The Best Opening For A Cold Call | Selling Made Simple

The average length of a successful cold call that ends in a meeting is just 5:14. That’s it! For unsuccessful ones, it’s around 3:14. But as brief as these encounters usually are, it’s actually the first three seconds that make or break a call. This video covers the rejection-proof cold call one-liner that’s guaranteed to help you book more calls, all in just three seconds. Now for most cold callers, even experienced ones like you, the problem isn’t talking about your value proposition. Or convincing prospects to book an official call with you. Instead, it’s that initial line. That first three seconds. Because a whopping 98% of cold calls end in hangups right off the bat. And if you can get your prospects to listen to you after that, then you’re home free. But you’ve got to choose your words carefully. You’ve got to pique interest, interrupt their thought pattern, and set expectations. And that’s exactly what this opener is so great at doing. 1. The Opener The word-for-word opener you can start using right away. So this one actually comes from my friend, Josh Baun. Josh is an expert when it comes to sales and trains teams on how to beef up their numbers and close more deals. I actually interviewed him on The Salesman Podcast where he talked about this very opener, which he both uses and teaches to his clients. So first up, let’s just take a look at the opener, and then we’ll break it down… Simple as that. Now, 70 or 80% of the time, you’re going to get a yes. And here’s why… A) Pattern Interrupt First, a pattern interrupt. Most sales reps try to come off too familiar so they can start building rapport. But what this opener openly calls out is the fact that the prospect doesn’t know who you are. In fact, you’re a complete stranger! And that simple tweak lets you stand out from the other cold callers and keep prospects from hanging up. Next… B) Time Commitment Time commitment. You’re setting boundaries here. This isn’t going to be an hour-long conversation. It isn’t even going to be 10 minutes. So when they say yes, they know they aren’t getting roped into a major time waster. Who doesn’t have two minutes? Next up… C) A Favor A favor. You’re asking for help because people are wired to help others. We WANT to help other people. And in fact, when someone does a favor for you, they’re actually more likely to help you in the future! It’s called the Benjamin Franklin Effect, and it’s an amazing sales tool to add to your toolbelt. D) Tone Tone. We’re using a tonality that’s not, “Hey, Will, this is JOSHHHHH! Can YOUUUU help me out for a moment?” You’re calm. Because when you’re calm, you’re less aggressive. You aren’t a threat to run away from. And that makes you more inviting. Again, this simple opener will keep people on the line with you 70 to 80% of the time. But you’re job’s not done yet. Then you have to move on to… 2. The Follow-Up Steps Step one kept them on the line. Now we have to move on to steps two and three. These are simple. See If They’re The Right Person To see if the prospect is even the right person that you need to be speaking with. That looks a little something like this… As you can see, this implies that you’ve done a little research—a must for rapport building. Now, one of two things is going to happen there. You’re either going to get a positive or negative response here. “Yes, I’m in charge of that,” or “No, I’m retired.” And don’t you want to know that at the beginning of the call rather than going all the way through your pitch? So once you’ve made sure you’re talking to the right person, it’s time for step number 3… Poke & Peel The poke and peel. You’re going to be poking around a little bit to see how the prospect is currently getting the job done, and you’re going to peel the onion a little bit.