Most salespeople treat discovery like a checklist — but that only shuts homeowners down. In Part 2 of the Discovery Trilogy, Sam shows you how to turn discovery into a conversation that builds trust, urgency, and connection.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How to treat every question as a conversation starter
• The “observation vs. concern” filter to uncover real priorities
• Why you must ask to understand, not to answer
• How to use Chris Voss’s mirroring technique in the home
• Why slowing down creates natural urgency without pressure

Resources & Links

📘 Get your free Guerrilla Marketing Guide: www.door2doorinstitute.com

🌐 Coaching & Training: https://www.closeitnow.net/coaching

👥 Join the Close It Now Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/closeitnow

▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Closeitnowsales

Let’s Connect

Website: https://www.closeitnow.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealcloseitnow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/closeitnow/

Final Thought

Discovery done right isn’t about checking boxes — it’s about creating a safe, conversational space where homeowners tell you why they need change. Master this skill, and you’ll become someone worth buying from.

Welcome to Close it now, the podcast that's revolutionizing the H Vac and home improvement trades industries.

Get ready to dive deep into the world of heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

We're turning up the heat on industry standards and cooling down misconceptions.

And we're not just talking about fixing vents and adjusting thermostats.

It's about the transformative movement that's reshaping the very foundation of H Vac and home improvement.

We're the driving force, inspiring top performers who crave excellence not only in their professional endeavors, but also in fitness, nutrition, relationships, and personal growth, proving that we can indeed have it all.

This is Close it now, where excellence meets excitement.

Let's get to work now, your host, Sam Wakefield.

All right, Sam Wakefield here, back with another episode in the Discovery trilogy.

This is part two.

So here is the setup for this.

So many times we get into Discovery and most salespeople ask questions just to get the answer they want.

The real pros, they ask questions that open the door to a deeper conversation.

So in this episode, we're going to break down the exact same setup that turns Discovery from an interrogation into a partnership.

So stick around.

This is going to be a good one.

So again, part two in the Discovery trilogy.

Before we get into that, I want to read a review.

So this is a good.

This is a new review.

Five stars.

This is from Anthony Myr.

So whoever you are, Anthony Myr, if you hear me, read this on an episode and you message me, you have earned yourself a free code coaching session.

So make sure to message me about that because it will unlock something for you and get you a breakthrough.

So the review is best training in the industry.

Five stars.

So Sam's training never misses a beat.

I was recommended originally by my sales manager and it's one of the only podcasts that goes into high intense sales training.

Sam has lots of experience in other areas that apply to every part of the trades.

Definitely subscribe and listen if you are in the home improvement industry.

Thank you, Anthony.

You are a rock star.

I am sure that your numbers are only going up because of it and I appreciate the review.

So message me.

Let's get you hooked up with that free coaching session.

So I am grateful for every single one of you that listened.

Thank you for tuning in.

One super quick announcement.

I did just want to make sure that you are aware that I wrote a guide for you.

The problem in the shoulder season, spring and fall especially, I'm hearing from so many people is, hey, where are the leads?

And so my Answer to you is they're out there, go find them.

Don't just, you know, take what comes from the company and sit around on your thumbs going I don't know what to do, go find it.

There's people want to buy from.

You just have to connect with them.

So what I wrote is the guerrilla marketing guide.

A way to generate leads year round without spending a dime online.

If you would like a copy, make sure to go to Door2Door Institute.

That's D O O R to d o o rinstitute.com it's on my website.

The first thing you'll see, it will pop up that guide, fill out the form, it will send it to you and you will thank me because there's a ton of ideas in there on how to consistently generate leads, how to do it.

I even have a door to door script because door to door institutes and the new company I am launching with a couple business partners that go back and listen to that episode and where we go really go into it, we've solved this.

We are putting together a, we have, putting together, we have a team to get on the on site for your business.

What would it do for your company if all of a sudden you had, I don't know, 40, 50, 80, 100 appointments on your calendar in a week?

That is the potential for canvassing.

It's volume like you've never seen before at the lowest cost you've ever seen.

So we're bringing canvassing to H vac.

Been talking about this for a couple years.

I'm the of canvassing and door knocking for H Vac.

Now it's time to make it real.

So go to doortodoorinstitute.com we finally have a date set for the launch event.

Dallas, Texas.

Go to that website, it's got all the info about it, get your ticket, it's going to be fire and we're going to show you how to do it.

We're going to give you a guidebook, how to install it into your company yourself.

And also of course if you would, you can talk to us about doing it for you because we've got the team set up, they're ready to go, they're ready to rock.

We'll just get to your site and put appointments on your calendar.

So let's get into this episode.

Let first of all, let's toast this episode.

What are you drinking today?

What's in your cup?

I'm hydrating, I am starting a 75 hard program this next week.

So I'm getting used, my body used to a gallon of water a day, which I normally did.

But what's in your cup?

What are you drinking this time of day?

Is it coffee?

Is it tea?

Is it a monster?

Is it latte?

What you got?

You got scotch, you got whiskey, let me know.

So everybody toast with me and then we'll get into the content.

3, 2, 1.

Cheers, everybody.

If you're on YouTube and watching this, make sure to like and subscribe and share these episodes with your team, with your anybody you know who could benefit from learning how to do better discovery.

And that's everybody.

So Discovery Trilogy Part 2, the setup that opens conversations.

So let's get back into this.

You know, what we covered last time is some of the structure we talked about, the different timelines.

This.

We're going to really get into it, you know, because basically, you know, the appointment has a timeline.

It's got a rhythm.

Your appointment has a tempo.

So here we're going to talk about how to enter discovery with intention.

There's a difference in, you know, observation versus concern.

Conversation starters, how to create safety.

So your buyer keeps talking, right?

Your client, the buyer, your homeowner that you're sitting in front of.

So they keep talking.

It's like it's not just enough to get a yes or no answer, because that doesn't tell us anything.

There's no way to help them if they only say, yep, we've got that problem, or, nope, we don't have that problem.

Usually they do, but you just haven't learned the secrets to be able to unlock that and actually pull it out of them in a way that does not feel like an interrogation.

It's more of a conversation.

So let's get into some of this because the very first thing that you have to understand is the point of the questions.

You know, what happens is so many people, they use their questionnaire, their needs assessment as a checklist.

It is not a checklist.

You have to treat these questions as conversation starters.

Treat it like a video game.

If you've ever been a gamer, you understand what a side quest is.

So your questions are the main, you know, that's your main objective of.

Think about it like this.

All of the questions on your page are the main objective of the game.

But as soon as we've unlocked one of those questions that there's anything to it, consider it a side quest.

How many questions do we ask?

How long do we go?

As long as it takes.

So Think about it like that.

Detours that make the main storyline richer, that is your side quest.

Every single question is a conversation starter.

So, for example, in the summer, when some rooms are hotter than others, or when some rooms are cool or others hotter than the rest or harder to cool down, and they give you, oh, you know, our daughter's room.

Oh, so your daughter's room runs a little hotter than the rest.

Tell me more about that.

What's it like?

What's it like at night?

Next episode, we're going to really dive into some questions, A lot more questions to speed this, to really take it a lot further.

But one of the things that your challenge this week is wherever you are in your process with discovery, one, slow the heck down.

Most people go through it way too fast.

But also your challenge is get at least two or three questions and start treating them like a side quest.

When those answers come up that there's something going on in their home, take the detour.

Spend some time with it, sit with it, let it simmer.

Give it more patience.

Take a couple seconds.

And then with a question, hey, tell me more about that.

Sounds like you know something that might be a concern, right?

And so just get into it.

Dig into it.

Think of it like sorting rocks from gold.

You know, both are in the pan, but only one is valuable.

You're looking for the gold.

So, yeah.

So here's something that's really important, too.

A great way to figure out if this is something worth spending time on.

Also, this is one of my favorite questions.

Since you're going through discovery, we'll take the same hot, cold room example.

A lot of times, what happens?

People will ask the question that's answered.

So one of my favorite questions is as soon as we get a step or two into the side quest, to figure out if the side quest is worth it, ask the question, is this a concern or just an observation?

Because sometimes you'll get an answer like, oh, it's just the kids room.

I don't care.

Or maybe it's a spare room or the room above the garage that they don't use.

Like, eh, no big deal.

It's just our storage room.

Okay, so you wouldn't spend.

You wouldn't invest anything to fix that then?

Or if the investment was really low, if it didn't cost a lot to fix it, is it something you might want to look at, or is it just not worth spending any time on at all?

Let them answer.

Is it a concern or an observation that will clear the air and save you a Ton of time.

And now they know you're truly listening as well.

So that's an example of how to start that process and figure out if it's worth hanging out on.

Quick story.

This is the reason.

This is one of those ask me how I know moments.

I 100% it was the scenario.

There was a game room above a garage.

That's why I use it as the example.

We spent probably 20 minutes on this sucker.

It was probably 5, 10 minutes in asking about the room.

And then when I was crawling through their attic, I spent forever crawling to that part of the attic where the ductwork went over into that room above the garage and just was sweating like crazy.

It was hot, Texas summer come back, and I was like, okay, I figured out what it is.

And they're like, oh, well, we don't care.

I was like, oh, you don't?

Why not?

And so it could have saved all of that time, all of that effort.

They know that it is possible to fix it should it become an issue.

But let's not waste any time right now on it if it's not a concern.

So that's a great question for that.

One of the other key principles that you have to mindsets going into discovery that you have to have is we want to ask.

We want to.

We're asking these questions to understand.

So choose, listen to understand, don't listen to answer.

The goal is not to just instantly be able to say they say something, just instantly have an answer with it.

We're listening to understand.

Don't talk over them.

Let them finish their sentences.

So, so many times what happens, especially if you don't understand this process will often ask questions so you can jump in with the right response.

This is not the point here.

We're asking questions to find out information.

So pause, absorb it, let them finish, count to two or three.

Listening builds trust.

And so rushed answers feel very, very transactional.

So you've got to slow down and give it some space, let the conversation breathe a little bit.

So it's kind of like therapy.

The value is in being heard, not in the immediate solution.

So think of it like this.

So asking more questions, how long has this been going on?

What does that mean for your family?

You know, who first noticed this problem?

What?

Again, we're going to get into more questions around this, but ask more questions and then let's talk about time here, because five minutes of surface questions is not discovery.

That's absolutely not it.

And I'm here to tell you, if you have one of those questionnaires And I know that almost every single one that has this.

If there are money questions on your questionnaire, stop it immediately.

It's not the time to ask about money.

If you talk about money before it's time to talk about money, then what are they thinking about?

The rest of the time?

They're.

That's where their brain is stuck.

So if you have questions about.

So here's some examples.

What was your budget for this project?

People have never done this before.

They don't know what a budget should be.

And if they do have a number idea, it either came from Google and you know that's wrong, or it came from, you know, Uncle Stan, Grunkle Stan, who did a system 17 years ago or 12 years ago.

Well, that number's not accurate either.

So if you ask the budget question, that's, that's, that's goofy because they have no foundation or basis for where they should have a budget for.

The second thing, why the budget question is a mistake, is people buy on payments.

They buy on the monthly investment.

They don't buy on the total.

The total is part of the decision, but that's not what makes them decide.

Another failure.

How much monthly can you afford without taking food off the table?

Hate this question.

It's awful.

It's demeaning.

It's built for.

It's just a bad question.

It cuts into pieces of the brain where we don't want to go and we don't want to cause friction in this conversation.

So stop it with the money questions.

Save the money for later.

We've got to go through their process, show concern, figure out if we can even solve their problems first.

Why would we be talking about money if we don't even know we can solve their problems yet?

That's so transactional.

It gets rid of the relationship part of it.

Pitch the money questions.

I know they're out there.

I know your forms have them.

Don't use them.

That's my best advice.

I guarantee it.

The numbers will change dramatically for you immediately when you stop using the money question.

So let's talk about time and discovery.

Discovery needs some time.

15, 20, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour.

It.

Sometimes you will sit in discovery for a long time, depending on what's going on, depending what their concerns are and how big their concerns are.

Because the point of discovery.

And think about it like this, we're not microwaving anything.

If you're microwaving it, you're transactional and you're there just for a paycheck.

That is not Service that's not serving at the highest level, that has shows zero empathy or care.

So think of it like smoking meat slow, cooking low and slow.

That's how you treat discovery.

So the longer the buyer speaks, the longer your homeowner talks.

The longer your homeowner speaks to you, the deeper the urgency gets.

Because it ma.

It doesn't matter what you say, it matters what they say.

So the longer they talk about this, the urgency is going deeper and deeper because they're talking about their problems.

Let them.

And so, and here's a script example, which is a great one.

I've totally used this over and over and over over the years.

So I really want to understand how this affects you, affects your life and your day to day.

Let's take some time to really unpack this.

We're showing care and concern right up front and it makes a huge, huge, huge difference.

So we gotta slow down, slow down.

In discovery.

It's not wasting time.

It's about building value.

That value is going to tower way over the cost, but we have to have to do it.

In fact, I just got this text this morning from my coaching client that we had a session yesterday.

He went to appointment yesterday and then sent me this text this morning I was in the gym at.

It was like 6:05.

It comes in and Steven shout out to you, Steven.

He texted me this morning and he says, and I'm just going to read you all the text thread.

Just the best sales experience on an estimate.

Last night I left my brag book with them while taking measurements and they actually, this is also a fun part.

They actually knew one of the people that left a review in it.

I had in it.

I also took them through the drawing we went over.

So if you've never seen the drawing, the way I present equipment, it's different than you've ever seen and it dramatically shifts the results.

So that's something only my coaching clients get.

Why would anyone want that?

Super powerful.

It said, I didn't close on site, but he did say, we have one more quote coming, but I can see why your prices are justified.

And so far you've made the best impression with us.

You've got it figured out.

And so he's new in the coaching journey.

Huge improvement over where he was.

And so I said, don't you love it when it all starts coming together?

He said, it's wild, man.

They really appreciated asking the questions to help them find the issues so that the new system will fit their home better.

They said their sons sleep in the basement when it gets hot outside because the second floor stays so much warmer.

Would we have figured this out without asking the right questions?

Absolutely not.

And so I said, it's no longer a price game.

And he says, they never questioned the price once.

It was awesome.

And so I love it.

I love it.

So that's real life testimony that just came in this morning from my coaching client because we've been going through this process and learning how this works.

So the other thing in discovery, when we're in discovery, they're going to ask you, when you get into a question, you know, into one of the topics, they're going to say, how do you fix it?

And this is not the time to answer.

You're saving that for later.

This is absolutely.

You say absolutely.

You know, I don't know yet what we can do.

We fix this problem all the time with homeowners all around you.

However, every house is unique and specific, so we custom design based on how you live here.

So let's put a pin in that question until I grab my measurements and figure this out specifically for you.

I don't even know what we can do yet.

And then they may say something like, oh, well, the other guy just told us what they did.

And that's where you can cast out on the competition without talking bad about somebody.

You can say something like, well, what are.

If they didn't even ask you the questions, if they didn't know what they were looking at, like, how would they even know how to fix it?

What are they?

A magician.

And it's really, really powerful.

One liner.

Love that one.

I've used it for years.

And so this is a fun process.

Discovery should be fun.

At the same time, if you ask enough of questions and the right questions, I can guarantee you one to three people, usually out of about every 10, you're going to get tears because whatever's going on is so emotionally connected to them and how it's affecting their life.

Like that situation.

Their sons sleep in the basement when it gets hot because it's too hot to sleep upstairs in their rooms.

That's a pretty major issue.

We'll only find that out if we ask the right questions.

So let me give you one key here real quick.

That is a ninja trick.

There is an episode for this several years ago, actually.

Gosh, I don't even know how many years ago that I did on those Single episode on the power of mirroring.

If you've never read the book or listened to the book and never split the difference by Chris Voss, it's a masterclass in this.

But I'm going to give you the nutshell version.

So mirroring is really powerful when you have those clients that they give you a little bit of an answer or the answer isn't an emphatic oh, nope, we don't have that problem.

If that's the case, okay, no problem, we'll move on.

But if the answer is something like, you know, it's mostly okay, you know, something, something is going on or they wouldn't have answered like that.

So mirroring is very simple in this context.

It is repeating the last one to three words of what the homeowner just said.

The key is upward inflection in your tonality.

So it sounds like a question.

So if they answered, it's mostly okay.

You say back, it's mostly okay.

Hear what I did.

Mostly okay.

So I'm going to do a whole session coming up on tonality and the way to guide your voice to direct the conversation.

But in this context here, just two or three words as a question, mostly okay.

And they will instantly start to unpack more about that situation.

So then you can ask further questions in your side quest.

Practice the challenge here is practice this with it's easy to work into conversation with everyone in your life.

Practice it with your partner, practice it with your kids, with your co workers.

Practice mirroring this type of mirroring to get more information out of them when they say something.

You can keep people going on and on and on for a while when you use this technique correctly.

So practice it.

And so it here's why it works.

Though it feels like agreement, it encourages them to expand.

It keeps the flow natural, which is we're about.

It's about being conversational.

But we do have to dig out more information.

So if they something like the bedroom just feels stuffy at night, we're going to say stuffy at night.

They'll say, yeah, it's hard for my daughter to sleep.

She runs a fan.

But it doesn't really help.

Does it really help?

So see how this works?

It's easy to work in and it slows you down.

It buys time.

And the more they talk about it, that becomes very conversational and it increases the urgency because they're getting more importantly, you're getting clearer on what their problems are that they're experiencing.

But it helps them get clear on the problems they're experiencing.

So that's mirroring.

And I wanted to make sure to include that technique in here because you can apply it immediately in your next conversation and you'll instantly start to see some different results.

So discovery done right isn't about checking boxes.

It's about creating this safe conversational space where the homeowner feels comfortable enough to tell you why they need change in their life.

This is not about the equipment, it's not about the ductwork.

It's not about whatever a product is that you or service, that whatever industry you're in.

It's not about the thing.

It's about why they need to change something in their life.

Because, remember, something happened.

There was a tipping point.

Go back a couple episodes.

There was a tipping point that happened, that they took the action to invest the effort to pick up the phone or fill out a form to have a stranger come to their house for an hour plus to walk through every single room in their house.

That is a huge ask.

So I don't care if they tell you, hey, we're just getting prices for some other time.

That's only partially true because they would not have gone through this effort if at some degree they want to make a change in their life.

And the better you get at figuring this out, that change.

This is what creates real urgency in an appointment.

It's not about, oh, the rebates expiring and all these things.

The price increases, yes, that can be a factor.

But this is real urgency.

And it doesn't matter what time of year it is.

If you can understand what's going on and be able to paint the picture of how their human experience is going to change from the moment the project's done.

Now real urgency happens and they will take action because this is the emotional connection that locks in.

This is the, The.

You've heard me say so many times, people buy automation.

Justify it with logic and justify that logic with another piece of emotion.

This is the emotional piece that we're moving away from.

It's what drives the ship.

Oh, let's recap.

Every question is a conversation starter.

Every question opens the door.

Number two, use the observation versus concern filter.

Is this an observation or a concern?

Sometimes they'll be like, no, I was just answering the question because you asked it.

So not a concern?

No, not at all.

Or they'll let you know.

Yeah, absolutely.

If we could do something about that, that would be great.

Or if they're like, oh, yeah, it's a concern, then you ask.

So if we could make some changes there and improve that.

Would that help you?

They'll say yes.

Now you know it's something worth spending some time on and investigating further.

Ask to understand, not to answer.

Ask to understand, not to respond.

So we're listening.

Take more time.

Use mirroring to draw out deeper truths.

And take your time.

This is a slow burn.

It is not a sprint.

Remember, we're smoking meat here, low and slow.

And so that is this week's episode we're building on last week.

Next week we're going to dive into some actual I'm just going to take you through some real life conversations I've had in homes that have unpacked this and show you exactly how it works.

So we're going to give you some exact questions and the two pass questioning model that I love to teach that digs deeper.

You will be able to dig deeper than any of your competition ever go in this type of a process.

So it doesn't matter what industry you're in.

This is for you.

So in the meantime, make sure to go get your guerrilla marketing guide@door2doorinstitute.com remember the the two is a number door number two door institute.com it's the proven playbook to generate more appointments so you can practice these skills.

Get in front of more people, you get more times at bat.

You're going to close more deals.

And if you've gotten some value from this podcast, I would love if you left me a review.

There is a link in the show notes to go to Google and leave me a five star review for Close it now on Google.

Also if you're on Apple podcasts, listen there and give me a review.

Also Spotify has a way to leave reviews and comments now as well.

And so that is the episode today.

Working on these skills will help you to become someone worth buying from.

You've been listening to the Close it now podcast.

Our passion is to dive headfirst into the transformative movement that's reshaping the very foundation of H Vac and home improvement and at the same time covering fitness, nutrition, relationships and personal growth, proving that we can indeed have it all.

We hope you've enjoyed the show.

If you did, make sure to like rate and review.

We'll be back soon but in the meantime find the website@closeitnow.net find us on Instagram at thereal Close it now and on Facebook at Close It Now.

See you next time.