B2B Sales Discovery Calls: The Missing Step — Sherlock

A Sherlock Holmes Sales Mystery
By Dr. John H. Watson
Holmes was standing at the window, watching the rain carve rivulets down the glass, when the call came.
“A most troubling disappearance, Watson,” he murmured, not turning.
“A person?” I asked.
“A practice.”
Moments later, we were in a cab bound for the offices of a firm recently restructured by what their COO proudly described as
‘AI-driven sales transformation’
.
We were met by a harassed sales leader.
“We’ve streamlined everything,” he explained. “Our AI pre-screens prospects, sends hyper-personalised outreach, books demos automatically. Efficiency’s up. Meetings are up. But conversions…”
He trailed off.
Holmes scanned the CRM screen, his eyes narrowing. “Where is the discovery call?”
The man blinked. “We cut it. Buyers want speed. Frictionless journeys. They don’t have time for chit-chat.”
Holmes nodded slowly. Then turned. “Watson, take note. They have removed the very thing that reveals value. The conversation where problems are surfaced, consequences understood, urgency uncovered. In its place automated small talk and a premature pitch.”
“But surely,” I said, “they’re still asking questions?”
“Scripted,” Holmes replied. “Pre-loaded. Assumption-heavy. The illusion of insight.”
He faced our host.
“You haven’t streamlined. You’ve skipped the thinking. And that, sir, is not acceleration. It is negligence.”
🔍
To be continued…
If Holmes and Watson were to investigate your pipeline, would they find anything… missing?
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