Client Discovery

Phase 2: Discovery Call Structure (30 min)

[5 min] Rapport & Agenda
[15 min] Pain Discovery
[5 min] Impact Quantification
[5 min] Next Steps

Phase 3: Core Discovery Questions

Business Context

1. "Walk me through your typical [process] from start to finish."
2. "Who's involved at each step?"
3. "What tools do you use today?"

Pain Identification

4. "What breaks most often?"
5. "What takes longer than it should?"
6. "What would happen if this didn't get done?"

Quantification

7. "How many hours per week does this take?"
8. "How many people are involved?"
9. "What's the cost of an error here?"

Decision Process

10. "Who else needs to approve this?"
11. "What's your timeline for solving this?"
12. "Have you tried to fix this before?"

Qualification Framework: BANT+

Scoring

Score each BANT+ criteria: Green=3, Yellow=2, Red=1

Total Score:
- 13-15: HOT - Prioritize, fast proposal
- 9-12: WARM - Nurture, build case
- 5-8: COLD - Qualify out or long-term

Pain Point Discovery

Universal Pain Signals

Probing Questions

When they mention a pain:

1. "How often does this happen?"
2. "What do you do when it happens?"
3. "Who gets affected?"
4. "What does it cost you?"
5. "How long has this been going on?"

Pain Severity Matrix

           Low Frequency    High Frequency
High Cost   [AUTOMATE]       [URGENT]
Low Cost    [IGNORE]         [AUTOMATE]

ROI Quick Calculator

Input Variables

Hours/week on task: [H]
People involved: [P]
Hourly cost (fully loaded): [C]
Error rate: [E]%
Cost per error: [EC]

Formulas

Monthly Labor Cost = H × P × C × 4.33
Monthly Error Cost = (H × P × 4.33) × E × EC / 100
Total Monthly Waste = Labor + Error Cost

Automation Savings = Total × 80% (conservative)
Your Price Target = Savings × 15-25%
Payback Period = Setup Cost ÷ Monthly Savings

Example

Task: Manual invoice processing
Hours: 10/week
People: 2
Rate: $35/hr
Error: 5%
Error cost: $200

Labor: 10 × 2 × $35 × 4.33 = $3,031/mo
Errors: (10 × 2 × 4.33) × 5% × $200 / 100 = $87/mo
Total: $3,118/mo

Automation saves: $2,494/mo (80%)
Your price: $374-$624/mo (15-25%)

Vertical-Specific Discovery

E-commerce

• "How do you handle out-of-stock notifications?"
• "Walk me through an order from purchase to delivery."
• "What happens when a customer disputes a charge?"

Professional Services

• "How do you track billable hours?"
• "What's your invoicing process?"
• "How do new clients get onboarded?"

Logistics

• "How do you notify customers of delays?"
• "What happens when a delivery fails?"
• "How do you optimize routes?"

Legal/Finance

• "How do you track document versions?"
• "What's your approval process?"
• "How do you ensure compliance?"

See references/pain-points.md for complete vertical-specific questions.

Discovery Output

After call, document:

# Discovery Summary: [Company]

## Contact
- Name: [X]
- Role: [X]
- Authority: [Decision Maker / Influencer / User]

## BANT+ Score: [X/15]
- Budget: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Authority: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Need: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Timeline: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Pain: [G/Y/R] - $X/mo waste

## Top 3 Pain Points
1. [Pain] - [Impact] - [Urgency]
2. [Pain] - [Impact] - [Urgency]
3. [Pain] - [Impact] - [Urgency]

## Recommended Solution
[1-2 sentences on automation]

## ROI Estimate
- Current cost: $X/mo
- Automation saves: $Y/mo
- Price range: $Z/mo
- Payback: N days

## Next Steps
- [ ] Send proposal by [date]
- [ ] Follow-up call [date]
- [ ] [Other action]

## Notes
[Anything else important]

Red Flags (Disqualify)

• No clear problem (just "exploring AI")
• No budget and won't discuss
• No authority and won't intro decision maker
• Bad-mouthed previous vendors
• Wants custom enterprise for SMB price
• Endless "one more question"

References

Templates