I was reviewing a salesperson’s weekly activity report recently, and something caught my eye. He’d logged eight customer meetings for the week. Impressive number, right? So I asked him what he’d accomplished in those meetings.
His answer? “Well, I touched base with everyone and we had good conversations.” That’s code for “I wasted eight opportunities this week.”
Purposeless Sales Calls are Cancer
Here’s a problem that’s costing salespeople and their companies millions: Too many salespeople go into sales calls without knowing what they want to achieve, and then they’re surprised when they achieve nothing. They schedule the meeting. They show up. They have a nice chat. They leave. And nothing moves forward. No progress in the Buyer’s Journey. No new information. No commitment. Nothing. This isn’t a sales call. It’s a social visit that happens to occur during business hours.
What “Another Meeting” Really Means
One of the worst objectives I hear salespeople cite is “schedule another meeting.” Unless that next meeting involves different people, addresses a different topic, or represents the next step in the Buyer’s Journey, “another meeting” is meaningless. It’s a way to feel productive without actually being productive. It’s activity without achievement. It’s the sales equivalent of running in place and calling it a marathon.
If your objective for today’s meeting is to schedule another meeting just like this one with the same people talking about the same things, you don’t have an objective. You have a stalling tactic. And you’re the one stalling, not the customer.
“Just Checking In” Is a Waste of Time
“I’m just checking in” might be the four most useless words in sales. Checking in on what? For what purpose? To what end? When you “just check in,” you’re essentially saying, “I have nothing valuable to offer you today, but I wanted to use some of your time anyway.”
Your prospects are busy. Their time is valuable. If the best you can do is “check in,” you’re training them that meetings with you are optional at best and wasteful at worst. And I get the “checking in” impulse – I have it myself sometimes. But instead of “just checking in,” think of two or three meaningful questions to ask. What is it that you really want to “check in” on? Figure it out and ask.
What a Real Objective Looks Like
Before every sales call, you should be able to answer this question clearly: What do I want to accomplish in this meeting? Real objectives sound like this:
“I want to complete discovery on their decision-making process and timeline.”
“I want to schedule a plant tour so I can see their operation firsthand.”
“I want to get agreement on the key problems we’ve identified and earn the right to propose a solution.”
“I want to present our proposal and ask for the business.”
“I want to introduce our implementation team and confirm the go-live date.”
Notice what all of these have in common? They’re specific. They represent progress. They move the Buyer’s Journey forward. These are objectives worth scheduling a meeting for.
You Have to Ask For What You Want
Here’s the part that too many salespeople miss: Once you know what you want to achieve, you need to ask for it before the meeting is over. If you want a plant tour, ask for it: “Based on what we’ve discussed, I think it would be valuable for me to see your operation firsthand. Can we schedule a time for me to tour your facility?”
If you want to move to proposal stage, ask for it: “It sounds like we’ve identified the key issues. I’d like to put together a proposal that addresses what we’ve discussed. Does that make sense as a next step?”
If you want the business, ask for it: “When would you like to get started?”
Will you always get what you ask for? No. Sometimes the answer is “not yet” or even “no.” But if you don’t ask, you’re guaranteeing a meaningless sales call. You’re leaving with nothing when you could have left with clarity – even if that clarity is “they’re not ready yet” or “this isn’t going to happen.”
When “No Progress” Is Actually Progress
Does this mean you discontinue the relationship if you don’t get what you ask for? Not necessarily. Sometimes you ask for a proposal opportunity and learn they’re not ready yet. That’s valuable information. Now you know where you stand and what needs to happen before they’ll be ready.
Sometimes you ask for a plant tour and learn they have concerns about confidentiality. That’s a buying signal – they’re worried about protecting their operation, which means they’re taking this seriously enough to think about implementation. Be prepared to sign an NDA. I’ve been in business over 21 years. In the first fifteen years, the number of NDA’s I signed could be counted on one hand. In the last five years, it’s nearly become routine.
The point isn’t to strong-arm customers into commitments they’re not ready to make. The point is to get clarity on where you are in the process and what needs to happen next. That only happens when you ask.
What Sales Managers Need to Do
If you’re a sales manager, you need to reinforce this discipline constantly. Before salespeople go into calls, ask them: “What’s your objective for this meeting?” After salespeople come out of calls, ask them: “Did you achieve your objective? If not, what did you learn?”
Make this a standard part of your coaching conversations. Make it part of your sales meeting discussions. Make it cultural. When salespeople know they’re going to be asked about their objectives, they start thinking about them proactively. The behavior becomes habit.
The Bottom Line
Your prospects’ time is valuable. Your time is valuable. Every sales call should accomplish something meaningful or it shouldn’t happen. Figure out what you want from each meeting. Make sure it represents real progress in the Buyer’s Journey. Then ask for it before the meeting ends.
Will you always get it? No. But you’ll get a lot more than you’re getting now by wandering into meetings hoping something good happens. Stop “just checking in.” Stop scheduling meetings for the sake of meetings. Start every sales call with a clear objective and the discipline to ask for what you want.
Your prospects will respect you more. Your pipeline will move faster. And your results will prove that purposeful beats aimless every single time.
