discovery-caller
Expert discovery call strategist for B2B sales. Use when preparing for discovery calls, qualifying prospects, asking effective questions, identifying pain points, mapping stakeholders, or documenting findings. Covers SPIN selling, active listening, budget/timeline qualification, competition discovery, and CRM documentation. Use for sales qualification, needs analysis, and discovery call execution.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/ncklrs/startup-os-skills --skill discovery-caller- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads discovery-caller automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Discovery Caller
Strategic discovery call expertise for B2B sales teams — from preparation and question frameworks to qualification and documentation.
Philosophy
Discovery isn't about pitching. It's about understanding deeply before you ever propose a solution.
The best discovery calls:
- Listen more than talk — Aim for 70/30 prospect-to-rep ratio
- Quantify everything — Pain without numbers is just complaining
- Map the buying committee — One champion doesn't close deals
- Earn the next step — Every call ends with commitment or disqualification
How This Skill Works
When invoked, apply the guidelines in rules/ organized by:
preparation-*— Pre-call research, agenda setting, hypothesis buildingquestions-*— SPIN framework, situational, implication questionslistening-*— Active listening, note-taking, clarification techniquesqualification-*— Budget, authority, need, timeline (BANT) and modern alternativesdiscovery-*— Pain identification, stakeholder mapping, competitiondocumentation-*— CRM notes, next steps, handoff
Core Frameworks
The Discovery Call Arc
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DISCOVERY CALL ARC │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ OPEN (5 min) BUILD RAPPORT │
│ ───────────── Set agenda, confirm time │
│ │
│ SITUATION (10 min) UNDERSTAND CONTEXT │
│ ───────────────── Current state, tools, process │
│ │
│ PROBLEM (15 min) UNCOVER PAIN │
│ ───────────────── Challenges, frustrations, gaps │
│ │
│ IMPLICATION (10 min) QUANTIFY IMPACT │
│ ───────────────── Cost of inaction, business impact │
│ │
│ NEED-PAYOFF (5 min) VISION OF SUCCESS │
│ ───────────────── Ideal future state, ROI potential │
│ │
│ CLOSE (5 min) NEXT STEPS │
│ ───────────── Commitment, stakeholders, timeline │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
SPIN Question Framework
| Type | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Situation | Understand current state | "Walk me through your current process for..." |
| Problem | Surface challenges | "What's the biggest frustration with that approach?" |
| Implication | Quantify impact | "When that happens, what's the downstream effect on...?" |
| Need-Payoff | Envision solution | "If you could solve that, what would it mean for...?" |
Qualification Frameworks
| Framework | Components | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| BANT | Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline | Transactional, lower ACV |
| MEDDIC | Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion | Enterprise, complex |
| SPICED | Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision | Modern SaaS |
| CHAMP | Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization | Customer-centric |
Stakeholder Mapping
┌─────────────────┐
│ ECONOMIC BUYER │
│ (Signs check) │
└────────┬────────┘
│
┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
│ │ │
┌────────▼────────┐ │ ┌────────▼────────┐
│ CHAMPION │ │ │ TECHNICAL │
│ (Internal sell) │ │ │ EVALUATOR │
└─────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────┘
│
┌────────▼────────┐
│ END USERS │
│ (Day-to-day) │
└─────────────────┘
Discovery Output Metrics
| Metric | Target | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Talk ratio | <30% rep time | Prospect should talk more |
| Questions asked | 10-15 per call | Enough depth without interrogation |
| Pain points quantified | 2-3 minimum | Numbers drive urgency |
| Stakeholders identified | 3+ roles | Multi-thread the deal |
| Next step commitment | 100% | Every call earns an outcome |
Anti-Patterns
- Feature dumping — Pitching before understanding pain
- Single-threaded — Only talking to one person
- Surface-level discovery — Accepting first answer without going deeper
- Unquantified pain — "It's frustrating" without business impact
- Assumptive qualification — Guessing budget/timeline instead of asking
- Weak close — "I'll send you some info" instead of next meeting booked
- No preparation — Showing up without researching the prospect
- Interrogation mode — Firing questions without building rapport
FAQ
What does the discovery-caller skill do?
Expert discovery call strategist for B2B sales. Use when preparing for discovery calls, qualifying prospects, asking effective questions, identifying pain points, mapping stakeholders, or documenting findings. Covers SPIN selling, active listening, budget/timeline qualification, competition discovery, and CRM documentation. Use for sales qualification, needs analysis, and discovery call execution.
How do I install discovery-caller?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/ncklrs/startup-os-skills --skill discovery-caller in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/discovery-caller/ (personal) or .claude/skills/discovery-caller/ (project).
Which AI agents can use discovery-caller?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is discovery-caller safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains discovery-caller?
It is published by ncklrs in ncklrs/startup-os-skills. It has 195 recorded installs.
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