The New Reality of Buyer Discovery

Discovery used to be straightforward: a buyer reached out, shared their needs, and you worked together to find the right solution.

But today’s buyers are coming to the table with a head start—or at least, they think they are. Armed with self-researched insights and AI-powered tools, buyers are often 50–70 percent through their decision making process before they even speak to a seller.

While this shift seems to empower buyers, it’s also creating challenges. Many buyers commit early to the wrong path, driven by confirmation bias or incomplete information.

This leaves sales leaders asking: How do you influence a buyer who already thinks they know the answer?

Why Discovery Needs a Makeover

Traditional discovery conversations often start with uncovering buyer needs. But when buyers are convinced they’ve already identified the problem and the solution, those conversations can feel redundant—or worse, irrelevant.

Here’s the kicker: research from Dr. Leff Bonney, Co-Founder of Florida State University Sales Institute and Research Director at Emblaze, shows that buyers are more likely than ever to escalate their commitment to poor decisions, even when faced with evidence to the contrary.

As a sales leader, this puts your team in a tricky spot. How can they reinsert themselves into the conversation and deliver value when buyers believe they’ve got it all figured out?

Step 1: Assess the Buyer’s Commitment Level

Before diving into a solution, your team needs to assess how committed the buyer is to their current path. This requires listening for subtle clues during the conversation.

Here are some signals to watch for:

• High investment language: Statements like, “We’ve already put so much time into this” or “We’ve been working on this solution for months.”
• Defensive responses: Buyers pushing back against alternative ideas with phrases like, “We’ve done our research” or “We’re confident this is the right approach.”
• Strong internal alignment: If the buyer frequently mentions consensus among their team, it’s a sign they’ve invested socially and emotionally in their decision.

Once you understand their level of commitment, you can tailor your approach accordingly.

Step 2: Shift from “Uncovering Needs” to “Reframing the Problem”

When a buyer is committed to a specific solution, standard discovery questions like “What’s your biggest challenge?” won’t cut it. Instead, focus on reframing their perspective.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Acknowledge their research: Start by validating their efforts. Statements like, “It’s clear you’ve put a lot of thought into this,” can reduce defensiveness and open the door for collaboration.
2. Introduce unconsidered needs: Use data or examples to highlight potential blind spots. For example: “Many companies in your position find that focusing on [X] can lead to unexpected challenges with [Y]. How are you preparing for that?”
3. Ask disruptive questions: These are designed to gently challenge their assumptions without putting them on the defensive. Try: “What would success look like if we could remove this barrier entirely?” or “How does your current solution handle [specific scenario]?”

Step 3: Focus on Adding Value, Not Fixing Problems

The quickest way to lose credibility with a self-informed buyer is to position yourself as someone who’s there to “correct” their process. Instead, position your team as partners who can enhance their strategy.

Key ways to add value include:

• Providing external perspective: Share insights from similar industries or situations. Buyers often over-rely on their internal perspective, so offering a broader view can be eye-opening.
• Offering predictive insights: Use your expertise to help buyers anticipate future challenges or opportunities their current solution might overlook.
• Collaborating on next steps: Frame your involvement as a way to help them refine and improve what they’ve already built. For example, “You’re clearly heading in the right direction. Let’s explore a few ways we can make this even more impactful.”

Step 4: Equip Your Team with the Right Tools and Messaging

To succeed in this new era of discovery, your team needs to be armed with more than just product knowledge. They need tools and messaging that resonate with today’s self-informed buyers.

• Message for reframing: Provide your team with frameworks like the Counter Plan Gain Frame, which emphasizes positive improvements to the buyer’s process rather than highlighting negatives.
• Scenario-based training: Role-play discovery conversations with your team, focusing on scenarios where buyers are overly committed to a solution.
• Behavioral insights: Share research on cognitive biases like sunk cost fallacy or escalation of commitment to help your team better understand buyer behavior.

Adapting for the Future of Discovery

The buyer’s journey has changed, and so must your approach to discovery. By shifting from traditional needs analysis to problem reframing and value addition, your team can stay relevant—even with buyers who think they’ve got it all figured out.

Remember: Discovery isn’t dead, but it is evolving. The sales leaders who succeed will be those who embrace this evolution and equip their teams to navigate it with confidence.

Source

1. Dr. Leff Bonney, 2024, Report: Discovery Isn't Dead - How to De-Escalate Committed Buyers.