One theme I’ve been noticing more and more in coaching sessions is the lack of purpose on sales calls. At first, it seems like a simple concept: if a prospect is willing to talk, that’s a win, right? But the more calls I’ve sat in on—and the more deals I’ve run myself—the more I’ve realized that too many sellers are jumping on calls without a plan. They’re showing up, running through their slides or demo, and then closing with something like, “So this is my product, what do you think?”
That kind of approach doesn’t just stall deals—it wastes opportunities. In today’s environment, buyers expect us to bring clarity, confidence, and leadership to every interaction. Without a defined purpose, you’re signaling that you’re willing to let them control the process. And when you let the customer dictate next steps, you end up with vague outcomes like “Send me some info and I’ll get back to you” instead of moving the deal forward.
Why Purpose Matters
Every call is a chance to create value and build momentum. But momentum doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from knowing exactly what you want to accomplish before the meeting starts.
I encourage my team to think of every call as part of a larger story. If you don’t know what role this particular chapter plays, how can you expect the customer to stay engaged until the end?
Here’s the way I frame it: If you can’t articulate the goal of a call in one clear sentence, you’re not ready for that call.
3 Common Pitfalls I See
- The “Anything Goes” Call – The seller is just happy to have time on the calendar and shows up without structure. The conversation wanders, and the customer walks away unclear on value.
- The Endless Demo – The seller dives straight into features and functions without tying them to the prospect’s pain or priorities. The call becomes a product tour instead of a problem-solving session.
- The Weak Close – The call ends with, “So… what do you think?” instead of a clear next step. The prospect may be polite, but the deal loses momentum.
How to Lead With Purpose
Here are a few practices I’ve been coaching my team on:
- Set a Goal Before the Call
Write it down. “By the end of this call, I want to confirm the top two challenges this buyer cares about most.” Or, “My goal is to secure agreement to bring their technical evaluator into the next conversation.” - Share the Agenda Up Front
Start with: “Here’s how I’d like to use our time today: first, I’ll ask a few questions to understand your priorities, then I’ll share how we can address them, and finally we’ll align on next steps. Does that sound good?” - Drive Toward a Clear Outcome
Don’t leave next steps open-ended. Instead of, “Let me know what you think,” say, “Our next step should be a deeper dive with your technical lead. How does next week look for that?” - Evaluate Call Success Based on Progress
I ask my team after each call: “Did we move the deal forward?” If the answer is no, then the call wasn’t a success, even if the conversation felt positive.
Purpose Builds Confidence
The truth is, buyers feel the difference when you show up with purpose. A seller who leads the call, guides the conversation, and leaves with clear outcomes projects confidence. And confidence builds trust.
The irony is that having purpose doesn’t require fancy tactics. It just requires discipline—taking a few minutes before each call to define the “why.”
As I remind my team: calls without purpose lead to deals without progress. If we want to win more, we need to stop treating calls as conversations for conversation’s sake and start treating them as intentional steps in a bigger journey.
Because at the end of the day, purpose is what separates a casual chat from a sales conversation that actually closes.
