Discovery Call & Customer Qualification

When to Use

• Pre-call: Generate question list for this interview
• During call: (open on screen) Follow along
• Post-call: Drop notes to me, generate structured interview record + score + next-step decision

Core 10 Discovery Questions (30-minute version)

Ask in this order, do not skip or reorder:

Icebreaker (3 minutes)

1. "First, let me understand what you're working on—what does a typical day look like for you?"

• Listen for: company size, role, industry, daily focus

Problem (8 minutes)

1. "[Topic question] How much time did you spend on this last week / how many interruptions did you have?"

• Listen for: urgency

1. "When was the last time this issue frustrated you the most / what was the specific scenario?"

• Listen for: concrete scenario, not abstract pain point

1. "How are you solving this problem now?"

• Listen for: alternative solutions (Excel / outsourcing / some SaaS / manual work)

Willingness to Pay (5 minutes)

1. "To solve this problem, roughly how much money or manpower have you spent in the past year?"

• Listen for: already paid > willing to pay > verbally willing

1. "If this problem were solved tomorrow, what would it mean for your company? Can you quantify it?"

• Listen for: ROI baseline

Decision Chain (5 minutes)

1. "If I built a v1 within two weeks, would you be the sole decision-maker on whether to use it?"

• Listen for: decision speed

1. "The last time your company did a similar outsourcing / tool purchase, how long did the process take?"

• Listen for: organizational maturity and procurement process

Budget & Timing (5 minutes)

1. "What kind of budget do you have for this type of tool? Or how much do you think this problem is worth?"

• Listen for: within our pricing range (30k-300k)

1. "Why solve this now? You've had this problem before, right?"

• Listen for: catalyst

Next Steps (4 minutes)

1. "If I put together a concrete proposal based on what we discussed and send it to you, what do you think the next step should be?"

• Listen for: strength level of real intent (reference table):

⭐ Strong signal (→ likely to sign · send proposal within 48h):

• "When can I see the proposal?"
• "Send me the SOW"
• "Just tell me the price / when to sign"
• "Can you send it before next week?"

🟡 Medium signal (→ add to watch list · monthly ping):

• "You can send some materials / an overview first"
• "Let me discuss with my partner"
• "Interested, let me digest it first"
• "Let me have an internal meeting first"

🔴 Weak signal (→ unlikely to advance · polite exit):

• "Send me a quote so I can compare"
• "We'll look at a few more options"
• "Thanks, just getting informed"
• "Got it, I'll reach out if needed"

Rule: Q10 signal strength can override the total score decision independently. If 6-dimension score ≥22 (🟢 threshold) but Q10 is weak signal, downgrade to 🟡 watch; if Q10 is strong signal but score is 15-21, consider exceptional upgrade to 🟢 quick test (send proposal within 48h to gauge reaction).

6-Dimension Customer Score (based on opportunity map scoring method)

Post-Interview Output (standard format)

# Discovery Call: <Customer Name> | <Company> | <Date>

## Basic Info
- Industry / Size:
- Role / Decision Authority:
- Location:
- Referral Source:

## Interview Record (10 Questions)
**Q0 Icebreaker**: <Summary>
**Q1 Urgency**: <Summary>
...
**Q10 Next Steps Intent**: <Summary>

## Key Signals (quote customer verbatim)
- Quote: "We manually export data 3 times a week, takes 5 hours" → High urgency
- Quote: "We tried twice before with others and it didn't work" → Past failure, high trust cost
- Quote: "Budget isn't an issue" → ⚠️ Often a smokescreen, keep probing

## 6-Dimension Score

| Dimension | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Urgency | X/5 | ... |
| Ability to Pay | X/5 | ... |
| Decision Speed | X/5 | ... |
| Fit | X/5 | ... |
| Reusability | X/5 | ... |
| Reachability | X/5 | ... |
| **Total** | **X/30** |  |

## Decision
🟢 Enter proposal stage (≥22) / 🟡 Watch list (15-21) / 🔴 Politely decline (<15)

## Next Steps
- If 🟢: Send proposal within 48h (call `skills/proposal-gen`)
- If 🟡: Add to "watch" column in `docs/pipeline.md`, ping monthly
- If 🔴: Send a polite "not a good fit for now" email, keep relationship

## Archive Location
Write to `clients/<Customer Name>/discovery-<Date>.md`
Append one line to `docs/pipeline.md` in the corresponding stage

Common Pitfalls (watch for these in 30 minutes)

1. Customer says "it's not urgent" ≠ actually not urgent. Probe: "What if it's not solved for six months?" Listen to their reaction.
2. Customer says "budget isn't an issue" = smokescreen. Keep probing: "What's your typical procurement process?"
3. Customer asks "what can you do" too early = you've lost control. Counter: "What specific problem do you most want to solve?"
4. "Let me discuss with my team" = 70% won't advance. Immediately propose: "Let me send you a simple one-pager to take back to them?" Get a committed next step.
5. Call exceeds 40 minutes = you're talking too much. 30 minutes structured questions, 5 minutes summary and commitment, 5 minutes next steps, then end.

Prohibited

• Never quote a price during the call (unless they ask proactively AND your 6-dimension score ≥22)
• Never commit to a timeline during the call (saying "I can deliver v1 in 2 weeks" is a major mistake—go back and scope it first)
• Interview ≠ sales pitch. Ask 3x more than you talk. The more you talk, the lower their willingness to pay.