Discovery Call Prep

Discovery Call Preparation

Purpose

Prepare sales reps for effective discovery calls with clinical trial technology prospects. A well-prepared discovery call uncovers the prospect's real pain points, establishes credibility through informed questions, and maps needs directly to Talosix capabilities.

When to Use

• Before any first meeting with a new prospect
• Before re-engaging a dormant opportunity
• When a new stakeholder joins an active evaluation
• Before expansion conversations with existing customers

Information Gathering

Pre-Call Research Checklist

Gather as much of the following as possible before generating the prep document:

Company Information:

• Company name, headquarters, size (employees, revenue if public)
• Company type: large pharma, mid-size biotech, CRO, academic/government
• Public or private, recent funding rounds if applicable
• Recent news: press releases, earnings calls, M&A activity, layoffs

Clinical Pipeline:

• Active clinical trials (search ClinicalTrials.gov by sponsor name)
• Therapeutic areas and lead indications
• Study phases in progress (Phase I, II, III, IV)
• Estimated number of active studies, sites, and subjects
• Geographic footprint of clinical operations

Technology Landscape:

• Current EDC vendor (check job postings for clues, ask during outreach)
• Other clinical technology in use (CTMS, eTMF, IRT, safety)
• Known IT preferences (cloud-first, on-premise, specific security requirements)
• Any public statements about digital transformation or technology strategy

People on the Call:

• Names, titles, LinkedIn profiles
• Role in the buying process (champion, decision maker, influencer, blocker)
• Professional background (clinical ops, data management, IT, procurement)
• Any mutual connections or shared conference appearances

Buyer Persona Research

Clinical Operations / VP Clinical Ops

What they care about:

• Enrollment timelines and site performance
• Operational efficiency and resource allocation
• Regulatory inspection readiness
• Cross-functional coordination

Discovery questions:

• "How many studies are you running concurrently right now, and how do you manage the operational complexity across them?"
• "What's your biggest bottleneck between first-patient-in and database lock?"
• "How are you currently handling risk-based monitoring, and is your EDC helping or hindering that?"
• "When was your last regulatory inspection, and were there any findings related to your data capture systems?"

Data Management / Head of DM

What they care about:

• Data quality metrics (query rates, protocol deviations)
• Study build timelines and change management
• Medical coding efficiency
• CDISC compliance and submission readiness

Discovery questions:

• "How long does it typically take your team to build and validate a study in your current EDC?"
• "What's your current query rate, and what are the main drivers of queries?"
• "How do you handle mid-study protocol amendments in your current system?"
• "Walk me through your process from database lock to CDISC submission-ready datasets."

IT / Information Security

What they care about:

• Security posture, compliance certifications
• Integration architecture and data flows
• Validation burden and computer system validation
• Vendor management and risk

Discovery questions:

• "What are your must-have security requirements for a clinical SaaS vendor?"
• "How does your current EDC integrate with your other clinical systems?"
• "What does your CSV process look like, and how much effort does your team invest in vendor system validation?"
• "What's your policy on data residency for clinical trial data?"

Procurement / Finance

What they care about:

• Total cost of ownership and budget predictability
• Contract flexibility and terms
• Vendor stability and risk
• Competitive pricing

Discovery questions:

• "What's your current annual spend on EDC across all studies?"
• "Is your current licensing model per-study, per-user, or enterprise, and is that working well for you?"
• "What's your typical procurement timeline from vendor selection to contract execution?"
• "Are there budget constraints that would shape how we structure a proposal?"

C-Suite / Executive Sponsor

What they care about:

• Strategic impact on pipeline timelines
• Competitive advantage through technology
• Risk mitigation
• Board-level metrics (time to market, cost per study)

Discovery questions:

• "What's driving the evaluation of new EDC technology right now? Is there a specific catalyst?"
• "If you could change one thing about how your clinical data systems work today, what would it be?"
• "How does clinical technology investment fit into your broader digital strategy?"

Pain Point Mapping

Map common pain points to Talosix solutions:

Call Structure Recommendation

For a 30-Minute Discovery Call

Minutes 0-3:   Introductions, agenda confirmation
Minutes 3-5:   "Tell me about your clinical operations" (open-ended)
Minutes 5-15:  Targeted questions based on persona and research
Minutes 15-20: Deeper dive on top 2-3 pain points
Minutes 20-25: Brief Talosix positioning (only address stated needs)
Minutes 25-30: Next steps, stakeholder mapping, timeline

Key Rules

• Listen more than talk. Target 70% prospect / 30% rep.
• Never pitch on a discovery call. Earn the right to present by understanding first.
• Take detailed notes. Capture exact phrases the prospect uses to describe problems.
• Confirm understanding. "So if I'm hearing you correctly, [restate problem]. Is that accurate?"
• Map the buying process. "Besides yourself, who else would be involved in a decision like this?"

Competitive Intelligence Gathering

During discovery, naturally gather competitive intel:

• "What systems are you currently using for data capture?" (current EDC)
• "What do you like best about your current setup?" (what to match)
• "If you could change anything about it, what would that be?" (competitor weakness)
• "Are you looking at other solutions as part of this evaluation?" (competitive set)
• "What criteria will you use to make your decision?" (decision framework)

Output Format

Deliver as a structured prep document:

1. Prospect Research Summary - Company overview, pipeline, technology landscape (1 page)
2. Attendee Profiles - Role, background, likely priorities for each person on the call (half page)
3. Recommended Questions - Prioritized list of 8-10 questions tailored to the attendees and research findings
4. Pain Point Hypotheses - Top 3 likely pain points based on research, with Talosix mapping
5. Competitive Positioning Notes - If current vendor is known, key differentiators to reference
6. Call Agenda - Suggested minute-by-minute flow
7. Post-Call Action Items Template - Pre-formatted follow-up template to complete during/after the call