they talk

Field note 27 October 2026

How do you run a discovery call?

listen first. the gap comes second.

they talk

Field notePublished 6 min read

Vedish KukshalBy Co-founder, Snowball

In short

To run a discovery call, I diagnose before I pitch. I want to know how much this person has built, how much of it other people can see, and whether they see the gap themselves. If the gap is real and they see it, I explain what Snowball does, and if it isn't, we stop there.

A discovery call is the first call where you learn whether the person has a problem worth solving, and the most useful thing I do on one is decide not to sell, which cost me deals before I understood that.

Where did this come from?

The first thing I ever sold was a funnel, at 14, and nobody had to be pushed because the person wanted it. At 17 I was selling machines at a $3,000 ticket size, and I made hundreds of cold calls to nutritionists in India, sure that my job was to explain how good the machine was. So I talked, and talked, and the person on the other end slowly went quiet.

The ticket size of the machines I sold at 17: $3,000

$3,000the ticket sizeat 17,after school.hundreds of cold callsto nutritionists in India.a few machines sold.$3,000the ticket sizeat 17,after school.hundreds of cold callsto nutritionists in India.a few machines sold.

The machines I sold at 17 had a $3,000 ticket size. Hundreds of cold calls to nutritionists in India after school, and a few machines sold at this ticket size. Source: my own account, recorded 11 June 2026.

I lost a lot of those deals. The calls I closed were the ones where I shut my mouth and let the person tell me what was wrong, and that is when I realized I had the job backwards. I was there to solve a problem, so if the problem didn't exist there was nothing for me to push.

Why does pitching first make the call worse?

It is very simple. Push a solution at someone and they feel attacked, and a person who feels attacked defends and stops telling you what is wrong. What is wrong is the only thing I came to learn, so every minute I spend pitching is a minute of diagnosis I lose.

The same call, run in 2 orders: pitch first, and diagnose first

two orders1. pitch firstfeatures, price, demo...they defend.they go quiet.who talks: methey feel: attackedI learn: littleit ends: a yes or a polite no2. diagnose first1what have they built?2what do people see?3do they see the gap?yes: explainno: stop herethe exit is allowedto be nothing.who talks: themthey feel: understoodI learn: the problem, how urgentit ends: a real no, or their own choicetwo orders1. pitch firstfeatures, price, demo...they defend.they go quiet.who talks: methey feel: attackedI learn: littleit ends: a yes or a polite no2. diagnose first1what have they built?2what do people see?3do they see the gap?yes: explainno: stop herethe exit is allowedto be nothing.who talks: themthey feel: understoodI learn: the problem, how urgentit ends: a real no, or their own choice

The same call, run in 2 orders. Pitch first and the other person defends. Diagnose first and the exit is allowed to be nothing.

I think of a doctor. He doesn't hand you medicine when you walk in, he asks questions, works out how bad it is, checks whether you know you have it, and only then writes the prescription (and if you don't need one, he lets you go).

How to run a good discovery call?

I ask first and say nothing about the product until the person has told me what is wrong.

The order of my questions on a first call

the order of my questionslisten first.the gap comes second.1their positionhow much they have built,and how much people can see2the symptomsdo they match people wehave worked with3how urgenthow badly they need it now4what we doonly if the first 3 line up5then I waitI never push it at themthey see the gapthey can't see the gapcall ended...they talkthe most useful thing I do on a first call isdecide not to sell.the order of myquestionslisten first. the gap comes second.1their positionhow much they have built,and how much people can see2the symptomsdo they match people wehave worked with3how urgenthow badly they need it nowthey seethe gap4what we doonly if the first 3 line up5then I waitI never push it at themthey can'tsee the gap:call endedthe most useful thing I doon a first call isdecide not to sell.

Their position: how much they have built, and how much people can see. The symptoms: do they match people we have worked with. How urgent: how badly they need it now. What we do: only if the first 3 line up. Then I wait: I never push it at them.

After I say what we do, I stop talking and wait for them to answer.

What do I read before the call?

Before every first call I put the person's public record next to their LinkedIn: on one side what they have built, in dated public facts, and on the other what the profile shows. The gap goes into one line, together with the one thing I would fix first.

The read before a first call

the read, before a first call1. what has this person built?dated public facts anyone could check:a company dateda fund dateda book dateda date dated2. what does their profile show?followers, the last original post,the median reaction countfollowerslast original postmedian reactionsthe gap3. what is the gap, in one line?one sentence they could correct.4. what is the one thingI would fix first?one thing, no plan yet.I do this before every first call.the read, beforea first call1. what has this personbuilt? dated public facts:a company dateda fund dateda book dateda date dated2. what does their profileshow?followerslast original postmedian reactionsthe gap3. what is the gap,in one line?one sentence they could correct.4. what is the one thingI would fix first?one thing, no plan yet.I do this before every first call.

I do this before every first call. An illustration, not a real person. Things anyone could check: a company, a fund, a book, a date. Followers, the date of the last original post, the median reaction count.

Isn't a diagnosis just a pitch with extra steps?

A fair challenge, and the difference is the exit. In a pitch the call ends with the product, and in a diagnosis I am allowed to end it with nothing. If the person can't see the gap, I don't pitch: someone who can't see the gap won't see why they would pay to close it, and I would rather spend that hour with someone who can. All I can do is show them their profile next to their own record, and then it is their call.

Snowball fits someone who has built something their profile doesn't show. Where nothing has been built yet there is no gap to close, and I say that out loud.

The calls I actually closed were the ones where I shut my mouth.

From a post I wrote in June 2026

Where does this cost me?

The risk is that I leave money on the table by not pushing harder. Diagnosing patiently means I rarely give anyone a reason to decide this month, and I haven't solved that yet. I'm trying to learn how to create urgency that is honest, and I'd like to hear how you do it.

What would you find if you ran it on yourself?

Open your profile. When did you last post something original, and how many reactions did it get?

Questions

What is a discovery call?

A discovery call is the first call where you learn whether the person has a problem worth solving, before you say anything about your product. I use it to find out what they have built, how much of it others can see, and whether they see the gap. If they do not, I do not pitch.

How to start a sales call?

Before the call I put the person's public record next to their LinkedIn, so I know the gap in one line and the one thing I would fix first. On the call I ask questions and let them say what is wrong, and I leave the product out until I know the gap is real.

How to run a good discovery call?

Diagnose before you pitch. Let the person tell you what is wrong, check whether they see the gap, and explain what you do only if they do. Keep the right to end the call with nothing: in a diagnosis the exit is allowed, and that is what separates it from a pitch with extra steps.

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