Pro tip: that scoping call critique actually fixed our pitches

We used to jump straight into deck shows and pricing on first calls with potential partners. Last month an agency owner in Austin told me, "You're selling the solution before we've agreed on the problem." That hit me hard because it was true. We spent 20 minutes talking about our dashboard features and never asked what their client retention issues really were. I changed our intro call template to spend the first 15 minutes on their pain points and only show our product if they ask. Now we close about 3 out of 5 partnerships instead of maybe 1 out of 6. Has anyone else had a client or partner call out a flaw in your process that you couldn't unsee? What did you swap out first?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb_stone20d ago

…and here I was proud of myself for remembering to ask for their name before diving into the pricing sheet. That Austin guy basically called me out for treating every call like I was selling a used car, except with less charisma. Swapped the deck for a list of five questions about their current workflow and now I feel like a therapist who also happens to know a lot about pipes. Turns out people like it when you shut up and listen, who knew.

the_patricia19d ago

Saw a piece last week about how most sales calls fail because the rep talks 70% of the time, and it kinda stuck with me. Funny how @caleb_stone figured out the fix just by flipping that. Five questions feels like a solid magic number, not too scripted but still gives you somewhere to go.