Better Discovery with IO-RAP

Introduction

In B2B selling, “discovery” refers to gathering information about a prospect’s needs, challenges, and decision-making process to understand their requirements better and position the company’s products or services in the best light. The discovery process typically involves a series of conversations and interactions between the salesperson and the prospect to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and objectives.

The discovery process typically includes the following steps:

1. Gathering information: This step involves asking questions and conducting research to gather information about the prospect’s needs, challenges, and decision-making process. This information can be collected through various methods, including face-to-face meetings, phone calls, email, and online research.
2. Assessing the need: This step involves assessing the prospect’s needs and determining how the company’s products or services meet those needs.
3. Positioning the possibilities: This step involves positioning the company’s expertise in the best light, highlighting the benefits and differentiators, and demonstrating how they meet the prospect’s needs.
4. Building rapport: This step involves building rapport with the prospect and establishing a relationship based on trust and credibility.
5. Qualifying the opportunity: This step involves determining whether the prospect is a good fit for the company’s products or services and whether there is a strong likelihood of closing the deal

The discovery process is critical for B2B selling, enabling salespeople to understand the prospect’s needs and requirements and position their solutions in the best light. By conducting a thorough discovery process, salespeople can increase their chances of closing deals and building long-lasting customer relationships.

Target the Right Buyers

Targeting the right type of buyer is vital in B2B selling for several reasons:

1. Better alignment of needs: When you target the right type of buyer, you can better align your sales approach with their specific needs and requirements. This can help you build stronger relationships, close more deals, and generate more revenue.
2. Increased efficiency: By focusing your sales efforts on the right type of buyer, you can reduce the time and resources spent on ineffective sales activities and improve your overall efficiency.
3. Improved decision-making: When you target the right type of buyer, you have access to the decision-makers who can make purchasing decisions. This can help you make more informed decisions and increase your chances of closing deals.
4. A greater understanding of the buying process: When you target the right type of buyer, you can better understand the buying process and how it works within the organization. This can help you tailor your sales approach to better meet their needs and close more deals.
5. Improved customer satisfaction: When you target the right type of buyer, you can deliver solutions that align with their needs and provide greater value. This can help you build stronger relationships and increase customer satisfaction.

Overall, targeting the right type of buyer is crucial for success in B2B selling. Understanding the buyer’s needs, requirements, and decision-making process can increase your chances of closing deals and building solid and long-lasting customer relationships.

Conduct Better Discovery

I – Industry

An industry is a group of related companies based on their primary business activities. In today’s modern economy, there are dozens of industry classifications that we can sell to.

• Do you know the industry of the prospect? What are the trends? Where are things going?
• Where will the industry be in 2 years? How is the sector impacting your prospect’s organization?
• What industries does the organization sell to (your prospective organization’s customers)?
• Industries are sometimes called “verticals” or “domains” in sales.

O – Organization

• An organization is an entity such as a company, an institution, or an association comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
• We sell to organizations and the people in them. So, what is the company or agency you are targeting?
• What type of organization is it? Is it private? Public? Is it highly regulated? What is likely happening inside the company?
• What are the accounts, companies, and organizations competing with your prospect’s organization?
• What can you learn from those competitors? What are the patterns that apply to your prospect’s organization?

R – Role

• A role is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms conceptualized by people in a social situation.
• In most situations, people occupy a specific role you’re targeting to get a meeting with them.
• There are 12 roles. We focus on 10 IT roles and 2 Financial roles.
• The job titles map to these roles. Focus on the parts, and find the closest so you can move quickly.
• Make sure you know the ideal customer profile for the outbound work you’re doing (what is the best role for the topic you’re trying to drive?)

A – Assumptions

• An assumption is accepted as accurate or sure to happen without objective proof.
• What are the informed assumptions you are making about people in this role?
• What are the pressures on the person in the role, and the trends impacting the person in that role?
• What targeted messages can you create that “talk to” those people with those pressures?
• What are the use cases they are likely working on right now? Or will you be working on it in the future?
• What differentiators and value drivers resonate the most with the prospect?

P – Possible Workflow Challenges

• A workflow is the sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion.
• A workload is the amount of work to be done by someone or something.
• A challenge is a source of friction, bottleneck, inefficiency, or disconnect in that workflow.
• What are the possibilities to explore in the workflow? What would be a better way?
• What areas to explore and unpack with the person in the role?
• How will the prospect’s organization change because they are working with us?
• Can you make some assumptions about the gap between the prospect’s current and likely future state?
• Possibilities are focused on creating something, not only reacting to something. Possibilities are proactive.