The #1 Mistake Reps Make When Moving from Disco to Demo | Kevin "KD" Dorsey | Ep. 297 (Sell)

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Assume your buyer has 60 seconds to pitch your product internally. When sending recaps or justification materials, skip the deck—send 2–3 crisp bullets that clearly communicate the top reasons to buy. Reset the agenda mid-call if needed. If a buyer jumps straight into content or things go off the rails, pause and suggest how to best use the remaining time. This keeps the call focused and productive. Use a “vibey demo” to open, then do deeper discovery later. Morgan starts with a product overview to spark curiosity, then uses the second call to dig into what resonated and why—leading to richer discovery. Reverse-engineer problems from product interest. When a buyer reacts positively to a feature, follow up with, “People usually want that because they’re struggling with X or Y—what’s going on in your world?” PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Strategic Account Director @ Pave Enterprise Account Executive @ Pave Healthcare & Life Science Account Executive @ Carta Client Strategist @ PwC RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS KPIC + Make Them Hold It: In demos, tie each feature to the prospect’s problem, impact, and desired change—then ask them to visualize how they’d use it in their world. Assume, Don’t Assert: Instead of saying “we can solve this,” say “assuming we can solve this, what would change?” It builds trust and invites them into the solution. Confirm Before Next Steps: Before talking price or next calls, ask if they believe it solves their problem. If they say yes, follow up with “what stood out to you?” Tie Next Steps to Their Goals: Frame multithreading as being in their best interest. “To solve this, we’ll need [person] on board. How can we make that happen?” COURTANY'S PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Director, Growth Sales @ Unbounce Director of Growth Sales @ Insightly Sales Manager, Growth @ Insightly Senior Account Executive @ Insightly Corporate Account Executive @ UserTesting RESOURCES DISCUSSED Read: Join our weekly newsletter Steal: Templates, drips, scripts

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Demo with KPIC + Make Them Hold It: Tie each feature to a known problem and impact, then ask how they'd use it to make the solution tangible and relevant. Use “Assuming We Can…”: Frame your solution as a possibility to lower defenses. This pulls the prospect in and gets them imagining success without feeling sold to. Reference Problem Children: Personalize the demo by naming specific team members or pain points, making it easier for the buyer to visualize solving their real-world problems. Multithread with Purpose: Frame next steps as critical to their success, not yours—“To get you what you want, we’ll need Jane’s input too. How can we involve her?” KD'S PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB CRO @ Finally SVP of Sales and Partnerships @ Bench Accounting Practice Lead, Revenue Leadership @ Winning by Design VP of Inside Sales @ PatientPop Inc. Head of Sales Enablement & Development @ ServiceTitan VP of Sales @ SnackNation RESOURCES DISCUSSED Read: Join our weekly newsletter Steal: Templates, drips, scripts

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Establish a Clear Reference Policy: Without a structured reference policy, reference calls become chaotic, frustrating customers and reps alike. Set clear guidelines to manage them effectively. Optimize the Time Between Meetings: Sales doesn’t just happen in meetings. Define clear steps for reps to take between meetings to maintain momentum and advance deals. Leverage Your Network for Referrals: Take a list of active discovery calls, cross-reference with Sales Navigator, and identify referral opportunities from leadership, investors, and past customers. Strategically Introduce Connections: If a referral is strong, facilitate an immediate intro. If weaker, have the AE use it as a warm door opener to build rapport before making the ask. KELVIN'S PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB Sr Sales Manager @ Vitally.io Sales Manager @ Vitally.io Sales Manager @ Drift Manager, Renewals & Account Management @ Drift RESOURCES DISCUSSED Read: Join our weekly newsletter Steal: Templates, drips, scripts

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS Match Tonality to Questions: Tone discongruence kills trust. If your tone doesn’t match your question, prospects get skeptical. Adjust your delivery to align with the intent of your ask. Don’t Push Economic Impact Too Soon: Mid-level managers may not care about bottom-line impact. Save deep financial discussions for decision-makers who influence the balance sheet. Three Levels of Problem Questions: First, identify the problem. Second, uncover its effects. Third, quantify the impact in time or money to drive urgency. Use Questions with Leads: Instead of open-ended asks, provide multiple-choice-style prompts. This makes answering easier and positions you as an informed advisor. KD'S PATH TO PRESIDENT’S CLUB CRO @ Finally SVP of Sales and Partnerships @ Bench Accounting Practice Lead, Revenue Leadership @ Winning by Design VP of Inside Sales @ PatientPop Inc. Head of Sales Enablement & Development @ ServiceTitan VP of Sales @ SnackNation RESOURCES DISCUSSED Read: Join our weekly newsletter Steal: Templates, drips, scripts

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Limit Pricing Options to Three: Offering more than three options overwhelms prospects. Present only the most relevant three to simplify decision-making. Leverage Value-Add Incentives: Highlight low-cost-to-you, high-value items (like waived fees or extra features) to steer prospects toward larger packages. Present Pricing with a Range: Start with a floor price and give a range based on factors, allowing flexibility while avoiding sticker shock. Use Strategic Comparisons: Position your premium option near a slightly lower-tier offer to make it an attractive choice, while avoiding comparisons to much cheaper options. BELAL'S PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB Founder @ LearnToSell.io Head of Sales @ GTM Buddy Enterprise Account Executive @ ClearBit Head of Business Development @ BioIQ RESOURCES DISCUSSED Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Give Immediate Feedback: Don’t wait until later—debrief with reps right after a call while the details are fresh. Sales has lost this habit with back-to-back Zoom meetings, but it’s critical for development. Create a Coaching Cadence: If you don’t set a structured coaching schedule, it likely won’t happen consistently. Define clear coaching sessions, including frequency and focus, to ensure real progress. Structure Call Reviews: Block two hours weekly to review calls. Assign themes (e.g., discovery, negotiation), require reps to provide timestamps, and have them self-diagnose before your feedback. Expand Practice Beyond Role Plays: Role plays aren’t the only way to improve. Have reps document key impact questions, map org charts for multithreading, or identify missing stakeholders in deals. CHARLES' PATH TO PRESIDENTS CLUB Founder @ Carroll Sales Consulting VP of Enterprise Sales @ FullStory Head of Enterprise & Strategic Sales @ Recurly Sales Director @ NewsCred RESOURCES DISCUSSED Discovery Course Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

Join the 30MPC Discovery Course waitlist TODAY and get first dibs + $25 off your first TWO months of Club Pass: https://clubpass.30mpc.com/discovery-course. ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: Use Humbling Disclaimers: Preface tough questions with softening statements like, “I’m not quite sure how to ask this,” or “This might feel direct.” It lowers defensiveness and makes hard questions land better. Dig Into Prospect Rumblings: Prospects often hint at problems rather than state them outright. Listen for vague concerns and use a humbling disclaimer to drill deeper into the real issue. Refine Bucket Questions: Instead of stating, “Every CRO faces these three problems,” add nuance: “Many CROs I speak with mention challenges like…” This avoids defensiveness and keeps the conversation open. Follow a Clear Flow: Get permission to ask questions, surface problems without assumptions, prompt for real examples, then use humbling disclaimers to quantify impact without making prospects uncomfortable. CHARLES' PATH TO PRESIDENTS CLUB Founder @ DiscoveryCoach.io Sales Enablement Manager @ AlphaSense Lead Revenue Enablement Manager @ CB Insights Senior Sales Training Manager @ CB Insights RESOURCES DISCUSSED Discovery Course Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal

There is an extreme over-rotation in sales on setting next steps. Setting next steps is NOT always a good thing. 🛑 Bad: Never setting next steps 🟡 Okay: Setting steps on every deal 🟢 Good: Setting steps on REAL deals Instead, first determine if the deal is worth setting next steps with at all. Then, you should recommend the appropriate next step, but only if your prospects have proven that it's worth keeping them in your pipeline. That's where the Five Minute Drill comes in: Three questions you can ask at the end of every single call to determine if and how you set a next step. 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 1: 𝐃𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐮𝐲? If you can practice ONE THING, it's this. Any time you offer a demo, a pilot, a proposal, you are giving your time away to a prospect. And that's fine. But only if you get something in return. If you're investing more time with them, you should expect that they won't waste it and affirm that this is actually leading somewhere. 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 2: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐲? You can't properly suggest a next step until you understand their timeline to solve the problem we just agreed upon. If they want to solve this problem in 3 weeks, we'll use their answer to drive far more urgency than if this weren't a problem to solve for 6 months. 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 3: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐲. Guess what, the last question isn't a question. You should always suggest and confirm next steps because you've sold your software far more times than they've bought it. Frame your ask in terms of their best interest, not yours. Based on what you learned in the first two questions: what is the next step you need to take to solve their problem by the time they want it solved? And don't just suggest one next step, suggest next-next steps so they explicitly buy into a sales process, not a free 60 minute demo. Full breakdown of the 5 minute drill: https://www.30mpc.com/newsletter/how-to-set-next-steps-in-sales-with-the-5-minute-drill Join our weekly newsletter: https://hubs.li/Q02NJQ8p0 Things you can steal: https://linktr.ee/30mpc_youtube #30Minutestopresidentsclub #30mpc

ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS: No Last-Minute Coaching: Avoid changing a rep’s game plan in the 30 minutes before a call. It signals distrust and forces them to scramble, leading to a worse outcome. Stick to One Coaching Theme: Don’t introduce a new area of improvement after every call. Focus feedback on a consistent theme to drive real progress. Align on Call Emotion: Before a discovery call, ask your rep how they want the prospect to feel. This sets the right tone and helps shape their delivery. Know Your Role in Calls: As a manager, decide if you’re leading, coaching, or just reading the room. Adapt based on the rep’s experience level and the call type. ALEX'S PATH TO PRESIDENT'S CLUB: Founder & CEO @ Alluviance Director of Sales Commercial @ Outreach Director of Sales Corporate @ Outreach Territory Account Executive @ Microsoft RESOURCES DISCUSSED: Join our weekly newsletter Things you can steal