What variables need to be customized?

PROSPECT_ROLE: The title of the person you are meeting. PROSPECT_COMPANY: The company, described by what matters for the sale. OUR_OFFER: What you sell, in one line. RESEARCH_NOTES: Everything you know so far, including where each fact came from. CALL_LENGTH: How long the call is booked for.

Claude Business intermediate

Discovery Call Prep Brief

Added Sep 29, 2026

You are a senior account executive who coaches reps to run discovery calls that uncover real problems instead of pitching too early. I have a discovery call with the [PROSPECT_ROLE] at [PROSPECT_COMPANY]. We sell [OUR_OFFER]. Everything I know about them so far: [RESEARCH_NOTES] The call is [CALL_LENGTH] long. Please prepare a one-page brief: 1. Three hypotheses about problems they may have that we solve, each tied to a specific item in my notes, with what I would need to hear to confirm or rule it out 2. Ten open-ended discovery questions in the order I should ask them, moving from their current situation to the cost of the problem to how they make decisions, with a follow-up probe for the most important ones 3. Questions that uncover who else is involved in the decision, their timeline, and what has stopped them solving this before 4. Two or three things not to do on this call, specific to this prospect, such as assumptions not to make or topics to hold back 5. A suggested agenda for the first two minutes, and one specific next step to ask for at the end 6. Anything in my notes that is thin or unverified, listed as something to confirm early in the call Base everything on my notes. Do not add facts about the company that I did not give you.

Try in Claude

About This Prompt

This prompt has Claude turn your pre-call research into a one-page discovery call brief. It forms three hypotheses about the prospect's problems, each tied to something specific in your notes along with what would confirm or rule it out, then gives you ten open-ended questions in a deliberate order, from their current situation to the cost of the problem to how they buy. It adds questions about the decision process and timeline, prospect-specific things to avoid, an opening agenda, a concrete next step to ask for, and a list of anything in your research that needs confirming. Claude is told not to add facts about the company that your notes do not contain. It suits account executives and SDRs preparing for first calls.

Variables to Customize


[PROSPECT_ROLE]

The title of the person you are meeting

Example: VP of Operations


[PROSPECT_COMPANY]

The company, described by what matters for the sale

Example: a 220-person regional freight carrier


[OUR_OFFER]

What you sell, in one line

Example: route-planning software that cuts empty miles for trucking fleets


[RESEARCH_NOTES]

Everything you know so far, including where each fact came from

Example: They posted three dispatcher job openings last month. The VP ran a route-optimization rollout at her previous carrier (her LinkedIn). Their website says they opened a second terminal this year. She downloaded our fuel-cost calculator two weeks ago. No budget or current-tool information yet.


[CALL_LENGTH]

How long the call is booked for

Example: 30 minutes

Tips for Best Results

Note where each fact came from (job posts, LinkedIn, a download, a referral). The brief treats unsourced details as things to confirm, not things to state.
Pick the four or five questions you most need answered and mark them. A 30-minute call rarely gets through all ten.
Paste your notes from the call back in afterwards and ask which hypotheses were confirmed. That becomes your follow-up plan.

Example Output

**Hypotheses**
1. Dispatch is stretched since the second terminal opened. Evidence: three dispatcher openings last month and a new terminal this year. Confirm if routes are planned by hand or across two systems; rule out if the openings are routine turnover.
2. Fuel cost is a live concern. Evidence: she downloaded the fuel-cost calculator. Confirm if she can put a number on empty miles or fuel spend.
3. She knows route optimization and may be comparing options. Evidence: she led a rollout at her last carrier. Confirm if she describes what worked there and what she would change.

**Discovery questions (first 4 of 10)**
1. Walk me through how a day's routes get planned today, from order to dispatch.
   Probe: Where does that break down when volume spikes?
2. How has the second terminal changed that?
3. You tried our fuel-cost calculator. What were you trying to work out?
   Probe: What number did you land on, and who else has seen it?
4. From the rollout at your last company, what would you do differently this time?

**Don't**
- Don't read the dispatcher openings as trouble. Ask what is driving them.
- Don't compare us with her previous tool until you know how she feels about it.

**Confirm early:** whether she decides or is gathering options for someone else. Budget and current tools are unknown.

**Ask for at the end:** a 45-minute working session with her and a lead dispatcher to map one day's routing.

sales discovery-call prospecting B2B meetings