The First Call Conundrum: What Buyers Vs. Salespeople Want to Talk About [New Research]
If you could be a fly on the wall for hundreds of initial sales calls, what patterns would you notice? What would the most effective salespeople do differently than their average and low-performing peers?
At HubSpot, we analyzed over 500,000 first sales call recordings with machine learning to identify what works and what doesn‘t when it comes to connecting with today‘s buyers. The results were both fascinating and troubling.
There‘s a wide chasm between what buyers want to talk about on that first call and what most reps are trained to do. And the gap has costly consequences – our 2023 Sales Strategy Report found that close rates plummet by over 50% when reps fail to adequately address prospects‘ top-of-mind questions and concerns early in the sales process.
So what exactly do today‘s buyers want to discuss on that crucial first call? Here‘s a look at the data:
Over half of buyers come into the initial call expecting to discuss pricing (58%) and see how the product actually works (54%). Yet only 23% of sales reps are prepared and willing to cover those topics upfront.
Instead, most reps aim to focus the bulk of that first conversation on uncovering the prospect‘s needs (75%), exploring their current challenges and objectives (67%), and building rapport (51%).
The Psychology Behind Buyers‘ Desire for Transparency
At first glance, many sales leaders see this data and assume it means most prospects just want the cheapest option and aren‘t interested in a more consultative, value-based buying process. But digging deeper, that‘s not what‘s driving this behavior.
In an age of infinite information at our fingertips, B2B buyers have grown accustomed to getting quick, transparent answers to their questions in most realms of their life and work. When considering a significant purchase, they want to cut through the fluff and determine as efficiently as possible if a solution is even in the realm of possibility for them.
"Buyers are coming to the table with more knowledge than ever before, and they don‘t want to waste time with solutions that ultimately won‘t fit their needs or budget," says Mary Shea, Global Innovation Evangelist at Outreach.
Shea, who has over two decades of experience advising B2B sales organizations, says it‘s a mistake to assume buyers are simply price shopping. "They‘re looking for clarity and transparency to inform their decision-making process. Avoiding pricing and product conversations can actually erode trust."
Beyond simply wanting quick answers, many buyers have been burned in the past by sales reps who dodged direct questions, strung them along through a lengthy discovery process, only to ultimately present a price point way out of their range. That‘s created an undercurrent of skepticism and impatience in many buying processes today.
The Risks of Leading With Price
So does this mean reps should just open every first call with a pricing overview to satisfy prospects‘ appetites for quick information? Not so fast.
A study by ValueSelling Associates found that when B2B sales reps lead sales conversations with pricing, they leave an average of 16% of potential revenue on the table. And CEB/Gartner research shows that companies who excel at value-based selling grow revenue 17% faster than their peers.
Why? Because price without context is meaningless. And diving straight into product capabilities without tying them to the buyer‘s unique challenges misses a massive opportunity to communicate worth.
Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy Officer at Corporate Visions, has spent his career studying the science of sales conversations. His research has found that the most effective sales teams "frame the value of their solutions as gains worth paying for, not expenses to be trimmed."
But that framing is impossible if reps lead with price or generic product information. They have to first understand what outcomes the buyer is looking to achieve, what obstacles are in their way, and how their world could change for the better with the right solution.
Only then can they effectively position their offering in a way that clearly justifies an investment. Riesterer advises sales teams to turn pricing conversations into "value conversations" as quickly as possible.
Finding the Sweet Spot: Balancing Transparency and Value
So how can reps satisfy buyers‘ desire for transparency and efficiency while still steering the conversation toward value? It starts with recognizing that this isn‘t an either/or situation.
"The best reps don‘t see it as a binary choice between answering pricing and product questions or digging into needs," says Doug Landis, Growth Partner at Emergence Capital. "They look for ways to address prospects‘ inquiries while also opening up a broader discussion about their situation and objectives."
For example, if a buyer asks about price on the first call, rather than evading the question or throwing out a number devoid of context, an artful rep might say something like:
"It‘s a great question, and I‘m happy to provide a general price range for what a solution like ours typically costs for an organization of your size. But to make sure I‘m giving you the most relevant information, it would be helpful to understand a bit more about your specific needs and goals. What challenges are top of mind for you that led you to explore options like ours?"
In this response, the rep has directly addressed the pricing question to build trust and transparency. But they‘ve done so in a way that also allows them to gather critical information to put that pricing in context and potentially uncover areas of value the buyer hadn‘t even considered.
The same approach applies to answering questions about product capabilities:
"Happy to walk you through how the platform works and highlight some of the key features we find most valuable for businesses like yours. To make sure I focus on the most relevant areas, can you share a bit about what your ideal solution would help you achieve? What does ‘success‘ look like in your world?"
Broadening the conversation from what the product does to what the buyer needs it to achieve opens the door to a much richer discussion. It helps the rep gather essential context while still providing the transparency buyers crave.
The Power of Collaborative Agenda Setting
Of course, gracefully making this pivot from answering questions to probing for needs is easier said than done, especially with skeptical or impatient buyers. One strategy top performers use to ease this transition is collaborative agenda setting.
Rather than launching straight into their own list of qualifying questions or waiting for the buyer to pepper them with product inquiries, they open the call by aligning on objectives for the conversation:
"I really appreciate you taking the time to connect today. To make sure this is a valuable use of your time, I‘d love to understand what you were hoping to learn from our discussion. What key questions did you have coming in? And on my end, it would be great to explore a bit about your current situation and what led you to look for a solution like ours, so I can share the most relevant information. How does that agenda sound?"
By proactively surfacing the buyer‘s questions upfront, reps can tailor their portion of the conversation accordingly. If pricing comes up, they can confidently say "I‘ll definitely address that" while still securing permission to explore the buyer‘s needs and objectives as well.
This collaborative approach sets a tone of transparency and partnership from the start. It demonstrates the rep‘s desire to deliver value in the call while steering the discussion in a direction that allows them to gather essential context.
Handling Competitive Conversations With Finesse
One reason many buyers are so keen to discuss pricing and product out of the gate is that they‘re often evaluating multiple options simultaneously. By the time they connect with a sales rep, they‘ve usually already done significant research and have a short list of contenders.
How reps handle these competitive dynamics in the first call can make or break their ability to build trust and differentiate themselves. The key is to strike a balance between demonstrating expertise on the competitive landscape and keeping the focus squarely on the buyer‘s needs.
When asked about alternatives they‘re considering, high performers ask for the prospect‘s perspective before offering their own:
"It‘s great that you‘re looking at a few different options, as you should be for a decision like this. I‘m certainly very familiar with [competitor], and can share my thoughts on how we compare. But I‘m curious – what‘s your take so far on the key differences between our approaches? What stood out to you in your research?"
This accomplishes a few things:
- It shows respect for the buyer‘s intelligence and diligence in evaluating multiple solutions
- It surfaces valuable intel on how the buyer perceives the competitive landscape
- It keeps the focus on their needs vs a canned feature comparison
Armed with the buyer‘s perspective, the rep can then share their own insights through the lens of what matters most to that specific prospect:
"You mentioned that ease of use and fast time-to-value are top priorities for you. In my experience, where we tend to excel over [competitor] is…"
Batting down competitors often comes across as insecure and salesy. But contextualizing your unique strengths based on the customer‘s stated goals demonstrates confidence and credibility.
Telling Compelling Customer Stories
Perhaps the most powerful way for reps to illustrate value on that first call without slipping into "product-pitch mode" is to share brief, relevant customer stories.
"Buyers want to know you‘ve helped others like them achieve similar goals" says Landis. "A crisp anecdote about how you solved a similar problem for a peer in their industry is infinitely more compelling than a generic feature rundown."
Consider this example of a SaaS rep responding to a healthcare IT director‘s inquiry about their platform‘s analytics capabilities:
"Definitely, I can give you a quick overview of our reporting features. But to put it in context, let me share what one of your peers at [XYZ health system] told me. They were struggling with the same challenge you mentioned around data being locked in silos across their EHR, claims, and patient satisfaction systems. Our platform enabled them to pull all that information into a single source of truth and build customized dashboards for each department. In just 3 months, they were able to identify variation in care protocols that was leading to 13% higher readmission rates in some facilities. By standardizing those protocols across the system, they saw a 9% drop in preventable readmissions year over year. How would reducing readmissions by that magnitude impact your organization?"
Simply listing the product‘s features would have satisfied the buyer‘s surface-level question. But taking it a step further to illustrate those capabilities in action and tie them to a meaningful outcome elevates the conversation from product to impact.
Of course, not every customer story needs to be a detailed case study with hard ROI metrics. Even a brief anecdote about how the product made a difference for a similar buyer can be highly effective:
"I was speaking with the VP of HR at a midsize manufacturer in your region last week who was facing the same struggle you described to attract younger engineering talent. She was thrilled to discover that our platform integrates with the latest coding challenge and hackathon platforms her ideal candidates engage on. In her words, ‘it was like a lightbulb went off – we‘re now meeting our target talent where they already are versus expecting them to find us.‘ Is attracting a new generation of technical talent a priority for your company as well?"
Brief and clear attributable quotes
that inspire positive feelings
(light bulb – positive change, excitement)
Stay current to show expertise
Shared struggle creates rapport
Dig into specifics around prospect‘s priorities
The Payoff of a Balanced Approach
Ultimately, top-performing reps recognize that the first sales call doesn‘t have to be a tug-of-war between the buyer‘s desire for quick answers and their own need to uncover key information. By balancing transparency with curiosity, they can satisfy the buyer‘s appetite for information while elevating the conversation above a basic feature and price comparison.
"The reps who consistently crush their numbers don‘t see themselves as gatekeepers of information, but as consultants there to understand the buyer‘s world, connect the dots to value, and help them make the best decision for their business," says Shea. "They know that the first call is the most critical moment to start building trust and demonstrating that they‘re an expert who can deliver a unique solution."
That‘s not to say it‘s an easy tightrope to walk. Pushing too hard for a needs-based discussion when the buyer just wants a quick answer can come across as tone-deaf and salesy. But being too quick to acquiesce to every feature and pricing question can box the rep into a commodity sale.
The key is to artfully address the buyer‘s questions, secure permission to probe deeper, and weave in relevant stories and insights that reframe the conversation around value.
By striking that balance, reps can differentiate themselves not just on the strength of their product, but on the quality of the sales experience itself. And in a world where buyers are overwhelmed with information and options, that consultative, human-first approach is what will ultimately win the day.
