Because, in the competitive sale, the prospective account has initiated an inquiry, your Influencer has a built-in reason to cooperate with your need for information. While they rarely volunteer details, they are almost always cooperative when asked for them. In fact, the opening situation – that they, by contacting you, have demonstrated interest in a discussion – provides you a gilded invitation to collect information for your initial meeting. This is a huge opportunity if it is handled properly. The key here, given that we have limited time on the phone, is to ask the right questions – in the right order – to learn as much as possible about the current state of the buyer.

Most formal RFPs provide a contact person for questions. Whether responding to an RFP or handling an incoming phone call, the request should be as follows: “to make the best use of your time, do you have a moment to answer a few questions for me?” Because of the pre-established interest of the account, the response you will get is, “sure, what would you like to know?” Once you get this response, follow this seven-question sequence to lay the foundation for your strategy.