Step 4: Sell The Dream So one of your prospectors sets up time to have a full, first conversation with a prospect. Assuming you are talking with a prospect who is a good fit for your service, the goal of “Selling The Dream” is NOT to “sell.” It is, rather 1) to help the prospect create a vision of a dream solution that will solve their problems; and then 2) to connect your product to their key business issue(s) and dream solution. In any conversation with a prospect, don’t get eager until you actually see that they could be a fit. Challenge them as well. How serious are they about solving their challenges?: There’s interest, but are they ready to take action? Are you connected with the people with power or influence? Is there real interest in a next step? Outbound prospectors shouldn’t just throw over lots of crummy opportunities that go nowhere—it is better for them to pass fewer, better opportunities to your Account Executives. Track everything in your sales force automation system. Once a prospector connects by phone with a prospect for a call to find out if there is a mutual fit, the biggest challenge is staying focused on the prospect’s business and not selling yours. Ask open-ended questions about their business first—how it’s organized, for example—before moving on to ask about challenges. Here are a series of sample questions you can customize and use in a Discovery Call. Realistically, in a first conversation a prospector might just ask 3-4 of these questions. They are roughly in order, starting with more general business questions and leading to more specific qualification questions: