In this concise sales coaching segment, Brian LaManna emphasizes the importance of treating prospects as real people rather than abstract deal components. He advises salespeople to personalize outreach (e.g., referencing weekend plans or a child’s birthday) and to enter discovery calls with a well‑formed point of view backed by research—citing recent product launches or geographic expansions. LaManna stresses asking hard, timeline‑focused questions to surface true priorities, then repeatedly revisiting those priorities across subsequent conversations. The overall message is that disciplined, research‑driven discovery, combined with genuine human connection, drives more accurate qualification and faster movement toward a win.
Chapters
get to know them actually on like a human level. Like if they had weekend plans or their son's first birthday on Sunday, like shoot them a GIF on Sunday or a meme, like do fun things like that and treat them like more than just your prospect and a piece of your deal. I try to come into those first calls with a really sharp point of view. I don't just ask, hey Rory, what are your top 2 to 3 priorities? I reference really specific observations like just make up, hey, I saw the team just launched a new product in mutual success plans and I saw the team just expanded into Dublin for the first time. Like I'd imagine XYZ is most top of mind with you and I want to continue to peel back and understand, hey, maybe those two things aren't your top priority, but like tell me what is, what trumps that as an even bigger focus for you now through end of 2025 here. And then continue to revisit that in every conversation. Ask tough questions as well, like, hey Rory, we keep discussing the Mutual Success Plan product. It seems like that's a huge focus, a huge initiative. Talk to me, like, if we haven't improved sales for that in the next 90 days, is that okay, or is that something we wanted solved yesterday? And it'll be really telling from those answers. It's like, oh, it's a big priority, but like 90 days, like, that'd be totally fine. That allows you to once again go in and ask the tough questions. Like, great, like, what trumps mutual success plans and is a bigger priority that, that you need to solve for in the next 2 to 3 months? So it all comes back to discovery. It comes down to asking hard questions, coming in with a point of view, doing your research, and continuing to build on discovery call after call.
