How to Prepare for That First Sales Call With a New Prospect

When you schedule a call with a new prospect, how do you prepare?

Sometimes, I’m tempted to wing it with prospects, especially if they’re the ones who requested the meeting.

But that’s not wise. When I wing it, the calls might be pleasant, but we rarely agree to next steps, and I’m not as likely to make a sale now or in the future. 

Begin with the End in Mind

Having a purpose for how I want to approach the call matters. A lot. Here are the steps I follow.

Step 1: Align with the Prospect’s Expectations 

So I start my prep by reviewing the reason for the meeting. Did the prospect request the meeting? Did I suggest it based on a nugget I used to start a dialogue? (Here’s how I start conversations with prospects on LinkedIn.) 

I’ll review my DM history and any email threads to see what we’ve already discussed. 

From this, I’ll plan out a conversation starter so I can make sure I’m aligned with my prospect’s expectations. I’ll note any topics we’ve discussed up to this point. 

Step 2: Research the Prospect on LinkedIn

After I’ve got this detail, I’ll research my lead. I look at several sources of information. At each step, I jot down notes to help me recall key points when I talk with the lead.

1. LinkedIn profile - I’ll review their headline, summary and job history to get a sense of the person.
   
2. LinkedIn activity - next I look at their activity. Are they posting? What about? Are they reacting or commenting? What are the themes of the recent posts they’ve engaged with? (I also look at the reactions and comments on their posts and evaluate their posting strategy, as this might lead to conversation topics.)
   
3. Use the “Search on Bing” feature in Sales Navigator to find mentions. This is a fairly new feature in Navigator, and I’m finding it super helpful compared to using Google to do a more general search. It gives me all the relevant links where my prospect is mentioned. Are they speaking at events? Do they blog? Are they quoted in news articles? All of these tidbits can prove helpful. Then I can use Copilot in Bing to summarize the info and identify the highlights for me. (Seriously, this can be a HUGE game changer!)
   
   
4. Search for them in ListenNotes - this tool is super helpful. I can plug in a name and see if they’ve been a host or guest on a podcast. (It’s most helpful if their name isn’t too common.)

Step 3: Research the Company

Now that I’ve done my prospect research, I’ll do a quick dive into their company. 

1. Review their LinkedIn company page - I’m looking at the company’s summary, size, staff and posts.
   
2. Review the company in Sales Navigator - Navigator often provides useful information about the company like whether they’re hiring or laying off, what their growth has looked like in the past several months. I can also do an org chart for the executives most likely to be involved in a decision about my services.
   
3. Review the company’s website to make sure I understand what they do. I don’t spend a lot of time here, but I do want a general overview of the company. 

Step 4: Plan the Call Goals

Now that I have this information, I’ll plan my call. I’m not scripting anything, but I want to have a rough plan for how to progress the meeting. 

1. Does this look like a prospect, potential partner, or something else? This is crucial. I don’t treat every call the same way.
   
2. What is my hoped-for outcome? 
1. Sometimes, I can do a one-call close, especially if the prospect is a solopreneur and asked to talk with me about upping their LinkedIn game. If that’s the case, I’ll have a plan for how to take them down a path with my questions to help them understand their needs more clearly and make a quick decision. That said, I NEVER pressure them to buy immediately. In my opinion, that’s a slimy approach and not something I’m willing to do.
   
2. Most of the time, a one-call close is not a reasonable objective. So my next step depends on the size of the firm and likelihood of a need.
   
3. In many cases, the prospect is not ready to buy, so I need a next step that will get them subscribed to my newsletter where I can nurture the relationship. (BTW - when they book on my Calendly page, they are offered the option to subscribe, so I address that goal before the meeting even starts). I’ll also set the goal of getting the other people involved in the decision on a follow-up call.
   
4. Most of the time, my goal is to dig into their business and figure out if they have a need. If they do, I’ll look to get a follow-up meeting with other members of their buying committee.
   
3. What questions will I ask to get the conversation going?
1. One of my favorite ways to kick off a call is to ask them, “can you tell me a little bit about your background, your current situation, and your current challenges?” This consistently gets the call off on the right foot.

Step 5: Hold the Call

1. Once I’m on the call with them, I try to focus on asking questions and giving them time to answer fully. I’ll probe to get them to go deeper on topics where I think we can help.
2. I plan to spend 70% of the call listening and 30% talking. Otherwise, I’m not doing discovery, and I end up giving away free consulting.
   
3. Ask if this is a priority. If I find a need, and we have successfully probed enough to find pain, I’ll ask if it’s a priority for them to solve right now. If they say no, I’ll ask what they are prioritizing to get a sense of timing.
   
4. If they say yes, it’s a priority, I’ll ask if they'd like to see a roadmap of how we help clients. This is the ONLY slide I ever show them. It walks them through a 5-step roadmap for how to develop their go to market strategy using LinkedIn. Once we discuss it, I’ll ask if they'd like to understand our offerings.
   
5. If they say yes, I’ll walk them through 2-3 recommended options and ask which one they feel is the best fit for them. Then we get ready to close by asking “where do you think we should go from here?” They’ll tell me, and we can agree to next steps.

Step 6: Follow up

Prompt follow up is critical. I try to send a follow up email within an hour of our call. 

1. I’ve started using Fathom.video to record my calls. Because I subscribe to their premium plan, I get pretty decent AI notes from the calls. I will edit these a bit and include them in my follow up email. I also include the next steps we all agree to and links to sign up for our programs. 
   (BTW - that's an affiliate link. If you use it, you get 3 months of Fathom premium for free and PropelGrowth gets a small affiliate commission.)
2. I’ll schedule additional follow-up steps based on the next steps we all agreed to in the call. But I don’t hound prospects. Our sales process is pretty simple. 
3. The vast majority of people who take meetings with me subscribe to our newsletter when they book the meeting (or before). This allows me to nurture them over time and promote our programs and live events. This email nurturing has proven invaluable in converting leads to customers over time.

And that’s it. What additional steps do you take? Am I missing something critical?

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