Qualification vs Discovery

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I’ve realized I don’t know how to relax anymore. I thought I was getting better at it, but apparently, not.

For those of you who missed last week’s newsletter, I shared that I recently bought a house down here in Costa Rica, which was part of a goal I set and a vision I had for my life a while ago. 

We bought it in February as an investment property, but this is the first time we’ve stayed in the house. 

We figured three weeks would give us plenty of time to relax, recharge and get to know the area.

We’re doing great with the “getting to know the area” part, but relax and recharge? Not so much.

My wife and I are very similar, and we like things the way we like them.  Even though the house was a ‘plug and play’ for renters, we saw plenty of room for improvement.

Needless to say, we’ve already bought all new furniture, changed the landscaping, changed out all the plates and utensils, visited almost every restaurant and bar in a 20-mile radius, and done so much more.

Not to mention that we had friends visit us last weekend and this weekend. 

And here I sit, writing this newsletter and checking emails…

I guess I’m/we’re just gluttons for punishment.

That’s why I wanted to share my thoughts on work/life balance with you in this newsletter.  

SALES FROM THE STREETS: WORK-LIFE BALANCE IS BS

TACTICAL TIPS: QUALIFICATION VS DISCOVERY  

SALES RESOURCES: AUTOMATING WORKFLOWS FOR CONSISTENCY

SALES FROM THE STREETS 

WORK/LIFE BALANCE IS BS

Yup, you heard me right, the concept of work/life balance is complete bullshit in my opinion.

Don’t worry; this isn’t going to be a post about hustle culture, how people are soft these days, and how work ethic is severely lacking (although I believe it is, that’s for another post).

I’m also not going to give any advice on how to achieve work/life balance because, based on my intro and the fact that I’m writing this newsletter when I’m supposed to be on vacation tells you that I’m not exactly the best person to take advice from on this front. 

What I will do is share some perspective.

When people talk about work/life balance, it separates them as if we’re not living when we’re working. 

It’s kind of like that series Severance on Apple TV where office workers agree to have their memories surgically divided between their work and personal lives.

To me, this is a sad concept because it means you work and then you live.

We work at least ⅓ of our lives and sleep about ⅓ of our lives, so with this mentality, you’re telling me that we only live ⅓ of our lives. 

That’s pretty sad to me.

You’ve heard some people say they’ve never worked a day because they love what they do, so it doesn’t feel like work to them.

Gary V talks a lot about this.  He’s someone you can tell absolutely loves what he does. 

I don’t think it’s realistic for everyone to love everything about what they do so it never feels like work, but I do think it’s critical to find something about what you do or some type of purpose that drives you to at least enjoy the journey so you’re not always “working for the weekend.” 

I wrote last week about how goals need a vision.  Even if you don’t 100% love what you’re doing right now, if it’s a piece of the puzzle that will help you get to where you want to go, then you can enjoy the process of figuring it out instead of thinking you have to love what you’re doing right now. 

Get out of the work/life balance mentality and live.

TACTICAL TIPS 

QUALIFICATION vs DISCOVERY 

I’m embarrassed to say that it took me way too long in my career to realize the difference between Qualification and Discovery in the sales process. 

As a younger, less experienced rep, I used to think they were basically the same thing.

They’re both about asking questions to determine whether the client is a fit and whether their problems are ones that we can help solve, right?

Wrong. 

Qualification and Discovery are two very different components of the sales process that need two very different approaches.  

Qualification is about us. 

We’re trying to qualify the prospect to see if they fit the profile of someone we can sell our solutions/services to.  

The typical qualification process follows something similar to the old-school BANT approach (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline). 

That’s why “Qualification” is usually a stage in the sales process: We can check the box to determine whether they are qualified or not.

Discovery, on the other hand, is about them.  

It’s about being curious and digging deep to understand the client’s challenges and/or goals and their impact on the business. 

Also, “Discovery” isn’t a stage in the sales process (or at least it shouldn’t be).

Discovery should happen throughout the sales process, especially with how fast everything seems to change these days. 

(PRO TIP: For every meeting after your first meeting with the client, ask, “What’s changed since our last conversation?”)

As a sales rep, the goal should be to get through the Qualification stage of the sales process and into Discovery as quickly as possible. 

Many inbound lead forms try to gather some of the qualification information, but we all know that the more you ask from a client upfront (i.e., the more friction you put in the sales process), the less likely they are to book the meeting.

But, once they booked the meeting and are committed to the conversation you can more effectively address this with a confirmation email the day before the meeting and ask for additional information. 

I usually send an email 24 hours before the meeting to confirm the time, set the agenda, and ask for feedback.  Here’s the template I use for the “Shared Agenda” that I include.  

I also send my Meeting Efficiency Survey to see if they will take 5 minutes to fill out some additional information that will save at least 5-10 during our meeting and make it more valuable for both of us. 

The Meeting Efficiency Survey includes all the “Qualification” information I need like:

• The structure of their sales team (AE, BDR, CS, etc.)

• What area of the sales process are they looking for training on (prospecting, negotiations, closing, etc.)

• Timeline for training 

• Decision criteria they are using to evaluate vendors 

• And more…

I only get about 15-20% of those people to send back feedback on the agenda and fill out that form, but those meetings are by far the best ones I attend. 

SALES RESOURCES

AUTOMATING WORKFLOWS FOR CONSISTENCY

I do not believe Sales should use many of these AI and tech tools to automate many of the processes they currently do since I believe the value of human connection is going to become a more and more important differentiator moving forward.

I do believe in automating processes once we’ve established a connection, though, so we can create efficiencies and ensure consistency.

The process I outlined above for the Shared Agenda and Meeting Efficiency survey (that I train as part of my Membership) used to be a manual process for me that took time and was inconsistent at best.

That is until I came across Chili Piper’s automated workflows.

I used to think they were a simple scheduling efficiency tool, but they’ve evolved their platform quite a bit over the years, which is why I’ve decided to partner with them moving forward.

They have helped me become more efficient and deliver a consistent, high-quality engagement process with my prospects from the minute they request or agree to a meeting.

Besides their lead routing flow, their booked meeting, confirmation and follow-up flow is a thing of beauty.

Now, every time a client books a meeting with me, they receive an automated email 24 hours before the meeting to remind them of it. The email includes the Shared Agenda and embedded Meeting Efficiency survey.  

This automated workflow has decreased my meeting “no-show” rates by about 25% and increased my response rates for meeting efficiency information by 25%, making my meetings much more efficient and valuable.

If you’re not using Chili Piper or haven’t looked at them in a while, I strongly suggest you do.

If you want to see how the flow works for yourself, reply to this email with the words Chili Piper, and I’ll send it to you.

ADDITIONAL WAYS YOU CAN LEVEL UP YOUR SALES GAME 

• The JB Sales Membership is where you’ll get access to my live training, workshops, AMAs and OnDemand catalog so you can level up your sales skills every day!  3000+ Sales pros have already joined. Are you next?

• The industry-leading Make it Happen Monday Podcast where you’ll get insights and inspiration from some of the most interesting and influential people in the world of Sales and business. (this is where you’ll hear the Guy Kawasaki episode on May XYZ)

• The JB Sales YouTube channel with practical tips that you can apply immediately to drive results along with interviews and content that is guaranteed to get you to think differently.