The first ten seconds of a cold call will have your heart racing faster than a cheetah on a hunt.

What do you say to keep the prospect from hanging up? How about trying a cold call opener?

You might have tried them, but they didn’t work out. You probably weren’t using permission-based openers, and I’m going to tell you how to do them the right way in this episode.

Cold Call Openers Give Prospects a Way Out

• Cold call openers do work, and I recently tried them out. Actually, I tried them out a few times, and they usually work out well.
• What I do differently is give the prospect an option to end the call. It helps them feel they have a way out when they decide to leave.
• Think of it as you’re at the movies and know the emergency exit is right beside you. Knowing this gives you comfort in case you have to hurry up and leave.

Permission-Based Openers Work

• If you don’t believe me on permission-based cold calls, then believe the stats: 

It lowers resistance:

• Permission-based openers, such as “Did I catch you at a bad time?” have a 40% increased rate on cold calls than those that dive straight into the pitch.

Builds trust quickly:

• When you tell them you’re doing a cold call, you become more trustworthy and less seen as a pushy seller. Prospects actually appreciate transparency, and 88% of them say that trust is the key factor in who they buy from.

Gives the prospect control:

• Letting them say yes to you asking for permission to continue with the call creates this micro-agreement that continues throughout the sales process. Research even shows that a small yes will increase compliance with further requests by over 60%.
• Permission-based openers also take the pressure off you from trying so hard to convince prospects to stay on the phone. They permitted you to stay on the call, so now all you have to do is let the sales process flow through.

“I definitely think cold calling works. There’s some money in those calls!” - Donald C. Kelly.

Resources

For consistent practice and guidance in becoming a more impactful seller, join my Mastermind class.

I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn! Reach out if you need more support with permission-based cold calls or simply want to expand your network.

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.

With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.

2.  This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.

3.  This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.

Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

bluëmango | STUDIOS

bluemanostudios.com

HubSpot

Hubspot.com/marketers