A few years after I started selling training and consulting services for OutSell, I knew our sales process inside and out.  After several years of meeting with buyers week in and week out, I got to the point that, by the time I had shaken hands with them and conducted about five minutes of discovery, I was able to intuitively tell what that buyer wanted and needed.  And at least 90% of the time I was right.  It’s not rocket science.  It was very tempting, especially when my patience was low, to abbreviate the Discovery step and questioning process in general and just tell the buyer what they needed.  I would say to myself, “Well, this situation is a little different.  The Discovery step does not apply,” and I would rationalize why I could skip a thorough Discovery.  It seemed more efficient, because I could save about 30 minutes by not having to listen to what I had heard dozens of times before from other buyers.

The problem with doing this, as I began to find out, was that, although the questioning process was very familiar to me, the buyer was going through it for the first time.  What the buyer is going through during the discovery process is as important, if not more so, than what I am learning.  By truncating the discovery process, I was compromising the rapport, trust, and excitement developing between me and the buyer, and in the end I was diminishing my effectiveness.  Efficiency can get in the way of effectiveness, and this is a trap that many experienced Sales Professionals fall into.

The Discovery Summary is all that; it really is.  Our research shows that many sales are actually made right here.  When the summary is done well it accomplishes all these things:

1. The buyer feels good because he knows that you were really paying attention and listening to what he told you.
2. You build momentum by distilling what has just taken upwards of 60 minutes into a powerful 2-minute highlight reel.
3. You ensure that your understanding of your buyer’s situation is crystal clear and on target.  If, for some reason, you did not summarize the situation accurately, your buyer will correct you.
4. You get to show your buyer that you are a highly competent professional who understands and cares about their situation.
5. You lower your buyer’s resistance and raise their receptivity to your tailored solution.
6. And sometimes it uncovers a nugget that defines the buying gap.

Not bad for a simple summary that takes less than 120 seconds to deliver.  But, like everything else with Bullet Selling, it’s all in the execution.   There are 6 steps to the Discovery Summary process:

1. Transition into the Summary
2. Review Current Situation
3. Review Desired Situation
4. Review Expectations
5. Ask confirming questions
6. Transition to Tailored Solution