “It’s time to SELL.” It’s not about solving customer problems; it’s about hitting your sales agenda.

And we justify it by saying, “Oh, I’m saving them time.” No – you’re saving yourself time, rushing to try to close.

Slow down. Really dig into what they need, why they’re even considering a purchase, and what you’re there to solve.

I know what you’re thinking – and what you’ve been told: “Buyers already know what they need” – nope. A recent buyer’s survey by A Sales Growth Company found that 48% of buyers make the wrong purchase, because they did not understand the problem that they needed to solve!

Really think about that. As sellers we take our buyer’s word for it, our sales brains take over, and we sell them the thing they said they needed – never validating what they told us, through asking thoughtful questions.

We need to slow down as sales organizations. Take the time to understand our buyers’ problem environment – and we can only do this with a thorough discovery process. You’ll also likely experience:

• Less getting ghosted
• Fewer deals stalling
• Shorter Sales Cycles

Separate your discovery from your demo, look to problem solve, and watch your deals get real traction.