discovery-call-prep

name: discovery-call-prep description: "Prepare for discovery calls with clinical trial prospects by researching their company, pipeline, therapeutic areas, and generating targeted questions mapped to Talosix solutions."

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