21 Cold Calling Secrets

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Contents

21 Cold Calling Secrets


From The Sales Masters
01 NANCY NARDIN
12 SCOTT LEESE

Cold calling is still a key strategy for successful sales teams.


02 SCOTT BARKER
13 CURT ECHO

Here’s the proof: one survey by DiscoverOrg found that


55% of high growth companies (those with at least 40%
03 JAMES BUCKLEY
14 MARC BRANCACCIO

growth over the last three years) identified cold calling


as one of their key strategies.
04 LINDSEY PLOCEK
15 JAMES MURPHY

But, what about companies that feel cold calling is


outdated? The same study found they saw 42% less
05 RUSS HEARL
16 AMIR REITER

growth than those who say it’s alive and well.

However, even though it’s effective, cold calling


06 BLAKE HARBER
17 BRIAN DEIGNAN

has changed. 07 SCOTT WELLS


18 JUSTIN MORELAND

08 19
Sales reps must learn to leverage technology and adapt to
EAMON FILINSKI JASON MCELHONE
changing communication styles. This ebook will highlight
how some of the best in the business are doing just that.

It also includes valuable insights from Chorus.ai’s 09 DAN CILLEY


20 MICHAEL MILLER

10 21
conversation intelligence platform that analyzed more
than one million cold calls made in 2018. Note how our ELLA KOBELT GIO FLORES
pro’s tips align with these key findings.

11 ADON RIGG CHEAT SHEET


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Key Finding:

SUCCESSFUL
COLD-CALLS
THAT MOVED TO A
DISCOVERY MEETING
LAST AN AVERAGE
OF 7.5 MINUTES.
That means you have to hold their attention on an
unexpected call for a long time. So, be relevant, know
how to get a stranger talking, and be empathetic.
Here’s how the pros suggest you do it.

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Begin correctly. Tell them your


“why” and lead with value.

If possible, I warm up the call in advance by finding someone I know that can introduce me.
When that’s not possible, I make sure I’m prepared and get right to the point. “Can I have
20 seconds to tell you why I’m calling?” Then, I explain why. I use an approach that feels
NANCY NARDIN
01 CEO, Smart Selling Tools, Inc.
comfortable to me.

I don’t say things that are taught as the perfect script. I make it my own. If you’ve been
told to use a script that doesn’t feel like you, find a way to make it more natural to you.
Nancy is the Founder of Smart Selling Tools, The key is to do it in a way that doesn’t stray from these key principles.
Inc. and the Co-Founder of Vendor Neutral.
She’s contributed to various university sales
• Be confident. You’re calling for a reason that will benefit them. Otherwise, why are
programs including as far away as Denmark.
She’s been in multiple publications including you calling?
Forbes and Selling Power magazines.
• Be clear on your objective. Unless you’re having a highly transactional sale, your goal
Nancy is a founding member of the Sales
Enablement Society and is actively involved is likely to get a meeting scheduled, rather than to close a sale.
in AA-ISP.
• Know their “why.” Why should they want to meet with you? My best tip is to not take
rejection personally.

04
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Ask for feedback from


the prospect.

If it’s your job to set appointments than you’ve definitely had countless calls that go like this,
“Nah, not interested....click.” One of the most frustrating things about those calls is you know
SCOTT BARKER that they didn’t even listen to your value prop. The prospect just went into “ugh. I hate cold

02 Head of Partnerships at Sales Hacker,


and Evangelist, Outreach.io
callers mode,” bunched you in with every other SDR out there, and hung up the phone.

A trick I used a lot earlier in my career, and still do from time to time, is asking the prospect
for feedback at that critical juncture (the part where they hang up on you). I’ll hit them
Scotts handles all revenue and partnerships with something like, “Hey, I’m really trying to get the hang of this, is there anything I could
at Sales Hacker. He is an evangelist for have changed in my approach that would have gotten you to take a meeting with me?”
Outreach.io, the leading sales engagement
What this does is jolt them out of their typical “ugh, I hate cold callers mode.” It puts them
platform, and is the GM of the Vancouver
into a position of authority, makes them critically think for a second, and then they are
Enterprise Sales Forum.
in teaching mode.

This works on a number of levels. First, you get free call coaching! Second, I can’t tell you how
many times their response was “Hmmm. Honestly, I don’t know...what is it that you do again?”
Then, you get a chance to articulate your benefits in a less combative environment (one
where they are actually listening). Of course, you’ll still get some people who hang up on you,
but give it a shot. It worked for me!

05
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When leaving VMs, leave


your name and info last.
Lead with value.
Prospects want to know what you can do for them, not who you are. Lead with the value they
JAMES BUCKLEY will receive. Be straightforward. Transparency wins every time.
03 Business Development Manager
Brand Ambassador, RingLead
When leaving VMs, leave your name and info last. That’s a John Barrows tip I picked up.
James’ aim is to change the way salespeople view Also, lead with value. No one cares who you are or who you’re with until you’ve earned
their roles. Everything starts with connections. the right to tell them. First question I ask is, “Is this a bad time?” The answer to that
Without personal branding and constant value,
question tells me a lot about where this is going. It’s not always the best thing to shoot
people don’t find you and we can’t do business without
people. James is an inventive and creative sales for a “close” on a call. Sometimes asking for more time is more valuable. “When do you
trainer. Specializing in workflow creation and sales have some time to connect?” or “How do I get time on your calendar today?” I ask for the
effectiveness. He tries to find the things that will make
sales teams and sales professionals stand out in a sea of
time and hope to use it to my advantage when I get it. Ask for ten, fifteen minutes, or go
outreach. He loves to build relationships and maintain for the full half hour.
them over the course of long periods of time.
James looks to see sales teams be more successful by Let’s know one another by the end of this thing. People end calls with me saying things
utilizing social media, email and call strategies. He’d like
like, “I like your style.” and “you’re really great!” Those make great people for the Cirrus
to see more salespeople creating a personal brand they
can call their own. No representative should be exactly Insight pipeline.
alike and each person has value to offer. It only waits
to be discovered.
06
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Use the right tone of voice,


kindness goes a long way.
We love that quote from Lindsey Plocek. If your tone is too aggressive, the prospect will be
turned off right away. Remember you are asking for their help. Have a friendly tone, like you’re
talking to a colleague. Be the “friend in need” and people will want to help.
LINDSEY PLOCEK
04 VP of Global Business
Development & Strategy, Harbinger Reference a personal connection or something you know about their company that
you have been researching. Ask for advice. Don’t close the deal on the call, but instead
figure out who would be a best fit for a follow-up conversation. Do your homework on
Lindsey is an Enterprise marketing and sales
executive who specializes in generating the organization and the person before reaching out. Use casual, friendly language and
predictable, repeatable revenue while building remain confident. Don’t be too aggressive or sales-y. Kindness goes a long way.
winning teams. She is currently consulting
with top companies in categories like MarTech, Don’t ask if now is a good time - jump straight into your “ask” with a little context.
SalesTech, HRTech, Robotics, AI and more. Make a joke to lighten the mood. Follow-up with an email. Say, “I know you’re probably
Lindsey says, “My passion for bringing new
busy, so I’m going to be following up with some ideas and potential times in an email
technologies to market is infectious, and I am
known for driving quick results. Over the last 10 since I am confident your company could benefit from us. I have done a lot of research
years I have helped start-ups like STRIVR, Gigya on you to put together a plan.” Bring value.
and Ask Suzy (formerly Crowdtap) accelerate
revenue from $1M to $55M, build award-winning
company cultures, raise more than $40M in
capital, and inspire 100M+ acquisitions by
companies like SAP.”
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Key Finding:

ON AVERAGE,
IT TAKES 4 TO 5
COLD CALLS TO
LAND A SCHEDULED
MEETING, BUT YOU
PROBABLY GET ONLY
ONE SHOT AT A
LONG COLD-CALL.

08
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Put your trust and efforts


in the calls you make.
Outbound business development involves making many multi-channel and multi-threaded
touches before you can get a meeting with an account. However, it is during a call that you can
get the person’s unabated attention and create the foundation of a relationship. So put your
best efforts when you are dialing away!
RUSS HEARL
05 Head of Sales, Google Cloud

Avoid the email cadence trap. Selling is about connecting with people in real-time, asking
great questions, listening and thoughtfully responding. The fastest way to improve your
Russ is the Head of Sales for new
departmental SaaS products at Google selling and interpersonal skills is to engage with people in real-time vs. asymmetrical
Cloud. Over the course of his 20-year communication channels like email.
career, Russ has never stopped cold calling
and inspiring his teams to pick up the If you’re an SDR, the fastest path to get promoted to an AE is to demonstrate you can
phone and engage with prospects on a have great conversations with prospects.
human level. Russ has built several sales
teams from the ground up and is a regular
speaker at events about data driven sales
machines. His experience includes sales and
leadership roles at FedEx, Salesforce.com
and DoubleDutch.

09
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Use multi-channel outreach to


achieve pattern recognition.
Leverage other forms of communication to get prospects familiar with you. You want them
to know your face, voice and tone. Since it takes four or more cold calls to land a scheduled
meeting, increase your chances by becoming a recognizable, trusted figure. Accomplish this
through multi-channel outreach.
BLAKE HARBER
06 Director of Corporate Sales, Lucid

Don’t look at cold calls as your chance to hopefully catch someone and run through a
discovery. With such a low pickup rate, use the call as a touchpoint in a multi-channeled
Blake is responsible for scaling a team at
one of the fastest growing companies in outreach cadence. Always leave voicemails that are followed up with emails or LinkedIn
Silicon Slopes. He is a passionate sales messages referencing the voicemail you just left.
leader who believes in always putting his
people first and creating an environment You want your prospects to hear your voice, recognize your name and the company
in which they are poised to succeed. you are with, see your email and then see your face on LinkedIn. This type of repetition
in a short amount of time creates pattern recognition and significantly increases your
chances at getting a response. If you happen to get someone on a cold call, keep it short.

The point is to build enough value to schedule a follow-up call where deeper discovery
can be done.

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Use a multi-channel approach.

Follow the call or VM with a LinkedIn message or an email with video to add a personal
touch. Be strategic with your prospecting by focusing on a specific industry so you can
master the same type of talk track, discovering what works and what doesn’t.

Continue to evolve and stay creative because buyers are savvy and standing out from
SCOTT WELLS
07 Director of Sales, Act-On Software
the rest is more and more difficult.

Scott has over 12 years of Enterprise SaaS


Selling experience, and recently dove head
first into Sales Leadership. He has a strong
passion for helping others develop and
succeed. He enjoys the everyday grind and
the entire journey of the sales process.

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Amplify your message.


If you only get one shot at a cold call, don’t waste your allotted time with poor messaging
or presentation. Amplify your message. This means you must learn the art of starting a
conversation and capturing the attention of your audience with your content and delivery.

Much like how actors in theatrical plays need to wear bright makeup to amplify their emotions
EAMONN FILINSKI
08 Director of Sales Development,
Uberflip
to fully capture the audience’s attention, we need to do the same with cold-calling (minus the
makeup). When cold calling, you only have one of our five senses at your disposal, so you need
to ensure that you amplify your energy, sentiment and pronunciation so that the message
comes across as you intended to the person on the other side. I’ve witnessed too many people
Eamonn has had a wide range of experience that slouch in their chair, mumble into the phone, or have a very monotone cadence while
over the past 10 years, working for high speaking to customers on cold calls. My advice is to do the following as soon as you make
growth tech companies, starting in Sales a connection on a cold call:
Development then on to Inside Sales,
Demand Generation, Sales Operations and • Stand up out of your chair (power pose).
Sales Management. He has a passion for
• Project your voice as if the person you’re speaking to is 10 ft. away.
developing careers of future sales leaders
and designing prospecting strategies to • Speak clearly and overemphasize the key points you want the customer to understand.
build a qualified pipeline and contribute to
bottom line revenue. Eamonn also loves Like actors about to go on stage, you’ll still be a little nervous while the phone is ringing.
donuts, running and competitive cooking But, by using this technique you’ll have more confidence, your message will be clearly
shows (in that order). understood, and you’ll have more fun making cold calls.

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Key Finding:

BOTH THE REP


AND THE PROSPECT
HAVE LONGER
MONOLOGUES
(30-35 SECONDS)
IN SUCCESSFUL
COLD CALLS.

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Challenge them with a leading


question, and ask open-ended
questions.
Leverage other forms of communication to get prospects familiar with you. You want them
to know your face, voice and tone. Since it takes four or more cold calls to land a scheduled
DAN CILLEY
09 Co-founder, Vendor Neutral
meeting, increase your chances by becoming a recognizable, trusted figure. Accomplish this
through multi-channel outreach.

Dan is a big believer in improving customer


engagement without disruption, and has Ask open-ended questions. They allow cold calling prospects the opportunity to provide
been enabling enterprise-level organizations more information, including information which will drive emotions, like a specific pain or
for more than 20 years. As a founding frustration that the prospect may want to solve or overcome. This enables the caller the
member and chapter president of the Sales
opportunity to better understand the respondent’s true needs, and provide a solution
Enablement Society, Leader of the Sales
Enablement Definition Committee and the
that will match.
President of the American Association of
Inside Sales Professionals, Dan’s influence
is second-to-none. Together, Dan and
Co-founder Nancy are uniquely positioned
to help organizations leverage modern
technology and consulting resources to
achieve their goals and objectives.
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Ask early and ask often.

If our clients say they aren’t interested, I challenge them with a leading question.
For example, I might respond with, “Okay, are energy/operating costs not a concern
for you?” Stay out of the weeds.

If they ask detailed questions about your product, pivot that interest to scheduling
ELLA KOBELT a call. Know that you deserve to be talking to whoever you are cold calling!
10 Partnership Representative,
Carbon Lighthouse

Ella conducts cold outreach to commercial


real estate owners, selling guaranteed
energy savings in their buildings.

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Everyone’s responsible for


the bottom line. Can you
make that connection?
To be relevant on a cold call you have to speak to the toughest challenge or the greatest value
that the contact seeks. Adon Rigg, suggests that we have to show everyone how they can have
ADON RIGG
11 CEO, Insightful Solutions
a bigger and better impact of the company’s bottom line.

In addition to being CEO of a lead


Cold calling is easy when you can show your prospect where they didn’t know they
generation and lead conversion company, wanted to go. My philosophy is that no matter who you’re selling to, from the CEO to
Adon is author of the book “Insightful the entry-level purchaser, all buyers are either directly or indirectly responsible for their
Selling.” He is a member of the Canadian company’s bottom line.
Association of Professional Speakers and
regularly speaks at conferences, seminars I believe that the key to success is to learn how not to simply sell product, but to create
and conventions. To assist in the sales value by impacting bottom-line results.
learning process, Adon has created
The S.A.L.E.S Formula™, an acronym-based
selling methodology that outlines the
steps involved in his new sales process.

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Key Finding:

THE AVERAGE
SDR SEQUENCE
FOR A SUCCESSFUL
COLD CALL LASTS
20 DAYS AND
INCLUDES 4 CALLS
TO THE SAME
PERSON.

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Embrace failure
and learn from it.

Twenty days is a long time to work the same prospect. That means you might have a lot of
moments where you feel like you’ve failed. Keep at it. Don’t give up. Learn from your mistakes.
Don’t let it prevent you from diving right back in.

SCOTT LEESE
12 Senior Vice President of Sales, Qualia
Pick up the phone and call. Expect to fail. Take notes along the way. Learn and grow
from what isn’t working and what is. Adjust accordingly. Know everything about your
customer’s pain, the value in solving it, and your solution is there. This way you will be
In addition to being SVP of Sales, Scott is
a two-time “Top 25 AA-ISP Inside Sales unafraid of whatever their response is.
Leader,” a strategic advisor to numerous
Focus on listening more than talking. Ask the right questions. Stay confident.
startups, a two-time company founder, and
an Amazon No. 1 best selling author for his Ask for the business. Never give up.
book “Addicted to the Process.”

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Be fearless and don’t


be afraid to fail.

Cold calling is not natural. If you convert 30 to 40 percent of your cold calls into
meetings, you are doing a fantastic job. If you were to get a 30 to 40 percent on
CURT ECHO an exam, you fail. You are set up to fail. Embrace and learn from it, so you don’t

13 Manager of Business Development,


Chorus.ai
make the same mistake twice.

Curt started his business development


career as a BDR at InsightSquared, holding
that position for a year and three months.
From there, he became an enterprise BDR at
Avecto, prospecting into the Fortune 1000
accounts. He is currently running a team of
eight BDR’s at Chorus.

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Don’t wait for the perfect


time, perfect situation,
perfect anything.

The perfect time rarely comes. Most of the time, it’s just an excuse to not pick up the phone.
MARC BRANCACCIO Instead of the waiting for the perfect time, work on developing a genuine approach.
14 Sales Director, PayJunction

What you don’t do is as important as what you do. Here’s short list of cold calling don’ts.
Marc has 20+ years of experience in sales
leadership in media and technology.
• No gimmicks. They may get your foot in the door, but they don’t add value or build trust.
His mission is simple... to make everyone • No false claim of prior relationship. “I’m calling because Jill said to speak with you”
like salespeople. doesn’t fly if it’s not true.
• Don’t wait for the perfect time, perfect situation, perfect anything. Pick up the phone
as a natural extension of your selling motion enough times and you will build the right
muscles.
• Don’t hesitate to ask for help. If you have good intentions and are genuine in your
approach, people will be willing to help you navigate to the right person.
• Don’t give up!

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Key Finding:

IN SUCCESSFUL
COLD CALLS
REPS ASK ABOUT
4 QUESTIONS
AND MOSTLY TEND
TO TALK BETWEEN
40-47% OF
THE TIME.

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Use your talk time judiciously.


Take away the easy outs for
the prospect.
Make your questions count. Don’t give the prospect an easy out by saying something like,
“do you have a moment?” Instead, quickly tell them why they should be listening to you.
JAMES MURPHY
15 Vice President of Sales, SiteLock
These pros agree.

James has been leading high growth sales


A large miss that a lot of salespeople fall victim to revolves around the opening of a cold
teams in various SaaS businesses for 15 call. Too often I hear salespeople ask, “How are you” or “Do you have a few minutes?”
years. He’s been at the helm of the sales org This immediately lets the prospect know they are about to be “pitched,” and the natural
during significant growth periods for multiple instinct is to say no or hang up. In order to set yourself apart, you have to take away these
$100M+ revenue companies. He’s currently
easy outs for the prospect.
building the next $100M revenue project in
Scottsdale, AZ.
Instead, we coach our agents to say something similar to, “I am sure I caught you at a bad
time, so I will keep it brief and if you see some value in what SiteLock can do for you and
your business, we can schedule a follow up call at a time that works better for both of us.”
This helps to lower their guard, and introduces a hint of intrigue from the prospect, which
at the very least will gain you one to three minutes for your elevator pitch/value prop.

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Start the conversation off by


giving the potential lead the
goal of your outreach.

AMIR REITER Do your research and pick possible positioning statements that you anticipate to
16 CEO and Founder, CloudTask make before the call. When making the call, announce yourself clearly and start the
conversation off by giving the potential lead the goal of your outreach and walk backward.
Clearly and quickly tell him or her “why” they should be listening to you.
CloudTask is a managed workforce provider
that helps organizations grow their sales
If they do have a pain-point, they will let you explain the “how,” giving you the opportunity
using a combination of technology and a to convert to more meaningful appointments.
managed team of experts. With offices in
Miami, the Philippines, Colombia and the
UK, CloudTask’s mission is to find prospects,
nurture leads and satisfy customers, allowing
them to reach their business goals.

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Write out your pitch and


practice it out loud.

Getting a prospect to share their pain points and value props for more than half the call is a challenge.
Especially when they don’t know who you are. So you have to practice getting your persona to open up.

BRIAN DEIGNAN
17 Vice President of Sales, FastSpring
Practice! Rising to the occasion is a valiant thought, but the truth is most people fall to the
level of their training when faced with a split second decision. Try these best practices:

• Write out your pitch and practice it out loud. Overemphasize. Your tone will drop in real
At FastSpring, Brian’s mission is to transcend life, so go overboard like you’re in a play on stage.
global and social borders to help companies
achieve growth and success beyond
• Practice with a buddy. Before you get into full role play mode, go back and forth reading
their expectations. your pitch.
• Role play. Write out a list of top objections and how you’ll reply. Answer with a question.
• Research. Find a few relevant things to talk about.
• Set smaller, personal goals. Scheduling a meeting is great, but getting the prospect to
agree to read your email is even better.
• Have fun. If you aren’t having fun doing it, it’s not worth doing. Put a smile on your face.
If someone hangs up on you, it’s their loss. Send them a nice email, and I will bet they will
take your call on the next round.
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Key Finding:

THE AVERAGE
DURATION OF ALL
CONNECTED COLD
CALLS IS 80 SECONDS.
ONLY ABOUT 10%
LAST MORE THAN
TWO MINUTES.

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Leave their LinkedIn picture


up so it’s almost like your
talking to them face-to-face.
Make your two minutes count. “Cold calling” doesn’t mean you go into the call totally cold.
Know who you are talking to. Buyers don’t have time to give you basic information that they
JUSTIN MORELAND
18 Director of Sales, Adthena
know is easily accessible online. Know their demographics and challenges before you dial their
number. Social media and other web sources are a treasure trove of data, especially LinkedIn,
which now has over 500 million users. In addition to company information, look at specifics
about the person you will be speaking to. Note their current and past experience, any shared
Justin started as an entrepreneur and has
worked for huge adtech companies like Marin connections, groups, recent activity and published articles. Here’s what the pros say about
Software and startups like Adthena over the putting a face to their prospects.
last 10 years. This has given him a unique set
of skills that resonate with small business
owners and big Fortune 1000 CEOs.
A little bit of research on your prospect before calling in will go a long way. So spend two
to three minutes searching for current news or related events. Study their LinkedIn page
so you can tailor your pitch/value prop to what brings value to their role, responsibilities
and/or organization. I even leave their LinkedIn picture up so it’s almost like I’m talking to
them face-to-face.

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Ask for help at the beginning


of every call.

No one wants to be given a sales spiel the second they pick up the phone. However, you also
don’t want to ask if you can try to sell them something since the answer will most likely be
no. Here’s how the sales pros tackle the start of their conversations.
JASON MCELHONE
19 Director of Inside Sales,
MarketSource Ask for help at the beginning of every cold call. “Hi John, I wonder if you could help me
out for a moment?” It puts the prospect into ‘yes’ mode and creates a mutually beneficial
relationship. The biggest mistake SDRs make is not getting permission to speak.
Jason has 27 years of experience,
specializing in cold calling, email marketing A long time ago I learned, never present in the face of no interest. So before launching into
and social selling. In 2018, he played a vital your pitch, ask for help. If you catch someone at a bad time, offer to call them back. You
role in helping MarketSource deliver more have the keys to the kingdom, and that is a solution to their problem.
than $7B of revenue growth for its clients.
Once you understand both sides have something to gain, the conversation becomes that
much easier!

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Call the prospect to ask how


you should pitch.

Do excellent research on the person you are calling. This can be done in about 10 minutes.
What you are looking for is an honest question you have about your pitch. Now call the
prospect, not to pitch but to ask them how you should pitch. The call should be
MICHAEL MILLER
20 Former Owner, Rise Up Selling
very conversational.
When I had a sales training company, I would call an owner (not a manager) and ask if I could
pick his brain for 10 minutes about my pitch. These were unknown people, but I was amazed
Michael Miller has made a career out of at the information given, and often the people would say, “If you have something like X,
sales, making every mistake you can, and I’ll buy it right now.” Be curious about it all, as well as flexible. You will be pleasantly
learning as he picked himself up. He has surprised at people’s generosity.
built and sold several businesses and now
is planning his next one.

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Using the “always” rule.

The best cold calling tip that I recommend is the “always” rule and that means when you
cold call someone, you always have to remember the following:

• Be honest, transparent and straightforward.


• Be persistent.
GIO FLORES
21 Director of Sales, RingLead
• Identify and solve problems.
• Be respectful.
• Be memorable. Make sure they don’t forget your call. Make it unique. Stand out.
Gio is a Director of Sales who is
• Be credible. Use third-party info to validate your claims.
data-driven and metric orientated.
He helps businesses increase their
revenue by 10X by building a unique,
powerful and accurate database of their
ideal customer profile.

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Cheat Sheet
Here are some data points on successful cold calls i.e. the ones that resulted in a booked discovery meeting.

The average successful SDR should ask the


cold call lasts 7.5 minutes. prospect 4-5 questions.
The longer the call, the better. The average Cold calls are not about endless pitching.
duration of all connected cold calls is 80 seconds You have to ask the right discovery and
but successful cold calls average 7.5 mins. qualification questions too. What you need
Create open-ended questions that can help you are 4-5 potentially engaging questions that
have a longer conversation with the prospect. get the prospect to really “open up”.

The ideal SDR cadence has Prospects tend to ask


4 cold calls over 20 days. 2-3 questions.
You have to try about 4 times to have a long If your call is going well, the prospect will
conversation with the prospect. Ensure you also ask 2-3 questions other than “what do
have 4 to 5 calls in your cadences and once you guys do?” That’s a great way to tell if the
the cadence is over, turn the contact in to conversation has potential and if you have
Marketing for nurturing. an intriguing proposition for the prospect.

SDR should create SDs talk for about


1-2 engaging moments. 40-49% of the call.
Engaging moments are when a prospect There is no ideal talk/listen ratio. As a guidance
speaks for more than 30 seconds. If you have keep your talk time in the above range.
the right conversation skills and some amazing Don’t be shy of long monologues, e.g. when
open-ended questions, you can end up creating telling a customer story. Successful cold calls
1 or 2 engaging moments on a cold call. have monologues as long as 35 seconds. 30
Conclusion About Chorus.ai

Common threads run throughout our pro tips: Chorus.ai is a Conversation


Intelligence Platform that records,
• Research the prospect.
transcribes, and analyzes business
• Prepare questions. conversations in real-time to
coach reps on how to become
• Prepare for rejection.
top performers.
• Lead with value.
With Chorus.ai more reps meet
• Know their pain. quota, you ramp new hires faster,
coach the existing team effectively,
All these tips boil down to knowing the prospect. Despite living in the age of and everyone in the organization
information, however, research from CSO Insights shows that 42% of salespeople can collaborate over the actual
don’t feel like they have the right information before calling prospects. They are voice of the customer.
diving in and hoping for the best.
Chorus.ai is funded by Emergence
Do your salespeople have the tools they need to gather information, and capture Capital, Georgian Partners,
each conversation? Talk to the experts at Chorus.ai about a solution that captures and Redpoint Ventures and is
all sales conversations including your cold calls, and providing valuable insights into headquartered in San Francisco, US.
the persona, what matters to them and what doesn’t, as well as what top reps do
better in their cold calls.
Contact us to learn more.

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