3 insights I learned from a VP of Sales at Salesforce changed how I do Discovery:
- No leader gets hired to keep things the same
- Leaders get hired to duplicate their past success
- What keeps leaders up at night is Risk
How to turn that into the best Discovery Conversations:
- Start the call with a recently hired exec by saying you “have a hunch they probably didn’t get hired to keep things the same”
- “I’m curious…what are the 2 biggest things your leadership wants you to change?”*
- “Those are big changes. What risks do you foresee in the next 3-6 months?”**
*Even better if you’ve done your homework and throw out 2-3 things you think they may have been hired to do (build an outbound motion, take the product upmarket, modernize process).
**Doubly better if you also come with a point-of-view on the risks they might be facing: economic conditions, competitive landscape, culture/politics of the org.
Many Leaders just got hired or promoted after the New Year.
Leaders are passionate about what they got hired to do.
Ask them.