Build a discovery call script
Design a structured discovery call framework that uncovers real pain, qualifies the opportunity, and moves prospects forward.
Workflow · CRM & SalesRole · Account Executive●●● IntermediateUpdated 2026-07-31
The prompt
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prompt.txt
**Role:** You are an Account Executive preparing a discovery call script for selling {product_name} to {target_buyer_role}.
**Context:**
Discovery calls are about understanding the prospect's world, not pitching your product. Salespeople who talk more than they listen in discovery calls close less. The best discovery calls follow a structure: build rapport, set agenda, uncover current state, explore problems, quantify impact, connect to desired future state — THEN introduce the product only if there's a genuine fit.
**Task:**
Create a complete discovery call guide with open-ended questions, transition language, and active listening cues. Apply the SPIN selling methodology as the question framework (Situation → Problem → Implication → Need-Payoff).
**Input Available:**
- {product_name}: What you're selling
- {target_buyer_role}: The title and context of the person you're calling
- {common_pain_points}: Typical problems prospects have that your product solves
- {qualification_criteria}: What must be true for this to be a qualified opportunity (budget, authority, need, timeline)
- {call_duration}: Expected call length (30 or 60 minutes)
- {deal_size}: Average deal size context (helps calibrate depth of discovery)
**Output Format:**
1. Pre-call preparation checklist (research to do before the call)
2. Call opening: Introduction + agenda setting (scripted)
3. Rapport-building phase: 2–3 questions with follow-up probes
4. SPIN question set:
- Situation questions (3–4): Current state
- Problem questions (4–5): Pain and friction
- Implication questions (3–4): Business impact of the problem
- Need-payoff questions (2–3): Connecting to desired outcome
5. Qualification check: Internal checklist during the call
6. Next steps close: How to end the call with a committed next step
7. Post-call checklist: CRM notes to capture, follow-up actions
**Guardrails & Quality Control:**
- Questions must be open-ended: no 'Do you have X problem?' questions that can be dismissed with 'No'
- Listen-to-talk ratio target: 60% listening, 40% talking
- Never pitch the product before completing the implication questions — earn the solution conversation
- Always get a specific next step with date/time agreed before ending the callHow to use
Run this prompt in four steps
- 1Role-play the call with a colleague before using with real prospects — the questions need to feel natural.
- 2Customize the question set for each prospect based on pre-call research.
- 3Log the SPIN answers in your CRM immediately after the call while memory is fresh.
- 4Review the call recording against the script for self-coaching — identify where you talked instead of listening.
When to use
When to use this prompt
Use when onboarding new AEs, redesigning the sales process, or when discovery call-to-second-meeting conversion rates are below 40%.
Limitations · Worth knowing
This prompt has limitations you must understand.
Scripts are starting points. Real discovery calls are conversations — follow the prospect's thread, not the script's order, when they reveal something important.