Sales Discovery Call SOP

Standard operating procedure for preparing for, conducting, and documenting a sales discovery call, including framework questions, qualification, next steps, and CRM logging.

Steps

• Review the prospect record and meeting context
  The sales representative reviews the prospect's company profile, prior interactions, meeting attendees, and stated objectives before the call. The representative confirms the prospect's industry, role, current stage in the buying process, and any known pain points. Capture any open questions, prior commitments, and relevant account history that may affect the discovery conversation.
• Prepare the discovery call agenda and question framework
  The sales representative prepares a concise agenda that includes introductions, business context, pain points, current process, decision criteria, timeline, and next steps. The representative selects open-ended questions that cover needs, impact, stakeholders, budget range, authority, and urgency. The representative tailors the question set to the prospect's industry and likely use case.
• Join the call and confirm the meeting purpose
  The sales representative joins the call on time, confirms audio and video quality, and greets the prospect professionally. The representative states the purpose of the meeting, confirms the expected duration, and aligns on the agenda. If additional attendees are present, the representative asks each participant to briefly introduce themselves and their role.
• Discover the prospect's business needs and pain points
  The sales representative asks open-ended discovery questions to understand the prospect's current process, challenges, desired outcomes, and the business impact of the problem. The representative probes for frequency, severity, current workaround, and consequences of inaction. The representative listens for measurable pain points, operational constraints, and triggers that indicate urgency.
• Qualify the opportunity against agreed criteria
  The sales representative qualifies the opportunity using the team's agreed framework, such as budget, authority, need, timeline, and fit. The representative confirms decision-makers, buying process, implementation constraints, and any non-negotiable requirements. If the prospect does not meet minimum qualification criteria, the representative documents the gap and determines whether to nurture, disqualify, or escalate.
• Confirm next steps and mutual action items
  The sales representative summarizes the key takeaways, confirms the prospect's priorities, and agrees on the next step. The representative assigns clear owners and due dates for any follow-up actions, such as sending materials, scheduling a demo, or involving another stakeholder. The representative confirms the date and purpose of the next meeting before ending the call.
• Document the call in the CRM
  The sales representative logs the call outcome in the CRM immediately after the meeting. The representative records the prospect's pain points, qualification status, stakeholders, timeline, objections, next steps, and follow-up commitments. The representative updates the opportunity stage, adds relevant notes, and attaches any supporting documents or call recordings if applicable.
• Send the follow-up summary to the prospect
  The sales representative sends a concise follow-up email that summarizes the prospect's goals, key pain points, agreed next steps, and any promised resources. The representative includes the date and purpose of the next meeting or action item. The representative ensures the message matches the CRM record and does not introduce new commitments that were not discussed on the call.