After 11 years in sales, I’ve finally learned how to prep for calls in 5 minutes
Been tweaking this template for the last 4 years.
It looks like:
- XX year old org
- # of employees
- % growth on LI / sales growing %
- RepVue: % attainment & Avg ARR
- Prior Ops? Result of Prior Op?
- Tech stack:
- Company News?
- Who will be On the call: (name/title)
- How long in Company/Role:
Here’s the specific WHY:
- XX year old org: The older the company, the slower they will make decisions (not always true…but almost always)
- # of employees: Points to the number of end users, but also probable growth stage
- % growth on LI & sales growing %: Companies experiencing double or triple-digit growth make faster decisions
- RepVue: % attainment & Avg ARR: If reps are doing poorly, this will impact morale, retention, hiring (ie the pain & motivation of DMs)
- Prior Ops? Result of Prior Op?: Have they talked to us before? How did it go?
- Tech stack: Do they invest heavily in tech? Do they use best of breed?
- Company News: May hold the biggest clues as to why they took the call
- Who will be On the call: (name/title) If they are Above the Line/ATL, I’ll tailor my language to Impact on Risks & Market share. If Below the Line/BTL I’ll speak more to Impact for the team / ‘what goes away’ for team
- How long in Company/Role: The shorter the time they’ve been there, the more likely they are to 1) still have budget 2) still be looking to make a big splash
Here’s the overarching WHY:
- Research makes 1st calls more impactful I know the basics so we can get to deeper things quicker
- Establishes how I want to run the call If growth & sales are down vs way up, those are different calls
- Sets the tone They know I come prepared. So much credibility to be earned by >>not<< asking prospects questions that could be answered by Google.
“Fortune favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur