Your Sales Reps Are Rushing Discovery Calls. And It’s Costing You Deals
Your rep just got off a call with a prospect.
You ask how it went.
“Great! They’re really interested. I’m sending a proposal.”
You look at the CRM notes.
The call lasted 18 minutes.
There’s almost nothing in there about what the prospect actually said.
Just: “Interested in our solution. Sending proposal by EOD.”
Here’s what really happened:
Your rep talked for 12 of those 18 minutes.
They never found out why this prospect agreed to the call.
They never asked what happens if the prospect doesn’t solve this problem.
They never confirmed the prospect is actually committed to doing anything.
They got nervous about “taking too much time” and rushed to the proposal.
Now that deal is going to sit in your pipeline for 90 days before it dies.
The problem isn’t that your reps don’t know what to ask.
The problem is they’re in too much of a hurry to ask it.
Why Reps Rush
I see three reasons:
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They think speed = professionalism
They’ve been told “respect the prospect’s time.”
So they try to cram everything into 20 minutes.
They think prospects will appreciate their efficiency.
What prospects actually appreciate? Someone who takes the time to understand their situation.
-
They’re uncomfortable with silence
The prospect stops talking.
There’s a pause.
Your rep jumps in with the next question… or worse, starts pitching.
They never let the prospect think.
They never give them space to say the thing they’re actually worried about.
-
They want to “move the deal forward”
They think the goal of every call is to get to the next stage.
Book the demo. Send the proposal. Schedule the follow-up.
So they rush through discovery to get there.
Then they wonder why deals stall out.
What Happens When You Rush
I worked with a tech company last year.
Their reps were running 30-40 demos a month.
Close rate? About 8%.
When I listened to their discovery calls, here’s what I heard:
- Calls averaging 22 minutes
- Reps talking 60-70% of the time
- Prospects saying things like “we’re exploring options” (which should be a red flag)
- Reps responding with “great, let me show you how we can help”
- No questions about timeline, budget, decision process, or what’s really at stake
They were booking demos with anyone who would sit still for 20 minutes.
Then they were shocked when those demos didn’t convert.
Here’s what we changed:
We slowed everything down.
Discovery calls went from 22 minutes to 40-50 minutes.
We added a rule: You cannot offer a demo until you can answer these questions:
Why did they agree to this call?
What happens if they don’t solve this problem?
How committed are they to solving it?
Who else needs to be involved in this decision?
What’s their timeline and why?
If you couldn’t answer those questions… you weren’t ready for a demo.
Here’s what happened:
Demo volume dropped from 35-40/month to about 15/month.
Close rate went from 8% to 31%.
Same team. Same product. Same market.
They just stopped rushing.
The Slow Down Framework
Here’s how to get your reps to slow down:
-
Set a minimum call length
If you’re in a complex B2B sale, discovery calls should be 45-60 minutes minimum.
If your reps are doing them in 20 minutes, they’re not doing them.
-
Create a “no proposal until” rule
No proposal goes out until the rep can document:
- The compelling reason to buy
- What’s at stake if they don’t solve it
- Timeline and why it matters
- Decision process and who’s involved
- Budget or willingness to invest
If they can’t document it, they haven’t earned the right to propose.
-
Teach them to pause
After the prospect answers a question, count to three before you respond.
Most of the time, they’ll keep talking.
And what they say in that pause? That’s usually the real issue.
-
Debrief every call
Spend 5 minutes after every call asking:
What did you learn about why they’re looking at this?
What happens if they don’t solve it?
How committed are they?
What are you still missing?
If your rep can’t answer those questions, they need to slow down next time.
What This Looks Like in Practice
I was coaching a rep a few months ago.
He was on a call with a prospect who said: “We’ve been looking at this for a while.”
The rep’s instinct was to say, “Great! Let me show you how we can help.”
Instead, I had him ask: “What does ‘a while’ mean?”
Prospect: “About six months.”
Rep: “And you’re still looking?”
Prospect: “Yeah. We keep getting close but haven’t pulled the trigger.”
Rep: “What’s been stopping you?”
Prospect: “Honestly? We’re not sure this is the right time.”
That’s the conversation.
Right there.
If he’d rushed past “we’ve been looking at this for a while,” he would have spent the next 30 minutes pitching to someone who wasn’t ready to buy.
Instead, he slowed down.
He asked three more questions.
And he found out this prospect needed to solve two other problems before they could even think about his solution.
He killed the deal himself.
Saved himself 40 hours of chasing a ghost.
Here’s What This Means for You
If your close rates are terrible but your pipeline looks great…
Your reps are moving too fast.
If deals are sitting in Stage 3 for 90 days with no activity…
Your reps moved too fast to get them there.
If you’re constantly surprised when forecasted deals don’t close…
Your reps didn’t slow down enough to find out the truth.
The fix isn’t more activity.
It’s better activity.
And better activity starts with slowing down.
Questions our sales training programs? Email me at adam@thenorthwoodgrp.com.
