Discovery Plan for AEs: Diagnose Before You Demo
Ten SPIN questions that turn pitch meetings into diagnoses. No screen share for the first 15 minutes.
Most lost enterprise deals were never qualified — they were pitched. The AE demoed beautifully to a prospect with no pain, no budget owner, and no timeline.
Build the 10-question SPIN plan below from your deal context. Run it before any demo, and quote their words back in the proposal.
Frequently asked questions
Demo on the first call?
No. Questions first 15 minutes, demo second. Talk ratio under 45 percent or you pitched.
How do I handle "just show me"?
"Happy to — so I show the right 3 minutes, what should it prove?" Redirect, never refuse.
What ends a good discovery?
A locked next step with a date and a second thread. Vague follow-ups are where deals go dark.
Related playbooks
Tools plan. Practice closes.
Run this playbook live against an AI buyer who pushes back. Free to try.