As a B2B SaaS content strategist, I‘ve found myself on the receiving end of countless cold calls, especially after signing up for industry reports. It’s always a strange experience that keeps surprising me. Just last week, after downloading a marketing automation whitepaper, my phone lit up with calls from eager software representatives.
What strikes me most isn‘t the frequency of these calls but the glaring lack of preparation. It’s surprising how often these companies don‘t realize I’m not their ideal prospect. Time and again, I find myself listening to pitches for enterprise-level services that are clearly misaligned with my role and needs.
This mismatch shows a major flaw in many companies‘ sales cold calling strategies. It’s a clear reminder that doing your homework is essential in sales outreach. In this article, I’ll provide a closer look at what cold calling is, review why sales orgs still use it, and offer some strategies you can employ to do it right. Let’s jump in.
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Table of Contents
What is cold calling?
In sales, cold calling refers to an outreach method where a salesperson attempts to solicit business from prospects with whom they've had no prior contact over the phone.
I came across some pretty interesting stats. Sales cold calling has a reputation for being one of the more grating, demoralizing tasks salespeople — particularly newer reps — have to deal with.
Research from Cognism shows the method only has a conversion rate of around 5%, and it typically takes a rep three cold call attempts to connect with a lead. But while cold calling has an extremely limited success rate, it can still be a useful means of reaching new contacts, making it a common outreach method — less than stellar conversion rate and all.
The telephone is still an incredibly popular resource for salespeople. According to a study by RAIN Group, of the 15 outreach methods evaluated for prospecting effectiveness, the top five included phone calls to existing customers, phone calls to prior customers, and phone calls to new contacts.
Gong’s research shows that even if you don’t connect live, cold calling doubles your email reply rate (3.44% vs. 1.81%) since it draws attention back to your emails, so you book even more meetings across other channels.
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Why is cold calling done by sales professionals?
As I just touched on, there's a lot of merit to proactive outreach in sales. The conversion rate for cold calls (4.82%) has doubled from 2% in 2023 based on Cognism’s research.
Ultimately, sales cold calling is about planting a lot of seeds and seeing what grows, and while that underlying philosophy can make the practice stressful and frustrating, it's still effective — another research from Gong showed that even making a minor adjustment, like opening with “How have you been” boasts a 10% success rate.
Have a look at these cold calling techniques to bring yourself closer to such results:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XsnWSktRVw
Sales templates really help here. They give you a solid foundation to work with and let you focus on the conversation rather than worrying about what to say next. Check out these sales call scripts and go into each call feeling ready and confident.
How to Cold Call
- Gather intel ahead of time.
- Work off of a cold call script — but don't just recite it.
- Mention something recent.
- Learn to take rejection in stride.
- Know when to call.
- Start with a proactive opener.
- Make it interactive.
- Prioritize selling over discovery.
- Educate and inform your buyer.
1. Gather intel ahead of time.
One of the biggest cold calling mistakes that causes prospects to hang up is failing to do any research on them.
As the name implies, cold calls are going to be cold — but you don't want to go into one freezing. You still have to convey a specific value proposition. In my opinion, if you don‘t have any idea who you’re talking to, you're setting yourself up for failure.
One major gripe buyers tend to have with cold calls is that they‘re impersonal. They know you’re likely making hundreds of these calls per week, and no one wants to be reduced to another name on a list.
Jason Wingate, CEO of product innovation company Emerald Ocean Ltd, believes this is the best way to increase the probability of the lead getting back to you.
“If you want to stand out in your cold calling, do your research ahead of time. Find out about the customer — what do they sell? Do they have something already like what you're selling (and if so, what is it)? What is the opportunity for them here? Is your potential customer facing any challenges? What about any recent events surrounding your customer?”
If you can personally cater to them with some specific insight about what you can do for their business, I guarantee you’ll get more out of your cold calls.
2. Work off of a cold call script — but don't just recite it.
Working with some direction can be a big help when sales cold calling. I believe you want to have some kind of guidance — a backbone that helps you plot an ideal trajectory for a conversation. That often comes in the form of a cold call script.
These guides can inform better-structured, more effective cold calls. That being said, you shouldn't treat them as rigid documents that you read directly from with no room for improvisation or natural deviation.
Cold calls shouldn‘t be conducted blindly. You need some idea of where you want things to go, but there’s a line between direction and dictation — make sure you conduct your calls with some finesse to avoid crossing it.
3. Mention something recent or relevant.
Cold calling doesn’t have to feel random or forced. I’ve discovered that by using recent, relevant information, you’re building an instant connection.
Cache Merrill, founder of custom software development company Zibtek, shares a perfect example of this strategy in action:
"Recently, I made a cold call to the CTO of a midsized SaaS company. Answering the phone, I noticed their team's last published white paper was about AI in customer support, which was the reason for the call.
“I started with a statement of social interaction, ‘I saw your team just released that excellent AI white paper. This is something we have seen with clients who need scalable solutions, where you are heading in terms of implementation.’ This moved the dialogue from a sales conversation to a strategy and resulted in schedule confirmation for a subsequent meeting."
Notice how specific he was? The more precise your reference, the more credible you appear.
Mentioning something recent changes a potentially awkward cold call into a value-driven conversation. Focus on one or two recent, relevant points that tie directly into your value proposition. I like these:
- A recent product launch.
- An industry award or recognition.
- A significant company milestone or announcement.
- A relevant industry trend affecting their business.
- A recent blog post or thought leadership piece from their team.
Use one of these recent points as your opening line to show immediate relevance and turn your cold calls from generic to personal. I recommend checking their LinkedIn updates or press releases for recent highlights. This quick prep makes all the difference.
30 Free Sales Call Templates
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- Discovery call template
- Follow-up call template
- Standard outreach template
- And more!
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4. Learn to take rejection in stride.
The vast majority of cold calls go nowhere — and some calls might end pretty brutally. Most prospects will hit you with a hard “no” quickly, and others might vent some pent-up frustrations on you after connecting.
You can‘t let that slow you down. Accept rejection as a fact of sales life, and adopt an "onto the next one" mentality. If you keep at it, you’re bound to connect with a receptive prospect eventually and book the meeting you've been after.
Take the uglier parts of sales cold calling in stride, and you‘ll set yourself up to see solid results. Rejection isn’t necessarily a reflection of you as a sales professional — so keep your chin up and legs moving.
5. Know when to call.
Not all cold calls are created equal. Factors like the contact’s mood, the company’s immediate needs, and your timing can all impact how well your call is received.
I think that last one is important, and the answer for when sales calls are most effective might surprise you — the sweet spot is between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM or 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM, the buyer's local time. Wednesday is the best day of the week for your cold calls to land. Have a feel for when your calls will be most effective. Bear that in mind, and plan accordingly.
Pro tip: Beyond general timing, personalizing your approach around industry events can further improve success. Dane Nk, Owner and Webmaster of thatvideogameblog.com, shares his perspective:
“We try to schedule our calls around big industry events like E3 or Gamescom. Companies are often looking to ramp up their visibility at these times, making them more open to collaboration talks.
“We mostly personalize and tweak out our pitches to suggest how teaming up with our blog could really shine a spotlight on their work during the event. Say, offering a special promotional feature right before the big show can really boost their profile at a critical moment.”
Timing your pitch around major events can create a compelling opportunity for companies to be interested in your offer.
6. Start with a proactive opener.
Your cold calls need to have a definitive purpose — a point you‘re trying to arrive at. There’s always a reason for one of these calls, and you should lead by referencing it. According to insights from Gong, beginning a call with a proactive reason for why you're getting in touch makes a call nearly 2.1 times as likely to be successful than a call that starts without one.
I believe leading with something like, “The reason for my call is …” helps set a frank, practical tone for the call. Prospects don‘t want you to dance around why you’re calling. Consider a cold call a mini elevator pitch — you want to get to the meat of the conversation quickly and decisively.
7. Make it interactive.
I’ve found that cold calling works best when it’s interactive and allows you to actively engage prospects and build a connection. Interactive calls aren’t just more fun — they also help your key messages stick. Make sure your prospect leaves with a clear picture of your product’s value by adding polls, Q&As, or live demos, depending on what you’re selling.
Marin Cristian-Ovidiu, CEO of Online Games, shares how he integrates interactivity to capture and hold attention:
“I also try to sprinkle in some interactive elements here and there during the call. For instance, guiding the prospect through a live demo playthrough of our gaming platform while we speak, holding their attention and vividly demonstrating our product's features, helping them see the potential impact firsthand.”
This keeps the prospect engaged and vividly shows the product's value.
Next time you’re on a call, think about how you can incorporate a demo or poll to make it more interactive.
30 Free Sales Call Templates
Have better conversations with your sales prospects using these free templates.
- Discovery call template
- Follow-up call template
- Standard outreach template
- And more!
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8. Prioritize selling over discovery.
There's a difference between cold calls and discovery calls — the latter generally comes after you've connected with a prospect. During that discussion, you ask your prospect a series of questions to uncover their needs, challenges, and goals as they relate to your solution.
However, that process doesn‘t start during your preliminary cold call. I think you need to approach that first conversation with selling in mind. Remember, the prospect on the other end of the call probably hasn’t heard much — if anything — about your company.
Since you're trying to sell the next conversation on your cold call, I believe you should focus on that. Don‘t spend too much time asking your prospect about their business — you should already have some perspective on that from your research. Don’t be afraid to talk. This graphic from Gong can serve as a solid reference point.
Don't completely dominate the conversation — not letting your prospect get a word in edgewise is never a good call. But as the graphic shows, going on a longer monologue can help your cold call go that much smoother.
9. Educate and inform your buyer.
If a prospect is amicable and interested enough to stay on the line when you connect via cold call, they‘re going to want to learn about your solution. That’s why you need to know your product or service top to bottom and be able to reliably convey that expertise.
One of your main priorities on a sales call is to convincingly educate your prospect on your offering within a short window — enough to inspire serious curiosity and lead to whatever next steps you're pursuing.
I believe nothing’s worse than berating your prospect with question after question or letting them run the dialogue, talking too much about themselves. Own the conversation — thoughtfully direct it, and make sure you're getting relevant information about your solution across.
Build a relationship with every call.
I've learned that building a relationship with every call is crucial. Sure, cold calling can be a hassle for a sales rep or a small business owner. But, like in any field, when you buckle down, push through rejection, and invest in learning your product, it pays off.
When you prepare well and stay composed, you're in a better spot to make successful cold calls. This approach has turned nerve-wracking calls into ones you can handle with confidence.
30 Free Sales Call Templates
Have better conversations with your sales prospects using these free templates.
- Discovery call template
- Follow-up call template
- Standard outreach template
- And more!
Download Free
All fields are required.
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