50+ SAMPLE Discovery Plan

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50+ SAMPLE Discovery Plan

What Is a Discovery Plan?

Benefits of a Discovery Plan

Essential Members of the Discovery Planning Team

How To Create a Discovery Plan

FAQs

What are the five basic delivery tools?

What is the purpose of a discovery plan?

What happens during the discovery stage?

What Is a Discovery Plan?

A discovery plan is a document that consists of a series of questions, with some businesses calling it a discovery script, that aims to support sales teams and sales representatives to identify the necessary information to make the right diagnosis and analysis report to propose a reasonable offer according to the needs of a client. It is a planned approach that organizations use to move the business forward with selling techniques in a lesser amount of time so it can implement and scale its sales as soon as possible. A well-structured discovery plan allows sales and marketing teams to gather all relevant information. Having this information guarantees a better and more refined sales pitch in the future. As such, sales representatives and sales teams need to utilize their resources to be as apprehensive as possible to identify probable solutions to potential problems. Discovery plans are a necessity in the sales process to produce the most suitable sales plans.

According to a Harvard Business Review article entitled Discovery-Driven Planning published in July to August 1995 in their magazine, the Walt Disney Company’s expansion in Europe in 1992 had cost them over 1 billion US dollars by the end of 1994. Polaroid lost over 200 million US dollars in its endeavor in the instant movie industry. The reason for these huge losses? Managers did not utilize innovative ventures in terms of the right planning and control tools.

Benefits of a Discovery Plan

Before getting into the production and manufacturing of products, businesses must take the initiative to use the discovery phase planning at their disposal and not see it as a waste of time. A discovery plan is an essential tool in the process of successful developments. Below are some of the benefits that organizations receive with the help of a discovery plan.

Reduce risks: Through a clear understanding of the product goals and their requirements, the development team can develop accurate estimates of work schedules and budget plans. Overall, there is a 75 percent chance of missing deadlines, with cost savings amounting to 50 percent through a detailed and well-executed discovery plan. Discovery planning is a factor that contributes to the failure or success of any given project.Establish a roadmap: When the discovery team relies on a clear list of requirements to get a project done, it becomes easier to develop a step-by-step procedure to keep everyone on track. The discovery team possesses a workable project timeline that details the temporary goals, deliverables, and essential deadlines, through a discovery plan. It takes products from the planning stage to the promotional launch with little to no hiccups, no rescheduling, or alterations. The system requirement specifications and other programs stemming from the discovery phase will increase the ability of a startup business in terms of feasibility with investors and extra funding.Build trust: Even after the marketing team provides a top-of-the-line sales pitch to investors, there is no guarantee that they are always the right choice. However, the careful discovery planning stage, including constant communication and in-depth discussion of the project with the discovery team and the investors, will help ease any doubts and appease the mind, establishing a two-way trusting relationship. Alternatively, an earlier realization of picking the wrong company to partner with and making a switch later on when all the project budget is down the drain is critical.

Essential Members of the Discovery Planning Team

A critical factor that influences the success of a product is the team that develops and participates actively in the discovery process. Different individuals like team managers and specialists comprise the discovery team, while the numbers depend on the goals and complexity of the project. Forming the discovery team must be unique to the client, according to the accuracy of provided documentation by the client and the expertise of each team member. Below are the possible team members with their roles and responsibilities.

Project manager: The project manager of the discovery team is responsible for planning and organizing team meetings and client meetings, noting all the necessary information regarding project details during these meetings and managing effective cooperation between the discovery and development teams. It is also the project manager’s responsibility to prepare the necessary documentation to help the team in the discovery planning.Business analyst: The business analyst is responsible for market research and data analysis. They also identify user pain points and needs, including the profitability and potential of a target market. The business analyst also determines and monitors data metrics quality and data reports. It is also their responsibility to specify the functional and non-functional requirements for the project, aligning them with the business objectives. Business analysts have more specific roles during the discovery planning phase, but these are the main responsibilities. Tech lead: The tech lead is responsible for customer communication and defining the technical requirements of a product. They are also in charge of creating different sequences and approaches to the development of goods while developing an estimated product timeline.UX or UI designer: The UX designer has the responsibility of understanding product usability and intuitive navigation. The knowledge comes from the results of user and product research. Aside from that, it is also their responsibility to create comprehensive storyboards, sitemaps, process flows, and other interface components. Meanwhile, the UI designer is responsible for visualizing the looks and layout of the product with its supporting elements. They ensure that the product is aesthetically pleasing to the client while serving its purpose with a responsive and easy-to-use interface.Solution architect: The principal responsibility of a solution architect is to analyze the technological environment in terms of product performance, scalability, and maintainability. The solution architect is also in charge of investigating third-party frameworks and platforms, listing down the possible risks and benefits it provides a product.

How To Create a Discovery Plan

When writing a discovery plan for a project, make sure that every member of the discovery team cooperates and participates during meetings. There are various ways to implement the discovery planning process, especially if the creation of the team centers on the goals of a client. No matter the business or industry the team serves, below is a helpful guide that details a step-by-step process in handling the discovery plan.

  • 1. Identify the Customer Context and Goals

    Remember that customers and clients require solutions to meet their needs, known as customer problems. During the time that a prospective client reaches out to the company, it is more likely that they have completed various research studies into the possible solutions that they need to satisfy their problems immediately. The organization receives this information through the discovery plan. Knowing the context of the client in pursuing a solution to their problem allows the company to understand the root cause of their needs and their desire to reassess their priorities. As a company offering possible solutions, it is necessary to pinpoint what brought about the desire for change, the utilized action plans of the client, results, and their analysis of the current situation. It is advisable to use the FARP method, in which you gather facts, a record taken actions, obtain results, and present perception.

  • 2. Understand the Customer Needs

    Researching and identifying the needs of the customer helps the team to identify the changes or improvements they wish to implement. For the clients to have an easier way of deciding, it is ideal for the needs analysis of the discovery team and client to produce similar results. The discovery team must be able to understand what the clients want and need to achieve and understand the importance of their goals. Creating a comprehensive list helps sort their needs, prioritizing the most relevant items.

  • 3. Uncovering the Purchase Motivations of the Client

    Each client has their motivations when it comes to enforcing changes. The objective of the discovery team is to identify these, allowing the members to develop more creative and effective sales presentations and sales strategies. It is an essential step in the discovery planning process. The more information the team gathers on the motivations of the client, the sales proposal will follow their expectations. In terms of developing the discovery plan, taking notes is the best offense. It lets the client know that you are capable of involvement and professionalism, retrieving relevant bits of information. Most sales teams and discovery teams utilize a method that implements security, pride, novelty, comfort, money, and sympathy to its clients. Through this, sales representatives find quicker and more efficient ways to secure the trust of customers.

  • 4. Formulate a Sales Pitch

    Empathizing with customers is essential, and sales teams can use storytelling to their advantage. Most clients make their decisions based on similar experiences rather than the proposed solutions that a sales representative presents. It is the reason behind utilizing case studies. The customer feedback and testimonials demonstrate how the company offers its services to clients, helping them solve problems. Use storytelling as an approach and prepare account histories, review recent activities of past clients and contact persons, scan press articles and print journals, and use social media platforms to pinpoint similar contacts whenever necessary.

  • 5. Organize the Following Steps

    The purpose of creating a discovery plan is for the client to work their way through the funnel and secure the deal. If the sales representative is already positive about closing the deal, it must be in their best interest to summarize that the product or service the company offers is useful. There are two ways to secure an offer. The first one is hypothetical closing allows the sales team to express how they can be of assistance to move towards their company goals and meet challenges. The goal is to instill confidence in the interaction without overwhelming the client. The other option is the prospect buy-in closure, wherein the company invites the client to discuss their challenges and difficulties while asking them which proposed solution is best for their organization.

FAQs

What are the five basic delivery tools?

When it comes to discovery plans in legal matters, lawyers utilize various tools to help them gain significant facts and evidence about a case. The discovery devices that most lawyers use are deposition, interrogatories, admission requests, requests for production of documents, and inspection and e-discovery requests.

What is the purpose of a discovery plan?

In any field that utilizes a discovery plan, including private businesses, health care, and legal matters, the primary purpose is to obtain comprehensive information and knowledge on facts to solve potential problems and issues of the client.

What happens during the discovery stage?

In the discovery stage, sales representatives, lawyers, attorneys, and scientists start investigating cases and issues by gaining knowledge about the problem through gathering information from a client or other relevant sources.

A discovery plan is necessary for various industries that seek to solve the problems and issues of customers and clients. The discovery plan is critical to producing effective solutions and methods to matters concerning the client, and as much as possible must not be overlooked. Businesses and institutions that handle discovery plans must be efficient in their work, producing much-needed information. The article above contains a selection of discovery plans that various industries can use at their disposal. Download the 50+ SAMPLE Discovery Plan in PDF from Sample.net today.