Sales Call Cheat Sheet: Questions, Objections, Checklist

Short answer

A good sales call cheat sheet fits on one screen: a five-step call flow, 12 to 15 discovery questions, short answers to the objections you hear most, and a pre-call and post-call checklist. Copy the plain-text version at the bottom, replace the bracketed parts with your product's facts, and review it five minutes before each call.

What does a good sales call flow look like?

Here's a 30-minute discovery call, minute by minute. The timings aren't sacred. The order is, because the most common way to lose a discovery call is to start pitching at minute four.

Minutes	Stage	Goal	What to say
0 to 3	Open	Warm up, confirm time	"Still good for 30 minutes?"
3 to 5	Agenda	Get permission to ask questions	"I'd like to understand how you handle [X] today, then share whether we can help. If we're not a fit, I'll say so. Sound OK?"
5 to 20	Discovery	Find the problem, its cost and who decides	Questions below. Let them talk.
20 to 27	Fit	Connect their problem to one or two capabilities	"You said [their words]. Here's how we handle that."
27 to 30	Next step	Book the next meeting with a date	"Can we put 45 minutes on the calendar with [stakeholder] for a demo?"

Which discovery questions should be on your cheat sheet?

Fifteen, grouped by what they uncover. You won't ask all of them. Gong's March 2025 analysis of 326,000 sales calls found sellers on won deals asked 15 to 16 questions per call, while sellers on lost deals asked about 20. So pick the ones that fit, and spend your effort on follow-ups ("tell me more about that") rather than on getting through the list.

Situation

How do you handle [process] today, step by step?
Which tools are involved, and who owns them?
What's changed in the last six months that made you take this call?

Problem

What's the most frustrating part of that process right now?
When did it last go wrong? What happened?
What have you already tried to fix it?

Impact

What does that cost you each month, in hours, money or missed targets?
Who else feels this problem, and how?
If nothing changes this year, what happens?

Decision process

Besides you, who'd be involved in choosing a solution?
How did you buy the last tool like this? What steps did it go through?
What would make this a clear yes for your team? What would make it a no?

Timing and priority

Where does fixing this rank against your other priorities this quarter?
Is there a date that matters (a renewal, a launch, a budget cycle)?
What would you need to see from us to move forward?

Question 3 is the one most reps skip and the one that tells you the most. Something changed, or they wouldn't be on the call. Find out what.

How should you answer common sales objections?

Every answer below follows the same shape: acknowledge in their words, add one fact, end with a question. Replace the brackets with your real numbers. If you don't have a real number, drop that part rather than inventing one.

Objection	What it often means	Response	Follow-up question
"It's too expensive."	Value isn't clear yet, or the budget is lower	"Fair. Compared with [cost of the problem they told you], it's [comparison]."	"What were you expecting to spend?"
"We already use [competitor]."	Switching feels risky	"Makes sense. Teams usually look at us when [specific gap]."	"How's [competitor] handling [that gap] for you?"
"Send me some information."	Polite exit	"Happy to. So I send the right thing, which part matters most?"	"Can we take 15 minutes Thursday to go through it?"
"Now's not a good time."	Other priorities, or no urgency yet	"Understood. What's taking priority right now?"	"When would it make sense to revisit?"
"I need to talk to my boss."	Not the decision maker	"Of course. What will they want to know?"	"Would it help if I joined for 10 minutes?"
"We don't have budget."	Not budgeted this cycle	"Got it. When does planning for next year start?"	"Who owns that budget?"
"We're happy with what we have."	No pain found yet	"Good to hear. Out of curiosity, what would you change if you could?"	"How do you measure whether it's working?"
"We tried something like this and it failed."	Burned before	"That's useful to know. What went wrong?"	"What would need to be different this time?"

Notice the responses are short. Under pressure, people over-explain, and a 40-second defense of your price sounds like you don't believe in it. Say one sentence and ask.

Which qualification framework should you use?

Pick one and stick to it, so your notes are comparable across deals.

Framework	Stands for	Use it when
BANT	Budget, Authority, Need, Timing	High-volume, shorter sales cycles
MEDDIC	Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion	Larger B2B deals with several stakeholders
SPIN	Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff (from Neil Rackham's book SPIN Selling)	Structuring discovery questions

What should you check before and after a sales call?

Pre-call checklist (10 minutes)

☐ Read the account's website and one recent news item.
☐ Check the CRM for past conversations and who you've spoken to.
☐ Look at the attendee's role and how long they've been there.
☐ Write one pain hypothesis and one question that tests it.
☐ Pick the 8 discovery questions you'll actually use.
☐ Decide the next step you'll propose, with a date.
☐ Close email and chat; turn on Do Not Disturb.
☐ If you'll share your screen, test what viewers see.

Post-call checklist (10 minutes, same day)

☐ Write notes while they're fresh: pain, impact, decision process, next step.
☐ Update the CRM stage and close date honestly.
☐ Send the recap email with the next step and date.
☐ Send anything you promised (case study, pricing, security doc).
☐ Note the question you couldn't answer and find the answer.
☐ Add any new objection and your best response to this cheat sheet.

That last item is how the cheat sheet gets good. After 20 calls, it's yours, not ours.

Where should you keep the cheat sheet during calls?

Three options, from cheapest to most flexible.

Paper. Print it and put it under your monitor. It never shows up on a screen share. You can't search it, though, and it doesn't hold your pricing table.

A second monitor. Share only your main screen and keep the cheat sheet on the other. Works with any meeting app. Your eyes drifting to the side is visible on camera, so position the second screen close to the webcam.

An AI overlay. Put the whole cheat sheet, your pricing and product notes in AuraCloak's custom system prompt. During the call, press Ctrl + Alt + Space and ask "objection: tried before" or "price 40 seats annual", and you get the answer from your own sheet instead of the model's guess. Windows excludes the window from screen capture, so it stays out of your Zoom or Teams share. It doesn't record or listen to the call. More on the setup on our sales calls page.

Turn this cheat sheet into a private AI assistant that answers from your own notes, hidden from screen share.

Get AuraCloak

Copy the whole cheat sheet

Plain text, ready to paste into a doc, a note app or an AI system prompt.

SALES CALL CHEAT SHEET - [Product]

CALL FLOW (30 min)
0-3 Open | 3-5 Agenda + permission | 5-20 Discovery | 20-27 Fit | 27-30 Next step with date

DISCOVERY (pick 8)
Situation: How do you handle [process] today? Which tools, who owns them? What changed recently?
Problem: Most frustrating part? Last time it went wrong? What have you tried?
Impact: Monthly cost in hours/money? Who else feels it? What if nothing changes?
Decision: Who else is involved? How did you buy the last tool? What makes it a clear yes/no?
Timing: Where does this rank this quarter? Any key date? What do you need to see from us?

OBJECTIONS (acknowledge, one fact, ask)
Too expensive -> compare to cost of problem -> "What were you expecting to spend?"
Use competitor -> "Teams look at us when [gap]" -> "How is [competitor] handling that?"
Send info -> "Which part matters most?" -> book 15 min
Bad timing -> "What's taking priority?" -> "When should we revisit?"
Talk to boss -> "What will they want to know?" -> offer to join
No budget -> "When does planning start?" -> "Who owns the budget?"
Happy with current -> "What would you change?" -> "How do you measure it?"
Tried before -> "What went wrong?" -> "What needs to be different?"

MY FACTS
Price: [ ]  Key integrations: [ ]  Best proof: [ ]  Security: [ ]

AFTER THE CALL
Notes, CRM stage, recap email with next step + date, send promised items, add new objections here.

Want help drafting the answers for your own product? Prompts 18 to 25 in our ChatGPT prompts for sales calls build an objection table from your context. Comparing call-recording tools for your team? See the best AI sales assistants.

FAQ

What should be on a sales call cheat sheet?

A short call flow with timings, 12 to 15 discovery questions grouped by situation, problem, impact, decision process and timing, a table of common objections with one-sentence responses, your key facts like pricing and integrations, and pre-call and post-call checklists. It should fit on one screen.

How many questions should you ask on a discovery call?

Fewer than most people think. Gong's March 2025 analysis of 326,000 sales calls found sellers on won deals asked 15 to 16 questions per call, while sellers on lost deals asked about 20. Focus on follow-up questions that dig into the answers you get.

What is the best response to "it's too expensive"?

Acknowledge it, compare the price with the cost of the problem the buyer described, and ask what they expected to spend. For example: "Fair. Compared with the 20 hours a week you said this takes, it's less than one person's time. What were you expecting?"

Is it OK to use a cheat sheet during a sales call?

Yes. Sellers routinely keep notes, pricing and talk tracks in view. Keep it out of any screen you share, glance rather than read, and make sure facts like pricing and security answers are current so you never repeat something outdated to a buyer.

What is the difference between BANT and MEDDIC?

BANT checks Budget, Authority, Need and Timing and suits faster, high-volume sales. MEDDIC tracks Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain and Champion, and suits larger B2B deals with several stakeholders and a longer cycle.