Cold Calling Techniques That Work

Tens of thousands of cold calls taught me this… Most reps are doing it completely wrong. They make 2-3 calls between Slack messages. Check email. Do some research. Make a few more calls. Wonder why their calendar stays empty. Meanwhile, top performers follow specific systems that consistently fill their pipelines. After years of testing what works (and what doesn't), here are the fundamentals that separate successful cold callers from everyone else: 1️⃣Time blocking beats scattered calling every time. Shut down Slack, close email, put your phone on do not disturb. One hour of focused calling outperforms eight hours of distracted attempts. 2️⃣Setup determines success. Clean desk the night before. Browser tabs closed except your CRM. Contact list ready to go. Remove every possible friction point so you can start calling immediately. 3️⃣Energy management isn't optional. Proper sleep and clean eating directly impact call performance. Hard to believe until you try calling after a night of poor sleep versus eight hours of quality rest. 4️⃣Warm up like an athlete. Run through your first 5-10 calls out loud before dialing. Practice handling objections. Get your brain and voice ready before real prospects answer. 5️⃣Frameworks beat winging it. You don't need to sound robotic, but you need structure. Permission, problem, cost of inaction. Simple formula that works consistently. 6️⃣Write it down and make it visible. Brain fog hits everyone mid-call. Having your framework printed in large font saves you from fumbling when prospects ask unexpected questions. 7️⃣Prepare for predictable objections. Same 4-8 objections come up 95% of the time. Uncover, overcome, ask. Have responses ready instead of stammering through them. 8️⃣Record everything and listen back. Elite athletes watch game film. Sales reps should listen to call recordings. Your tonality, word choice, and objection handling become obvious when you hear yourself. 9️⃣Call when others don't. Friday afternoons worked best for me. Fewer competing calls, backup receptionists, tired decision makers with weekend plans. Blue ocean strategy applied to cold calling. 🔟Consistency trumps intensity. One focused hour daily beats sporadic marathon sessions. Pipeline problems show up weeks later when prospecting stops today. The difference between struggling reps and quota crushers isn't talent. It's system execution. Most reps treat cold calling like a necessary evil. Top performers treat it like a craft worth mastering. — Sales reps! Check out more secrets to master cold calls: https://lnkd.in/g7MBsEcR Sales Leaders! Want to install winning systems into your teams? Go here: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

Want to know why buyers avoid salespeople? It's because they're tired of being Pitch-Slapped. Salespeople continue to close the door on themselves with their cold outbound efforts. It starts with the cold call. Your prospect answers the phone, and in 30 seconds or less, you tell them who you are (they don't know, like, or trust you). The company you're with (no one cares), explain that you're calling them about an opportunity to (insert broad, non-specific value proposition that provides no real value like saving time, money, increasing efficiency, etc., here), and then beg for time on their calendar to discuss it further (because your message was much better than the last 50 people who said the exact same thing when they called). You've delivered little more than a commercial about you and your product. Here's a tip: People don't like commercials. In fact, in many cases, they pay to avoid them. In sales, we talk about differentiators all the time. Unfortunately, it ends with our products, process, user-friendliness, etc. We forget that the main differentiator is us. Products, features, and pricing don't win deals. People do. Want to differentiate yourself? Make your call to action an invitation for your prospect to tell their story. This requires doing your homework, learning about the prospect and their company, and being creative with your approach. Let's say you sell accounting software and notice that a particular company is getting a lot of negative customer reviews online about repeatedly billing them incorrectly. An empathetic approach might be well received in your cold outbound. Maybe something like this: Hello _______, my name is __________. We've never met, however, I've been seeing a lot of customer reviews online lately expressing concerns about your company repeatedly billing them incorrectly. Working for ________, I have solved many problems like this; I've learned that, in most cases, people inside the company are even more frustrated than their customers because of the continuing issues. I would like to know what you're experiencing, how you feel about it, and if there's any way I can help you. Your focus is squarely on them. You've empathized with their situation and stated that you are sure they feel horrible about the issue (real pain, emotional connection). You've expressed a genuine concern about understanding the scope of the problem (builds rapport and trust). And (here's the best part), your value proposition is that you (not your product) have fixed problems like this before. Be the differentiator and win more deals. #sales #makeprospectingsuckless

Want to book more meetings? Stop asking "got a minute?" and start talking industry trends. I've made 100,000s of cold calls in my career. The meetings I booked then (and still book today) all have one thing in common… …industry obsession. Most reps make the fatal mistake of leading with their product. They're focused on what they sell, not who they're selling to. The best cold callers are industry experts first, sellers second. Before picking up the phone, they 1) Know the specific challenges in that industry 2) Understand what that job title actually does daily 3) Can speak the language of the person they're calling When I call a VP of Talent at a SaaS company, I don't start with my pitch. I start with "I know you're probably trying to hire for these engineering roles. My guess is they're taking 90+ days to fill..." That's how you get "Yeah, exactly. How did you know?" Outbound isn't dead. Bad outbound is. The difference is that relevance beats volume every time.

6 cold calling tips that work like a charm in 2025 (and why): 1. Say your full name (without being asked) "Hi this is Chris Orlob calling from pclub..." You might think 'no one cares who you are!' Wrong. People who command respect and attention state their full name when they introduce themselves. You want a (subtle) aura of authority. 2. State your company name (without being asked. Why? If you don't, they'll ask. If they ask, they're in control of the conversation. You're back-pedaling now. 3. State the reason for the call. Same logic as above. "Hi this is Chris Orlob with pclub. Reason I'm calling is..." You're in control (without being 'controlling' - big difference). 4. Describe their problem better than they can. Life tip: If you can describe your customer's problem better than they can themselves.... They'll automatically assume you have the best solution. This should feel like you're peering into their soul a little bit. Or reading a page from their journal. "One of the challenges I hear from VPs of Sales in this climate is despite the fact that they're hyperfocused on growing revenue *efficiently*... most are struggling to do that. This new environment has surface selling skill gaps reps simply didn't need to close two years ago, and now only a third of reps make quota. Curious how that's showing up in your world?" 5. Sell the meeting. Not the product. Your job is to sell time at this point. Not your product. "If we meet, I'm happy to share how other Series B VPs of Sales in a similar spot are handling this. At best, we continue pursuing something together. At worst, you hear a few peer best practices." 6. Assume the close. Assumptive selling doesn't work on big ticket items. But you're not selling a big ticket item (yet). You're just selling the meeting. End your talk track and ask with "Got your calendar handy?" Give these a try. What cold calling tips would you add?

This is my go-to permission-based, cold calling conversational talk track I coach salespeople on to get +56% of prospects engaged in a conversation in under 30 seconds.    Hi ___ (FIRST name)? ____ here from/with ______. Did I catch you at an okay time? “Thank you. ________, I’m sure you’re busy and I want to respect your time so I’ll be brief.” The reason for my call is: (Use 1 or 2 compelling reasons detailing the end-result the prospect will realize.) Way One: We just helped (XYZ) company (EX: Increase sales by 37% in 3 months.) Way Two: We work with companies like yours to: (EX: Decrease IT expenses by X% and save you 20 hours a week.)   Now, you may be wondering how we can do this. Depending on what you’re currently doing, I don’t know whether you have a need or an interest in our services.   But with your permission, let's talk to determine if there is anything we're doing that you could benefit from like our other clients did. Would you be comfortable spending a few minutes with me now, if I stick to my timetable Set Confidentiality! “_____, I want you to know that regardless of whether or not we have an opportunity to work together, please know that everything we talk about will always be held in strict confidence.” Now that you've asked permission, it's time to move into your discovery questions.   This approach works because you're:   1. Not wasting precious time asking the same question every salesperson asks, “How are you?" They don’t know you & frankly, you don’t care, so, don't ask, since that's not your objective but a derailment.   2. Not asking, “Did I catch you at a bad or good time but an, "okay" time. Whether they say, “Yes,” “No” or “No but go ahead,” continue, rather than rescheduling another time. You’ve finally have a prospect on the phone, so maximize each opportunity.   3. Delivering a customer-centric compelling reason as to why they should talk to you within 10 seconds.   4. Creating a pressure-free approach with a softer call to action/request to talk because you're asking for permission to have the conversation vs. forcing it.   5. Focused on a conversation around their objectives & how you can help them succeed. You're making the conversation about THEM, not a presentation & making it about YOU & what you want, stand to gain, or stand to lose.   6. Setting confidentiality before the conversation. This creates a safe place for the prospect to share more information with you than they normally would with a stranger.   7. In your compelling reasons, you're sharing the END-RESULT of the benefit, not what you do or how you do it. At this point, the prospect doesn't care about you or what you're offering. Just the benefit they'll experience.   Now that you've asked permission to have a conversation, you can have a safe, genuine conversation & move into your discovery/qualification process.   ♻️ Re-post if you find this useful & share some love for people who can benefit from it. #sales #prospecting #coldcalling

My cold call pick-up rate is 22.2%. Here's what Jeff Bajorek and I are learning from daily cold calling: ✅ Optimize call times to maximize pick-up rates My best pick-up rate is 7:57am local time for the prospect. I catch them right before the workday starts. It's close enough to 8am that no prospect has mentioned anything. 8-9am local time for the prospect remains the highest pick-up rate window. ✅ Use multiple data sources We pull as many as 3-4 phone numbers across two data providers to get the right phone number. Then, we make sure to mark bad phone numbers so we don't call them again. Rarely is the first number the correct one. ✅ We call mobile numbers This one's obvious for many of you. But there's still reluctance, yes, in 2024—to call cell phones. You just have to do it. And deal with the OCCASIONAL angry prospect. ✅ Double & triple touches No "naked activities." We never call without emailing. We never send an email without calling. Salesloft data shows that this type of "combo prospecting" (a la Tony Hughes) increases contact rates by 3.1x. It works. My ideal workflow: → Call first. Things happen way faster on the phones. Feels like less work for me this way. → LinkedIn second. Send a blank connect request. → Email last. Send the email last. I do this all at once. Then give it two days to rest and hit with a double touch of phone + email. ✅ Prioritizing calling prospects who open emails For all the talk out there about innacurate open rating tracking—pick-up rates are much better when I prioritize prospects who open emails. We have an automated call task created after 3 email opens. ~~~ That's it. We follow fundamental sequencing best practices. How are you maximizing cold calling pick-up rates?

If you’re in B2B sales and struggling to book meetings, this post will show you exactly why—and how to fix it. In the next 90 seconds, you’ll learn: ✅ Why your outreach is being ignored ✅ The cold call script that worked—until it didn’t ✅ One rule that flipped my results and rebuilt my pipeline ✅ How to trade value for access and stop sounding like every other rep This is field-tested and Fortune 500-proven. No fluff. Just what works. Let’s be honest: most salespeople are asking for time like amateurs. They’re dialing, interrupting, and begging—without offering anything worth trading for the meeting. I used to say: “Hi, this is Anthony Iannarino with [Company]. I’d like to introduce myself and my company. Would 11:30 Tuesday work for you?” That line booked hundreds of meetings. Until it didn’t. Because once every salesperson starts saying the same thing, it becomes noise. Then I made a shift.I stopped asking for time. I started trading value. I created something I called an executive briefing—a strategic, high-level conversation offering insight on market trends, industry risks, and the shifts leaders needed to prepare for. I wasn’t pitching. I was delivering perspective. That single shift changed everything. Executives started saying yes again. Not because I asked better—because I offered better. I call this the Trading Value Rule: Never ask for a meeting without offering something worth more than the time you're requesting. It flips the script. You go from salesperson to strategic partner—before the meeting even happens. This isn’t just how I prospect. It’s how I sell. It’s why The Lost Art of Closing works. If your meetings are down, your value isn’t visible. Fix the offer—and the doors open. Want the cold call script I used? Drop a in the comments and I’ll DM it to you. #B2BSales #ColdCalling #SalesStrategy #ValueBasedSelling

4 tactical steps to better cold calls that convert. Drawing on strategies from Earn The Right: A Buyer-Centric Guide to Pipeline Creation (working title for my book that's dropping so soon - EEEEEKKK), here’s a streamlined approach to making every call count. 👇 1. Call Opener: Establish relevance immediately. Kick-off each call by directly tying your reason for calling to a potential need or opportunity relevant to their business. Avoid personal introductions and focus immediately on delivering value. This sets a professional tone and aligns the conversation with their business objectives from the start. 2. Impact Statement Utilize the first 30-60 seconds to share compelling information that captures their interest. Highlight how your product or service can solve a specific problem or enhance their operations, making it clear why continuing the conversation is in their best interest. 3. Foster Conversation Transform the call from a pitch to a conversation by asking open-ended questions that encourage a dialogue. This isn’t about talking AT the prospect but engaging WITH them through active listening and adapting your responses to their needs and feedback. 4. Close with Intent Employ a trial close to unearth any lingering objections, addressing them as they arise. Once these are cleared, confidently move towards securing the next step like scheduling a demo, ensuring the call progresses towards a tangible outcome. ✨ Effective cold calling is about creating meaningful interactions that respect the prospect’s time and intelligence. Focus on making each call informative and directly relevant to their business needs. ✨ If your team is cold calling, download this free bonus resource or book an interactive objection workshop to help them respond with confidence to convert more calls in Q4. Join 1612 sellers & download a free copy of the 3C Objection Handling Framework + 40 sample scripts. https://lnkd.in/ghTryZhb #ColdCalling #OutboundSales #SalesTraining #ObjectionHandling