Strategic discovery

Strategic discovery involves learning how a prospect organization plans to create, monetize and deliver value.

The ability to engage in strategic discovery allows sales professionals to connect and collaborate with customers on a deeper level, says sales coach Andrew Rudin. Compared to operational problem solving, strategic collaboration increases a vendor’s value and expands selling opportunities.

Uncover strategic opportunities
Strategy questions uncover business and financial challenges. They examine forces outside of anyone’s direct control. And they include blurry concepts like risks and trade-offs. Here are some good ones:

• What are the key capabilities and resources required to execute strategy and achieve your goals?
• In order to execute your business strategy, what are the key things you must do well?
• What proprietary advantages must your company create for your strategy to be successful?
• What are the most valuable outcomes your organization delivers for your customers?
• What major forces drive changes in your business?
• What conditions have the most disruptive impact on your business?

Use questions like these to open a candid conversation and to uncover gaps in the company’s strategic imperatives and current capabilities. In particular, probe for impediments that may keep the company from achieving its strategic goals. Then align the gaps with a recommended solution. Make sure you “test the waters” to verify that the recommended solution matches the client’s objectives.