The document discusses 7 elements of successful discovery calls based on an analysis of over 519,000 sales calls recorded by the Gong.io conversation intelligence platform. The analysis identified factors that correlate with sales success like the number and type of questions asked, the talk to listen ratio, engagement levels, call flow, duration of calls, and optimal timing for scheduling calls. Key recommendations include asking more targeted questions, making calls conversational not interrogational, aiming for balanced talk and listen times, and keeping calls flowing like a ping pong match with buyer and seller contributing equally.

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Amit Bendov
CEO, Gong.io @Gong_io
7 Elements of Successful Discovery Calls
Based on 519,291 Sales Calls

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Amit Bendov
CEO, Gong.io
7 Elements of Successful Discovery Calls

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1. Recorded
Recorded and speaker-
separated on the Gong.io
conversation intelligence
platform
2. Transcribed
Cleaned and transcribed
from speech to text
3. Analyzed
with unsupervised machine
learning algorithms
First, a bit about the data
519,291 discovery call recordings…

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The analysis identified things like…
• Types of questions salespeople ask
• Frequency of questions
• Talking vs. listening ratios
• Topics discussed
• Language patterns
• Filler words
• Dozens of other sales behaviors that
correlate with success (and failure)

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1. Number of Questions
How often the top 20% ask questions in discovery calls

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Takeaway:
Ask More Targeted Questions

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2. Question Flow
How the top 20% ask questions differently than the other 80%

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Make it a conversation, not an interrogation.
Don’t just “check the boxes.”

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3. Talk / Listen Ratio
How top, mid, and low performers compare

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You’re probably talking
more than you think.

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4. Back and Forth Engagement
The verbal ping pong match

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Make your conversations feel
like a ping pong match.

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5. Call Flow of Effective Discovery

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Why 3-4 business issues?

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6. How long should discovery calls be?

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7. Bonus: Best Time to Schedule Disco Calls

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For new sales data every week:
gong.io/blog

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Amit Bendov
@Gong_io
www.gong.io