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tags: Week 7, H3, M11
---
# Set an agenda
:::info
**You're in step 2 of a discovery call:** Introduction
:::
Too often we’ve seen salespeople jump straight into their discovery call with an interrogation of questions that the prospect wasn’t expecting.

It's a recipe for disaster.

Doing this, there’s a lack of understanding from the prospect about the whole objective of the call and what happens at the end. Instead, you need to structure the call, communicate the objective and align expectations. This will help you take control of the conversation and establish yourself as a true sales professional.

You can even treat this as a contract between you and the prospect. You should agree on:

- The meeting’s objective
- Your agenda (what you plan to talk about)
- The buyer’s expectations
- The amount of time set aside for the meeting

Besides that, we recommend you start by appreciating that your prospect is taking time for the call.

Here's an example:

> **You:** {Name of prospect}, I appreciate you joining our call today.
The purpose of this conversation, {Name of prospect}, is for me to learn more about your situation and decide whether how we may be able to help. When this call ends, the goal is for you to have all the information you need to decide whether you’re interested in learning more. If you are, we’ll plan the next step together, and if you’re not, you’ll tell me straight up so we don’t waste anyone’s time. Is that fair?
>
> **Prospect:** Absolutely!
> **You:** Great - I’m certain that we can achieve this in 30 minutes, which is what I’ve set aside. Does this still work for you?
> **Prospect:** Yes, 30 minutes sounds great.
> **You:** Great. I’ve planned to ask how you currently go about ABC, what your objectives here are and then explain how we may be able to help. Do you think there’s anything we should add to or remove from that agenda?
> **Prospect:** Nope.
> **You:** Sounds good! Let’s begin.

:::success
Here is an easy way to remember what to cover during the opening call structure:

**A** - Appreciate
**MO** - Meeting objective
**T** - Time
**A** - Agenda
:::

Once you've established rapport and structured the call, it's time to move onto **Step 3: Need discovery!**

Let's go!

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