Sales EQ

21Sales Call Agenda Framework

The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.

—John C. Maxwell

Ultra-high performers (UHPs) are aware of the danger their disruptive emotions pose to building emotional connections with stakeholders. In front of stakeholders, it's easy to:

• Start pitching.
• Become impatient, talk over them, and shut them down.
• Inadvertently say things that trigger the stakeholder's subconscious negativity bias and confirm their conscious perception that salespeople are manipulative, self-centered hustlers.

The Sales Call Agenda Framework reduces the chances of making these mistakes, especially in the early stages of a relationship. It helps you gain control of the conversation, avoid pitching, and manage disruptive emotions. There are four steps:

1. Greeting
2. Objective
3. Check
4. Frame the conversation

The Sales Call Agenda Framework, executed correctly, disarms the stakeholder and lowers the initial emotional wall, because you appear to be professional, prepared, and nonthreatening.

Greeting

Your greeting is about setting the right tone, demonstrating respect, and ensuring that you and your stakeholder agree on the time available for your meeting. Here is an example:

“Thank you for meeting with me. I know how valuable your time is and appreciate the opportunity you've given me to learn more about you. Just to confirm, I have us down for thirty minutes. Is that still good for you?”

If you are meeting face-to-face, ask for permission to sit down and before ...