Value Accelerator Wiki
Milestone 1: Value Discovery
Introduction
Milestone 1: Value Discovery marks the official beginning of the Engagement Phase in the Value Accelerator Framework. It is the first customer-facing Milestone, transitioning from marketing-led demand generation to sales-led qualification and exploration.
This is a mandatory Milestone for every vendor adopting the Value Accelerator Framework.
All prior activities—including the execution of marketing campaigns and early prospect interactions—belong to the Pre-engagement Phase. While vendors may have already engaged in cold calls, LinkedIn messaging, or lead nurturing during Milestone 0: Lead Generation, these interactions are designed to stimulate curiosity and surface interest—not to qualify opportunities or engage in solution discussions.
The Engagement Phase begins only when a potential customer has been identified and there is mutual agreement to explore a business problem or challenge in more depth. This typically coincides with the creation of a new Sales Opportunity.
Purpose
Most B2B vendors struggle with low win rates, shrinking deal sizes, and eroded margins—not because they lack a strong offering, but because they pursue the wrong opportunities. This problem often stems from weak discovery practices, where sales reps fail to assess whether a potential customer truly has a problem worth solving or whether the engagement aligns with strategic value.
Milestone 1: Value Discovery exists to prevent this misalignment. It is designed to help vendors qualify Sales Opportunities early, based on clear indicators of value, urgency, and organizational readiness.
The goal of this Milestone is not to pitch a solution—it is to understand the customer’s current situation, assess whether a valuable partnership is possible, and gather the insights needed to guide the next phase of engagement. At this stage, the vendor must act as an advisor, not a seller.
A successful Value Discovery explores four essential domains:
Problem Identification & Quantification
Determine whether the customer is facing a problem worth solving. Assess the magnitude of the issue, its visibility within the organization, and whether solving it would yield meaningful business outcomes. This enables early go/no-go decisions and prevents wasted effort.
Providing Commercial Insight
Discovery is not a passive process. It’s an opportunity to shape customer thinking. The Sales Rep should introduce Commercial Insight that challenges assumptions and reframes how the customer views their problem. This elevates the vendor from product provider to strategic partner.
Testing Sales Argumentation
Use the conversation to test early hypotheses around customer priorities, decision drivers, and possible objections. This allows the vendor to refine positioning before formalizing their message in Milestone 2: Value Presentation.
Uncovering Stakeholders, Mobilizers and Buying Process
Identify who is involved in the decision-making process and how the buying journey is structured. Identifying internal stakeholder who can drive change, build consensus, and move the deal forward. Understand internal priorities, competing initiatives, and success criteria. This information is crucial to forecast accurately and avoid late-stage surprises.
Value discovery is not about pitching solutions. It is about listening actively, challenging thoughtfully, and learning deeply—so that the vendor can decide whether and how to move forward. Avoid using slides. Instead, use strategic questions, relevant insights, and collaborative dialogue to create mutual clarity and momentum.
Methodology
Value Discovery Criteria
Value discovery should not rely on intuition. It must be executed using a structured, criteria-based methodology. While various frameworks exist—such as MEDDIC, SPICED, and SPIN—the Value Accelerator Framework distills the common principles into five essential criteria:
Situation
Problem
Impact
Urgency
Decision
These criteria form the foundation of a high-quality discovery conversation. Below is a breakdown of each.
Situation
Understand the customer’s current situation and desired future state.
What are their goals, and how do they measure success?
What is the overall strategic business outcome desired?
What is their current situation in terms of these objectives?
Understanding the customer business outcomes is crucial to align your value proposition with their desired future state.
Problem
Understand the problems preventing the customer from reaching their desired future state.
What challenges are preventing them from reaching those goals?
What are the root causes of those challenges?
What has already been tried?
This clarity is essential to determine whether there’s a meaningful gap that the vendor can help address.
Impact
Quantify the business impact of staying in the current state.
What financial, operational, or strategic consequences arise if nothing changes?
Does the problem justify action?
Is the impact visible enough to create internal urgency?
Only problems with meaningful impact are worth solving—and selling.
Urgency
Evaluate how quickly the customer needs to act.
Is there a deadline, event, or trigger that makes the problem time-sensitive?
Are other priorities likely to delay progress?
Is the problem being discussed in executive forums?
Urgency accelerates momentum. Lack of urgency is a clear signal for nurturing, not pursuit.
Decision
Identify the people who influence decisions and uncover the how decisions are made.
Who needs to validate the solution technically or financially?
Who controls the budget?
Are these individuals aligned or disconnected?
What steps do they usually follow to engage a vendor?
What departments and criteria are involved?
Include both formal approvers and informal influencers. Most importantly, identify whether any of these stakeholders exhibit Mobilizer behavior (see below). Understanding the decision process allows the vendor to anticipate roadblocks, avoid surprises, and guide the customer forward with confidence.
Characteristics of a Customer Mobilizer
The Value Accelerator Framework adopts the definition of a "mobilizer" from The Challenger Customer. A mobilizer is not necessarily the most senior person in the room, but they are the individual who can:
Drive internal consensus
Challenge the status quo
Push the organization to consider new approaches and take action
Mobilizers come in three types:
Go-getters: Action-oriented individuals who make things happen
Teachers: Insight-driven individuals who influence peers through education
Skeptics: Critical thinkers who ensure thoughtful decision-making
How to Qualify a Mobilizer
Mobilizers exhibit identifiable patterns of behavior. The sales rep should look for the following cues during the discovery conversation:
Skepticism
Mobilizers challenge ideas and test assumptions. They ask critical questions and push for clarity. If a lead reacts to the Commercial Insight with curiosity and skepticism—not passive agreement—it’s a strong signal they might be a mobilizer.
Broad perspective
Mobilizers think in terms of “we” and “our,” not “me” and “I.” They care about creating value for the broader team or organization, not just their own success.
Communication style
Mobilizers may be:
Quantitative: Focused on data, metrics, and logic
Qualitative: Focused on stories, opinions, and change narratives
Adapt your communication style accordingly—use numbers for quantitative mobilizers and narratives for qualitative ones.
Mobilizing power
A mobilizer will act. Assign a small task between meetings (e.g., confirming internal priorities, bringing in a peer, clarifying stakeholder concerns). If they follow through, it signals they can build internal momentum.
Recognizing a mobilizer early is essential to de-risking the deal and building a consensus-based buying journey.
The diagram below outlines the customer mobilizer qualification process sales reps can use to assess whether a stakeholder qualifies as a customer mobilizer.
Value Discovery Conversation Structure
Below you can find the suggested structure of a Value Discovery conversation. The conversation is divided into three main parts: opening, core exploration, and closing.
Opening (max. 5 minutes)
Self-Introduction & Meeting Frame
Introduce yourself and set clear expectations for the meeting:
“My name is [your name], I’m [your role] at [your company]. I’ve worked with [ICP]s like yours to help achieve [2–3 customer business outcomes] by [your value proposition].”
“Today, we have 30 minutes to analyze your situation and understand your current challenges around [challenge A, challenge B]. If we identify a potential fit, we can agree on a follow-up session where I’ll show you how we could approach it in detail.”
Confirm alignment:
“Does that sound okay for you?”
Opening Question
Start with an open-ended question to learn the customer’s intent:
“Why did you decide to take this call today?”
Actively listen and acknowledge their response.
Normalize the situation using peer examples:
“Other [persona]s I work with in [industry] often struggle with [challenge A, challenge B]. What’s your biggest concern between the two?”
This step creates relevance and opens the door to deeper exploration.
Core Exploration (15–20 minutes)
This is the un-scriptable part of the conversation. The goal is to explore the five criteria using strategic dialogue, commercial insight, and active listening.
Situation
Problem
Impact
Urgency
Decision
Mobilizer Identification
During the conversation, observe for Mobilizer signals—individuals who challenge assumptions, care about team-level outcomes, and are willing to take initiative.
Closing and Next Step (3–5 minutes)
Wrap up by summarizing the insights you gathered and proposing a follow-up:
“[Short elevator pitch on how you help solve the customer’s type of problem]. Thanks for the conversation.”
Then suggest a next step:
“I suggest we set up another quick meeting where I can show you how we’d address [customer challenge], so you can make an informed decision.”
Confirm agreement:
“Would that work for you?”
This structured approach ensures that value discovery is not left to chance. It enables the vendor to qualify opportunities early, guide the conversation with insight, and identify the best path forward based on real business value.
The conversation map below illustrates the recommended flow of a high-quality Value Discovery call.
Measuring Value Discovery Quality: The CRM Challenge
The five criteria—situation, problem, impact, urgency and decision—should be documented clearly after every discovery interaction.
To test discovery quality, use the CRM challenge introduced in Gap Selling by Keenan:
A sales rep peer selects a random opportunity from the CRM and reads the discovery notes—without revealing the customer’s name.
If the opportunity owner can identify the opportunity based on the notes alone, the discovery was successful.
If not, it's a signal to go deeper. Revisit the opportunity, ask better questions, and tighten documentation.
Execution
The Value Discovery Milestone is not a one-time meeting—it is a structured and ongoing activity that starts with the first exploratory call and continues as new stakeholders are engaged. It helps vendors continuously refine their understanding of the customer’s situation, goals, and buying dynamics.
The initial discovery call is especially critical: it determines whether the opportunity is worth pursuing, and whether there is strategic alignment between the customer’s problem and the vendor’s value proposition.
To execute this Milestone, vendors should perform the following activities:
Company and Persona Research
Prepare Value Discovery Questions
Organize and Execute the Discovery Meeting
Follow-up
The execution of this Milestone falls into the responsibility of the Sales Rep.
In the sections below you can find detailed instructions on how to execute the Milestone.
1. Company and Persona Research
A successful discovery call begins long before the conversation starts. Research is not optional—it is foundational. The quality of your questions, the relevance of your insights, and the credibility you bring into the meeting all depend on how well you understand the customer’s world.
There are two layers to focus on:
Company Research: Understand the business context in which your customer operates. What are their strategic priorities? What public initiatives or investments are they involved in? What industry trends or regulations might be affecting them? Look for press releases, investor presentations, sustainability reports, or strategic plans that reveal their direction.
Persona Research: Go beyond the job title. What is this person responsible for? What KPIs might they own? Have they recently posted or commented on LinkedIn? What past experiences shape how they view new initiatives?
This preparation enables the sales rep to:
Personalize the opening of the conversation
Share relevant peer examples and insights
Ask questions that resonate with the customer’s role and goals
Recognize potential Mobilizer behavior early
Research also reduces time wasted on basic background questions and allows the rep to focus on uncovering business impact and urgency—critical for early qualification.
2. Prepare Value Discovery Questions
The most effective Value Discovery calls are structured around questions that feel natural to the customer—but are intentional and strategic from the vendor’s perspective.
These questions are not generic. They are designed to uncover the five Value Discovery Criteria:
Situation
Problem
Impact
Urgency
Decision
To develop these questions, the vendor should build on the six building blocks defined in Milestone -2: Value-selling Foundation:
Ideal customer profile
Target personas and business outcomes
product & value proposition
Unique differentiators
Customer mental model
Commercial insight
Each question should serve a dual purpose:
Help the sales rep gather insight into the customer’s current environment
Test early hypotheses based on the vendor’s sales system
For example:
From the Commercial Insight:
“We’ve seen that many manufacturers underestimate the cost of energy inefficiencies. How do you currently measure and report on energy usage?”
From the Ideal Customer Profile:
“We typically work with companies that already have a baseline digital infrastructure in place. What tools or systems do you currently use to monitor this area?”
From the Target Personas and Business Outcomes:
“What are the top three outcomes your team is responsible for this quarter?”
These targeted questions help the sales rep guide the conversation with purpose while remaining flexible and responsive to customer cues. They also position the rep as an advisor—someone who brings perspective, not just asks for it.
Remember:
discovery questions are not about gathering surface-level data. They are about uncovering value, testing fit, and identifying whether the opportunity should be advanced or disqualified.
The purpose of this milestone is also to identify and engage Mobilizers and Decision makers. Use questioning and follow-ups to uncover these roles and gain early access to them in subsequent steps.
3. Organize and Execute the Discovery Meeting
To maximize the quality and impact of a Value Discovery meeting, it is essential to carefully structure the logistics and setup.
Keep the number of customer participants to one or two; a smaller group encourages openness and avoids internal politics that can inhibit transparency.
Craft a clear, customer-focused meeting invite that outlines the purpose (e.g., “to explore challenges around [X] and assess if there’s a mutual fit”)
Include a brief agenda: a short introduction, 2–3 core discovery questions tailored to known challenges, and proposed next steps if a fit is identified.
This sets expectations and builds credibility before the meeting even begins.
Aim for a 30 to 60-minute time slot—long enough to explore key Value Discovery criteria, but concise enough to respect the customer’s time and maintain momentum.
4. Follow-up
A discovery call without follow-through loses value. The sales rep must:
Create a summary: Capture the five discovery criteria, key insights, and agreed next steps. Share it with the customer.
Document in CRM: Enter structured notes in the CRM so that the vendor team can align quickly.
Align internal teams: Notify relevant colleagues (e.g., presales, bid managers) if the opportunity will proceed.
A clear, documented output reinforces alignment—internally and with the customer—and sets up the vendor for a strong transition to Milestone 2: Value Presentation.
Quality Gates
All five Value Discovery Criteria are uncovered.
The customer has a problem worth solving, with quantifiable business impact and clear urgency.
There is a strategic fit with the vendor’s value proposition and commercial insight.
At least one customer stakeholder has been identified who either Displays clear Mobilizer behavior, or Holds formal decision-making authority in the buying process.
The customer has explicitly agreed to the next meeting and its purpose.
Sales Enablement Artifacts
Value Discovery Conversation Guide: A guide providing the recommended flow of the discovery call.
List of Value Discovery Questions: A curated list of high-impact discovery questions, tailored to the vendor’s ICPs, personas, business outcomes, and commercial insights developed in Milestone -2.
Mobilizer Qualification Checklist: A practical tool for identifying and validating mobilizer behaviors during and after the discovery call.
Note: all templates and tools referenced above are available in the Value Accelerator Academy. The academy provides Sales Reps with ready-to-use resources developed by the Value Accelerator team to support the effective delivery of each milestone.
Need help? Visit the Value Accelerator Academy!
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In addition to training, the Academy provides a full set of tools and templates to help you tailor the Framework to your specific sales motion—whether you’re leading transactional deals or enterprise engagements.
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