Sales Call Prep

Sales Call Prep

The pre-call intelligence report that turns a 50/50 sales call into an 80/20 one. Researches the company (with a sales lens — not Wikipedia facts, but buying signals, pain indicators, competitive landscape, and budget context), researches the person (not just their bio, but their authority level, priorities, likely objections, and what they care about), then maps everything to your product to generate a specific call strategy.

What makes this different from meeting-brief:

When to Auto-Load

Load this composite when:

• User says "prep me for my sales call", "call prep for [company]", "research [person] before our demo"
• User says "I have a call with [person] at [company] tomorrow", "meeting prep for a prospect"
• User has an upcoming meeting with a prospect (not an internal meeting, not a customer check-in)
• An upstream workflow (meeting lifecycle, daily BDR rhythm) triggers call prep for sales meetings

Step 0: Configuration (One-Time Setup)

On first run, collect and store these preferences. Skip on subsequent runs.

Your Product Context

Data Source Config

Store config in: clients/<client-name>/config/sales-call-prep.json or equivalent.

Step 1: Gather Context

Purpose: Understand what this meeting is, who's attending, and what stage the deal is at. Pull any existing data from CRM/outreach history.

Input Contract

meeting_input: {
  # Option A: Calendar-driven (meeting already scheduled)
  calendar_event: {
    title: string
    date: string
    time: string
    attendees: [ { name: string, email: string } ]
    description: string | null
    meeting_link: string | null
  }

  # Option B: Manual input (user tells you who the call is with)
  manual: {
    person_name: string
    person_title: string | null
    person_email: string | null
    person_linkedin: string | null
    company_name: string
    company_domain: string | null
    meeting_type: string | null       # "discovery", "demo", "follow-up", "negotiation", etc.
    notes: string | null              # Any context the user provides
  }
}

Process

1. Identify the prospect(s) from calendar or manual input. Filter out internal team members.

2. Check ALL prior interaction sources (critical — do this before any web research):

   The goal is to reconstruct a complete interaction timeline before the call. Walking into a meeting without knowing you've already emailed someone, had a deal in pipeline, or that a teammate talked to their colleague is a credibility killer. Check every available source.

   A) CRM Records (Attio, Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, etc.)

   Check for BOTH the person AND their company. Pull:

   What to Check	What to Pull	Why It Matters
   Company record	Does the company exist in your CRM? What lists is it on?	Shows if they're already a prospect, customer, or cold
   Contact record	Does THIS person exist? Are there other contacts at the company?	Tells you if a colleague already engaged with you
   Active deals	Any open deal for this company? Stage, value, owner, age?	You might already be mid-cycle with them — don't restart the conversation
   Closed deals	Any won or lost deals? If lost, what was the reason?	Lost deals = you know their objections. Won deals = upsell conversation.
   Deal notes	Notes from previous calls, meetings, or interactions	Read every note — they contain gold for personalization
   Deal history	Stage changes, timeline, velocity	Shows how fast (or slow) they move
   Other contacts at company	Names, titles, roles of other people you've talked to	Reference them: "I was speaking with [colleague] about..."
   Comments / activities	Any logged calls, emails, tasks, or comments on their record	May contain context that didn't make it into deal notes

   B) Outreach / Sequencing Tool (SmartLead, Instantly, Outreach, Lemlist, etc.)

   Search by email AND by name. Pull:

   What to Check	What to Pull	Why It Matters
   Campaign membership	Were they in a campaign? Which one? When?	You already reached out — don't pretend this is a cold intro
   Emails sent	Exact subject lines and email bodies you sent them	Know what you said so you don't repeat yourself or contradict it
   Their reply	Did they reply? What did they say? Full reply text.	Their exact words are the best conversation opener: "You mentioned X..."
   Lead category	Interested / Not interested / Out of office / Bounced / etc.	If they were marked "interested," you know their temperature
   Trigger signal	What signal sourced this outreach? (hiring, funding, leadership change)	Reference the original signal: "When we first reached out, it was because [signal]..."
   Sequence position	Which email in the sequence did they respond to (or stop at)?	Tells you what messaging resonated vs. fell flat
   Email account used	Which sender mailbox was used?	Know which "version of you" they interacted with

   C) Other Interaction Sources

   Check any additional places where prior contact may have occurred:

   Source	What to Check
   Client notes file	clients/<client>/notes.md — may reference past conversations, call summaries, or decisions
   Previous content/outputs	clients/<client>/content/ — past call preps, outreach drafts, or research that included this person or company
   Calendar	Previous meetings with this person or company
   LinkedIn messages	Direct messages or InMail exchanges (ask user if they recall any)
   Referral context	How did this meeting come about? Warm intro from whom? Ask user.
   Shared Slack/email threads	Any back-channel conversations about this prospect

   D) Compile Interaction Timeline

   After checking all sources, build a chronological timeline of every touchpoint:

   interaction_timeline: [
     { date: "2026-01-15", type: "outreach_sent", detail: "Email 1 of hiring-signal campaign. Subject: 'The new CCO mandate'" },
     { date: "2026-01-18", type: "reply_received", detail: "Replied: 'Interesting, let's chat next month'" },
     { date: "2026-02-01", type: "deal_created", detail: "Deal created in Attio. Stage: Meeting booked. Value: $36K" },
     { date: "2026-02-10", type: "call_completed", detail: "Discovery call. Notes: 'Interested in outbound automation, evaluating Clay'" },
     { date: "2026-02-10", type: "deal_stage_change", detail: "Stage moved to Evaluation" },
   ]
   

   This timeline goes directly into the 30-Second Brief and Call Strategy. If you have prior interactions, the call type, opening line, and discovery questions all change:

   Prior Interaction	How It Changes the Call
   No prior interaction	True cold discovery — qualify from scratch
   Outreach sent, no reply	Warm-ish — they've seen your name. Reference the email: "I sent you a note about X a few weeks ago..."
   Outreach sent, they replied positively	Warm — pick up where the conversation left off. Don't re-pitch.
   Outreach sent, they replied negatively	Handle carefully — they already said no. Understand why before re-engaging.
   Active deal in CRM	You're mid-cycle — this is a follow-up, not a discovery call. Read all notes.
   Lost deal in CRM	Re-engagement — acknowledge the history: "I know we talked back in [month] and the timing wasn't right..."
   Colleague already engaged	Multi-thread — reference the colleague: "I've been working with [name] on..."

3. Determine call type and objective:

   Call Type	How to Detect	Default Objective
   Cold discovery	No prior deal, first meeting	Qualify: Do they have the problem? Budget? Authority? Timeline?
   Warm discovery	They replied to outreach positively	Qualify + build rapport. They already showed interest — figure out why.
   Demo	Post-qualification, scheduled demo	Show value. Map product to their specific pain. Get next step.
   Follow-up	Post-demo, they're evaluating	Handle objections. Introduce new proof. Advance to proposal.
   Negotiation	Proposal sent, discussing terms	Close. Handle final objections. Align on timeline and terms.
   Champion call	Internal champion, not decision maker	Arm the champion. Give them ammunition to sell internally.
   Executive meeting	VP+ or C-suite involved	Be strategic, not tactical. ROI and vision, not features.

Output Contract

meeting_context: {
  call_type: string
  call_objective: string
  prospect: {
    name: string
    title: string | null
    email: string | null
    linkedin_url: string | null
    company: string
    company_domain: string | null
  }
  prior_interactions: {
    has_prior_contact: boolean           # Critical flag — changes the entire call approach
    interaction_timeline: [              # Chronological list of all touchpoints
      {
        date: string
        type: "outreach_sent" | "reply_received" | "deal_created" | "deal_stage_change" |
              "call_completed" | "note_added" | "linkedin_message" | "referral" | "other"
        source: "crm" | "outreach_tool" | "email" | "linkedin" | "notes" | "calendar" | "other"
        detail: string                   # What happened, in one sentence
      }
    ]
    crm_context: {
      company_record_exists: boolean
      contact_record_exists: boolean
      active_deal: {
        stage: string
        age_days: integer
        amount: number | null
        owner: string | null
        notes: string[]
      } | null
      closed_deals: [ { outcome: "won" | "lost", amount: number, reason: string | null } ]
      other_contacts: [ { name: string, title: string } ]
      comments_and_activities: string[]
    } | null
    outreach_context: {
      campaign_name: string | null
      campaign_status: string | null
      emails_sent: integer
      emails_sent_detail: [ { seq_number: integer, subject: string, date: string } ]
      their_reply: string | null         # Full reply text
      reply_date: string | null
      lead_category: string | null       # Interested, Not Interested, etc.
      trigger_signal: string | null      # What signal sourced the outreach
    } | null
    other_context: {
      client_notes_mentions: string[]    # Relevant mentions from notes.md
      previous_outputs: string[]         # Previous call preps, research, etc.
      referral_source: string | null     # How this meeting came about
    } | null
  }
  additional_attendees: [ { name: string, title: string } ] | null
}

Step 2: Company Deep Dive

Purpose: Research the prospect's company with a sales lens. Not a Wikipedia summary — focus on signals that indicate need, budget, urgency, and competitive landscape.

Input Contract

prospect: { company, company_domain, ... }  # From Step 1
your_company: { ... }                        # From config

Process

Research across seven dimensions. Use web search (always available) as the primary tool.

A) Company Overview (Quick Context)

B) Financial & Growth Signals

C) Pain & Need Indicators

D) Technology & Competitive Stack

E) Decision-Making Landscape

F) Relationship Mapping

G) Recent Company News (Last 90 Days)

Output Contract

company_research: {
  overview: {
    name: string
    description: string
    industry: string
    employee_count: string
    location: string
    founded: string
    business_model: string
  }
  financial: {
    funding_total: string | null
    last_round: { amount: string, stage: string, date: string } | null
    revenue_estimate: string | null
    growth_signal: "growing" | "stable" | "contracting" | "unknown"
  }
  pain_indicators: [
    { signal: string, source: string, relevance_to_product: string }
  ]
  tech_stack: {
    known_tools: string[]
    competitor_in_use: string | null
    integration_opportunities: string[]
  }
  decision_landscape: {
    decision_maker_likely: string     # Title of likely decision maker
    other_stakeholders: string[]
    procurement_style: "founder_led" | "committee" | "procurement" | "unknown"
    estimated_sales_cycle: string
  }
  recent_news: [
    { headline: string, date: string, relevance: string }
  ]
  relationship_map: {
    mutual_connections: string[]
    peer_customers: string[]          # Your customers in their network
    past_interactions: string | null
  }
}

Step 3: Person Deep Dive

Purpose: Research the specific person on the call. Not just their bio — understand their authority, priorities, communication style, and likely concerns.

Input Contract

prospect: { name, title, email, linkedin_url, company }  # From Step 1
company_research: { ... }                                  # From Step 2
your_company: { ... }                                      # From config

Process

A) Professional Profile

B) Authority & Buying Power Assessment

Authority classification:

C) What They Care About

D) Communication Style Signals

E) Likely Objections (Predicted)

Based on their profile, company situation, and your common objections:

Output Contract

person_research: {
  profile: {
    name: string
    title: string
    department: string
    time_in_role: string
    previous_roles: [ { title: string, company: string, duration: string } ]
    education: string | null
  }
  authority: {
    level: "economic_buyer" | "technical_buyer" | "champion" | "user" | "evaluator"
    budget_authority: "confirmed" | "likely" | "unlikely" | "unknown"
    reports_to: string | null
    team_size: string | null
    assessment: string                # One-sentence assessment of their buying power
  }
  interests_and_priorities: {
    recent_posts_summary: string      # What they've been posting/sharing about
    key_topics: string[]              # Themes they care about
    public_opinions: string[]         # Positions they've taken publicly
    conversation_hooks: string[]      # Specific things to reference in the call
  }
  communication_style: {
    primary_style: string             # "data-driven", "visionary", "operational", "skeptical", "relationship-oriented"
    how_to_adapt: string              # Specific guidance
  }
  predicted_objections: [
    {
      objection: string
      likelihood: "high" | "medium" | "low"
      reasoning: string               # Why we predict this
      prepared_handle: string          # How to address it
    }
  ]
}

Step 4: Product-to-Prospect Mapping

Purpose: This is the core value-add. Map your product's capabilities to this specific prospect's situation. Not generic value props — specific connections based on the research. Pure LLM reasoning.

Input Contract

company_research: { ... }            # From Step 2
person_research: { ... }             # From Step 3
meeting_context: { ... }             # From Step 1
your_company: {
  description: string
  pain_point: string
  proof_points: string[]
  competitors: [ { name: string, positioning: string } ]
  pricing_model: string
  sales_process: string
  discovery_questions: string[]
}

Process

A) Value Mapping

For each pain indicator found in Step 2, map to a specific product capability:

Only include pains where there's a genuine connection. Don't force-fit.

B) Competitive Positioning (If Relevant)

If they're using or evaluating a competitor:

Rules:

• Never trash the competitor. Acknowledge what they do well. Differentiate on where you're stronger.
• If you don't know the competitor, ask the prospect: "What do you like about [tool]? What's missing?"
• Frame as "different approach" not "we're better"

C) Relevant Proof Points

Select 2-3 proof points most relevant to THIS prospect:

Selection criteria: Same industry > same size > same problem > same competitor > general. Always choose the most specific proof point available.

D) Risk Factors & Landmines

Things that could derail the call:

Output Contract

product_mapping: {
  value_connections: [
    {
      their_pain: string
      your_answer: string
      proof_point: string
      how_to_say_it: string
      confidence: "strong" | "moderate" | "speculative"
    }
  ]
  competitive_positioning: {
    competitor_in_play: string | null
    differentiators: [ { dimension: string, their_approach: string, your_approach: string, framing: string } ]
    competitive_advice: string        # One paragraph on how to handle the competitive dynamic
  } | null
  relevant_proof_points: [
    { proof: string, why_relevant: string }
  ]
  risk_factors: [
    { risk: string, source: string, mitigation: string }
  ]
}

Step 5: Generate Call Strategy & Brief

Purpose: Synthesize everything into a single pre-call document with: executive brief, call strategy, talk track, discovery questions, and objection prep.

Input Contract

meeting_context: { ... }              # From Step 1
company_research: { ... }            # From Step 2
person_research: { ... }             # From Step 3
product_mapping: { ... }             # From Step 4
your_company: { ... }                # From config

Report Structure

# Sales Call Prep: [Person Name] @ [Company]
**Date:** [meeting date/time] | **Call type:** [discovery/demo/follow-up/etc.]
**Prepared for:** [user's name/role]

---

## 30-Second Brief

[4-5 bullet points. Everything you need if you have 30 seconds before the call.]

- **Who:** [Name], [Title] at [Company] — [authority level]. [Time in role].
- **What they do:** [Company] is a [1-sentence description]. [Size, industry, stage].
- **Prior interaction:** [CRITICAL — "No prior contact" OR "We emailed them on [date] about [topic], they replied [summary]" OR "Active deal in [stage] since [date]" OR "Lost deal [date] — reason: [reason]". This single line changes the entire call approach.]
- **Why this call:** [How this meeting came about — outreach reply, inbound, referral, etc.]
- **Key signal:** [The one thing that makes this call timely — funding, hiring, pain post, etc.]
- **Your angle:** [One sentence on why your product matters to them right now]

---

## Company Intelligence

### Overview
[2-3 sentences on what the company does, their market position, and current trajectory]

### Business Context
| Factor | Detail | Sales Relevance |
|--------|--------|----------------|
| Size | [employees] | [pricing tier / complexity indicator] |
| Funding | [last round] | [budget indicator] |
| Growth | [signal] | [expanding = buying, contracting = cost-cutting] |
| Industry | [vertical] | [which proof points to use] |

### Pain Signals Found
| Signal | Source | Connection to Your Product |
|--------|--------|--------------------------|
| [pain] | [where you found it] | [how your product addresses this] |
| [pain] | [source] | [connection] |

### Their Current Stack
| Category | Tool | Implication |
|----------|------|------------|
| [your category] | [competitor or unknown] | [displacement or greenfield opportunity] |
| [adjacent] | [tool] | [integration opportunity] |

### Recent News
| Date | Headline | Relevance |
|------|----------|-----------|
| [date] | [news] | [why it matters for this call] |

---

## Prior Interactions

[If no prior interactions exist, state "No prior contact found across CRM, outreach tools, or other sources. This is a true cold meeting." and move on.]

[If prior interactions exist, this section becomes one of the most important in the brief.]

### Interaction Timeline
| Date | Type | Source | Detail |
|------|------|--------|--------|
| [date] | [outreach_sent / reply / deal / call / etc.] | [CRM / SmartLead / email / etc.] | [What happened] |

### What They Already Know About You
[Based on the outreach and interactions above, summarize what this person already knows about your product/company. This prevents you from re-explaining things they've already heard.]

### What You Already Know About Them
[Based on replies, call notes, CRM notes — summarize what you've learned from prior interactions. These are conversation gold: "Last time we spoke, you mentioned X..."]

### How Prior Interactions Should Shape This Call
[Specific guidance on how to adjust the call approach based on history. Examples:]
- "They replied positively to your hiring-signal outreach — open by referencing that: 'You mentioned you were interested when we first reached out about [topic]...'"
- "Deal has been in Evaluation for 18 days with no movement — this is a re-engagement call, not a discovery call. Ask what's changed since the last conversation."
- "Your colleague [name] already talked to their VP Sales — reference that: 'I know [colleague] has been working with [their VP]...'"
- "They were marked 'Not Interested' in a previous campaign 3 months ago — acknowledge it: 'I know we reached out before and the timing wasn't right. What's different now?'"

---

## Person Intelligence

### Profile
[1-2 paragraphs on who this person is — not their resume, but what makes them tick.
What they care about, what they've been vocal about, what their priorities likely are.]

### Authority Assessment
| Factor | Assessment |
|--------|-----------|
| Authority level | [economic buyer / technical buyer / champion / user] |
| Budget authority | [likely/unlikely] |
| Reports to | [name/title] |
| Decision process | [solo / committee / procurement] |

### Communication Style: [Type]
[2-3 sentences on how to adapt your communication to this person.
E.g., "Lead with data — they post frequently about metrics and ROI.
Don't spend too long on rapport. Get to the numbers quickly."]

### Conversation Hooks
[3-5 specific things you can reference to show you've done your homework]
1. [Their recent post about X — use as an opener or bridge]
2. [A project they led at their previous company]
3. [Something from company news they're likely proud of]
4. [Mutual connection or shared experience]
5. [A comment they made about a problem you solve]

---

## Call Strategy

### Objective
**Primary:** [What you want to achieve in this call — e.g., "Qualify: confirm pain, budget, timeline, authority"]
**Secondary:** [Backup objective — e.g., "If not qualified, get referral to right person"]

### Agenda Suggestion
[A proposed call structure. Adapt to call type.]

| Phase | Time | What to Do |
|-------|------|-----------|
| **Open** | 2 min | [How to open — rapport hook, agenda set] |
| **Discovery / Context** | 10-15 min | [Key questions to ask — see below] |
| **Value / Demo** | 10-15 min | [What to show or discuss — see value connections] |
| **Next Steps** | 3-5 min | [What to propose — see below] |

### Opening Line
> "[Suggested opening — references a conversation hook and sets the agenda naturally.
  E.g., 'Thanks for making time, [Name]. I saw your post about [topic] — that's actually
  a big part of why I wanted to connect. I'd love to learn about how [Company] is
  handling [pain area] and see if what we're building is relevant. Sound good?']"

### Discovery Questions (Prioritized)

**Must-ask** (qualify the deal):
1. [Question that confirms they have the pain your product solves]
2. [Question about how they're handling it today — incumbent tool or manual process?]
3. [Question about timeline — are they actively evaluating or just learning?]
4. [Question about decision process — who else is involved?]
5. [Question about budget — how do they typically buy tools in this category?]

**Should-ask** (deepen the conversation):
6. [Question specific to their company situation from research]
7. [Question about their priorities for the next 6-12 months]
8. [Question that surfaces a pain they might not have articulated]

**Nice-to-ask** (if time allows):
9. [Question about their experience with competitors]
10. [Question about what a successful outcome looks like for them]

### Value Points to Make
[Ordered by relevance to THIS prospect — not your generic pitch deck]

1. **[Value point]** — [How to frame it for this prospect, using their specific situation]
   - Proof: [Relevant proof point]
   - Transition: [How to move from discovery to this point naturally]

2. **[Value point]** — [Framing]
   - Proof: [Proof]

3. **[Value point]** — [Framing]
   - Proof: [Proof]

### Proposed Next Step
[What to suggest at the end of the call, based on call type]

| Call Type | Suggest |
|-----------|---------|
| Discovery (qualified) | "Would it be helpful to see a demo tailored to [their specific use case]? I can have that ready by [date]." |
| Discovery (not sure yet) | "Let me put together a one-pager on how [peer company] handled this. Can I send it over and follow up [date]?" |
| Demo | "Based on what we covered, it sounds like [stakeholder] should probably see this too. Can we set up a follow-up with them?" |
| Follow-up | "I can have a proposal over by [date]. Would it be useful to include [specific thing they asked about]?" |
| Negotiation | "If we can align on [terms], we could have you live by [date]. What does your approval process look like from here?" |

---

## Objection Prep

[Pre-loaded responses for likely objections, ordered by predicted likelihood]

### [Objection 1 — Highest Likelihood]
**They'll say:** "[Exact wording of the objection]"
**Why:** [Why we predict this based on research]
**Handle:**
> "[Suggested response — acknowledge, reframe, proof point]"

### [Objection 2]
**They'll say:** "[Objection]"
**Why:** [Reasoning]
**Handle:**
> "[Response]"

### [Objection 3]
**They'll say:** "[Objection]"
**Why:** [Reasoning]
**Handle:**
> "[Response]"

---

## Landmines & Things to Avoid

- [Thing NOT to bring up and why — e.g., "Don't mention their recent layoffs. Still sensitive."]
- [Topic to avoid — e.g., "Don't reference competitor by name unless they bring it up first."]
- [Assumption NOT to make — e.g., "Don't assume they have budget authority — verify first."]

---

## After the Call

### Notes Template
After the call, capture:
- [ ] **Outcome:** Qualified / Not qualified / Needs follow-up
- [ ] **Key pains confirmed:** [What they actually said they struggle with]
- [ ] **Decision process:** [Who's involved, timeline, budget]
- [ ] **Next step agreed:** [What happens next]
- [ ] **Objections raised:** [What came up, how you handled it]
- [ ] **Competitive mentions:** [Any competitors discussed]
- [ ] **Follow-up items:** [What you promised to send/do]