How to Conduct a Virtual Discovery Call

In the shift to virtual selling, many sales professionals were taken by surprise. They were simply not accustomed to working virtually through all stages of the sales process, and they were not prepared for the unique challenges this presented. One area, in particular, is discovery. While the process is similar to in-person meetings, there are some differences in how discovery unfolds virtually. Done right, virtual discovery can be much more effective than a phone call. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your next virtual discovery call:

1. Set the Tone with a Pre Call Agenda

As everything virtual is turbocharged, sellers must be aware of the clock. Punctuality is important, both for courtesy and getting the most from your meeting. In virtual, time takes on additional significance because nobody has enough. Meetings are both faster and shorter. Sellers should open meetings early to casually engage prospects before the formal meeting starts. This is a great way to get to know them, build rapport, and even spot alliances between decision makers. Also, in virtual, it’s easy to no-show meetings, so it’s vital to send confirmation emails to ensure the set time works for all participants.

In discovery, it’s vital sales reps set the agenda and expectations. It’s like huddling with your team to set the play except, in this case, the team is your contact and the other stakeholders with whom you are meeting. Outlining the expectations lets everyone know the steps you will be taking so they can follow the process. It also helps confirm the customer shares these expectations. For example, sales professionals could start by saying, “I’ve assembled some questions following our last call and would like to begin with those so I can better understand your objectives. After that, I’ll present some specific solutions that will address your needs.” Of course, this is cumbersome on a phone call, especially with multiple decision makers. A virtual discovery call allows the sales rep to seek and receive the unspoken buy-in from each participant as he or she goes through the process.

When setting your agenda, it’s important to keep in mind the following:

Schedule Early

Generally, people work best in the morning. In fact, research cited by the BBC shows that 11 a.m. is the most productive time of the day, followed by a slight dip in productivity until 2 p.m., and a precipitous fall after 4. These days, with so many organizations relying exclusively on virtual interaction, it’s common for clients to have several virtual calls a day. To avoid meeting fatigue, schedule your virtual meetings early. Of course, we are often at the mercy of our clients, and it’s best to accommodate their needs, but to maximize engagement in virtual meetings, early is better.

Limit Participants

When meeting buyers, salespeople want to engage as many decision makers as possible. And these days, with the number of B2B decision makers steadily rising, virtual is a great way to ensure you’re in front of the most VIPs who can facilitate a purchase. However, it’s helpful to remember The Ringelmann Effect. This states that the more people involved in a task, the less productive they will be. As many teachers can tell you, the more students in a class, the more some think they can hide in plain sight. You may have noticed the same thing during sales meetings. Whenever possible, to increase participation and engagement, limit your virtual meeting to essential decision makers and key stakeholders.

2. Build Trust with Your Prospect through Non Verbal Cues

One advantage of embarking on a virtual discovery call via video conferencing is that it provides greater opportunity to see and share body language, which helps sales professionals more deeply bond with prospects. It is easier to create connections with video than it is on the phone. Much of this is simply making eye contact. Like the handshake of simpler, bygone times, eye contact helps us relate to and connect with a client we hope to deal with. It’s like an unspoken agreement between gentlefolk. With phone calls, a talented sales rep could infuse a smile into their voice, but with a virtual call, you can smile, nod, and engage in the genuine interaction that helps build trust.

All sales reps know, you can learn a lot about what a prospect or client is thinking from their non-verbal communication. Many prospects will offer unspoken “tells” that can cue the observant rep into their thinking. Maybe they unconsciously lift an eyebrow when intrigued by something you say. Or they cross and uncross their legs when a pain point becomes a little too literal. In this way, a virtual discovery call can provide the sales rep additional information over a phone call. And, after all, the very purpose of discovery is to uncover as much information as possible in order to provide the best solution.

3. Pace Your Questions

On a virtual call, it’s easier to maintain a comfortable pace for your questions. As discovery is about asking the necessary open-ended questions that provide essential insights into the client’s pain points, it can be easy for sale professionals to get ahead of themselves or ask so many questions their discovery feels like an interrogation. Having the ability to see and interact with the decision makers allows the sales rep to judge facial expressions, which can indicate when a question needs emphasizing or rephrasing or even lets the rep know it’s time to move on. Seeing the group you’re addressing also helps you read the room and anticipate further questions before you wrap up or move the call forward.

All salespeople know open-ended questions help clients share. If this was useful in face-to-face meetings, it’s essential in virtual. The more you can get people talking in a virtual meeting, the more they will interact, interrupt, and engage with each other. In virtual meetings, questions provoke discussion. Not only can this reveal hidden needs or problems, it also ensures that people pay attention. Ideally, you want to create a lively atmosphere for virtual participants to talk, laugh, and feel a little less isolated. Salespeople who make meetings memorable inspire trust and build relationships.

4. Create Engagement Through Storytelling and Inviting Participation

People have engaged in storytelling since the earliest humans sat around a campfire and lied about the woolly mammoth that got away. Today, in virtual, storytelling is an essential component of building engagement. Beyond the necessary facts, figures, charts, and data, nothing captures a buyer’s attention like a specific client success story or even an important learning experience. Your stories are a vital part of who you are, and they can be essential to building trust. More importantly, in a virtual meeting, they can ensure your clients stay focused on you and hang on your every word.

Another way to create engagement is to actively invite participation. If you just sit back and wait for your meeting attendees to speak, the only thing you’ll hear are virtual crickets. In addition to asking questions of the entire group, ask specific people for their input. Think again of school, when teachers randomly called on students and the whole class snapped to attention. The more specific you can make this the better, such as, “Walter, your initial email mentioned distribution issues. Can you elaborate on that a little, especially for Jane, who raised a similar concern?” Call that a two for one.

When selling virtually, full engagement requires extra effort. Give prospects your undivided attention and make eye contact by looking directly into the camera. Be sure to notice any withdrawn participants who may need to be prompted to engage. Ask questions that invite feedback, either verbally or through video conferencing tools—waves, claps, and thumbs up—as well as comments in the chat. Remember, in selling virtually, it can be harder to communicate via body language. The more sales reps can be captivating and promote interactivity, the better.

5. Be Attentive and Elevate Your Active Listening Skills

Best-in-class virtual sellers make an effort to be attentive. This means to show concern for the comfort and wishes of others. Little things can illustrate concern for their needs such as pausing to ask if they can hear you okay or if what you are saying makes sense. When taking notes, be sure to get back to eye contact when you can, and try to capture your client’s language, the words and phrases they use to illustrate you understand their needs and, in effect, speak their language.

Over video, it can be difficult to pick up on the subtleties of what your client is saying and doing. Sellers need to up their active listening skills a notch higher than in face-to-face. Vocal tone can be an important indicator of what the client is thinking or feeling. Pay attention to hesitancy in speech or self-interruptions, which can indicate indecisiveness.

6. Be Flexible with Your Prospects

Perhaps no trait is more essential in virtual selling than flexibility. With so many organizations working remotely, salespeople must accommodate the disparate virtual needs of their various clients at a time when no two are alike. Also, as organizations become more invested in their virtual capabilities, sales professionals should prepare for their client’s needs to shift frequently and suddenly. This will require flexible sales pros who can adjust on the fly to provide the advice and solutions to suit their clients’ ever-changing needs.

Why It’s More Important Now Than Ever Before to Be a Pro at Virtual Selling

With the global shift to virtual meetings, many salespeople worried they could not effectively engage customers in virtual like they did in face-to-face. However, according to a survey by the Harvard Business Review, 86 percent of participants report as high or higher levels of engagement with video conferencing than face-to-face. Now, with most sales organizations fully entrenched in virtual, here are seven tips to keep buyers engaged during virtual meetings:

While many traits of top sellers overlap with those of top virtual sellers, some are of particular importance when selling virtually. For most sales pros, whether meeting face-to-face or virtually, the basics of selling are the same; sellers must be personable, engaging, and establish a rapport with their prospects. Best-in-class virtual sellers are those who see opportunities to adjust, adapt, or even just tweak the traits that are the driving force of their success to meet the needs of virtual selling an ever evolving sales environment.

Updated 6/3/2025

Nick Kane

As Managing Partner of Top 20 Sales Training and Consulting company Janek Performance Group, Nick Kane works with corporate clients to develop sales strategies and implement sales training programs that focus on cultivating a more client-focused environment that drive results in today’s marketplace. During his career, Nick has trained more than fifteen thousand sales professionals worldwide, and he is passionate about helping sales leaders and sales professionals improve their careers and, as a result, their lives. He is coauthor of the book Critical Selling and a regular contributor for Training Industry and Selling Power.

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