By name: call-prep description: Prepare for B2B sales calls and meetings. Research the prospect, generate talking points, anticipate objections, and build a meeting agenda. Use when the user has a sales call, discovery meeting, demo, or prospect conversation coming up.
Call Prep
Prepare for B2B sales meetings in minutes. Research the prospect, build talking points, anticipate objections, and create a structured agenda. Walk into every call with an edge.
When to Use
- Before a discovery call with a new prospect
- Before a demo or product walkthrough
- Before a follow-up meeting with an existing opportunity
- Before a QBR or executive check-in
- Before a conference meeting or event follow-up
Before Preparing: What to Ask
- "Who is the meeting with?" — Company, person(s), their roles/titles
- "What stage is this?" — First call, discovery, demo, follow-up, negotiation, executive review
- "What do you already know?" — Any prior interactions, notes, CRM data, or lead-researcher brief
- "What's your goal for this meeting?" — What outcome would make this a successful call?
- "How long is the meeting?" — 15 min, 30 min, 60 min — shapes the agenda
Call Prep Brief (Default Output)
1. Prospect Snapshot
Quick reference card for the meeting:
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | Name, what they do, size, industry |
| Person(s) | Name, title, role in buying process |
| Current situation | What they use today for the problem you solve |
| Why they took the meeting | The trigger — what made them say yes |
| Key context | Recent news, funding, hiring, leadership changes |
If a lead-researcher brief exists, pull from it. If not, do quick research.
2. Meeting Agenda (Suggested)
Adapt based on meeting type and length:
Discovery Call (30 min)
| Time | Activity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 0-3 min | Rapport + context setting | "Thanks for making time. I'd love to understand your situation and see if there's a fit." |
| 3-15 min | Discovery questions | Understand their problem, current process, and what they've tried |
| 15-22 min | Tailored positioning | Connect your product to their specific situation |
| 22-27 min | Q&A | Let them ask questions |
| 27-30 min | Next steps | Agree on specific follow-up action and timeline |
Demo (45 min)
| Time | Activity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 0-5 min | Recap and confirm priorities | "Last time you mentioned X and Y. Still the top priorities?" |
| 5-10 min | Brief context on approach | Frame the demo around their problem, not your features |
| 10-35 min | Demo (their use case) | Show the product solving their specific problem |
| 35-42 min | Q&A and objection handling | Address concerns directly |
| 42-45 min | Next steps | Who else needs to see this? What's the decision process? |
Follow-up / Negotiation (30 min)
| Time | Activity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 0-3 min | Status check | Where are they in their process? |
| 3-15 min | Address open items | Objections, questions, requirements from last meeting |
| 15-25 min | Commercial discussion | Pricing, timeline, implementation, terms |
| 25-30 min | Next steps | Specific actions, owners, deadlines |
3. Discovery Questions
Tailored to the prospect's situation. Organize by category:
Situation (understand their world)
- "Walk me through how your team currently handles [the process your product addresses]."
- "How many people are involved in [process]? What does a typical cycle look like?"
- "What tools or systems do you use for this today?"
Problem (find the pain)
- "What's the biggest bottleneck in [process]?"
- "When [problem] happens, what's the impact on [timeline / cost / team]?"
- "Have you tried to solve this before? What happened?"
Implication (make the pain concrete)
- "If you could cut [process] from [X months] to [Y weeks], what would that mean for [launches / revenue / team capacity]?"
- "What happens if nothing changes in the next 12 months?"
Need-payoff (connect to solution)
- "If you had a tool that could [key capability], how would that change your workflow?"
- "What would success look like for you in the first 90 days?"
Process (understand buying)
- "Who else would need to be involved in evaluating something like this?"
- "What does your typical decision process look like for a tool in this category?"
- "Is there a timeline or initiative driving this?"
4. Talking Points
3-5 tailored points connecting the product to this specific prospect. Each follows the structure:
[Their situation/problem] → [How you solve it] → [Proof point]
Example:
- "Your team screens formulations through wet lab testing, which takes 4-6 months per cycle → Nextmol runs computational screening on thousands of candidates in days → Clariant went from 6 months to 3 weeks for aggregation inhibitor screening."
5. Objection Anticipation
For each likely objection, prepare a response:
| Likely Objection | Why They'll Say It | Response Approach |
|---|---|---|
| "We've always done it in the lab" | Status quo bias, comfort with existing process | Acknowledge the lab's value. Position computational as complementary — pre-screen computationally, validate winners in lab. Show ROI math. |
| "How accurate is this?" | Technical skepticism, especially from scientists | Lead with validation data. Reference peer-reviewed publications. Offer a pilot on their own molecules. |
| "We looked at [competitor] and it was too complex" | Past bad experience with computational tools | Acknowledge the pain. Differentiate on ease of use. Offer to demo with their actual use case. |
| "Budget is tight" | Real constraint or negotiation tactic | Quantify the cost of current approach. Show ROI timeline. Explore pilot or phased approach. |
| "We need to involve [other stakeholders]" | Not a blocker — it's buying process | "Absolutely. Who would be most important to include? Happy to do a tailored session for them." |
6. Competitive Intelligence
If you know or suspect they're evaluating alternatives:
- Key differentiators vs. each competitor
- What the competitor does well (don't trash them — acknowledge and pivot)
- Questions to ask that highlight your advantage without naming competitors
7. Post-Call Plan
Before the call, know what "next steps" you'll propose based on how it goes:
| If the call goes well... | Propose |
|---|---|
| Strong interest, right person | Demo or technical deep-dive with their team |
| Interest but not the decision maker | "Can we schedule a session with [decision maker]?" |
| Interest but no urgency | Share relevant case study, follow up in 2 weeks |
| Lukewarm | Send one-pager, nurture via content, revisit in 6-8 weeks |
MEDDICC Integration
For opportunities that are past discovery, map what you know and what you still need:
| MEDDICC Element | What You Know | What You Need to Find Out |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics | Business impact they care about | Specific KPIs and targets |
| Economic Buyer | Who signs off on budget | Access to that person |
| Decision Criteria | What they'll evaluate on | Weighted priorities |
| Decision Process | Steps and timeline | Internal approvals, procurement |
| Identify Pain | Surface-level problem | Root cause and business impact |
| Champion | Who's advocating internally | How to enable them |
| Competition | Who else they're looking at | Where competitors are strong/weak |
Output Format
Deliver a Call Prep Brief that fits on 1-2 pages. Sales reps should be able to read it in 5 minutes before the call. Include:
- Prospect snapshot (quick reference card)
- Meeting agenda (with time blocks)
- Top 5 discovery questions (tailored)
- 3-5 talking points (situation → solution → proof)
- Top 3 objections and responses
- Proposed next steps (conditional)
Integration with Other Skills
- Use lead-researcher output as the foundation for the prep
- Use sales-outreach for follow-up messaging after the call
- Use sales-qualification (MEDDICC) for deal qualification scoring
- Use positioning-builder for consistent value proposition framing
- Use competitor-mapper for competitive intelligence