This article is part of the Sales Secrets Uncovered series where we share key learnings from our analysis of 211k+ sales calls spread over 3.8 million minutes and 12 months. Why? To uncover the stats that will help you sell better in 2022 and beyond!

This article is from the desk of our Senior Content Specialist, Anirban.

PS: Use this data responsibly. Correlation is ≠ causation. 😇

Surprises sure are amazing, right?

A sudden weekend getaway, an unexpected gift in the mail, a random sales call with no idea what to expect and where it will lead…

Hol’ up, what?

One of those is not like the others, right?

Yeah, turns out, prospects don’t really love it when sales folks try to freewheel on their sales calls.

So why is it then, that most sales folk don't set an agenda at the start of the call?

According to our data based on 211k+ sales calls, agenda setting happened only in 16.4% of all deals.

According to our research, that’s a huge miss.

Why?

Well, it turns out that setting an agenda corresponds to a whopping 52% increase in win rate, and a 17% decrease in loss rate!

That’s hardly insignificant, folks.

A 30-minute slot is an expensive chunk of time in a CXO or an entrepreneur’s day, and they sure appreciate knowing it won’t be wasted.

So take that 2-5 minutes to speak about your agenda right at the start of the call. The person at the other end clearly appreciates it!