Table of contents

Adrien is the co-founder of La Growth Machine. Responsible for sales, customer support, and client consulting, he is an expert in Sales, Prospecting & Data, making him one of our most valuable contributors on these topics!

Sales calls can be nerve-wracking. But with a little preparation, you can master them and close more sales.

You’ve done your segmentation and crafted your copywriting to finetune it as best you can to your audience. You’re for sure booking qualified meetings now, congrats!

But maybe you’re not reaching the closing rate you’re seeking. +30% may seem like a high goal, but then again, the average conversion rate in SaaS is only 22%. And if you’re reading this, you don’t want to be average!

What’s the root cause? If your segmentation and copywriting are right, then it’s probably your call structure that’s terrible.

So without further ado, let’s improve it!

Read-on! 🤙

Why does call structure matter?

Let’s make one thing straight: There’s no winging a sales call!

All details matter and a great call structure will allow you to control every detail of the calls.

To make a sales call work:

  1. Understand what are your prospect’s current problems.

Your solutions may have multiple use-cases – you need to understand which one your prospect is coming for so you can pitch it to them. (Aka understanding their pain points)

DO NOT pitch features. EVER! Listen carefully to the issue at hand, and show how you can solve it!

If you’re pitching features, this is what you’ll sound like to your prospect – very technical but it makes no sense!

  1. Once that’s out of the way, clearly present how you can solve said problem(s) for them.

Sometimes, their solution may present just 20% of what your product can actually do. But this 20% is what the prospect wants.. AND NEEDS to hear from you! Only this, nothing else!

If you’re mentioning all the rest, your message will be diluted. Stick to solving the main problem and delivering simple & straightforward value!

  1. When all that’s done, then you set up concrete next steps and get a timeline.

This is often something that is done wrong: salespeople tend to shy away from being blunt and honest. We’ll see later how to mark pauses to get to the actual reply with interest or not.

If interest is validated, you must get a timeslot out of the meeting. People have their own timetable – a hot issue may need a solution now, but they might be strateched out too thin at the moment. So… get what you need (i.e. the meeting info) and build your next steps around it.

  1. Do this all while building the based foundation of any great relationship: Trust and lightheartedness.

People, especially in B2B, don’t usually buy only into a product or service but into the relationship they’d have with that product/service.

If you have an already established brand and great communication, this will drive them to you.

If you’re still young as a company, your sales team is the starter point of that relationship. This means they not only buy the product, but the people selling it. Trust is key!

That’s a lot to work on a single first call, and can only be achieved if you have a clear call structure!

Want to boost your prospecting by adding calls to your outreach strategy?

So let’s see what a good call structure looks like!

Building the best call structure – A solid strategy:

A good call is not just about how smooth you are as a salesperson.

Actually, it’s almost never about that! Your smoothness will only be useful when you fumble your script or the lead catches you in a lie, etc.

A great sales call simply requires great preparation, and well-thought-out planning ahead:

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Step 1: Do your research

While too often forgotten, preparation is key. You cannot jump on a call without knowing the basics:

  • Who are you talking to?
  • What is the company doing and what is its current state?
  • Which Persona they’ll probably fall into?

Nothing is worse for a prospect than agreeing to a call and feeling that the sales rep is unprepared. By doing this, you’re just sending bad signals; you’re unprofessional, the lead isn’t worth your time and/or you’re not valuing their time properly, etc.

You will already set yourself up for failure during just the discovery phase… 😅

Who are you talking to?

To research the person you’re calling, try checking out their LinkedIn profile and look for the key info that will help you.

  • How long they have been within the company?

Example 🔍

Time spent within the company will allow you to assess the level of knowledge they’ll have:

  • A new person in the company might be hired to make a change or solve a specific problem. They could have great pressure to prove their value, and you’ll be their trusted partner. Use that to your advantage!
  • A veteran will have a deeper knowledge of the situation and probably have tried other solutions. You’ll be able to get more context into the pain point, how they’ve tried to solve it at first, and why they’re looking for another solution.
  • What’s their seniority level?

Example 🔍

Seniority will allow you to understand the type of the conversation you’ll have:

  • Inters are not great for sales calls. Why? They don’t have the authority, budget, or knowledge to make any sort of decision. You should avoid even taking the call, or at least make sure they’re not alone.
  • A Field Manager may also not have the authority or budget but they’ll become your champion (your way in) within the company as they’re generally the ones handling problems daily.
  • VPs and Higher-Ups will generally have the budget and authority, but a lower understanding of the problem and current solutions at play.

What’s the company doing and its current state?

To research the company, LinkedIn is again your awesome ally. Sales Navigator will provide you with great insights into their recent growth, current hires, and company structure.

It’s a great asset if your team is dedicated to a specific department (sales, marketing, etc…) to map out the main actors as well as project deal value!

Learn about their:

  • Employee Growth
  • Current Job Openings

Disclaimer ⚠️

Be mindful of this metric and how Sales Navigator counts it.

As of the time of taking this screenshot, LGM is hiring for multiple positions, but the counter shows 0.. That’s because we opted not to publish these openings on LinkedIn because of the quality of the signups and our previosu experiences with it.

That said, we still talked about it endlessly on our LinkedIn company page, so I suggest you skim through your target’s company posts to verify the information.

  • Employee Distribution:

When you set it up well, LinkedIn Sales Navigator can be surprisingly precise in its ability to spot the right leads and help you do account mapping

All of this information should help you understand their current needs and organization.

Example 🔍

If you’re selling a sales automation tool such as La Growth Machine, having an understanding of your lead’s sales team size will help you estimate the deal value and yourbudget, as well as quickly glancing at recommended leads will help you understand if you’re talking to the right person or might have to set up another call at the end of this one.

Spoiler alert: La Growth Machine is the perfect tool to automate all those pesky, repetitive tasks so you can focus on what’s important – your business.

Here’s an example of a sequence you could envision:


  • Google News is great for checking their PR: It can be a great icebreaker if they’ve shared recent information.
  • Last but not least, visit their website and understand what they do:

It seems so obvious, yet few actually take the time to do it. If you can’t sum up what your lead does in 30 seconds before the call, you’re off to a not-so-great start!

Here’s a piece of advice: If you don’t understand their value proposition, ask them about it. Better be honest and truly care about details than risk being off point:

I was checking out your company – I’m not quite sure I understood completely what you do.

It’s important for me to make sure I understand your business to be fully able to help you.

Can we start with a quick intro to what you do?

Which persona they (probably) fall into?

As you do your research, you’ll be able to build assumptions under which ICP/Persona the prospect might fall into.

Careful ⚠️

This piece of information is a great start for you, but it can be a major pitfall: If you assume they fall in a given category, you will also assume their problems and the value they’re seeking.

This can lead down a dangerous path as your assumptions can be wrong. You will be surprised as to how many times your assumptions will turn out wrong!

Resist the temptation of rushing to conclusions and make sure to respect the discovery time in your call structure.

Step 2: Building a real connection with the prospect

Company-level information & ICP/Persona will be useful to understand use-cases as well as build trust in the first few minutes of the call.

But doing this isn’t just about preparing your case, it’s also about attempting to build a personal connection with your prospect. As mentioned previously, people don’t only buy a solution, they buy a relationship with who’s selling it to them.

You’re the embodiment of this relationship. And you need to build it over time. Understand what they like and see if you have mutual connections. Great sources are:

  • Looking into the content they interact with on LinkedIn. Even better if they post themselves.
  • In a similar direction, use Twitter! A great way to try and connect with them in a less formal (but still professional context).

Coming prepared will help you with the hardest part of the call – building an instant connection.

Step 3: The first 30 seconds

The first 30 seconds are known to make or break any call!

Why? It’s exactly as when you meet someone, you either hit it off, or you don’t!

  • If you don’t, neither of you will open up.
  • If you do, you’ll both be talkative – and a talkative lead will give you all the info you need to close the deal!

The thing is, with sales deals, you can sway the lead in favor of liking you. Within the first few seconds, you must:

  • Create good vibes: Have a good time! Break down barriers; forget that this is a sales call and break the ice quickly.
  • Build trust immediately so no one’s time is wasted.

Expert Tip 🧠

The tone is 80% of the work – if you’re grumpy, they won’t open up. You need to convey positive/welcoming energy and overall happiness. Greet them when they join, smile, and crack a joke. Don’t let any awkward silence in the first few seconds or you’ll kill it.

If you need some tips, there are a lot of ways to do this – it varies on if your leads come from Inbound or Outbound as well as what you are the most at ease with.

Here are a few:

  • If it’s an inbound lead, a great approach is to work on a mutual connection or success story.

Hey {{firstname}} thanks for taking the call!

I was wondering first, how did you hear about us?


While quite direct, they’ll probably name a company/somebody you know and be able to build upon that.

Oh, you’re coming from {{channel}}.

We’ve had good success over there! We’re trying to improve {{XYZ}}.

What did they tell you about us?

It’s even better if they mention a person:

Oh, you’re coming from {{firstname}}.

We’ve had great success with them! We helped them improve {{XYZ}}.

What did they tell you about us?

  • If it’s an outbound lead, this opener works great

Hey {{firstname}} thanks for taking the call!

Actually, I was curious… What made you take the call?


Of course, for this to work, you need to let the prospect talk. Resist the temptation of filling the silence. Let them do it for you!

There are also generic approaches that work great if you have the right positive energy:

Hey {{firstname}}, how are we doing today? Not too many meetings?

Am I adding onto the pile? 😅

It’s not always about what you say, but how you say it! I have seen people using these tricks and failing because the tone/attitude was not right. You know how it feels, cringy and a waste of time….

Your research will also help you fall back should you fail to break the ice with these.

Whatever icebreaker you choose, don’t forget the goal: To create instant connection and trust that this will not be yet another sales pitch, but a trustworthy and laid-back conversation.

Step 4: The 1-15 minute mark

This is the discovery time. Don’t talk, listen carefully!

At this stage, you’re still not quite sure what their problem is. You probably have an idea, because they fit within a specific persona in your market understanding. But don’t forget a golden rule in prospecting: never assume you know – have them tell you.

And to do so, you need to set the tone for the next 10 minutes!

If it’s an inbound lead, they probably did a bit of research so you can start with that:

Alright, the goal of today’s call is to understand how {{identity.companyName}} can help you.

I could do a generic demo, but I know that if I don’t take the time to understand your needs, it’s boring and useless.

I’d love for us to take the next 5-10minutes to discuss what you’ve been doing so far in {{industry}}?

What worked and didn’t work? The tools you’ve been using? And what do you have in mind with {{productName}}?

See what I did here?

  • I explained I didn’t want to do a generic demo but to provide value – nice!
  • I set the scene for the next 5-10 minutes
  • To start with, I’m asking open-ended questions.
  • Most importantly, I’m asking what doesn’t work ➡️ It’s the most important question. If they’re coming to you, something has been wrong up to this point and this will be the key speech!

From then on, do not interrupt your prospect. Let them talk. You listen, take notes, and then dive deeper into their needs.

When taking notes, it is very important your write verbatim how they formulate their own problems, so you may use it later in the call and/or in your follow-up email.

If it’s an outbound call, the greatest question you can ask is:

Why did you take the call?

It’s the best way to get the discovery started. “Why did you take the call?” is great because it is open-ended! And then, as mentioned above, don’t interrupt, listen, and take notes.

From both approaches, progressively deep-dive into their solution asking “How and Why” questions.

Example 🔍

When doing discovery calls for La Growth Machine, here’s what I generally lead with:

    • What is the goal of potentially using La Growth Machine?
      In La Growth Machine’s case, it can be to do outbound, recruit people, automate their inbound, do marketing awareness, etc…
    • What are the people/Company you’re prospecting?
      This will have a great impact on the type of sequence people will build with La Growth Machine
    • Have you been using Sales Navigator to source leads before?
      To validate they know Sales Navigator, if not, we’ll have to present it and share educational content.
    • Are you using any CRM? If so, when do you create leads within the CRM?
      Which info do you synchronize? This will allow us to get into CRM features, maybe Zapier features. Or not mention them if it’s not important to them.
    • Are you doing any retargeting?
    • Do you have any idea of the number of leads you need to contact per week?

    Generally, I also close the discovery part with a more generic question:

    Anything you had in mind we haven’t talked about but would like to see today?

    Obviously, all discovery sessions are different based on what you do and what you’re selling. The goal is to make sure you have a great understanding of their problem!

    Step 5: The 15-35 minute mark

    This is the time to solve their problem.

    If your discovery went well, you know by now what their problem is. You can now start to share your screen and show them in context how you’re going to make their day 100x better!

    Your demo needs to be mastered – no hesitation allowed. While every company will have a different way of doing demos, here are fundamental rules:

    • Never talk on your own for more than 2 minutes. People have a very low attention span.

    Show value for 2 minutes, then pause by asking questions related to what you’ve shown and the problem you’ve identified early.

    Rince and repeat.

    If you talk alone for more than 2 minutes, you’ll miss important information and probably your prospect will switch tabs and stop listening.

    Pausing regularly is a great way to make sure everyone keeps track. Answer questions as they come and engage with the prospect.

    • Adapt your tour to what you’ve learned during discovery.

    80% of what you’ll show will generally be the same to every prospect but do emphasize the problem you’re solving for them. Obviously adapt to what you’ve learned during the discovery phase.

    Repeat -verbatim- the notes you’ve been taking from them.

    When you showed how you’ll solve one of their specific issues, make sure they have seen the value by asking them before moving on!

    I believe that is one of your key problems. Is it clear for you now how we’ll solve this for you?

    As you move through the call, look for the signs:

    • If your prospect is asking questions, that’s great, they’re engaged!
    • If they’re asking you to come back to a previous point or show something again, that’s great, they want to know more!
    • On the contrary, if they’re just nodding and acknowledging everything you’re saying, you’ve probably already lost the deal… Sorry..🙃

    Pay attention to time – you want to have time left to wrap up and set the next steps. You must be the time-keeper.

    Step 6: The 35-45 minute mark

    Now it’s time to wrap-up and move to the next steps.

    The last 10 minutes are dedicated to any generic questions that generally arise at the end.

    Lead the way, but just like the discovery phase, let them speak and feel the room for any positive or negative signs!

    Alright, we’re done. What did you think?

    🤚 Mark a pause right here. Resist the temptation to fill the void – it is very important you do so.

    You want them to answer without any risk of bias. The question is open-ended and you need to make it very broad to allow them to speak their minds.

    If you ask more precise questions, you’ll skew their feedback.

    If no questions come upn another great approach is:

    How do you see this going?

    Again, mark a pause. Let them suggest the next steps and any objections they may raise.

    If you feel it’s been going great, you can be more forward:

    When do you see yourself implementing {{identity.productName}}?

    What’s your timeline with this?

    What you want to get out of these last 10 minutes are:

    • Set a date for another call
    • Have them introduce you to any other potential people you need to talk to
    • Set an implementation timeline
    • Set a date when you’ll come back to them if they need to “talk internally”. You need to get ahead of things

    After that, everyone will have had enough and you’ll bid them farewell.

    … But you’re not done yet. A quick follow-up is vital here!

    Want even more call scripts?

    Step 7: Post-call

    Follow-up within 24h with a concrete summary and next steps!

    Just like the preparation, following up is key and yet often done too late.

    You want your follow-up to:

    • Happen within 24h after your call.
    • Provide them with all the information they need to proceed forward.
    • Reinstate how you’ll solve their problem – use the words verbatim.
    • Define clear next steps.

    Obviously, set a reminder in your CRM depending on the next steps.

    Below are a few examples of follow-ups I send after an inbound demo:

    Subject: LGM x {{companyName}}

    Hey Pete

    Thanks for your time today. I hope the onboarding convinced you to use LaGrowthMachine :)

    Quickly following up on some topics we’ve discussed today, starting with your ongoing sequence:

    Other than that, regarding going forward with LGM, I’m sure you’ll come up with many questions as you deep-dive deeper into the strategies you want to deploy but here are some contents that should prove useful too:

    Regarding the optimal plan for you, as mentioned during the call, it would be either Pro or Ultimate:

    • Pro feels great for you at the moment to start. I don’t believe you need the custom sequences yet and all strategies mentioned above can be done with the Pro Plan
    • You’ll just be missing out on the native Hubspot synchronization as well as our dedicated 3-months onboarding. Today was just a first taste of the level of dedication we provide to our Ultimate customers in making sure you’ll get the most out of LGM:)

    Il reach out later next week to check-in on your and see what your decision will be! Meanwhile, feel free to reach out to me or via Intercom should you have any questions!

    Best,

    Adrien

    Too many details you say?

    Well, that’s everything we discussed… And we ended up in a €4.4k deal.

    Disclaimer ⚠️

    Only one thing could be wrong here:

    My CTA is quite weak. I could have set a date immediately after. But I don’t like being that pushy, especially when I know the sales call went great!

    It’s up to you now!

    I’ve shared with you the basics of a everything you need to have the best first sales call which, when implemented, will greatly impact your closing rate!

    Use it with the right sequence in La Growth Machine and close more deals:

    Bonus 1: How to handle a technical question you have no clue how to answer

    During your tour, you will probably be asked questions you don’t have the answer to. It’s normal and not a bad thing!

    It’s bad though if your reaction is wrong: here’s the greatest way how to handle questions you don’t have the answer to

    Wow, that’s a great question!

    I’ve actually never heard it before, believe it or not.

    Let me do this for you, let me write down the question that you just ask and I’m gonna get with somebody that will make absolutely sure to get the right answer for you.

    Because what I’d hate for you is guess, and tell you something that’s half right half wrong.

    I want to make sure I get the right answer for you!

    A great trick from Troy Barter -it’s two years old but it’s still very much for two reasons:

    • It gets you back to what you were talking about
    • It builds credibility. You weren’t going to answer something untrue. Everything else will look more credible!

    Bonus 2: Master Flow, Intonation, Volume & Accentuation

    This article provided you with tips for a great structure. But what’s missing from it is the importance of flow, intonation, volume & accentuation.

    A lot can be conveyed in how you speak and use pauses:

    • Pauses allow you to create a form of tension on an important matter.
    • Pauses invite, or sometimes even force, the prospect to participate and share their view. They are your most powerful ally.
    • Attitude matters too: If you’re grumpy, they will be too. If you’re smiling, they’ll probably be too. Crack a joke now and then, lighten the mood!
    • Open-ended questions are great to avoid the call feeling like an interrogation. We all hate being barraged with BANT questions, don’t do it!

    There are many examples, and a great master at showing how to Flow and regulating your Tone, Volume & Accentuation can change the perspective of a speech is the man himself:

    Automate your sales calls with La Growth Machine!

    In this masterclass article, I explained in depth all the techniques for making successful sales calls.

    By using them with La Growth Machine, you can go even further and integrate your calls into a multi-channel automation campaign.

    How does it work? As usual, start by creating an automated campaign using one or more channels – more is better!

    Within this automated sequence, you can integrate manual tasks, such as your cold calling actions!

    No need to worry though! When you get to this stage of the campaign, it stops to allow you to make your call.

    You can then restart it afterward if you didn’t convert during your cold call.

    Ready to give it a try?

    Automate your LinkedIn outreach with La Growth Machine
    Try for free