I can visualize folks in marketing cogitating over plans for a new product launch…
“Ok, let’s see… We have our checklist for our upcoming product launch:
– Website info – check!
– Down-loadable collateral – check!
– Competition comparison – check!
– SWOT analysis – check!
– Features and benefits – check!
– Press release – check!
– ROI calculator – check!
– Product overview presentation – check!
– Demo script – check!
– Field sales training presentation – check!
– …”
What’s missing from this list?
Discovery Documents – the list of questions and topics that sales and presales people need to perform adequate Discovery for these new products. Far too often these documents are either missing entirely – or are laughably light. I once saw a set of “qualification questions” that was limited to “Are you looking for a new ‘blank’ system?”
Discovery Documents that are useful for sales and presales people may need to include sets of questions around the following four basic areas:
Demographics:
o Who?
o How many?
o How often?
Problems/Reasons:
o Pain points?
o Workflow?
o Needs/requirements?
Measurements:
o Delta?
o When needed?
o Do nothing?
Critical Business Issues:
o Why?
o What’s driving this?
o Who’s driving this?
And that’s just a starting point…!
Discovery is often where sales are won (or lost). Equipping the field with strong Discovery Documents is an integral – and critical – piece of the new product launch.
