The Top 20 B2B Cold Calling Tips for 2024

B2B cold calling is one of the most frustrating but essential pillars of many a sales org‘s operations. It has a brutally low conversion rate, often puts you on the receiving end of some verbal abuse, and can take the wind out of even the most enthusiastic and resilient rep’s sails.

Still, despite all of its flaws — or possibly because of them? — cold calling is ultimately one of the most effective ways to connect with new prospects. If you want to learn to sell, you should definitely have a solid grip on how to cold call. To help you get there, I’ve compiled 20 tips to ensure you get the most out of your B2B cold calling efforts.

Table of Contents

• What Is B2B Cold Calling?
• 20 B2B Cold Calling Tips to Do It Well

What Is B2B Cold Calling?

B2B cold calling is exactly what it sounds like — cold calling conducted by sales reps from a business in the interest of convincing other businesses to buy from them. It's a popular outreach method among sales orgs, but the practice often has a less-than-ideal reputation among salespeople.

According to research from LinkedIn, 63% of sellers say cold calling is the worst part of their job — and their gripes with it are generally reasonable. The same data finds cold calling has a conversion rate of about 2%, and it typically takes a rep 18 or more dials to even reach a tech prospect with cold calling. Yikes.

But as I mentioned, even with those figures in mind, quite a few sales organizations still leverage the method — and if yours does, too, you‘ll want to understand as much as you can about how to cold call effectively. Let’s take a look at some B2B cold calling best practices.

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1. Use your CRM.

Your CRM is an invaluable resource for your own future efforts and your org‘s overarching strategy, so it’s a good idea to use it to your full advantage. By accurately logging information into your system, you’re benefiting yourself and everyone around you — so always take the extra minute to record the information you accrue in your calls.

You should also be using a CRM that does as much of the work for you as possible. HubSpot’s Sales Hub, for example, automatically logs calls and enables managers to read transcriptions and leave feedback for reps. It’s also very easy to update a lead’s status right after the call. Whatever you’re using, make sure it’s easy for your team and your whole organization will benefit.

2. Keep data up-to-date.

Don’t waste your time dialing on bad leads. As soon as you learn a number is disconnected or leads to the wrong person, mark it in your CRM so you don’t waste time dialing it again in the future. There’s a lot of turnover in many industries these days, and people might only stay in a role for 18 months to a year. At the same time, very few prospects will pick up on the first call, which means dialing is most often re-dialing. Keep your data source clean and updated to make sure you’re using your limited time as effectively as possible.

3. Prioritize cell numbers.

Connection rates when cold calling are already dismal enough. You might as well call the phone in your prospect’s pocket instead of hoping to reach them at their desk. Office numbers might also connect you with an assistant who’s been instructed to filter out cold calls and “take a message” (aka pretend you never called) instead. Whenever possible, call the cell first before working other numbers on your list.

4. Identify two or three verticals.

Consistently successful B2B cold calls are guided by some degree of specificity and specialization. Like any other sales efforts, B2B cold calls are opportunities to demonstrate expertise and familiarity — to frame yourself as a knowledgeable resource who prospects can rely on.

According to Dan Tyre, former HubSpot sales executive and founder of Tyre Angel, “The inbound sales process is more about helping rather than qualifying on the connect call. The key is to know the segment so well that your description of your company precisely matches the prospects' needs.”

If you want to conduct B2B cold calls successfully, you need to familiarize yourself with a handful of verticals. Keep a pulse on what it takes for businesses with specific characteristics to thrive. That way, your calls can be more thoughtfully tailored and ultimately effective — and you can shed some of the impersonality that comes with your typical cold call.

5. Research your prospects.

Do research so you can personalize conversations. The prospects you call don't want to feel like another name on a list. Instead, you have to speak to their individual business needs.

Tyre adds additional insight here, explaining that, “In 2024, almost everyone does WARM calling. Whereas cold calling is using the same script indiscriminately that converts at around 1%, warm calling is defining an ideal customer profile, doing good research on the prospects area of pain/interest, crafting a connect call positioning statement, and following up multiple times to see how you can help.”

Familiarize yourself with the business you‘re about to touch base with. Take some time to look over their website and other relevant materials to address certain questions. What does the company do? What does its product suite look like? What’s the state of its industry? What‘s its place in its competitive landscape? If you’ve connected with similar businesses, what did their needs look like?

6. Use a positioning statement.

A well-crafted positioning statement — a brief description of your product or service that establishes its relevance to your prospect's needs — can help you quickly and effectively frame the benefits you can offer a potential customer over a cold call.

You‘re naturally pressed for time on a cold call. You don’t have the luxury of rattling off every last awesome, game-changing feature that comes with your offering while holding a prospect's attention.

You need to convey value within the ever-shrinking window of a prospect‘s patience, and a positioning statement is one of the better ways to capitalize on that time-bound opportunity. Here’s what one might look like:

“For consumers who want to purchase a wide range of products online with quick delivery, Amazon provides a one-stop online shopping site. Amazon sets itself apart from other online retailers with its customer obsession, passion for innovation, and commitment to operational excellence.”

Keep your positioning statement brief but informative. It’s a tricky balance, but make sure you have one ready when conducting your B2B cold calls.

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7. Create a talk track.

A talk track is a guide that salespeople use during calls to lead the conversation in a clear, focused manner. It’s a flexible framework that outlines key points, questions, and value propositions to cover during the conversation while leaving room for obstacles and objections.

A well-developed talk track keeps you on message while still allowing for natural interaction with the prospect. I recommend creating talk tracks for a variety of buyer personas to ensure you’re never left wondering what to say when you get an interested party on the phone.

Need more inspiration? Here are 10 ways to improve your talk track immediately.

8. Be flexible with your script.

If you or your leadership do insist on using a more traditional script over something like a talk track, make it as flexible as possible. Box your team into a corner with a concrete script and even the most amiable reps will turn into lifeless robots that can’t sell even the most compelling solution. Not every prospect is the same, not every rep is the same, and not every conversation should be the same. I can’t stress this enough: strict scripts are out in 2024, but these winning script templates will illustrate how calls should go.

9. Expect rejection.

No matter how good you are on the phone, you should expect — even anticipate — rejection. In my experience, success at cold calling requires a mindset shift that’s often unintuitive for salespeople who like to win.

Instead of tracking sales or booked meetings which will likely be few and far between, count the rejections. If you have a 5% conversion rate, cold calling doesn’t become a game of chance. You just need to get those 19 “no’s” out of the way to earn your next “yes.”

10. Time the call strategically.

I’ve got great news. There’s one way you can improve your cold calling results that requires pretty much zero effort. All you have to do is call at the right time.

When is the best time to make a sales call? Research suggests that calls connect most often on Wednesday, and regardless of day, you’re more likely to reach your prospect between 10-11 AM and 4-5 PM. Friday is not surprisingly the worst day to ring someone unannounced, with Monday the second worst. Build your blocks around these times and reap some free benefits.

11. Consider an autodialer.

Remember that connect rate I mentioned earlier? Eighteen calls are going to go unanswered before you find a tech prospect who actually picks up an unknown number. Punching those numbers in manually and then re-reading your voicemail script over and over costs you valuable time.

In my opinion, technology like an autodialer helps make cold calling a viable sales method. I’m not talking about buying a lead list or paying overseas workers pennies to dial for you and then transfer connections — I mean using software like Orum to accelerate the speed at which you can work through your own curated list of leads. Remember: you’re a solutions consultant, not a telemarketer.

12. Respect their time.

As I mentioned in the previous point, every sales rep conducting cold calls is naturally pressed for time. A prospect‘s professional responsibilities don’t begin and end with fielding cold calls and listening to everything everyone has to say. If you manage to connect with a potential customer, be mindful of the fact that they probably have much more to do than speak with you. Don't be long-winded, go on tangents, or overdo your monologue.

You don‘t want to end all of your calls as quickly as possible without getting your message across — but you also don’t want to put your prospect off by commanding too much of their time. Strike an appropriate balance, and respect their professional life beyond your call.

13. Ask open-ended questions.

Effective cold calls aren't monologues where a rep touts every feature and benefit their product or service can offer until the prospect hangs up. Even though a cold call is more or less a means to an end, it still has to be a conversation.

You have to give your prospect the room to explain themselves, let you in on valuable context, and convince themselves to embrace next steps — all of that hinges on your ability to ask thoughtful open-ended questions.

Your lines of questioning should never end in “yes” or “no.” They should always warrant some kind of explanation. Letting your prospect close a conversation with a single word often means hitting a dead end — and as you can probably assume, dead ends don't lend themselves to consistently successful cold calls.

14. Be ready for objections.

In most cases, your prospect won‘t pick up a cold call, hear you out for a while, and immediately say, "Well, I’m sold! Everything you just said sounds spectacular! I literally have zero questions or concerns. Well done!"

Objections are par for the course in virtually every kind of sales conversation, and B2B cold calls are no exception. Most of the time, you're going to face some pushback — so bracing for it is in your best interest.

Familiarize yourself with the objections your product or service tends to drum up, and have a solid feel for how to best address them. Beyond that, you need to apply any research you might have conducted in anticipation of your call.

What issues is your prospect facing that might warrant some additional back and forth? Also, if you've dealt with similar prospects, what were the issues they brought up? Understand the more company-specific concerns your offering raises just as well as the general ones you handle consistently.

15. Always have a close in mind.

Cold calls should always be goal-oriented in some way, shape, or form — you don‘t want to conduct one without any sort of intention behind it. That’s why you always need to have a close in mind when cold calling prospects.

Now, a “close” doesn‘t necessarily have to be some monumental leap towards sealing a deal — it just needs to move things forward. That could be as simple as getting five more minutes of your prospect’s time or setting up a follow-up call later in the week. Whatever it is, keep it in mind, and let it guide how your call progresses.

16. Perfect your opener.

It doesn’t take many dials to realize you have just seconds to grab your prospect’s attention. That means your opener better be pretty darn tight. You’ll get all kinds of different (and conflicting) advice on the best way to open a cold call, which is why I suggest you test, test, test. Come up with a few openers and track how they perform to help you home in on a technique that fits your product, industry, and personality.

Not sure where to start? Check out these four tried and true openers.

17. Follow up after your call.

Not every cold call is a self-contained, one-and-done slam dunk. There‘s a good chance you’re not going to book a meeting or schedule a demo on your first pass. Sometimes, you need to follow up with a prospect if you're going to make something of your efforts.

If your prospect says they can‘t meet with you again until next week or beyond, follow up with them within a day after the initial call. And don’t just hit them with the conventional “Thank you for your time.” If you can, try to offer some valuable information that could help them better understand where you‘re coming from in the period between your initial conversation and their ultimate decision. You’ll lose a lot of business if you give up prematurely — it generally doesn't hurt to keep yourself top of mind with a follow-up.

18. Conduct call reviews every time.

Sales call reporting and reviews can be both invaluable to your individual cold calling efforts and benefit your broader sales org as a whole. You should always maintain records of who you call, what the calls were like, and what you learned from them.

Keep track of that information — along with some other key intel — in your call reports and reviews. That insight can help you improve your cold calling acumen, give management some perspective on how to train reps, and inform more effective sales messaging from your sales org going forward.

19. Put away distractions.

Cold calling isn’t fun, and our crafty brains will do anything to try and get out of putting in the work. If you’re checking Instagram or texting a colleague between calls, you’re going to hamstring your output without realizing it. In fact, a number of studies in the last decade have suggested that having your phone nearby negatively impacts productivity even when it’s off — which is why I’ll leave my phone in another room entirely.

20. Have a short memory.

Let’s just say that people can be rude when it comes to receiving a call out of the blue. Remember that your product or service is genuinely helping its customers solve business problems when you’re calling, and when your prospect would rather continue with the status quo, that’s perfectly fine. Find a way to quickly move forward after interactions with… shall we say, abrasive individuals, and don’t let it affect the rest of your calling block.

Don’t Start From Scratch

If I have one piece of advice for cold calling, it’s to get started. You’ll learn a lot along the way as you make dozens, hundreds, and maybe even thousands of dials — but that doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. Incorporate these 20 tips from my own and other experts’ experience and get a leg up as you enter the sometimes rocky world of cold calling. And if words are failing you, check out the free sales call templates below for some battle-tested scripts that can jumpstart valuable conversations.

Option to cut if this sentence doesn‘t fit the CTA -- there was a different one in the existing post than was given to Mike in this doc so I’m not sure which will be final.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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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