There is a lot of content and conversation about the need to prepare and do your homework before you get on a sales call or into a meeting. And that’s a good thing. But like note-taking, when is too much of a good thing? When does preparation become a bad thing? What should you look out for to know when enough is enough?

One client is in the midst of starting a partner referral program with the consultants that use the software they sell. They have been to several events in the past few weeks and gotten several introductions. But instead of having the discovery conversations, they have been obsessed with having a list of all the right questions to ask.

By not having the conversations, and extensively preparing instead, are they losing out on the momentum of an opportunity? Wouldn’t it be better to know enough to know what you don’t know, and use those questions? Why wait?

Here is the problem with over preparation and why we need to be careful to balance it. Roleplaying, planning questions and answers can cause emotional involvement. We get so wrapped up in what should happen, that when it doesn’t we get thrown off. We lose the opportunity to understand what is going on with the PERSON we are interacting with because we are struggling to make things go the way we planned. Inevitably, our best laid plans won’t happen the way we want, and if it is so drilled into our heads, we are left scrambling to figure out what to do next. We forget that we are talking with a person when we are so focused on our plan.

Why does this happen? Why do we feel the need to over prepare? Is it because we are afraid that the other person will think we don’t know what we are talking about? That we don’t have it together? The need to over prepare is a symptom of a need for approval. When we need to appear smart, smooth, put together it's because our need for a certain appearance is paramount. This happens sometimes to very smart, and highly educated people. We need people to know just how smart we are, so that they will listen to us and buy.

It’s not about you.

Yes, it is good to know how to react to possible scenarios. It’s good to know something about the person you are talking with. It is bad to rely on that being the scenario and assume what we think we know is the reality.

The right amount of preparation is like knowing the plays in football. We don’t always know what the offense or defense will do, but we prepare enough to know what we will do given the play that is happening on the field. But if we are so caught up in doing the play we prepared, then the other team scores and you don’t even know it is happening. Do the best players watch a lot of tapes and practice their plays? Yes. But they do so in order to be able to know what to look for when they are on the field itself.

Proper preparation enables you to improvise, to have a meaty and meaningful conversation. Too much preparation can paralyze you. You fear taking timely action because you don’t want to make a mistake, and by not taking action, nothing happens. You lose momentum and opportunities. If you have no idea how you will use the information you get from all your preparation and research, you probably don’t need it.

So what should proper preparation look like? How much time should you spend on it? How should you use the information you learn to start an engaging conversation with a near stranger?

Sales Prep Checklist

This is by no means a complete list, but here are a few things to get you started and thinking about how to use the what you learn to engage. This list is also assuming that you have discovered what your prospect wants to get done during your call and that you have all the people on the call that need to be there.

The Person(s) (5-10 minutes)

Notice that I started with the person first. After all, you are having the conversation with a person first and foremost, not a prospect, lead, or company.

• Visit their LinkedIn profile and other social accounts. What are they sharing, commenting on? Who do you have in common?
• In the call or meeting you can then ask something like: “I saw on LinkedIn that we have John in common, how do you know him?” (or if it is a referral, you can also ask more about their relations with the referrer)
• What type of education do they have? Is what they went to school for what they are doing now?
• In the call or meeting you can then ask something like: “So how does a guy with a degree in engineering end up as the director of sales? Was that the plan all along?”
• What is their role? Is a new to them? Have they been doing it a long time? Who do they report to? Search Google for content on challenges for their role.
• In the call or meeting you can then ask something like: “Looks like you have been doing this for a while now, how have things changed? How has that impacted you?” or if they are new to the role “Did you seek out the new role, or did someone seek you out for it? What made you want to take it?”
• “I’ve read that others in your role are facing challenges like A,B,C- have you seen that? How are you overcoming those?”
• “How involved is <their supervisor> in this decision? What is important to them?
• Google them. Have they written anything interesting? Spoken at a conference? Done a webinar?
• Ask them questions about the content they created. How did they come to their conclusions? Why did they think it was so important to share with others? What type of reactions or feedback did they get from it?

Their company and industry (5-10 minutes)

• Check their website, what is their mission statement? What is their value proposition?
• Ask how their mission statement and value proposition differentiates them from their competition. What challenges do they face in accomplishing that statement?
• Have there been any trigger events, like a merger or acquisition? A new large customer? A recent 3rd party report or analysis in their favor?
• How has that event impacted the company? Does it relate to what you need to talk about?
• Do a Google search for content on changes and challenges in their industry.
• “There was an interesting article I read on <cite source> that claimed your industry facing challenges like A,B,C- have you seen that? How are you overcoming those?” or “When I’ve spoken to others in your industry, they shared that A and B were a a challenge- have you seen that happen as well?”

How do you prepare? How much time do you spend on it? How do you use that information? Or do you wing it? Or maybe get flustered and frustrated when your prospects don't follow your plan? Maybe there are some invisible obstacles that are preventing you from the success you should be having?