There is a sense of relief in the moments following your first conversation with a prospect. You did the work to find out as much information as you could about this lead, and whether the phone call felt productive or not, you are probably glad that the difficult first point of communication is behind you.

However, in the first few minutes of engaging with a prospect, you should already be gathering a load of information, about the current prospect and what tactics you can learn for future prospecting.

To make sure you don’t miss a single opportunity that your first conversation with a prospect can bring, follow these tips.

Jot down their responses.

Nearly everything a prospect says on this first phone call is critical information. How they respond to your pitch, for better or for worse, can help you navigate the muddy waters of cold calling, hone in on your pitch, and combat objections the right way. Try to jot down as many of the prospects objections, questions, and concerns as possible, and use them to determine how you can improve.

What doesn’t work for you, might work for a friend.

If you get halfway through a call and realize that your service really is not best suited to the prospect on the other end, don’t treat this as an opportunity to get off the phone as soon as possible. Instead, this prospect might know other people in the industry—friends, relatives, coworkers, etc.—who your services might be better suited for, and this prospect could be a direct line to them.

Take one for the team.

Every misstep in the initial contact of a prospect can be looked at as a learning experience for you but also the entire sales team. There is so much to be learned from every phone call you make, whether the outcome is positive or negative. If a conversation with a prospect went really well, take note of why you think it was successful, and relay this to your team. If the call tanked, you can at least use what you learned to ensure the same mistake isn’t made again—by you or a colleague.

Your first communication with a prospect is always full of possibility, but only if you take advantage of all the opportunities afforded to you. No matter the outcome of the conversation, if you focus on pulling as much information as you can from this lead, you’re guaranteed to end up on top.