We’ve all been there; in the middle of a conversation that you’re not at all prepared for, forced to think on your feet and keep your cool. Or reaching the end of a call without having achieved what you set out to achieve. This gets especially tricky when the pressure of winning over a prospect is on the table.
But it’s inevitable. With so many prospects to juggle and multiple calls in a day, it’s often impossible to find the time to squeeze in all the preparation and research you would like to for each one.
Well, we’re here to help you with that, so you never have to find yourself in this situation again. Read on for our tips (and the ultimate secret) on how to be prepared for all your sales calls, no matter the volume.
TL;DR: Meeting preparation is a lengthy process - doing it well requires substantial time and effort. To save time and still reap the full benefits of thorough meeting preparation, use Rippletide to put in the hard work for you and generate a free call brief, so you can maximise the impact of every prospect interaction.
11 preparation points for every sales call
1. Business activity
The first step is basic: you should have a good prior knowledge of what the business does. This doesn’t mean just being aware of what product or service they offer - you should always dig further. What business moves have they been making recently? What might they be trying to achieve in the short- and long-term? What do their internal structure, tooling, and processes look like? This will help inform both your approach in presenting your offer, but also in planning ahead in the sales process.
2. Competitive landscape
While you’re at it, make sure to look into the prospect’s competitors. It’s important to understand the business landscape so you know what challenges they’re facing and where you can help them succeed. Try to find out more about what makes them stand out in their market, as well as where there are gaps in their offering that could be leveraged to heighten their impact.
3. Current challenges
Based on what you’ve learnt about the business and their market, deduce as far as you can what challenges they might be facing. This will help you find a strategic angle for demonstrating how your product or service can help them solve their problems.
4. Value proposition
Now that you have your strategic angle, you’ll need to prepare your tailored value proposition. Highlight the value of your product or service in a way that specifically appeals to them and addresses their problems. Discuss what makes you unique in being able to do this. And most importantly, make sure to do this all using a storytelling that will hook them.
5. Potential objections
It’s important to try to anticipate any possible resistance from your prospect. Be sure to think through potential objections they may have, and prepare responses so that you’re able to swiftly bring them back onto your side.
6. Open-ended questions
One of the best things you can do during your call with a prospect is to make sure they’re doing most of the talking. Prepare a set of open-ended questions that will ensure you can gather as much information as possible, but will also demonstrate your empathy by giving them the chance to talk freely and showing that you’re listening to what they have to say.
7. Decision makers
Try to figure out your prospect’s role in the buying process ahead of time, so that you don’t run into a wall at a later stage when you find out they’re not able to validate the sale themselves. Whilst they may turn out to be a great champion for you, by finding out who the likely decision makers in the company are, you can get them involved at an early stage to gain their approval as early as possible and keep the sales cycle short.
8. Icebreakers
All of this content is great, but its effects can only be amplified with a strong conversation starter. Do some research into your prospects news and interests, for example by checking out their LinkedIn activity, and use this to demonstrate your preparation and attention, setting the tone for your discussion.
9. Post-call follow-up plan
Just as you aim to start out strong, you should aim to close strong. Plan ahead on how to round up your discussion, with particular focus on detailing the next steps to ensure continued engagement. Some of these you’ll identify during the call, but some can be prepared in advanced - for example, have a look at your calendar in advance and note your availability for the next week to make sure you get a follow-up meeting in the books.
10. Meeting structure
Having set out everything you plan to discuss during your meeting, the next step is to bring it all together and form a fluid structure. Planning ahead this way will help you to know what to anticipate during the call, and stick to your schedule so you don’t miss anything. This is also a good opportunity to set objectives for each part of the meeting - note down what you want to achieve at each step so you know not to move on until you’ve got what you need.
11. Practice!
You’re all set, now you just need to put your work into action! Running through your meeting structure and content a couple of times before the call itself will help you feel more at ease and ready to handle your call with confidence. You can do this by yourself or with your colleagues - role play isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it’s sure to be worth it!
So what’s the secret to sales meeting preparation?
So now you have the recipe for being prepared to meet with your prospects, but all of this seems like a lot of work, we know. Luckily for you, we have the secret as to how to save time doing it.
With Rippletide, you can have your meeting preparation done for you!
Rippletide’s AI takes care of all the tedious research and analyses into your prospects, and generates a call brief ahead of your calls on your behalf, packed full of information and recommendations. You’ll be provided with:
- Detailed and actionable insights into your prospect and their company.
- Tailored strategic recommendations to make sure you can maximise the impact of your call.
- Personal icebreakers to help you get the conversation started.
- And more!
Rippletide’s call briefs help you save time on your meeting preparation by putting the information directly in your hands, allowing you to take action and navigate your call with confidence. All you have to do is provide your meeting details.
You can try it out for yourself by generating a free brief based on information for an upcoming call, or by signing up for our 7-day free trial to experience how our AI meeting preparation can save you precious time ahead of your sales calls.
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