14 cold calling tips from expert sales gurus

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard reps say, “Cold calling is the worst!”

As an admirer from afar, I see the fear in reps when they hear the phrase "cold calling" — like a shiver down their spine as if they are reliving the worst memory in their life.

I remember back when I had to make cold calls to small business owners - half the calls were just owners telling me to, “F*** off," and, "They were not interested in anything I have to offer."

Not going to lie, it hurt my feelings every time.

I even remember having a conversation with Sarah Drake (Former Senior SDR for Directive) where she mentioned her worst cold call

“I had a call where I did my normal beginning and the person said, 'Let’s see what kind of trash sales person you are…'"

OUCH!

Even listening to that hurt my soul, but after all that we all know how crazy important cold calling is to prospecting. There is a reason why so many sales teams rely on it to generate millions of dollars in sales for their companies.

But a major flaw a lot of reps go through is how to be effective while cold calling. It’s very similar to starting stand-up comedy: understanding how to avoid bombing is a skill itself.

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I used to spend hours online looking for answers on how to be funny or approachable on a cold call. When I kept bombing on these calls, all I did was read about or watch comedians worst bombs to keep my head up.

Kevin Hart once talked about how someone threw a chicken wing at him while he was on stage, and Bill Burr mentioned how he was literally boo’d off stage at one point.

A girl named Yamenika Saunders spoke about how she was boo’d all the way from the Apollo back home. The way she talks about this is a must listen if you want to understand perseverance - especially as a sales rep making cold calls.

One thing I realized is that there is a methodology to cold calling. Once you understand it, it can help you push through your calls while you are learning how to be effective.

I sat down and spoke with a bunch of cold calling experts: Cara Fellemen (Director of Sales at Resy), Sarah Drake (Former Senior SDR at Directive), Ryan Wilusz (Sales Manager at LeadIQ) and Aaron Browning (VP Sales at FrontSpin).

They've all been doing this for years and to this day still prospect themselves - so they've got a few tried and true cold callign tips even the most senior sales people can benefit from.

14 cold calling tips and techniques from experts

1. Understand the opportunity

The biggest sales cold calling tip is doing your mental preparation.

You have to understand the opportunity that lies ahead - not just the singular cold call in front of you.

For me the best SDRs have an entrepreneurial spirt

Looking back at the best-performing SDRs I have worked with, they have moved through companies fast or gone on to create or run their own companies.

Mainly because if you can create something out of seemingly nothing, your opportunity is significant.

If an SDR is converting cold leads better than the rest, they should be using that leverage to get more inbound, move to an AE role faster, or get a better sales territory. Maybe this isn't applicable to some SDRs, but it helped me remain committed to the job knowing mastering cold calling could be a huge stepping stone in my career and in my life.

So the risk vs. reward is off the charts if you are willing to put in consistent effort.

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Do what it takes to motivate yourself before you dial - whether it’s music or listening to YouTube clips of inspiring Ted Talks, or movies like Tommy Boy. Your mindset going into the call can shift the entire experience.

2. Practice, practice, practice

The last thing you want to do as a rep is get connected with a high value prospect and word vomit all over their shoes - or even worse, freeze up and not know what to say.

Make sure you practice with your teammates and manager before actually reaching out to a prospect.

We recommend writing scripts and practicing the pitch out loud. The script should be conversational and follow a general "if this, then that" format. You can use services like ChatGPT to help you with this by using a prompt like "What are ten questions a prospect on a cold call might ask for [insert a description of what you sell] product?" and craft your unique responses.

Cold calling is a skill - and like all skills, it can be practiced!

3. Understand who your customer’s ICP is

Having an understanding of who they’re selling to helps you derive relevant pain-related questions. Sales is less about what you're selling and more abput the problems your solving for the prospect.

Knowing who your customer's customer is can help you connect with them even in the opening line.

This cold calling trick can be gold: you can start the conversation with "Hi, Joe. I'm [your name]. At [insert their company name] it sounds like you sell to customers like [insert name of their customers] helping them solve x. Do you have trouble doing [insert problem you solve]?"

In the digital age, you can generally find their customers online, especially if they're a B2B company. If they're a consumer focused company, you can broaden it to more of a demographic such as "young men between 18-24 looking for x".

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4. Do your research and sound human-like

The first 5 seconds of a can cold call still scares the life out of me - but the internet has made things a lot easier. Do some research and find an opener you're comfortable with.

Remember, finding your voice and tone is very important. You want to sound human and likable. My go-to is a compliment on something job related off of their LinkedIn profile that can lead to an actual discussion. Everyone loves compliments and to talk about themselves. Not many are going to hang up after a compliment.

Then pitch your value prop and KEEP IT SIMPLE (like talking to a 6 year old simple).

Do not ever open with: Are you busy? / Do you have a few minutes? / Is this a bad time? / Did you get my email? These questions are all dead ends and can lead to a single word answer: "No" or someone just hanging up on you.

By showing you've done your research and understand their problems, you can show that you know how to be good at cold calling.

5. Come up with an upfront agreement

Upfront agreements give your prospect an understanding of the purpose of the meeting, length of time, and your expected outcome. Once you've gotten past the first few seconds and they agree to hear you out, agreeing to what the call will be about can show you care about their time and the conversation.

For example, you can let them know you are looking to talk about x problem they likely have, understanding if they have explored a solution to this problem, and how long you anticipate the call. being.

In action this sales tip for cold calling might look like: "Thanks, Joe - I appreciate your time. In this call, I want to discuss an issue a lot of companies like [insert name of company] have - [insert problem]. While some have solved this problem with [other more difficult ways to solve this problem], we enable companies to X. In ten minutes we can understand if you have this problem and how we think we can help you solve it. How does that sound?"

Getting them to agree to hearing you out is like an invisible handshake to the start of the relationship. You summarize what the the cold call will entail and get their consent to continue on all in one!

6. Call during periods where there’s a high probability your prospect will answer the phone

According to a 2017 study by CallHippo, the best time to call prospects is from 4:00pm-5:00pm, followed by 11:00am-12:00pm.

Why is this?

The last hour of the day, people are looking forward to the day ending. They've likely gotten their major tasks out of the way and are prepping for tomorrow. A cold call can be a nice distraction to make the end of the day go by faster.

As for 11am - it's a similar vibe but rather than the end of the day nearing, lunch is. Everyone is eager to get to lunch but the time often ticks by slower when you're watching the clock. This sales tips for cold calling is gold because the prospect has already gotten the top priorities out of the way and can kill some time before their second favorite part of the day: lunch!

7. Know your objections

Every company is gong to have certain common cold call objections (i.e. using a competitor, no budget, not interested, reach back out in X months).

The last thing you should be doing on a cold call is thinking about how to overcome an objection someone just asked you.

You should know what to anticipate and be able to respond rather than react in the moment.

You should have your company's go-to responses and include open-ended questions.

Starting with a "What" question is my go to.

Prospect: "We are using (your competition)"

You: "I appreciate that information, they have a good platform/service, etc." "What is that relationship like?"

They should open up and tell you what is good and bad. If not, you can ask what they don't like and then take the conversation from there.

8. Know all of your value props

It’s important to be able to pivot value props based off a customers pain points and needs. You've done your research on the prospect and think they have a certain need or problem - but you might find in the conversation they have another need that your solution can solve.

Sales battle cards can help you and your team know value props, pricing, and other important information so you can quickly respond in a way that highlights your company's unique value.

9. Communicate what's in it for them

Always communicate what is in it for them. This is one of the biggest issues beginner SDRS need when it comes to cold calling help.

If the prospect doesn’t know what is in it for them, do not expect them to say yes to the conversation, a demo, or building the relationship at all.

Many junior reps will fire off a list of what their product does and not take a breath for 90 seconds! The best cold calls involve the SDR speaking less and listenint more!

10. Call cell phones

Not everyone is going to be receptive of this - however, many people in SaaS and B2B don’t even have desk phones.

In today's day and age, calling cell phone numbers generally results in much higher connect rates. This is especially true post-pandemic when a lot of individuals work from home or only work from an office some days of the week.

We call cell phones here at LeadIQ and our SDR team had 15% connect rates in September. That’s roughly 200% the industry average of 4-6%.‍

11. Listen to the good, the bad, and the ugly

Set time aside each day to review your calls.

Regardless of how the call went, you will learn something every time you listen to a call which will help you get better.

At LeadIQ, we use Gong to review our calls and we love it so much that we created a partnership with them to bundle our products as our contact data and their sales intelligence platform go hand in hand!

12. Don’t take it personally

Not everyone is going to be super thrilled you’re calling them out of the blue. You may get lectured, hung up on, or in some cases even sworn at. You are just doing your job and getting the no’s is only going to lead you towards a yes.

When someone responds like this, it is usually less about you and more about them. But that's only true if you did your research, came in prepared, and tried to show them you value their time!

13. Call prospects at different times of the day

If you called them yesterday at 11:00am and they didn’t answer try calling today at 4:00pm - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

A bonus cold calling secret is to leave a voicemail! You wouldn't believe how many reps cold call someone and don't leave a voicemail. In that voicemail, you can let them know you will be calling them again tomorrow to try and reach them.

14. Know when to close

Your job is to get them to the next step (appt, demo, disco call, etc). You don't have to make it a long call or go through an entire script if it's clear that the prospect is ready to move forward to getting a demo!
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What do you think about these cold calling tips?

Thanks to our experts for these cold calling tips and tricks! Ultimately the best cold calling tip is having confidence in yourself even when the smiling and dialing gets tough.

While cold calling is often seen as a starter role within companies - mastering this skill can lead to limitless opportunities.