A Killer Start to a Cold Call

This is a follow up to my most liked and read article on Linkedin. To check that one, click here. I've also talked about why many people complain about the fact that most content nowadays is strategic or tactical, but hardly ever practical. So as I have done before, let me offer some practical advice. To set up the stage, let me just say that the SDRs that I have trained have made over 1,000,000 cold calls.

If you have no idea what "The Hook" is, read this article first. In short, The Hook is a short statement - usually asking permission to speak - that gets people to actually talk to you on the phone for the next two minutes. Without it, prospects are much more prone to just hang up on you.

I advocate so much for testing how your team cold calls that I wanted to give you some examples of Hooks that can result in a 70-90% acceptance rate. Meaning, 70-90% of people who you get on the phone will actually spend a few minutes to talk to you and listen to your pitch! Boom! That's a killer KPI.

The Advice

Remember that there is no silver bullet, so I want to orient you in regards to what approach will work best according to your Buyer Persona. Here are four ways to start a call:

Approach #1: Short and sweet Target: Service oriented SMBs (law firms, accountants, etc.)

Say: "Hi John, this is Michael calling from Acme, I was hoping to speak with you for 2 minutes, is this an ok time?"

Approach #2: The empathetic SDR Target: Busy but nice Executives at big companies (C-Level, VPs)

Say: "Hi John, this is Michael Smith from Acme, I now you are busy, but can I borrow you for just 2 minutes?

Approach #3: To the point and out Target: Busy NYC Executives at big companies (C-Level, VPs)

Say: "Hi John, it's Mike with Acme, if you give me no more than 47 seconds, I’ll get straight to the point, is that fair?"

Approach #4: The helping hand Target: Young Mid-level managers at big companies

Say: "Hi John, this is Mike calling from Acme, I was really just hoping you could point me in the right direction. Can I ask you a quick question?"

The Analysis - The psychological factors that affect your Hook

#1: Service oriented SMBs (lawyers, accountants, housekeeping services) are used to talking on the phone. A few keys include:

• Mentioning just your first name, so you sound more casual and less sales-y.
• Saying "I was hoping" which gets people to want to help you (specially these guys who work in services)
• "is this an ok time?", which sounds respectful and professional. It's never a great time for a cold-call but let's hope it's not a bad time.

#2: Busy executives will always tell you they are busy and can't talk right now, so here are the keys:

• Acknowledge the fact that they are busy, so it's not an objection they can make anymore.
• Say your full name, so you sound more professional (think of bankers)

#3: People from NYC talk in a friendly way but they are very direct. Mimic them.

• Cut every single word you can "Hi John, it's Mike with Acme"... a good into can't get shorter than that.
• Tell them you'll be straight to the point, and do so in your pitch
• Use a non-standard number that will throw them off, "47 seconds"

#4: These individuals, who are newer to the management game, and work collaboratively with many others, will gladly help, if you ask a favor:

• Be more casual than with Execs, but less casual than with SMBs. "This is Mike calling from Acme" is a good balance
• Saying "Can I ask you a quick question?" works great for mid-level managers as they always want to help others, you'll get a bit of time

The Conclusion

There is no silver bullet. No ex-VP of Sales at any company can come to yours and say he has the "key" to figure out your outbound. You need to experiment a lot, you need to get your team to make a ton of calls. You need to test things over and over again and always think about the psychological position of the person you are talking with. If you do that, and you set up your metrics right, you'll eventually get to a point where the unit economics work, and once your LTV is 3-5x your CAC, you're ready to go big!

Good luck everyone, and keep hustlin'

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