Sales Call Checklist: Before, During and After

Most sales calls go wrong in small, predictable ways: a missing agenda, a question you meant to ask, a next step nobody wrote down. A checklist catches those before they cost you a deal. This one is written for the rep running the call, whether it is a discovery call, a demo or a follow-up, and it is split into before, during and after. You will also find the seven steps of a sales call and a printable version at the end.

If you are a manager reviewing someone else's call rather than preparing for your own, our guide to giving feedback on sales calls is the better fit.

Before the call: research, goal, agenda

Preparation is where most of the call is won. It does not need to take long, but it does need to happen every time.

Research

• Your own history first. Read the CRM record, past emails and notes from earlier calls. Nothing undermines trust faster than asking a question they already answered.
• The company. Recent news, hiring, product launches, leadership changes or anything else that might create a reason to talk now.
• The person. Their role, how long they have been in it and what they are likely to be measured on.
• One reason this call matters to them. If you cannot write it in a sentence, you are not ready.

Timebox the research. The aim is a relevant conversation, not a dossier.

Goal

Write down one primary goal and one fallback. “Have a good chat” is not a goal. “Agree a demo with the operations lead in the room” is. The fallback is what you will settle for if the primary goal is out of reach, such as “agree to share current process data so we can come back with a proposal”. Knowing both keeps you from leaving with nothing.

Agenda

For scheduled calls, send a three-line agenda beforehand and ask whether they want to add anything. On the call, restate it and agree what happens at the end, for example “if it looks like a fit we’ll set up a second call; if not, that’s fine too”. Sandler calls this an up-front contract, and it takes the pressure off both sides because nobody is guessing what the call is for.

Questions to prepare

You will not ask every question you prepare, and you should not. The list is a safety net, so you never run dry and never skip an area that matters. Cover five areas, with one or two questions each:

The first three areas follow the logic of SPIN Selling: situation, problem, then the implications of that problem. The decision and timeline questions borrow from qualification frameworks such as MEDDPICC and BANT. For a first meeting, see what a good discovery call covers.

Likely objections and your answers

You can usually predict the three objections you are most likely to hear on a given call. Write them down, along with what each might mean and the first question you will ask in reply. Do not script a full rebuttal: a question keeps the conversation open, while a rehearsed speech tends to start an argument.

Each objection links to a page with response options and what to avoid. The full objection library covers twelve of the most common ones.

During: agenda, discovery, next step

Open with the agenda

Confirm how much time you have, restate the agenda and ask what they would like to add. If the time has shrunk, say what you will drop instead of rushing through everything.

Run discovery before you present

• Ask open questions, and follow up on the answers instead of moving to the next one on your list.
• Let silences run. The most useful answer often comes after a pause.
• Write down the buyer's exact words for their problems. You will use them later.
• Before you present, summarize what you heard and ask, “Have I got that right?” It is the simplest check that you understood.

Present only what is relevant

Show the parts of your product or service that map to the problems they confirmed, in that order, and skip the rest. After each point, check how it landed with a question such as “How does that compare with what you do now?”

Agree on a next step before you hang up

A good next step has a date, a time, an owner and a purpose. “I’ll send something over” is not a next step. “We’ll meet on Thursday at ten with your operations lead to walk through the rollout plan” is. Send the calendar invite while you are still on the call if you can.

After: notes, follow-up, self-score

Notes

Log the call within the hour, while you still remember it. Capture the problems in the buyer's words, everyone who was mentioned and their role, the agreed next step and any open questions. Your future self, and any colleague who picks up the account, will rely on these notes.

Follow-up

Send a short email the same day: a recap of what you heard, the agreed next step with its date, and anything you promised to send. Keep it brief enough to read on a phone. If you said you would send something, send it in that email rather than in a later one.

Self-score

Score the call against a short scorecard straight away. The free sales call scorecard template gives you a ready-made set of criteria to start from. Use the same criteria every time, so this week's scores can be compared with last month's. Then answer three questions:

1. Did I hit my primary goal, my fallback goal or neither?
2. What did the buyer say that surprised me?
3. What one thing will I do differently on my next call?

For practice calls, Vonvo's call analysis scores the conversation for you, so you can compare your own read with an outside one.

The 7 steps of a sales call

There is no single official list, and different methodologies name the stages differently. This sequence is a practical one that fits most discovery calls and demos:

1. 1

   Prepare

   Research, a goal and a fallback goal, an agenda, your questions and likely objections.

2. 2

   Open and agree the agenda

   Confirm the time, share the plan for the call and ask what they want to cover.

3. 3

   Discover

   Ask open questions about their situation, problems and what those problems cost.

4. 4

   Confirm the problem

   Summarize what you heard in their words, and check you have it right.

5. 5

   Present what is relevant

   Show only what maps to the problems they confirmed.

6. 6

   Handle concerns

   Invite objections, explore them with questions, and check each one is resolved.

7. 7

   Agree on the next step

   Book a specific, dated next step, then follow up the same day.

Cold calls compress these steps into a few minutes, with the goal usually being a meeting rather than a decision. If you want a simple way to make sure you have covered the basics on any call, the 4 Ws in sales are a useful cross-check.

Printable checklist

Print this page or copy the list into your notes app and tick it off before, during and after each call.

Frequently asked questions