The Six-Step Sales Call
Run every prospect conversation in the same order: prepare, open with purpose, ask before you tell, tell briefly with proof, handle doubts, close on a dated next step.
Each step draws on a separate source, some researched and some not, but the six-step sequence itself has never been tested as a package.
Why it works
A fixed order stops you from pitching before you know the problem. It also gives the buyer a sense that the meeting is going somewhere, which makes you look prepared and serious.
How to do it
- Write the six steps on a card and keep it in front of you for the first twenty calls.
- Spend the first two minutes on purpose, time and what happens at the end.
- Do not describe your offer until the buyer has named a problem in their own words.
- Keep your offer to three points and one proof.
- End only when a day and a time for the next step are agreed.
What to say
Thank you for the time. I'd like to understand how you hire for your field team, then tell you in two minutes how we work, and then we can see if a next step makes sense. Is twenty minutes fine?
Before I tell you anything about us, can I ask a few questions about how hiring works here?
So the next step is a call with your MD on Thursday at 11. I'll send the invite now.
Avoid
Starting with your company history or a brochure walk-through. By the time you reach the part that matters to them, they have stopped listening.
Example
Rohit, who runs a small agri recruitment firm, used to open meetings with a ten-minute slide deck. At a seed company in Hyderabad he tried the six steps instead: he asked about open roles first, heard that three territory managers had been vacant since June, and spent only two minutes on his offer. He left with a date to meet the sales head.
Practise it
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