Are your sales reps still using brand intros at their first meeting with prospects? If so, you might want to stop them. Introduction calls, once viewed as essential to establishing familiarity, now risk alienating the very prospects they aim to engage.
The 2024 Buyer Experience Report — which analyzed the responses of 2,509 recent B2B buyers— uncovered that by the time prospects talk to sales reps, they’ve often done extensive research into your brand and your competition. By the time that first call happens, buyers typically know what a company offers, making a formal brand introduction redundant and, in many cases, frustrating.
What should your sales reps do instead with the precious time they have at the first meeting? We sat down with Charles Becker, BDR Enablement expert at 6sense, to find out.
“We want all of our sellers to come with a point of view or perspective on the prospect’s business. Based on a prospect’s keywords, you can form a hypothesis on what it is that they’re interested in.”
Charles Becker
Senior BDR Enablement Manager, 6sense
Enough About Me, Let’s Talk About You
The goal of every first meeting should be to deliver an experience that feels insightful, valuable, and consultative.
Your sales reps can achieve this by going into it prepared with insights and crafting an agenda based on deep research into the prospect. This approach empowers reps to enter conversations with an understanding of the prospect’s unique situation, their pain paints, and ways your solution can help, positioning your organization as trusted advisors from the start.
Charlies recommends looking into the company’s status in industry reports, such as the Gartner Magic Quadrant or Forrester Wave.
“Are they in the top right corner, a leader trying to maintain their lead, grow market share, or prioritize the huge amount of inbounds they have? Or are they a follower, trying to build their brand and get into new deals?” Knowing a company’s position in its industry gives reps insight into what problems they may be facing or goals they’re aiming for.
For 6sense and other SaaS companies, another key aspect of preparation is assessing the prospect’s tech fit — how well your solutions integrate with the prospect’s existing technology and how they can enhance or extend current investments. This step ensures that reps can quickly identify ways to add value.
Finally, analyzing the prospect’s total addressable market (TAM) and understanding the people involved in the account gives reps the foundation needed to offer a truly customized approach.
Using the first meeting to put the prospect’s needs and goals at the center of the conversation lets reps set themselves apart from competitors and build meaningful, consultative relationships from the very first interaction.
Dig Deeper into Intent Data
Intent data — data that reveals what topics or solutions the prospect is actively researching online — includes insights such as trending keywords, specific web pages or resources visited, and persona mapping within the buying team.
Charles Becker explained the critical role intent data plays in setting up these high-value conversations: “We want all of our sellers to come with a point of view or perspective on the prospect’s business,” he says. By using intent data for meeting preparation, reps can tailor the conversation to cover what the prospect cares about.
As Charles explained, “Based on a prospect’s keywords, you can form a hypothesis on what it is that they’re interested in.” Understanding which topics and products are top-of-mind for the prospect helps sellers anticipate needs and craft a focused value proposition.
Beyond keywords, knowing which parts of your website the prospect has visited can offer further insight into their interests. For example, if a prospect has been reading about upcoming industry events or specific solutions, the sales rep can ask targeted questions about those interests. As Charlies noted, this kind of information allows reps to ask questions that get to the heart of what the prospect wants to achieve and helps build credibility.
Finally, persona maps within intent data are powerful tools for identifying who might be involved in the buying decision and understanding their likely concerns.
Reps can tailor their approach based on the specific personas they expect to engage, offering insights on how solutions address the needs of different departments or roles within the company. “It’s really powerful if they say, ‘Yeah, I totally agree with your perspective,’” Charles said, explaining how mapping these personas also enables reps to suggest valuable next steps, such as inviting additional stakeholders to join the conversation.
But it’s not a bad thing to have one’s hypothesis or suggestions corrected, Charles pointed out. A prospect may react by saying, “Actually, our main concern is X, or the right person to loop in is Y,” and reps should see this reaction as a win. Coming into the first meeting with a highly educated guess and leaving with a correction that brings more clarity is preferable to coming in with a barrage of open-ended questions and leaving with vague answers.
Preparing a thoughtful, data-driven point of view for first meetings allows reps to ask meaningful, focused questions, highlight relevant solutions, and ultimately deliver a more resonant value proposition — one that not only addresses the prospect’s current needs but also anticipates future challenges and opportunities.
Teach, Tailor, Take Control
There are several sales methodologies that can be effective. 6sense sales reps are trained to use the Challenger Sales Methodology. Within this sales method is an effective framework 6sense reps use for conducting a successful first meeting called the “Teach, Tailor, Take Control” approach.
This structure allows sales reps to move beyond traditional pitching and instead engage the prospect with an informed, consultative experience that drives value and builds trust from the outset.
Teach
The first step in this approach is to provide educational insights that offer value right away. Reps come prepared with information about current industry trends, common challenges within the prospect’s industry, or best practices that top companies are implementing.
By sharing key findings, such as the limitations of MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) or the potential of ABM (Account-Based Marketing) to drive revenue, the 6sense rep establishes credibility as a trusted advisor. Teaching gives prospects something actionable and demonstrates that the rep understands the broader context of their business.
Tailor
Next, the rep tailors the conversation to align closely with the prospect’s specific needs and objectives. This stage relies heavily on the research and intent data gathered beforehand, which helps the rep customize their presentation and address relevant pain points. This personalized approach makes the meeting feel more relevant to the prospect, allowing the rep to go beyond surface-level discussions and focus on solutions that directly impact the prospect’s business goals.
Take Control
Finally, the rep takes control of the conversation by setting a clear agenda from the start and guiding the prospect through possible next steps. Although this might sound assertive, it’s less about pushing the prospect and more about leading them confidently through the process.
As Becker noted, this step can involve setting an “upfront contract,” which means laying out potential outcomes for the meeting at the beginning. “You set up the possible outcomes, and you agree on it in advance,” Becker explained.
This can be as simple as saying, “Typically, how this goes is, if there’s a fit, we’ll look into involving more stakeholders, or if not, we can part ways here.” This transparent approach minimizes uncertainty, allowing prospects to feel in control of their decision-making.
Advice for BDRs
At 6sense, BDRs play a vital role in laying the groundwork for Account Executives by digging deep into the context behind each prospect’s interest and identifying pain points that can serve as main talking points for the first meeting. Here are some practical steps BDRs can take to ensure that each meeting is focused, informed, and valuable:
Go Beyond the Surface with Follow-Up Questions
One of the most effective ways to unlock insights is by asking strategic follow-up questions during outreach. Charles advised, “If someone has already said that they’d be interested in setting up time, even asking one question like, ‘Just curious, what’s driving interest right now?’ can reveal important details about the prospect’s motivations and needs.”
This approach allows BDRs to capture nuanced information that can shape a more tailored and effective approach for the AE. Rather than rushing to book a meeting, BDRs are encouraged to ask, “How long has that been an issue?” or “What have you tried so far?”
These additional layers of context make it easier to prepare insights that align closely with the prospect’s specific challenges.
Use Pain Points as a Foundation
“If there’s no pain, there’s no deal,” Charles reminds his team. Understanding the pain points behind a prospect’s interest is essential for crafting conversations that feel relevant and worthwhile. Charles noted that BDRs should be willing to “peel back the layers” on what’s really driving the prospect’s interest in a solution.
By identifying the core challenges the prospect faces — whether it’s a need to generate more pipeline, improve alignment between marketing and sales, or optimize outreach efforts — BDRs can create a foundation of insights that the AE can build on. This makes it possible to transition seamlessly into more targeted conversations that resonate with what the prospect truly cares about, instead of relying on generic sales pitches.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for More Information
Finally, BDRs should feel empowered to ask questions that clarify any uncertainties or expand on information that could be valuable in crafting a solution. When prospects are open to sharing, these insights can be invaluable, helping the team refine its approach and target the solution effectively. “Even just a simple question like, ‘What’s currently working and what’s not?’ can help uncover important details that might not surface otherwise,” Charles explained.
By implementing these practical steps, BDRs can make their outreach efforts more purposeful and ensure that each handoff to an AE is accompanied by rich, context-driven insights.
Conclusion
For sales teams looking to make a memorable first impression, being proactive and embracing a more strategic role is essential.
Tools like 6sense empower reps with the intent data and insights they need to engage with prospects on a deeper level right from the first meeting, aligning their messaging with the prospect’s unique needs and challenges.
As you evaluate your own approach to first meetings, consider how 6sense’s strategies — and solutions — can
- Elevate your buyer engagement
- Help you drive stronger relationships
- Deliver impactful, results-oriented conversations from the very first call
