Sales Tip – Building credibility through "Discovery" Letters

One of the first things you learn when you enter the business world is the importance of "getting it in writing". Documenting the important points of a business conversation is an age old concept that brings many benefits:

• Clarity of the issues, details and the path moving forward
• Agreement that the engaged parties heard the same thing
• A transcript that people not present can use to familiarize themselves with the situation

This practice transfers well into the sales environment. In fact, most sales people will say they already do this by sending "thanks for your time / here's the next steps" follow-up emails. The majority of the time (99.9%) these emails do not document the key points discussed in the meeting.

Akina's buyer-side research confirms that lack of meeting follow-up documentation is a sales issue that should be addressed. The following quote from a senior IT executive sums it up:

"Most of the time, I have no confidence that sales people really understand our situation or heard me accurately. I NEVER get an email that summarizes a face-to-face or conference call conversation. I am reluctant to sponsor a sales organization unless I know we are on the same page."

Akina recommends the use of a technique called a "Discovery Letter". A Discovery Letter (usually an email) is a summary of the key points discussed in a meeting or in a conference call along with the next steps. A Discovery Letter should be sent after every meeting where business was discussed. Discovery Letters should be used by sales, sales engineers, services, sales support and any other person who has conversations with customers.

A Discovery Letter should be sent back to the customer / prospect within 24 hours of the meeting / conference call. All meeting attendees should be copied. A common structure is:

1. A description of the sales person's understanding of the customer's business, top priorities, specific need and what is driving the need
2. A description of the initiative, what stage it is in, timetable, budget, and approval process (path to PO )
3. Re-cap of what VENDOR company does and why you may be able to help CUSTOMER fulfill need
4. If appropriate, a list of open questions that were not answered (and may have been tabled for off line discussion during the meeting)
5. A list of agreed upon next steps and owners. This list is one of the best ways to push things forward, especially if there are due dates attached to each next step.

Discovery Letters do take time (an hour or so) but deliver HUGE benefits:

• Builds clarity and credibility with customers
• Helps sales people frame the problem and define a path to move forward
• Provides sales management visibility into specific opportunities
• Can also be a great way to inspect sales rep grasp of the selling situation
• Provides internal selling team with a history of the conversation to date and what expectations have been set

Implementation of the Discovery Letter should go as follows:

• explain the concept to the sales team (include all sales cycle participants)
• provide example of what's expected (see sample Discovery Letter)
• Define when it is required
• Develop an inspection procedure
• Provide feedback on a regular basis

Read More: Sample Discovery Letter

Other Whitepapers:

• Technology Sales People – The New Success Profile
• Diagnosing Your Revenue Generation Issues
• Building a Client Service - Minded Staff
• High Impact Returns from Strategic Account Management
• How to Steer Your Firm to Greater Revenues when you're not in the Driver's Seat
• Sales Tip – Building credibility through "Discovery" Letters
• Selling to Multiple Decision Stakeholders
• Firm Leadership's Role in Retaining and Growing Clients
• The Pursuit Drill ™: Improve Your Sales Team's Ability to Close Deals

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