Qualifying for Budget & Decision-Making Process

Question 1

The structure of a typical discovery call

Answer 1

1. Bonding & Rapport
2. Clear Agenda
3. Pain/Compelling Event
4. Budget
5. Decision-Making Process
6. Firm Future Commitment

Question 2

Each step of the Discovery call structure has its own exit criteria.

Answer 2

Exit Criteria are the outcomes needed to ‘complete’ this step and move on to the next phase of the discovery call.

Question 3

Definite Exit Criteria

Answer 3

Investment Acknowledged

• We have budgeted $15,000
• We can spend between $10,000 and $20,000

Question 4

Possible Exit Criteria

Answer 4

Competition Identified

• [Competitor] quoted us at [price].
• That around what we’re currently spending on our current system.

Question 5

SVIC

Answer 5

• Summarize
• Validate
• Impact
• Commitment

Question 6

Summarize

Answer 6

Transition from pain, let them hear their words back, & demonstrate your Active Listening.

Question 7

Validate

Answer 7

We confirm our summary, giving them the opportunity to add anything we may have missed.

Question 8

Impact

Answer 8

We confirm the impact on the business/on them if the pain isn’t solved

Question 9

Commitment

Answer 9

We tie back to what we closed pain with, reconfirming their commitment to fixing this and fixing it now.

“And you said you’re committed to fixing this…”
“And you mentioned this is your top priority for this month/quarter”

Question 10

Follow this process (SVIC)

Answer 10

Use the following ‘SVIC’ structure to transition from discussing their goals/challenges/pain to discussing budget on your Discovery Calls.

Question 11

Once you’ve completed SVIC, you can then complete the transition to budget with a question like…

Answer 11

“Does it make sense for us to talk about the level of investment you’d made to solve those challenges with HubSpot?”

Question 12

What makes a prospect “qualified”?

Answer 12

For a prospect to be ‘qualified’ when it comes to decision, you must understand the process HubSpot needs to go through in order to get signed off and be willing to participate in it.

Question 13

A few things you can research to prepare for a discovery are…

Answer 13

1. Business Stage
2. Business Model
3. Business Structure
4. Business Category
5. Industry

Question 14

Business Stage & Business Model

Answer 14

• Is your customer a start-up, scale-up, or an established company?
• In what way does this business make money? Do they provide services or distribute a product?

Question 15

Business Structure & Business Category

Answer 15

• How has the business set up its organization to best serve employees and customers
• How is this company structured in the eyes of governments and regulators? Is it a for profit business? Non-profit or government entity?

Question 16

Industry

Answer 16

What distinct group of enterprises does this business belong to?

Question 17

Standard Questions

Answer 17

• “Why do you think your sales teams missed their targets?”
• “How has your business changed in the past 6 months?”

Question 18

Better Questions

Answer 18

• “What is the quality of the leads being handed to your sales team?”
• “How has your close rate changed?”
• “Where do your deals tend to fall off?”