The Art of Successful Sales Calls: From Preparation to Closing

If you have the chance to speak with a potential customer on the phone, take advantage of it without delay.

Ever in doubt about which email to follow up with? Take the opportunity to request a call.

Need to get clarity on a prospect and what they need? Request a call. 

Because every call can turn into a successful sales call – one that (hopefully) leads to a proposal and a name on the dotted line. 

It can still succeed even if the sales call doesn’t result in a deal. That’s what we’ll discuss in today’s post. 

Key Takeaways

• When in doubt, ask for a call. It’s a direct, personal touch that cuts through email clutter and provides more precise insights into a prospect’s needs.
• Before the call, know your goals, understand the prospect’s situation, and anticipate possible objections. 
• Approach the call with a mindset of helping rather than closing. By focusing on understanding and addressing the prospect’s pain points, you build trust and increase the chances of closing the deal.
• If you get a “maybe,” don’t let it linger. Push for a definitive answer or schedule a follow-up to avoid unnecessary delays. It’s about keeping the deal moving forward, whether a “yes” or a “no.”

A Call Is a Salesperson’s Best Friend

The former might sound like the least convenient option between a sales call and an email. But it truly isn’t, especially if you want to distinguish between lookers and buyers.

Emails are easy to get buried, overlooked, or skimmed and forgotten. A phone call, on the other hand, is a direct, personal interaction that commands attention. 

Emails often lead to quick, surface-level responses that provide little insight into the prospect. By asking for a call instead of answering reflexively, you can dive deeper into each prospect’s situation, clarify their level of interest, and gauge their seriousness to move deals forward. 

The worst-case scenario is a “no, thanks.”

So, They’ve Accepted Your Call Request.  Here’s How to Make It a Success:

Relentlessly Prepare 

We’ll assume you already know your goal for the call, who your prospect is, how you’ll drive the conversation, and, most importantly, how you’ll show and prove your product’s value. 

If we could give you tips beyond the 101, those would be:

• Revisit your ICP. Even though a prospect seems ideal based on initial information, they still need to find a better fit. There are so many nuances in this. You could be dealing with excellent but unqualified leads. You could have the right company but the wrong person. You could be focusing on surface-level indicators versus actual pain points and motivators. The more you talk to your great-fit prospects, the better you’ll know who they are (and the better you’ll get at walking away from 
• Anticipate the directions the call might take. But be flexible. You can only anticipate – not predict. Despite anticipating this buyer’s common objections and the data they’ll need from you (you’ve done your research, after all!), things may not be as black and white in practice. 
• Identify and engage with key decision-makers. This way, getting a deal signed will be much easier. If you aren’t in contact with a key decision-maker, politely ask your current contact to introduce you to them. As an alternative, this is a case where a solution like a Digital Sales Room can keep everyone in the loop, including key stakeholders. 

Lead the Call from a “Help” Mindset, Not a “Closing” Mindset

Yes. In theory, you should always be closing – better yet, be aiming to close. 

How about we switch it to “always be helping”? ABH, if you will. 

When we reverse-engineer a successful sales call, we’ll most likely find that being of help is almost always a precursor to the close. Eric Boggs, CEO of RevBoss put it perfectly:

“When I’m in “help mode,” I’m not concerned with closing so much as guiding an individual towards their goal,” he says. And we agree. 

Conversely, “closing mode puts the sales rep’s goals before the customer’s. Suddenly, your process is no longer customer-centric. 

That’s why the close must be at the back of your mind – not the first thing on your mind. That’s just another layer of unduly pressure for you to tackle. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for the sale when the time comes. You need to ask for it—it’s the catalyst to push the deal through and outline the next steps. Closing strong requires a few nudges (such as friendly check-ins) to get the agreement signed and the champagne popped. 

Pains Will Arise. Your Job Is to Probe Them Gently.

A prospect will only sometimes talk openly about their pains. But reading between the lines is one of your skills if you’re in sales. 

For example, if a prospect says, “We need a more efficient project management tool,” you’ll instinctively know their current tool is causing trouble. It may sound obvious, but it’s your job to probe into what that trouble entails. 

Is it delay-related frustration? A poor return on investment? If it’s both, which one is the most pressing?

At this point, many salespeople are eager to jump straight to “Our product can solve that! Here’s why…”

Doing that means you’ve just gone from point A to point C. You haven’t taken time to agitate the problem and remind them why their current solution no longer serves them.

You don’t need to be like, “Wow, that sounds like a terrible situation. Competitor Y does suck.”

But rather, remind them of what they may already be feeling based on what you’ve found and what they’ve told you. So, if you know that their current tool is slowing down their team, you could follow with…

“How exactly are these delays slowing down your team and project outcomes?”

Listen to what they have to say. Empathize. Pour the salt. And only then offer solutions.

Don’t Settle for “Maybe,” and Look Forward to the “No”

Even when everything goes according to plan,  the “I’ll get back to you” phenomenon is almost certain to happen. 

A common mistake is giving people time to let alternatives play tug-of-war in their heads for too long. The state of “maybe” is vulnerable – it’s when competitors crane their necks, priorities crop up, and comfort settles in. 

So, if the prospect’s answer is eventually a “no,” it’d better be quick. 

That doesn’t mean you should be pushy. It means you should be direct with an assertive approach, not a passive one. After all, you’re leading the conversation with their best interest in mind.

If you’re wondering what an expert way of handling “I’ll get back to you” is, here you go…

“Hello, I understand you need time to think about this. However, If we don’t set up a follow-up call now, we risk a lot of back-and-forth emails just to nail down a time, which can delay things unnecessarily. I need to know where we stand and whether this is your priority. Even if you’re unable to move forward at this time, it’s completely understandable. Let me know!”

After that, you’ll either get a no or a “yes.” If they say “yes” to the follow-up call, your next step is prioritizing it in the potential buyer’s mind. 

Keep Competing Priorities from Slowing Down the Deal

Say you’ve agreed to meet at 3 p.m. on Friday. A lot can happen between the scheduling and the call, even if it’s Friday tomorrow. 

After you’ve clarified the timeline with the prospect and scheduled the call, you should ideally ask if you can check in if you don’t hear from them by that date. This will relieve the pressure to sound annoying and will likely keep them from ghosting you when the time comes. 

Do Everything In Your Power to Cross the Finish Line

We have an awesome post discussing Vince Beese’s incredible concept of “Red zone selling.” It means you should be relentless when trying to score a “touchdown” or a sale. 

You can offer immediate value and incentives, but be transparent about needing something in return. 

For example, you can offer a 15% discount on the first three months of their subscription and three months of complimentary access to premium support services as long as they sign up for the annual plan by X date. 

This sets clear expectations and timelines. The client receives value-packed financial incentives, and you secure a longer-term commitment, benefiting both parties.

They’ve requested a proposal. You’ll put together a proposal if you can call them on Friday to review it with them. You also request immediate clarity on who needs to sign what and when. Because simply sending a proposal over for review is often a recipe for crickets.

If they don’t commit to the next step, “thinking about it” isn’t an option. And even if you don’t receive a flat-out no, you can easily consider it one. 

Over to You

A “yes” is what we ultimately expect. But it’s not the “yes” you’re after. It’s the truth. 

We’d argue that a quick “no, thanks” can also be the aftermath of a successful sales call. It’s a win in my book compared to a “maybe-based” deal that drags along forever.

We’d love to hear what kind of success you’ve had with your sales calls and what’s considered a “win” from your perspective! What are your best tips?