The Anatomy of a Successful Sales Call

As we gain access to more and more data, we can dissect conversations at a very granular level to
determine the specific elements of an effective sales call.

Four sales call best practices that separate top sales reps from their lagging peers.

Balance the Listening-to-Talking Ratio

A primary goal of a discovery call is to start building rapport with your sales prospect. Rapport happens
naturally when you engage in a two-way conversation of giving and taking. If you pepper the prospect
with questions left and right, it’s going to feel more like an interrogation. According to researchers at
Gong, top sales performers strike a roughly equal listening-to-talking ratio. This allows the prospect time
to respond to your questions, and allows the back-and-forth discussion to carry the call in a natural way.

Ask Prospect-Specific “Problem Questions”

The researchers also found that it’s important to ask an ample amount of problem-related questions on a
discovery call. In fact, it found top salespeople ask 10.1 "problem questions" per hour, while average
performers only ask 6.3.
We’re not talking about any old question, like, “How’s the weather out there?” We’re talking about
targeted, relevant questions specific to the buyer’s business issues, challenges, goals and concerns. Gong
characterizes this as aiming for “more big talk, less small talk.”

Limit Your Talking Points to 3 or 4 Issues

It goes without saying that a discovery call should zero in on the prospect’s concerns, challenges, and
goals, but discuss too many topics and the call can lose a sense of structure. Jumping from topic to topic
to topic can leave your buyer feeling overwhelmed. In fact, the truly major issues might get lost in the
shuffle, causing the buyer to downgrade their importance and urgency.

Gong found that the top-performing sales professionals guide buyers to pinpoint the three or four most
pressing ones. By doing so, they show value in their ability to help the prospect gain clarity and focus,
which in turn helps streamline the overall research and buying process.

Manage Your Time Effectively

While it’s important to hit the right points during your discovery calls, it’s just as important that you
manage the timing and cadence. Gong’s researchers discovered that the most effective discovery call is
split into three parts:

 First 25%: building rapport

 Middle 50%: thorough discovery of 3-4 business issues
 Final 25%: logistics and next steps

Here’s how this breaks down for a 30-minute call:

 7.5 minutes breaking the ice and establishing a connection

 15 minutes focused on discovery
 7.5 minutes wrapping up

Whenever possible, schedule your sales calls for Monday and Wednesday mornings. Prospects are less
likely to show up for the call on Fridays and afternoons in general.

Checklist for Success

Here’s a handy summary of these guidelines and suggestions:

 Schedule calls for Monday and Wednesday mornings
 Do your homework and be prepared to ask targeted questions
 Aim for a balanced two-way dialogue
 Spread your questions evenly throughout the call
 Focus on the top 3 or 4 buyer concerns, challenges and goals
 Break your call up by the 25/50/25 rule (build rapport/discover issues/wrap up)