How to use these
Paste a prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot (the free versions are fine) and swap the [brackets]. Keep customer names, contact details and contract terms out unless your company has approved the tool.
Before the conversation
Prompt 1
Understand a prospect's world
A meeting tomorrow with a sector you don't know.
I sell [what you sell] and I'm meeting a [job title] at a [type of company]. What does someone in that role care about, what pressures are they likely under, what would make them look good, and what would make them nervous about buying? Give me five smart questions to ask.
Tip: AI's knowledge can be out of date. Check anything you plan to say out loud.
Prompt 2
Write a first email worth replying to
A cold or lukewarm contact.
Write a first email to a [job title] at a [type of company]. What I've noticed about them: [one true, specific thing]. The problem we solve: [problem]. Proof: [one result]. Under 90 words, no buzzwords, one clear question at the end. Give me three versions.
Prompt 3
Plan a discovery call
Thirty minutes to find out if there's a deal.
Plan a 30-minute discovery call for [what you sell] with a [type of buyer]. Give me an opening, ten open questions that uncover the problem, its cost and who decides, and a way to agree next steps at the end.
During and after
Prompt 4
Handle the objections you always get
"It's too expensive." "We're happy with what we have."
These are the objections I hear most when selling [what you sell]: [list]. For each, give me a short, honest response that acknowledges the concern, asks a question to understand it, and offers a relevant point. No pressure tactics.
Prompt 5
Turn call notes into a follow-up
Straight after the call.
Here are my notes from a sales call, with names removed: [paste]. Write a follow-up email that sums up what they told me in their words, what we agreed, and the next step with a date. Under 130 words.
Prompt 6
Follow up without "just checking in"
They went quiet after the proposal.
Write three follow-ups to a prospect who hasn't replied since I sent a proposal on [date]. Each should add something useful, not only ask for an update: [e.g. an answer to a concern they raised, a relevant example, a simpler option]. Under 70 words each.
Prompt 7
Write a proposal summary
The page they'll forward to their boss.
Write a one-page proposal summary. Their problem: [in their words]. What we'll do: [solution]. What they get: [outcomes]. Price: [placeholder]. Timeline: [timeline]. Next step: [step]. Plain English, written so someone who wasn't on the call understands it.
Your pipeline
Prompt 8
Review your pipeline honestly
Friday, before the forecast.
Here are my open deals, with company names replaced by letters: [for each: value, stage, last contact, next step, who decides]. Tell me which look healthy, which are stalling and why, and the one action to take on each next week.
Prompt 9
Practise a tough call
A negotiation or a renewal you're nervous about.
Play a [type of buyer] who thinks our price is too high and is talking to a competitor. I'm selling [what you sell]. Push back realistically. After five exchanges, stop and tell me what I did well and what to change.
Prompt 10
Ask for a referral
A happy customer, and you've never asked.
Write a short message to a happy customer asking whether they know anyone else who has [the problem you solve]. Make it easy to say yes or no, and offer to write the introduction for them. Under 70 words.