# Discovery Call Checklist

> Every question to ask, and every qualifier to confirm, before a discovery call ends, so deals don't stall three weeks later on something nobody asked about.

Free checklist for sales reps. Topic: [Prospecting & Outbound Strategy](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/prospecting-outbound-strategy/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/discovery-call-checklist/

## How to use it

Print it and check items live during the call itself, and never end a discovery call without completing the closing-the-call section, which locks in the next step before you hang up.

## What's inside

- Pre-call prep checklist (company research, role research, hypothesis, objective, agenda)
- Opening checklist: agenda confirmation, time box, notes permission, stakeholder check
- Pain & impact questions: cost of inaction, quantified impact, who else feels it
- Priority & urgency questions: ranking against other initiatives, trigger deadlines
- Decision process questions: stakeholders, evaluation steps, realistic timeline
- Budget questions: existence, ownership, internal justification path
- Competition / alternatives questions including "doing nothing"
- Closing-the-call checklist: recap, mutual next step, date/time locked in
- Post-call checklist: CRM log, recap email, risk flags on missing qualifiers

Everything to prep, ask, and confirm before a discovery call ends, so the deal doesn't stall three weeks from now on a qualifier nobody asked about. Print this and check it live, on the call.

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## Before the Call (Prep: 10 minutes)

- [ ] Reviewed prospect's company: size, industry, recent news/trigger event
- [ ] Reviewed prospect's role: title, likely KPIs, likely reporting line
- [ ] Reviewed any prior touches (emails sent, call notes, marketing engagement)
- [ ] Have a working hypothesis of their pain, written down before the call
- [ ] Call objective set: qualify only / qualify + book next step / qualify + get access to stakeholders
- [ ] Agenda for the call prepared and ready to state in the first 2 minutes

## Opening (First 5 Minutes)

- [ ] Stated the agenda and asked for confirmation ("Here's what I'd like to cover: does that work, or is there something more pressing for you?")
- [ ] Set the time box out loud ("We've got 30 minutes, I'll leave 5 at the end for next steps")
- [ ] Asked permission to take notes
- [ ] Confirmed who else, if anyone, should be part of this conversation

## Situation Questions (Confirm, Don't Re-Discover)

- [ ] Confirmed current process/tool/approach for the problem area
- [ ] Confirmed team size / structure relevant to the problem
- [ ] Confirmed how long the current approach has been in place

## Pain & Impact Questions

- [ ] Asked what's prompting them to look at this now (why not 6 months ago, why not in 6 months)
- [ ] Asked what happens if nothing changes (cost of inaction, stated in their words)
- [ ] Quantified the impact: a number, a percentage, a dollar figure, or a time cost
- [ ] Identified who else in the business feels this pain besides the person on the call
- [ ] Asked what they've already tried, and why it didn't fully solve it

## Priority & Urgency Questions

- [ ] Asked where this ranks against their other initiatives this quarter/year
- [ ] Confirmed a specific trigger or deadline driving urgency (if any)
- [ ] Asked what happens on their end if this slips another quarter

## Decision Process Questions

- [ ] Identified who else needs to be involved in a decision
- [ ] Asked how similar decisions have been made at this company before
- [ ] Asked what the evaluation process typically looks like (trial, pilot, procurement, security review, legal)
- [ ] Asked about realistic timeline to a decision, not just "when do you want this live"

## Budget Questions

- [ ] Asked whether budget exists for this category, even directionally
- [ ] Asked who controls that budget if it's not the person on the call
- [ ] Asked how they'd justify the spend internally (what has to be true for this to get approved)

## Competition / Alternatives Questions

- [ ] Asked what else they're considering, including "doing nothing" or "building it ourselves"
- [ ] Asked what would make them choose an alternative over you
- [ ] Asked what's worked or failed with a similar solution in the past

## Closing the Call (Last 5 Minutes: Never Skip)

- [ ] Summarized the pain and impact back to them in their own words and got a verbal "yes, that's right"
- [ ] Confirmed the mutual next step out loud (not just "I'll follow up")
- [ ] Put a specific date/time on the next step before hanging up
- [ ] Confirmed who needs to be on the next call
- [ ] Asked directly: "Is there anything that would stop this from moving forward that we haven't talked about?"

## Immediately After the Call

- [ ] Logged notes in CRM within 30 minutes, while memory is fresh
- [ ] Sent a recap email confirming pain, impact, and next step in writing
- [ ] Flagged any missing qualifier (budget, decision process, timeline) as an open risk, not a "probably fine"
- [ ] Set a calendar reminder for the agreed next step, don't rely on the prospect to drive it