How to Build Client Relationships With Cold Calling

Most AEs fail on the phone for one simple reason: They’re cold calling people who’ve never heard of them. In 2025, that’s just lazy. Here’s how I would book executive meetings without sounding like a desperate sales rep: I used to teach cold calling techniques. Tonality. Pacing. Objection handling. And while that still matters... It’s not the reason I consistently get meetings with C-level buyers. The secret? I never cold call anymore. I warm call. Here’s how I do it: Step 1: Start with a personalized, relevant email. Do some quick research. Make it about them. For example, if I’m reaching out to a CRO, I’ll highlight a drop in quota attainment from RepVue and explain how I can help upskill their team in tough times. Step 2: That same day—a few hours later—I call their cell phone. (ZoomInfo or LinkedIn can get you that. No excuses.) DO NOT call the office. DO NOT waste time dialing assistants. If you can’t get a cell, send a LinkedIn connection request with a DM or video message. Step 3: When I call, I say: “Hi, this is Ian Koniak—did you happen to see the email I sent this morning?” If they say no: “No problem. I sent it because I saw your team’s quota attainment is down since 2022. I think I can help based on what I’ve done with other clients. Do you have a couple minutes now, or should we find time to connect on Zoom?” It’s not a pitch. It’s a reference to something you already sent that’s about them. That’s what makes it warm. Step 4: If they don’t respond, wait 2–3 days. Then reply to the original thread with more context: – Mention the training or workshops you offer – Share real results (e.g., 20% increase in quota attainment) – Ask: “Is this something you’d be open to learning more about?” Always lead with interest, not a hard ask for time. Step 5+: Stack 6–8 touchpoints total. Each one builds on the last—adding more insight, examples, testimonials. Mix in: – LinkedIn videos – Client stories – Relevant frameworks Each message = more value. That’s how you break through. It can take 8-12 touchpoints to get a meeting. Most reps quit after 1-3 touchpoints. Or worse—just send the same “following up” message. No value. No relevance. No shot. This process works. It’s not magic. It’s just real sales effort with a real strategy.

The answer to your outbound problems isn't: ⛔️ AI ⛔️ More volume ⛔️ SDR agents ⛔️ More relevance ⛔️ Dialers It's your OFFER. Let me explain... Most reps reach out with something like: “Just want to introduce myself and our company…” “Let’s do a quick call so you know your options when budgeting season comes around...” The problem? You have NOTHING to offer. If there’s no immediate need, there's zero reason to take a meeting with you. So you need a way to entice buyers to meet when they have a problem, but are not actively shopping. Here are three types of offers you can use to entice buyers to meet with you: ✅ Offer #1: Good - Pitch The Blind Date Position who the buyer will be meeting with. Hype up the AE, sales engineer, or yourself. Show them that meeting with you will be worth their while. Example: A client of ours sells an automated welding solution. The manufacturing industry is facing a massive shortage of welding talent. Their SDRs pitched it like this: “I’d love to introduce you to Eric. He’s worked with a dozen manufacturers like Caterpillar, Karavan, and more, who are all facing similar challenges. He’ll walk you through how they’re automating the most difficult welds and dealing with the labor shortage. Even if nothing comes of it, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of how the industry is solving this.” Even if the buyer isn’t shopping, they gain value from the conversation itself. ✅ Offer #2: Better - 1:Many Offers These are high-quality, reusable insights that still feel tailored. Think: competitive benchmarks, industry research, or best practice guides. Example: We have a client that sells to ecomm brands. They conducted a mystery shop of 400 competitors to analyze response times, customer service channels, etc. Their reps used those insights to open cold calls with: “Hey Katie, I submitted a ticket on your site, and it took about 48 hours to get a response. It was about 3x longer than folks like Patagonia and the North Face. Again, it’s Jason. Mind if I share more about why I’m calling?” That’s an offer that feels immediately relevant and valuable. It gets a conversation started immediately. ✅ Offer #3: Best - 1:1 Offers These are custom-tailored experiences or resources created specifically for the prospect. It’s you and your organization putting in serious effort to customize the offer. This works best at the enterprise & strategic levels. Examples: - A cyber risk analysis - A benchmarking analysis - A workshop - A personalized audit of a website checkout flow. - Visiting and experiencing the brand firsthand, then sharing insights. - Offering free data, licenses, or pilots. These take more work, but they convert like crazy. ~~~ Which one's most applicable for you?

When I started my sales career 15 years ago, I was eager but clueless. Cold calling and emailing felt awkward and ineffective. Despite my persistence, I struggled to connect with buyers. After much trial and error, I discovered a simple but powerful mindset shift: Instead of leading with my product, lead with the buyer's enemy. What do I mean by "the buyer's enemy"? It's that dreadful task or process that's an absolute time-suck for them. The one they complain about over lunch or vent about when they get home. For example, as a #sales rep selling accounting software, I don't open with: "Hi, I'm calling from Acme Software and I wanted to tell you about our accounting platform." Instead, I say: "Noticed you're still using spreadsheets for financial reporting. With all the time manual entry takes, plus the chasing of department heads for missing info, I'm guessing month-end close is no fun for your team?" This grabs their attention because I called out a specific pain point. I picked on the enemy, struck a nerve. Once you have their interest, you can position your solution not as a sales pitch, but as the weapon to defeat their enemy. After adopting this "buyer's enemy" mindset, my results improved dramatically. I went from struggling to generate any interest to having prospects engage and ask for demos. So if you're doing outbound sales, remember: be relentless with your buyer's enemy. Stop leading with your product. Lead with their frustration. Pick the enemy, strike a nerve, then present your solution as the win they've been waiting for. It took me years to figure this out. But it can save you time if you apply it from day one. 😎 Now go pick a fight! What's your buyer's biggest enemy right now? Share in the comments! --- Learn how to apply this social psychology technique and many others to your cold calls at learntosell.io

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