How are your ___ teams/functions organized? How does your ___ process work today? What system(s) do these teams use for sales and lead management? How long has the system been in place? What are your challenges now? (After each answer, keep asking, “What else?”) Have you been looking at alternatives yet? Have you tried and failed with other solutions? Why? Where does _____ fall on your priority list? What is higher? What would an ideal solution look like to you? How will your decision-making process work? Why did you buy the old system? Who made the decision to purchase it? What is the probability a project will occur this year [in the next six months]? Why do it now? (Or why wait until later?) More Tips For A First Call Main objective: get them talking about their business and then listen!! Call low before a C-level conversation: Find out how their business works and current challenges by calling a relevant employee at the company (at Salesforce.com, we’d call individual sales reps to get the inside scoop). Try being (respectfully) blunt: After you’ve talked, and if their pain isn’t obvious, ask straight out if there is any pain: “Where do you have pain today? What’s not working as well is it should?” Keep asking questions until you’ve exhausted the hunt for pain—their challenges. Keep digging until there’s nothing left to uncover. Ask for referrals: Who else should you talk to at other divisions / teams? Scheduling via email is a huge time waster. Always work to schedule your next step while you’re on the phone. Remember, experiment and test these questions and practices to see what works for your people and business. You will have to customize, tweak and test to get great results that are repeatable.