“We’ve seen this problem before.”
No questions. No real curiosity. Many problems look the same. But the same problem can be very different from one customer to another. There was no attempt to understand the problem in this customer’s world, just the assumption that since they’d seen the problem before the solution would be the same.
The seller thought he already knew the story. He didn’t. The deal was lost within a week.
There’s a particular kind of mistake that only experienced sellers can make. And that’s assuming they already know.
It’s one of the most common issues I see when I’m working with teams. A rep with years of success behind them hears a familiar problem and skips discovery. They move straight into “solution mode.”
But every customer is different. Their situation may be similar, the problem may be familiar, but it’s unique to that customer. Their priorities may be different. The internal dynamics are different. The people involved are different
By skipping proper discovery, the rep misses all of that. They don’t uncover the real drivers. They don’t involve the right stakeholders. And they don’t get close enough to understand how value will be measured.
And yet, they still confidently forecast the deal.
Discovery isn’t just the first step. It’s the foundation. It’s where value is created — because unless you understand the customer’s world, you can’t possibly explain how you’ll improve it.
Done well, discovery does three things:
- Builds trust — you’re genuinely interested in their business.
- Uncovers impact — so you can sell real value, not generic benefits.
- Keeps you relevant — because solutions are only useful if they align with current priorities.
It’s not about asking more questions. It’s about asking the right ones — and listening with intent.
So the next time someone on your team says,
“We’ve seen this all before…”
You might want to ask,
“Yes, and how does that apply to this customer?”
Because assumptions kill deals. And discovery, real discovery, keeps them alive and wins deals.
I work with sales teams every day to rebuild value from the ground up, starting with how they approach discovery.
👉 If you’d like to explore how that could look for your team, let’s have a quick conversation.
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