Steal my B2B sales script (literally in this email)

Just do this and you'll close more deals.

Hey,

I haven’t written something here in a while.. but I thought this could be useful.

DO let me know in the comments if it is.

So last week I ran an event where I hung out with a bunch of consultants and helped them figure out how to get more clients One of the big topics that came up is “what do you actually say on a sales call??”

And here’s basically what I said:

Most consultants ruin sales calls in the first sixty seconds, and they all do it the same way: an awkward intro, then “so... should I tell you what I do, or do you want to go first?”

You’ve just handed the lead the job of running your sales call. Then you panic-fill the silence by presenting your services to someone who never asked.

We’ve used essentially the same call structure at AJ&Smart for years. It was written for selling design sprints, but it’s the script for selling everything. Four phases.

Phase 1: The brain dump

You open. Small talk, then:

“The most useful thing for me would be to just hear where you guys are at right now: challenges, what’s going on. Would you mind giving me a bit of a brain dump?”

Then you shut up and take bullet-point notes while they talk. When they pause, you repeat their challenges back to them: “So one of the biggest things I’m hearing is that every time the product team gets together, nobody agrees on features, and that turns into five or six meetings. Is that right?”

Almost nobody does this. Most consultants are just waiting for their turn to present. Reflecting their problem back, in a clean and structured way, already puts you ahead of nearly everyone they’ve talked to, because they finally feel heard.

Phase 2: Connect the dots

Now link their problems to what you do. But do not present your services yet.

“Based on everything you’ve told me, this is exactly the kind of thing we help with. These two challenges? That’s what we excel at. This third one honestly isn’t our strong suit.”

That last part matters. Saying what you’re not great at makes everything else believable.

Phase 3: Turn the tables

If you’ve done phases 1 and 2 right, they’re now curious. So instead of launching into a pitch:

“I’m not sure how much you actually know about us. Do you have any questions?”

Now they dig the information out of you: what’s the service, how long does it take, what does it cost. You answer only what they ask. No case-study carpet bombing, no PDF on screen. If they have no questions at all, you’ve lost them. But you’d have lost them with a pitch too.

Two hard rules here:

• Never bring up price until they ask. Price tends to end the conversation; let it arrive on their timeline. (When they do ask, answer plainly. Don’t dodge.)

• Talk less than the customer. If you’re talking more than them, you’re explaining things they don’t care about yet.
  

Phase 4: Close the loop

They’ll eventually say “so what are the next steps?” Tell them you’ll follow up with a short summary email, and book the second call before you hang up. Not “I’ll send some times.” Booked, in the calendar, within seven days.

Corporate deals close on call two, three or four, never on call one. The first call has one job: being the person they want a second call with.

One uncomfortable extra

Clients will never tell you “halfway through, I got a weird vibe from you.” But that’s what loses deals, not your competency. What they’re really deciding is: will this person make my life easier, or be one more fight?

The only fix I’ve found is paying someone (a mentor, a coach) to tell you honestly how you come across on calls. Nobody in your life will volunteer it. I learned I came across as flippant and barely listening, and I’d never have figured that out alone. Knowing it (and naming it upfront with clients) changed more than any script. A great therapist could also work for this.

Do this on your next call

1. Open with the brain-dump question. Take notes.

2. Repeat their top three challenges back before saying anything about yourself.

3. Say one thing you’re not the right fit for.

4. Ask “what questions do you have?” instead of presenting.

5. Don’t say a price until asked.

6. Book the follow-up call before ending this one.

That’s it. The script isn’t clever. It just makes you the rare person on the call who actually takes the lead but also listens!

Cheers,
Jonathan

P.S. Watch this video if you want even more juicy sales nuggets: