A sales call goes better with ten minutes of prep, an opener built from the buyer’s own words, notes that show what’s missing, and a recap sent the same day. This guide has a Claude prompt for each step and a line on what to check before you use the output.
The five parts run in the order of the call. Use the one you need today.
In this guide
- Before the call: a two-minute brief and one clear goal
- An opener from their own words, with no flattery
- Discovery: find the gaps in your notes and who really decides
- Review your own sales call from the transcript
- After the call: the recap email and the follow-up that adds something
Before the call: a two-minute brief and one clear goal
Call prep is usually either nothing or an hour. Here are two prompts for the ten minutes in between.
A brief you can read in two minutes
The first prompt turns whatever you have into a short brief. The important line is the one that tells Claude to mark anything it inferred rather than read. That keeps facts and guesses apart, so you don’t repeat a guess to the buyer as if it were news.
Here is what I know about [COMPANY]: [PASTE NOTES OR WEBSITE TEXT]. Write a brief I can read in two minutes before a call with [NAME, TITLE]. Include what they do, who they sell to, one likely priority this quarter, and three questions I should ask. Mark anything you inferred rather than read. Do not invent facts.
Check before you use it: Verify any company fact on their site before you say it out loud.
One goal and an agenda you can send
The second prompt is for a second or third call. It forces a single outcome, which is the thing most calls lack, and it asks for the one question that tells you whether the deal is real.
I have a [CALL TYPE] call with [NAME] in [TIMEFRAME]. The deal so far: [NOTES]. Write the one outcome I want from this call, a four-item agenda I can send ahead, and the single question that would tell me whether this deal is real.
Check before you use it: Would you be comfortable asking the “is this real” question out loud? If not, soften it.
How to use them
- Paste only what you actually know. Notes, website text, the last email.
- Read the brief, then verify any company fact on their site before you say it out loud.
- Send the agenda ahead. A buyer who sees the plan can fix it before the call.
The catch
Claude only knows what you paste. Thin notes make a thin brief, and the result will sound more certain than it is. Treat it as a starting point and edit it.
An opener from their own words, with no flattery
Most first lines are flattery. “Love what you’re building” says nothing, and the reader knows it. A better opener refers to something the person actually wrote.
This prompt reads their About section and recent posts, tells you what they care about and which words they use, then writes one short opener that points at a specific thing. The last sentence rules out compliments about their career, which is where most openers go wrong.
Below is the About section and recent posts from [NAME]: [PASTE]. Tell me what they care about and the words they use. Then write one honest opener, under 30 words, that refers to something they actually wrote. No compliments about their career.
Check before you use it: Open the post yourself. The opener must match something they really said.
How to use it
- Paste real text: the About section and two or three recent posts.
- Read the summary of what they care about. It is often more useful than the opener.
- Open the post yourself and confirm the opener matches something they said.
The catch
A short, specific line still needs a reason behind it. If you have nothing relevant to say after the opener, the opener is only decoration. Write the second sentence before you send the first.
Discovery: find the gaps in your notes and who really decides
Discovery notes tend to record what you heard. They rarely show what you didn’t ask. These two prompts do the second job.
What is missing before this is qualified
Paste what you have and ask for the gaps, plus the question that closes each one. The output is a to-do list for your next call, not a verdict.
Here are my notes so far: [PASTE]. What is missing before I could honestly call this deal qualified? List the gaps, then give me the question I’d ask to close each one.
Check before you use it: The answer is only as good as your notes. If they’re thin, tell Claude that in the prompt.
Who is who in the deal
A job title does not tell you who decides. This prompt sorts every named person into decides, influences, blocks or uses, and keeps the unknowns in a separate list so they don’t get lost.
From these notes [PASTE], list every person mentioned. For each, give their role in the decision (decides, influences, blocks, or uses), what they care about, and what I still don’t know about them. Put unknowns in a separate list.
Check before you use it: Confirm roles with the buyer. A job title doesn’t tell you who decides.
How to use them
- Run the first prompt after any call where the deal feels real but the notes feel thin.
- Turn each gap into one question for your next conversation.
- Run the second when more than one person has appeared. Confirm each role with the buyer.
The catch
The answers are only as good as your notes. If they are thin, say so in the prompt, or Claude will smooth over the holes.
Review your own sales call from the transcript
You rarely hear how your own calls sound. A transcript and one prompt give you something close to a coach.
The prompt asks Claude to estimate how much you talked versus listened, name the best question you asked, find one moment you should have dug deeper, and suggest one thing to change next call. The instruction to quote the lines it refers to keeps the feedback from drifting into generalities.
Here is a transcript of my call: [PASTE]. Review how I ran it. Estimate how much I talked versus listened. Name the best question I asked, one moment I should have dug deeper, and one thing to change next call. Quote the lines you are referring to.
Check before you use it: Only use recordings you’re allowed to use. Get consent as your local rules require.
How to use it
- Use a transcript of a call you ran, not someone else’s.
- Check each quoted line in the transcript. If Claude can’t point to a line, ignore the point.
- Pick the single change and use it on your next call. One change is enough.
Recording consent
Only use recordings you are allowed to use. Get consent as your local rules and your employer’s policies require. Remove private details you don’t need before you paste a transcript into any AI tool.
After the call: the recap email and the follow-up that adds something
The recap is the follow-up most people write badly, at the end of the day, with the call still in their head. The second follow-up is the one that usually says “just checking in.” Both have a fix.
The recap email
The last sentence of this prompt does the most work. It stops Claude from adding a commitment the buyer never made. The word limit keeps the email short enough to read, and the date of the next step is what makes it a recap and not a summary.
Turn these notes [PASTE] into a recap email to [NAME], under 150 words. Include what we agreed, what they will do, what I will do, and the date of the next step. Plain tone, no filler opener. Do not add anything that isn’t in my notes.
Check before you use it: Read it against your notes. Delete anything the buyer didn’t say or agree to.
The follow-up that adds something
A good follow-up gives the buyer something: a short idea, a resource or a question worth thinking about. This prompt asks for one useful thing tied to what they said, and tells Claude not to ask for an update.
Write a follow-up to [NAME] that adds one useful thing related to what they said about [TOPIC]: a short idea, a resource, or a question worth thinking about. Don’t ask for an update. Under 90 words. What I can offer: [WHAT YOU HAVE].
Check before you use it: The value must be true and relevant. If you have nothing useful, wait.
The catch
The recap must match your notes line by line, and the follow-up must offer something true. If you have nothing useful to add, wait until you do. A weak follow-up costs more than a late one.
Where to go next
Every prompt here comes from a set of 50 I wrote for the moments in a sales week. A free sample of 10 and the full pack are in the shop.
If you’d rather have this built into your CRM than run it by hand, that’s what RevLathe does.
I’m Seth Levanen. I find the AI shortcuts that keep the quality and drop the busywork. Email me if you want to talk about it.