Free template and checklist · 7 November 2026

The product questions customers ask on sales calls: a free prep checklist

A free checklist and copyable answer card template for preparing customer answers on pricing, roadmap, security, integrations, contract terms and delivery dates.

Build status: EvidCue is in closed beta. This website is not a live answering service. The checklist below is a planning template you can use on paper or in any document, with or without EvidCue. It is not a research finding, and no result from using it is claimed.

Short answer: Before a call, write one short answer card for each product question you expect. Tie every card to an approved source, name the person or team who owns the answer, record when you last checked it, and write the line you will use when you cannot answer. Use assistance during a call only where it is permitted.

How to use this checklist

List the likely areas. From your notes and the stage of the deal, pick which of the six areas below this customer is likely to raise.
Fill one card per question. Use the answer card template. Write the answer in the words you will actually say.
Check each card against its source. Open the approved document, confirm it is the current version and that it says what your card says.
Write the fallback. For anything you cannot answer, decide the exact line you will use and who you will ask.
Close the loop after the call. Log new questions and send them to the answer owner, so the next card is ready.

The six question areas

These areas are a starting structure, not a ranked list. The example questions are illustrations; replace them with the ones your customers actually ask.

1. Pricing and plans

You may hear: What does the plan we need cost? Is there a discount for an annual term? What happens if we go over a limit?

Prepare:

Which plan fits this customer, what it includes and what costs extra.
Who may approve a discount, and what you may offer without approval.

Cite: the current price list or rate card, with its effective date.

Avoid: quoting from an old price sheet, or offering a discount you are not authorized to give.

2. Roadmap

You may hear: Is this feature on your roadmap? When will it ship?

Prepare:

What the product does today.
The approved wording for future plans, and where to log the request.

Cite: current product documentation or release notes for today, and the roadmap statement your product team has approved for customers.

Avoid: turning an internal plan into a date, or saying soon or next quarter when that wording is not approved. See when a customer asks about your roadmap.

3. Security and compliance

You may hear: Do you have a SOC 2 report? Where is our data stored? Can you complete our security questionnaire?

Prepare:

Which audit reports or certifications your company actually holds, and the terms for sharing them.
The approved security summary, and the process and owner for questionnaires.

Cite: the security summary or trust page your security team maintains, with its date.

Know the terms: the AICPA describes SOC 2 reporting as an examination of controls at a service organization relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, or privacy.[1] Buyers may also send standard questionnaires, such as the Cloud Security Alliance CAIQ, a set of yes or no questions a cloud customer or auditor may ask a cloud provider,[2] or the Shared Assessments SIG, used for third party risk assessments.[3]

Avoid: confirming a report or certification you have not checked, or answering questionnaire items from memory.

4. Integrations

You may hear: Do you integrate with the tools we use? Is there an API?

Prepare:

The documented integrations, what each one does and does not sync, and which plan it needs.
Whether an integration is built by your company, by a partner, or needs custom work.

Cite: the integration documentation or public integrations page, with its date.

Avoid: saying yes, we integrate, when only a third party connector or a custom build exists.

5. Contract terms

You may hear: What is the minimum term? Can we cancel early? Will you sign our paper? What does the service level cover?

Prepare:

The standard terms you may describe, in plain words your legal team has approved.
Who handles redlines and nonstandard requests.

Cite: the current contract template or order form, with its version, and the legal or deal desk owner.

Avoid: agreeing to changed terms on the call, or interpreting legal language beyond the approved summary.

6. Delivery dates

You may hear: When can we go live? How long does onboarding take? When will the custom work be done?

Prepare:

The standard onboarding plan, and what it depends on from the customer.
Who confirms a date, and how quickly they can.

Cite: the onboarding plan or statement of work template, and the delivery owner.

Avoid: giving a date before the delivery team confirms it, or phrasing an estimate as a promise. See when a customer asks for a delivery date.

Copy the answer card template

Fill one card per expected question. Keep it short enough to read at a glance.

ANSWER CARD
Question area: pricing / roadmap / security / integrations / contract / delivery
Customer question, in their words:
Approved answer, in the words I will say:
Approved source: document title, section, version or date
Where the source lives: link or location
Answer owner: team or role that approves this answer
Last checked on:
Applies to: plans, regions or customer types this answer covers
Does not apply to:
Do not say: dates, prices, promises or claims that are not approved
If the customer asks more: my fallback line, and who I will ask
Sent to owner after the call: yes or no, and the date

How to cite an approved source for each answer

Name the document, not the folder. Write the title, the section and the version or date, so someone else can find the exact passage.
Use the most authoritative current version. The published price list outranks a slide that repeats it; the signed contract template outranks an old email.
Write down the owner. The owner is who you ask when the source is unclear or out of date.
Separate the source from your reading of it. If the source says some plans may qualify, your card should not say this plan qualifies.
Check the date before each call. If the source changed since you last checked, update or retire the card. See retiring an outdated answer.
Know whether the source can be shared. Some sources are internal. See when a customer asks for the document behind your answer.

Why bother? In the United States, Federal Trade Commission guidance for advertisers says advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, and that advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims.[4] Its substantiation policy asks for a reasonable basis before a claim is made.[5] Not every answer on a sales call is an advertisement, and this page is not legal advice; ask your own legal team what applies to you. Having the support in hand before you speak is still a sound habit.

The one page pre-call checklist

I know which of the six areas this customer is likely to raise.
Each likely question has an answer card with an approved source and an owner.
I checked that each source is the current version.
I know my fallback line when no approved answer exists.
I know which sources I may share after the call and which stay internal.
I have a place to log new questions for the answer owner.
Any assistance I use during the call is permitted by my company and by the rules of this conversation.

Frequently asked questions

What should a rep prepare before a sales call?

Prepare a short, reviewed answer for each product question the customer is likely to ask, with the approved source, its owner and the date you checked it written next to it. Cover pricing and plans, roadmap, security and compliance, integrations, contract terms and delivery dates, and write down what you will say when no approved answer exists.

What counts as an approved source for a customer answer?

An approved source is a current document your company has authorized for customer facing answers, such as the published price list, the standard contract template or a security summary your security team has signed off. Note its title, version or date and owner so anyone can check the answer later.

What should a rep say when there is no approved answer?

Say that you will confirm the answer and follow up, then send the question to the owner named on your checklist. A short pause is better than a date, price or commitment your company has not approved.

Is this checklist based on research about sales calls?

No, this checklist is a practical template, not a research finding. The six question areas are a starting structure for your own preparation, and the outside facts on this page link to their public sources.

Where EvidCue fits

EvidCue is in closed beta. It is designed to show company answer cues on a separate phone while your customer meeting stays on your laptop. Each cue is labelled as an approved answer card, a retrieved source passage or an AI draft that requires human review, and you decide what to say. The answer cards on this page are the kind of reviewed material such a cue would draw on.

This website is not a live answering service, and the checklist above works without EvidCue. Use assistance only where permitted and disclose it where required. See how the laptop and phone illustration works, or request a live walkthrough at support@evidcue.com.

Sources

AICPA and CIMA, System and Organization Controls: SOC Suite of Services, accessed 7 November 2026.
Cloud Security Alliance, STAR Level 1: Security Questionnaire (CAIQ v4.1), accessed 7 November 2026.
Shared Assessments, SIG: Third Party Risk Management Standard, accessed 7 November 2026.
Federal Trade Commission, Advertising FAQs: A Guide for Small Business, accessed 7 November 2026.
Federal Trade Commission, Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation, accessed 7 November 2026.