AE interviews often include a mock discovery call: a first meeting with a prospect where your job is to understand their situation before showing anything. The most common mistake is pitching too early.
A simple structure (about 20 minutes)
- Set the agenda (1 min). "Thanks for the time. I'd like to learn how your team handles X today, share how we've helped similar teams if it's relevant, and agree on a next step if it makes sense. Does that work?"
- Understand the current state (5–7 min). How do they do it today? Who's involved? What tools?
- Find the pain (5–7 min). What's not working? What does it cost them in time, money or risk? Why now?
- Qualify (3–5 min). Who else is involved in a decision? What does their process look like? Is there budget or a timeline? (BANT or MEDDIC in conversational form.)
- Summarize and agree on a next step (2–3 min). "So what I heard is… Did I get that right?" Then propose something specific: a demo with the right people, on a date.
Questions that open things up
- "Walk me through what happens today when…"
- "What made this a priority now?"
- "If you fixed this, what would change for you and your team?"
- "What have you already tried?"
- "Who else would care about solving this?"
- "What would make this a no for you?"
Mistakes interviewers watch for
- Pitching features in the first five minutes.
- Asking a list of questions without following up on the answers.
- Not quantifying the problem ("how many hours a week is that?").
- Ending without a clear next step and date.
Practice
Have a friend play the buyer with a simple brief (their role, a problem, one hidden objection). Record it. Check: did you talk less than half the time? Did you summarize back? Did you leave with a date?