Pre-Call Planning Your Next Sales Call with John Rosso

Mark McGraw is joined by sales legend and longtime friend John Rosso for a deep dive into the critical (and often overlooked) discipline of pre-call planning. Together, they unpack the four-step framework that turns average sales calls into powerful, purposeful conversations—and why skipping this step is not just inefficient, but borderline criminal.

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From defining clear objectives and setting upfront contracts to asking the right questions and getting your mindset right, this episode is packed with practical insights and real-world examples that will help you and your team shorten sales cycles, improve collaboration, and drive better results—whether you’re flying solo or running a joint sales call.

• John and Mark open the episode by reflecting on their powerful five-year collaboration and the lessons learned through working together across offices and industries.
• They emphasize that pre-call planning is shockingly underutilized, estimating that fewer than 20% of salespeople consistently do it—and even fewer do it well.
• John compares a lack of pre-call planning to flying a plane without a pre-flight checklist—borderline criminal when you’re responsible for valuable cargo (like your prospect’s time and trust).
• Mark and John discuss how most salespeople don’t define clear objectives before meetings and how that leads to wasted time and missed opportunities.
• The episode introduces Sandler’s 4-step framework for effective pre-call planning, designed to improve meeting outcomes and shorten sales cycles.
  • Step 1: Define your objective. John explains why knowing what you want to accomplish—and what specific next step you want—is the foundation of a successful meeting.
    • Mark shares how even experienced sales leaders misidentify “sending samples” or “following up” as next steps when no real buyer commitment has been made.
  • Step 2: Set expectations with the prospect using an upfront contract. John explains how this reduces unnecessary tension and makes meetings more productive.
    • Mark compares the upfront contract to turning a frown into a smile—great at the start, less talking in the middle, and great at the end.
  • Step 3: Map out your questions. They break this into three parts: questions you plan to ask, questions you may be asked, and answers you want to walk away with.
    • John stresses how often critical questions—like whether it’s an RFP process or who signs the agreement—go unasked because reps aren’t intentional.
  • Step 4: Mindset. John argues this is the most important and most overlooked piece. The right mindset helps sellers ask tougher, more meaningful questions with confidence.
    • Mark and John offer powerful mindset mantras like “You can’t lose what you don’t have” and “Act as if you’re financially independent, but still want the business.”
• The duo shares why pre-call planning is especially vital for joint sales calls, where roles must be clearly defined to avoid stepping on toes.
• John explains how technical teammates and sales leaders should be coached on when to speak and how to pass the conversation back smoothly.
• Mark compares skipping joint planning to a quarterback telling players “do your own thing” in the huddle—it’s inconceivable in sports, yet happens in sales too often.
• They wrap up the episode by reinforcing the fact that most salespeople need help developing these skills—and that coaching on objectives, agendas, questions, and mindset makes all the difference.
• Mark closes by thanking John for his mentorship and friendship, while John reflects on the impact of collaboration and how Mark’s wisdom continues to inspire his team.

Mentioned in This Episode:

BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/follow

Sandler.com

BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/sandler

John Rosso on LinkedIn

StrategicCoach.com

Vistage.com

BuildingYourSalesEngine.com/18