Information Gathering: How to Turn Every Discovery Call Into a Win

Have you ever jumped on a sales call, just to realize, a second into it, that your lead has absolutely no interest in buying? That this could potentially end up being a complete waste of both of your time? Did you launch straight into yes-or-no questions, and feel the energy drop with every answer? 

What did you do next?

You didn't panic because you did your discovery call preparation.

If you’re not like most people, you’re already prepared. 

Sales calls are often seen as a win-or-lose situation, where the goal is to close the deal. But in reality, every sales call can be a win—if you know how to gather the right information, ask insightful questions, and collect valuable market research. Whether the call ends with a signed contract or not, it’s an opportunity to understand your prospect and improve your strategy. Here’s how to turn every sales call into a meaningful win for your business.

Abraham Lincoln is widely credited with saying: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” The key to a successful sales call begins before you even dial the number. There may be no such thing as a wrong answer, but on sales calls there definitely can be wrong questions. 

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Thorough prospect research will help you determine how to ask the right ones.

What is the company background?

Start strong by researching the prospect’s industry, market position, and structure. When you understand the company’s competitive landscape and current solutions, you can tailor your questions to be more relevant and engaging. This preparation shows prospects that you’re genuinely interested in solving their challenges—not just making a sale—which builds trust and sets up a productive discovery call.

Some questions that you should keep in mind while doing your research are:

- What are their 3 main pain points?

- What are their goals?

- What does the competitor landscape look like?

- What is their current solution?

Asking the right discovery call questions.

Have you ever sat in the audience of an improv skit? If you have, you may have noticed that (successful) performers follow one simple golden-rule; it’s called “yes, and…?”.  This rule means that you accept whatever your scene partner says or does (the "yes" part) and then build on it with your own contribution (the "and" part). It’s about collaboration, staying open to ideas, and moving the scene forward without blocking or denying the momentum. By following this rule, improvisers create a positive, constructive dynamic where every idea is valued and expanded, allowing the scene to unfold in unexpected and creative ways. It's essential for keeping energy high and the story alive.

We believe that the same rule also applies to sales calls.

Of course, we don’t mean to imply that a good salesperson just nods and smiles in response to a prospect’s input and then continues to push their own agenda. Rather, a good salesperson knows how to keep the conversation flowing by asking the right questions, picking up on the smallest nuances, and guiding prospects towards the right solutions. 

There are two main types of questions that you can ask on a discovery call, open-ended questions and probing questions.

Let’s dive in:

Open-ended questions

What is an open-ended question?

(Did you see what we did there?)

(Not there though, that one was a yes-or-no.)

We generally recommend avoiding yes-no questions because they tend to result in lower engagement and less success overall. 

Start the call with open-ended questions

Open-ended questions are questions that invite a broad, detailed response rather than just a yes or no. They usually start with words like “What…” “How…” and “Why…”.  These encourage the prospect to elaborate, providing richer information than yes/no answers. Examples include:

- "Can you tell me more about the challenges you're currently facing?"

- "What are your top priorities for next quarter

These questions allow the prospect to lead the discussion, giving you valuable insights into their pain points and goals.

Probing questions

Once you have an initial understanding, follow up with probing questions to dig deeper. This helps clarify key points and ensures you gather actionable details. 

What is a probing question, and why is it important?

(Oops, we did it again!)

A probing question is a follow-up question that encourages someone to expand on an initial answer, providing more detail, clarity, or depth. These questions dig deeper into specific topics or statements, helping to uncover additional information or insights that weren’t immediately clear.

For example: If a prospect says, “We’re looking for something more user-friendly,” a probing question could be, “Can you tell me more about what ‘user-friendly’ means for your team?”

Probing questions often focus on understanding the "why" or "how" behind an answer and can include questions like:

- "Why is that feature important to you?"

- "can you give me an example of when "x" was a challenge?"

- "How does this issue impact your day-today operations?"

In a sales context, probing questions help clarify the customer’s needs, motivations, and priorities, allowing for a more personalized and effective sales approach.

Building trust with your prospect.

Building trust is crucial during a discovery call, especially when prospects are already wary or suspicious. 

As a salesperson, your primary goal is to create a safe space where they feel heard and understood. If you can’t break through their initial skepticism, it’s unlikely the conversation will progress. By actively listening, asking thoughtful questions, and demonstrating genuine interest in their needs, you can alleviate their concerns and foster a sense of partnership.

Establishing this trust lays the foundation for a productive dialogue, ultimately leading to stronger relationships and successful outcomes.

Take a personalized approach

Call the prospect by their first name. (This approach can apply to phone calls and Linkedin reach outs or email campaigns as well.)

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Using someone’s first name during a conversation makes it more personal, makes them feel more comfortable and open to pursuing conversation. It lets their guard down, opens them up to persuasion.

Don’t underestimate the power of listening

As the Greek philosopher Epictetus wisely said, “We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” This simple yet powerful idea is key in sales, where listening is even more important than talking. According to a study by Gong top salespeople have a “talk-to-listen” ratio of ~46%. That means that they know how important it is for the prospect to feel heard. By applying Epictetus’s wisdom to our sales strategies, we can see that listening not only boosts our effectiveness but also aligns with the idea of focusing on what we can control—our responses and how we interact with others. 

By prioritizing listening over talking, we can create an atmosphere of trust and collaboration, setting the stage for more successful sales outcomes.

When they’re not buying it during your sales call…

More often than not, they won’t. So you’ll need to pivot and collect as much information as you can.

Many people forget that while discovery calls help to qualify a potential lead—they are equally invaluable as research sessions. Even if a prospect isn't ready to buy, the insights they provide can guide sales strategies, marketing approaches, and product development. As one of Fireberry’s sales leaders, Gil, puts it: “I know he isn’t going to buy, but I know he has information that will help me get one step closer to the potential buyer.”

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Focus on these 5 areas on discovery calls for good intelligence gathering:

1. Customer Pain Points:

Prospects often voice frustrations with their current solutions, highlighting gaps that your product or service can fill. As a Gartner report found, **77% of B2B buyers describe their latest purchase process as complex**, which is a strong indicator that simplifying these processes can be a competitive edge. 

2. Buyer Insights:

A discovery call can reveal not just what the prospect wants, but why they want it. By asking open-ended questions, salespeople can uncover the values and priorities driving a customer’s decision. Buyer insights can transform a simple discovery call into a treasure trove of valuable information. When you dig deeper with open-ended questions, you can uncover the real motivations that fuel purchasing decisions. For example, instead of asking, "Are you looking for cost savings?" try something like, "What impact would reducing costs have on your team’s performance?" This shift in questioning not only engages the prospect but reveals insights that can change how you approach your solution. Research shows that sales teams that actively listen and adapt their approach based on these insights see a significant boost in their success rates. 

According to research conducted by Gong, sales professionals who engage prospects with more open-ended questions and elicit longer responses are more likely to achieve successful deal closures.

3. Industry Trends:

Prospects can be great sources for understanding broader industry trends. For example, if multiple prospects mention the need for remote access to tools or emphasize data privacy, it’s a good indication of trending concerns or requirements within their industry. This information can shape marketing strategies, helping align campaigns with what's top-of-mind for potential customers.

4. Competitor Information:

Many times, prospects are eager to share what they dislike about their current providers, which can shed light on competitors' weaknesses. This can be used to tailor messaging that emphasizes your strengths in contrast.

5. Unmet Needs:

Sometimes, prospects have specific requirements that are not currently met by any solutions in the market. By collecting these insights, sales and product development teams can work together to address these gaps, creating a stronger product-market fit over time. With proactive listening and strategic questioning, discovery calls can become a treasure trove of data, equipping sales teams with the insights they need to refine and adapt their approach.

Implementing discovery call best practices

Insights gathered on a discovery call are only as valuable as they are accessible. Effectively documenting and sharing your findings will ensure that the entire team benefits from whatever you gathered.

Effective note-taking is essential

Digital tools like CRM software can make it easy to capture, organize, and retrieve call insights. 

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Using structured note-taking methods, such as bullet points or checklists, can streamline the process and make reviewing information faster and easier later on.

Consider researching and testing transcription tools that can automatically capture conversations during calls. Using a transcription tool enables you to stay fully focused on the discussion, without the need to multi-task with note-taking. Before starting, ask the prospect for permission to record or transcribe the call, explaining that this will allow you to give them your full attention. 

This approach ensures that every detail is accurately recorded and easily accessible for later review, helping you retain insights while making the conversation more engaging and responsive.

Push actionable insights

Once documented, insights should be categorized (e.g., by common pain points, industry trends, or unmet needs) and then regularly shared with marketing, product development, and customer support teams to encourage cross-functional action. 

A modern web-based organizational tool for task management and workflow automation that incorporates tagging (@) and hashtags (#) can significantly enhance the collection and actioning of insights. 

By allowing team members to direct specific tasks and discussions to relevant individuals through @ mentions, communication becomes clearer and more accountable. Hashtags facilitate the categorization of topics, enabling quick filtering of related information, which promotes efficient information retrieval and the ability to track trends and patterns. 

This kind of organized approach streamlines access to valuable insights and simplifies collaboration and knowledge sharing, empowering teams to make informed decisions and respond quickly to evolving project needs.

Boost team buy-in

To maximize discovery insights, share them in regular team meetings or in collaborative platforms. When sales, marketing, and product teams see tangible impact, they are more likely to buy into the importance of discovery calls. 

As every discovery call becomes an opportunity to gather market intelligence, salespeople not only build stronger relationships with prospects but also contribute to a data-driven approach across the company. By documenting and sharing these insights, teams can turn raw data into actionable strategies that improve products, refine messaging, and ultimately drive more successful outcomes.

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