Sure, I should do 'Discovery' but what am I really hoping to learn?

Without clear objectives that guide us to craft a plan or structure to our interview, it can easily become a wasted opportunity.
 
Our first objective in Discovery is Getting Selection Right
We need to commit to interviewing the client with the intent of understanding “what are they trying to achieve?” instead of just “what they're asking for?”. Not just “what are they asking about?” but “why are they asking about it?”. Be sure that we understand before moving forward to presenting a solution.
• What motivated them to ask for this now?
• What changed with their situation?
• With their their personal situation?
• With their business?
• How will this need or concern that they have (or opportunity that they presented) connect with other things that are going on either previously or that you anticipate will connect with things in the future for them?
 
This is our time to dig. Just make sure the tone of your digging is service focused curiosity.
 
As you're getting the bigger story laid-out for you, the discovery interview becomes a pipeline of its own where we start by asking open ended questions to get more context and then we can fine-tune questions down through a process of elimination to make sure that the solution that we end up presenting is in fact the best one for the needs of that specific client.
 
The secondary Discovery objective is to understand which of your Competitive Advantages are important to the person you're interviewing.
By learning in discovery which of the things about you or your organization are going to be important to them, and then leveraging that information into your presentation to show additional value beyond the solution itself that will again increase the value that the client sees in dealing with you and helps to eliminate perceived risk in making a decision to do business with you. Not all of the things that make you and your institution fantastic are resonate with every single person you engage with. Avoid the ineffective "Let me tell you a little about us" infomercial pitch by doing the investigation in Discovery where it belongs. Think of your competitive advantages as solutions to a concern or dissatisfaction that someone has run into in the past. Investigate to find out if they have had those dissatisfactions.
• If there was one thing they could change about their dealings with their other bank, what would that thing be?
• Do they feel like they heard from their previous advisors often enough?
• What was it like to try to get in touch with them when they needed help?
 
Our third objective for effective Discovery is to Uncover Additional Opportunities/Needs/Problems
The effect of uncovering those additional problems is the setting of a tone for the client that we’re not just going through the motions on whatever business is put in front of us to then move on to the next opportunity. It shows that we’re committed to provide them with a full level of service to ensure their overall financial success. That includes investigating their situation to find out if one of our colleagues may be able to serve a different part of their banking needs. When a client or prospective client sees that commitment to go beyond just the thing at hand and offer additional value, they'll be forced to compare that with their experiences that other financial institutions that maybe left them feeling like they're only focused on the deal at hand. Often the additional context you heard while taking the time to understand the full situation in Objective 1 will provide a wealth of additional potential areas to explore. We want to be respectful to the original request though and not make the person think we are railroading them into a new process for this additional need. Pick one or two of the highest priority additional opportunities and do a quick opinion check to confirm they have the concern you suspected they have. Then (without talking about solutions) park the issue to a logical next step: at the end of that meeting; at a future additional meeting...
 
 
Bonus: Setting up the Discovery Interview
 
Sometimes the challenge in this wide-open discovery is getting the conversation away from the specific product or solution request that has been made to you and getting into a more wide-ranging discussion. An effective technique to set the stage for the discovery interview is to start the engagement with a brief statement to let the client or prospect know that you’d like to begin with asking a few questions, and convey how they’d benefit.
 
"... So I understand that you wanted to meet today to get some information about Tax Free Savings Accounts... I'll be happy to get you all the information you need. Now depending on your situation there may actually be similar accounts that end up being better for you, so what usually works best is to start with a few quick questions to help us narrow down what will be the best for you specifically. Sound ok?"