Running the sales conversation
Sample meeting brief: what you get before a booked call
A good meeting brief tells you who you're talking to, why they agreed, what they want to cover and anything that will change how you run the conversation. You should be able to read it in a couple of minutes and walk in prepared.
Below is a sample. It's an illustrative example: the business and the person are invented, and no real prospect is described.
A sample brief
Sample brief (illustrative, not a real business)
Business: Accounting firm, two offices, about 30 staff
Attending: Practice manager, who decides on IT with one of the partners. The partner may join for the last part.
Format and time: Video call, Thursday 10:00 am their time
Why they agreed: Opening a second office soon and frustrated with slow support from their current IT contractor.
Current setup (as they described it): Local IT contractor, Microsoft 365, an on-site server they think is near the end of its life.
What they want to cover: Support across both offices, and whether the files should move off the server.
Things to know: They've had one bad experience with a provider who "overpromised". Keep it practical.
Not yet discussed: Budget, contract length, current provider's terms.
What each part is for
| Part | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Business | Confirms they fit your criteria and lets you look them up |
| Attending | Tells you who you need to convince and who else signs off |
| Format and time | Avoids the classic mix-up over time zones and video links |
| Why they agreed | The reason for the conversation, in their words: start here |
| Current setup | Saves ten minutes of basic questions |
| What they want to cover | Your agenda, set by them |
| Things to know | Tone, sensitivities, anything that changes your approach |
| Not yet discussed | What you still need to find out, so you don't assume |
Prepare in five minutes
- Read the reason they agreed, and plan your first question around it
- Look up the business and the attendee
- Note two or three questions about what they want to cover
- Decide what a good next step would be (a proposal, a site visit, a second call)
- Check the time zone and the joining details
What a brief can't tell you
A brief is context, not a promise. It can't tell you whether they'll buy, what they'll pay, or whether the person has told us everything. Treat it as a head start, and run the conversation as you normally would.
If a brief shows the booking doesn't meet the criteria you agreed, say so before the call or meeting. With GoodYarn, a booking you flag as a poor fit beforehand isn't billed. Our qualified meeting checklist covers how to set those criteria.