In this video, we talk about how to nail the first 30 seconds of a cold call. Your success as a cold caller will completely be a result of how well you are able to execute in the first few seconds of a cold call, and we will provide four very clear and simple tips that you can easily implement and see an immediate improvement in your results.

 

Step 1: Don’t sound like a salesperson

The first tip for how to nail the first 30 seconds of a cold call is more of something to not do, and that is to try to avoid sounding like a salesperson who is trying to sell something. This is critical because the prospects that you are cold calling are likely getting called by salespeople every day.

Because of that, if you give off the impression that you are the next salesperson calling to try to talk them into buying your product, this will trigger guardedness. If you trigger the prospect’s guard, everything you do from there will be more difficult and you will likely face objections with the prospect trying to end the call.

The next three tips will help decrease how much you sound like a salesperson.

 

Step 2: Confirm the prospect is available

The second tip for how to nail the first 30 seconds of a cold call is to confirm that the prospect is available to talk. There are many salespeople who disagree with doing this based on the belief that it invites an objection from the prospect.

While that is a valid concern, I believe that confirming that the prospect is available does some very helpful things:

  • Identifies how busy the prospect is
  • Buys you a window of time
  • Builds rapport

One of the keys to this is what you ask to confirm availability, and I believe one of the best ways to do this is to ask:

Have I caught you in the middle of anything?

One of the ways asking in this way is helpful is that it is more familiar and less professional and that can help to decrease how much you look like a salesperson.

 

Step 3: Share the purpose of your call

The next tip for how to nail the first 30 seconds of a cold call is to share the purpose of your call. The key here is to what you say as the purpose for your call.

If you are being completely honest and transparent, the purpose of your call might be:

  • To schedule an appointment
  • To introduce yourself and your company
  • To learn about the prospect’s needs

If you share any of these as the purpose for the call, you will look like a salesperson who is trying to sell something. And not only do we want to avoid that, but we also want to share a purpose for the call that is more about the prospect and answers the question of “what is in it for me.” The best way to accomplish both of those is to share your value proposition as your purpose for the call.

 

Step 4: Do a sales takeaway

The last tip for how to nail the first 30 seconds of a cold call is to do a sales takeaway. A sales takeaway is the opposite of trying to get the prospect to move forward with your product by expressing doubt.

While it might sound like you should not do that, there are certain times when taking away what you sell can help, and the beginning of a cold call is one of those moments. One caveat to this is that we recommend that the takeaway at the beginning of a cold call be a soft sales takeaway and here are some examples:

  • I do not know if you need what we provide.
  • I do not know if you are a good fit with what we do.
  • I do not know if we can help you in the same way.
  • I do not know if you are interested in those improvements.
  • I do not know if you are concerned about those areas.
  • I do not know if you are the right person to speak with.
  • I do not know if it makes sense for us to talk.

When you do this right after you share your value proposition, it can help to create a push / pull effect, and that can help to decrease the prospect’s guard and establish the call. This will also decrease how much you sound like a salesperson trying to sell something because salespeople usually always push the prospect to move forward.

We hope these tips for how to nail the first 30 seconds of a cold call helps you get to the next level!