| name | client-discovery |
| description | Sales qualification and client discovery. Use when starting a new client engagement, qualifying leads, identifying pain points, or calculating ROI for automation proposals. Generates discovery forms, qualification scores, and ROI estimates. |
Client Discovery
Qualify leads faster and identify high-value automation opportunities.
Quick Actions
| Need |
Action |
| Discovery call prep |
→ Questions Below |
| Pain point mapping |
→ references/pain-points.md |
| ROI estimation |
→ references/roi-formulas.md |
| Full questionnaire |
→ references/questions.md |
| Intake form |
→ assets/templates/discovery-form.md |
Discovery Process
Phase 1: Pre-Call Research (5 min)
Before the call, gather:
- Company: Size, industry, tech stack (LinkedIn, Crunchbase)
- Contact: Role, tenure, decision authority
- Signals: Recent funding, hiring, complaints on G2/social
- Competition: Who else they might be talking to
Phase 2: Discovery Call Structure (30 min)
[5 min] Rapport & Agenda
[15 min] Pain Discovery
[5 min] Impact Quantification
[5 min] Next Steps
Phase 3: Core Discovery Questions
Business Context
- "Walk me through your typical [process] from start to finish."
- "Who's involved at each step?"
- "What tools do you use today?"
Pain Identification
- "What breaks most often?"
- "What takes longer than it should?"
- "What would happen if this didn't get done?"
Quantification
- "How many hours per week does this take?"
- "How many people are involved?"
- "What's the cost of an error here?"
Decision Process
- "Who else needs to approve this?"
- "What's your timeline for solving this?"
- "Have you tried to fix this before?"
Qualification Framework: BANT+
| Criteria |
Question |
Green |
Yellow |
Red |
| Budget |
"What would you pay to solve this?" |
Has budget |
Can find budget |
No budget |
| Authority |
"Who approves this?" |
Decision maker |
Influencer |
User only |
| Need |
"How urgent is this?" |
Immediate pain |
Nice to have |
Exploring |
| Timeline |
"When do you need it?" |
This month |
This quarter |
Someday |
| Pain Score |
Hours × Cost × Frequency |
>$2k/mo waste |
$500-2k/mo |
<$500/mo |
Scoring
Score each BANT+ criteria: Green=3, Yellow=2, Red=1
Total Score:
- 13-15: HOT - Prioritize, fast proposal
- 9-12: WARM - Nurture, build case
- 5-8: COLD - Qualify out or long-term
Pain Point Discovery
Universal Pain Signals
| Signal |
What They Say |
Real Pain |
| Time waste |
"We spend hours on..." |
Manual data entry |
| Errors |
"Things fall through cracks" |
No system of record |
| Delays |
"It takes too long to..." |
Sequential bottleneck |
| Frustration |
"I hate doing..." |
Repetitive task |
| Risk |
"We worry about..." |
Compliance/quality |
Probing Questions
When they mention a pain:
- "How often does this happen?"
- "What do you do when it happens?"
- "Who gets affected?"
- "What does it cost you?"
- "How long has this been going on?"
Pain Severity Matrix
Low Frequency High Frequency
High Cost [AUTOMATE] [URGENT]
Low Cost [IGNORE] [AUTOMATE]
ROI Quick Calculator
Input Variables
Hours/week on task: [H]
People involved: [P]
Hourly cost (fully loaded): [C]
Error rate: [E]%
Cost per error: [EC]
Formulas
Monthly Labor Cost = H × P × C × 4.33
Monthly Error Cost = (H × P × 4.33) × E × EC / 100
Total Monthly Waste = Labor + Error Cost
Automation Savings = Total × 80% (conservative)
Your Price Target = Savings × 15-25%
Payback Period = Setup Cost ÷ Monthly Savings
Example
Task: Manual invoice processing
Hours: 10/week
People: 2
Rate: $35/hr
Error: 5%
Error cost: $200
Labor: 10 × 2 × $35 × 4.33 = $3,031/mo
Errors: (10 × 2 × 4.33) × 5% × $200 / 100 = $87/mo
Total: $3,118/mo
Automation saves: $2,494/mo (80%)
Your price: $374-$624/mo (15-25%)
Vertical-Specific Discovery
E-commerce
- "How do you handle out-of-stock notifications?"
- "Walk me through an order from purchase to delivery."
- "What happens when a customer disputes a charge?"
Professional Services
- "How do you track billable hours?"
- "What's your invoicing process?"
- "How do new clients get onboarded?"
Logistics
- "How do you notify customers of delays?"
- "What happens when a delivery fails?"
- "How do you optimize routes?"
Legal/Finance
- "How do you track document versions?"
- "What's your approval process?"
- "How do you ensure compliance?"
See references/pain-points.md for complete vertical-specific questions.
Discovery Output
After call, document:
# Discovery Summary: [Company]
## Contact
- Name: [X]
- Role: [X]
- Authority: [Decision Maker / Influencer / User]
## BANT+ Score: [X/15]
- Budget: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Authority: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Need: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Timeline: [G/Y/R] - Notes
- Pain: [G/Y/R] - $X/mo waste
## Top 3 Pain Points
1. [Pain] - [Impact] - [Urgency]
2. [Pain] - [Impact] - [Urgency]
3. [Pain] - [Impact] - [Urgency]
## Recommended Solution
[1-2 sentences on automation]
## ROI Estimate
- Current cost: $X/mo
- Automation saves: $Y/mo
- Price range: $Z/mo
- Payback: N days
## Next Steps
- [ ] Send proposal by [date]
- [ ] Follow-up call [date]
- [ ] [Other action]
## Notes
[Anything else important]
Red Flags (Disqualify)
- No clear problem (just "exploring AI")
- No budget and won't discuss
- No authority and won't intro decision maker
- Bad-mouthed previous vendors
- Wants custom enterprise for SMB price
- Endless "one more question"
References
| Topic |
File |
| Pain Points by Vertical |
references/pain-points.md |
| ROI Calculation Details |
references/roi-formulas.md |
| Full Question Bank |
references/questions.md |
Templates
| Template |
File |
| Client Intake Form |
assets/templates/discovery-form.md |