I used to wing most of my sales calls. Had a general idea of the prospect, maybe skimmed their LinkedIn, jumped on the call.
Results were inconsistent.
Then I started building what I call a "battlecard" before every important call. Takes me 15 minutes max. Here's the framework:
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**1. Prospect snapshot (3 min)**
- Their role, how long they've been there
- Career background (did they come from a competitor? Different industry?)
- Any recent posts or activity that shows what they care about
**2. Company snapshot (4 min)**
- What they sell, who they sell to
- Company size, funding stage, recent news
- Tech stack if relevant (BuiltWith, LinkedIn, job postings)
**3. Discovery questions (3 min)**
- Write 5 questions SPECIFIC to their situation
- Not generic "what are your pain points" — actual questions based on your research
- Example: "I saw you're hiring 3 new AEs — is ramping them quickly a priority right now?"
**4. Likely objections (3 min)**
- Based on their company size/stage, what will they push back on?
- Write 2-3 likely objections and your response angles
**5. Positioning angle (2 min)**
- One sentence: why does YOUR solution matter to THIS prospect specifically?
- Not your generic pitch — tailored to what you learned
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I keep this as a simple Google Doc, open during the call.
The difference is night and day. Prospects actually say things like "wow, you really did your homework" — and that builds trust fast.
If you're winging your calls, try this for your next 5 prospects. You'll feel the difference immediately.
Anyone else have a prep framework they use? Curious what's working for others.
Shoot up a DM if you want to chat more