Sales call checklist: printable and free

Whatever you know beforehand, you don’t have to ask in the call, and the time then belongs to the customer.

• Company, industry and size looked up; a specific reason for the contact is named.
• The role and responsibilities of the person you are meeting are known.
• Earlier contacts, open quotes and support tickets checked in the CRM.
• A goal for the call written down: what should be decided or agreed at the end?
• Three questions prepared whose answers you don’t know yet.
• Tech checked: dial-in, microphone, screen sharing, recording.

The first two minutes decide whether this becomes a conversation or a presentation.

• The reason for the meeting named in one sentence.
• An agenda proposed and agreed.
• The time frame confirmed: “We have thirty minutes. Does that still work?”
• Asked what the customer wants to take away from the meeting.
• If recording: consent obtained and documented before starting.

What counts is not the number of questions but whether an answer changed the direction of the call.

• Current situation asked about: how does it work today, without your product?
• Impact asked about: what does the current state cost in time, money or risk?
• A general statement made specific (“cumbersome”: how exactly?).
• Decision process clarified: who else decides, and when?
• Timing clarified: why now, and what happens if nothing happens?
• Answers summarised in your own words and confirmed.

Every statement about the product hangs on a problem the customer named themselves earlier.

• Only the points raised earlier addressed.
• For each point, the value put in the customer’s language, not as a feature name.
• A fitting example from a comparable situation given.
• Room for a reaction left after every longer section.
• Limits named openly: what the product does not do.

An objection is information. It only becomes a problem when it is left unanswered.

• Let the objection be finished without countering straight away.
• Asked what exactly is behind it: price, risk, responsibility or timing.
• Objection repeated back and confirmed before answering it.
• For data protection questions: hosting, data processing agreement and deletion periods answered specifically.
• Checked whether the objection has been resolved, rather than assuming it.

The most common result of a good call without a next step is: nothing.

• The key points summarised and confirmed.
• A specific next step proposed, not “I’ll get back to you”.
• Meeting, attendees and task named, with a date.
• Clarified who needs what from whom by then.
• Open questions noted that could not be answered in the call.

This is where a single call turns into a habit.

• Summary and agreement sent in writing, the same day.
• CRM updated: current situation, impact, decision process, next step.
• One point marked where the call tipped over or an answer was left hanging.
• One specific thing named that should go differently next time.
• If needed, the recording filed for the coaching conversation.