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tags: A2, 02, Prospecting
---
# Keep your objective in mind at each stage in the sales process

Many people believe you should start selling as soon as you jump on the phone with a lead. **This is a guaranteed recipe for disaster.**

Remember the buyer's journey? At the top of the funnel, a lead is still not ready for a hard sales pitch. They will run away - fast! 🏃‍♂️


You need to slowly nurture your prospect through the funnel, and keep in mind your objective at each stage of the process 👇
 
## 1. First contact
::: info
**Objective**: Agree to a discovery call.
:::
Whether you cold-email, call or connect with a lead, you should never jump to selling. Your objective should be to get them to agree to a longer, scheduled meeting: a discovery call. No selling!

## 2. Discovery call
::: info
**Objective:** Qualify the prospect and deep dive into their needs. Close a demo meeting.
:::
Still not selling! In a discovery call, you're looking to qualify your customer to make sure they're worth selling to and diving deeper into their needs. If there's a fit, you should try to close a demo call. If not, it's a friendly goodbye 👋.

## 3. Demo call
::: info
**Objective:** Showcase your product and how it solves your customers needs to secure buy-in.
:::
This is when the selling actually starts to happen. At this stage, you know your customer is worth selling to and you can solve their needs (because you've qualified them through your discovery call). It's time to do a tailored showcase of your product with emphasis on the features that specifically solve their needs.

## 4. Proposal call
::: info
**Objective:** Close the deal.
:::
In many cases you will likely have to go several demo's and stakeholder meetings before you get to the final proposal call. But when you do reach it, your objective will be to seal the deal.
 

We have specific courses that cover each stage of the sales process: how to conduct cold calls, discovery callls, demo and proposal meetings. Regardless of which stage you're in, **make sure to keep in mind your objective at each stage in the sales process and don't jump too soon into selling mode! 🤖**

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