13 Real Alternatives to Cold Calling That Build Pipeline
Can’t stomach cold calling? Steal Jeb Blount’s 13 proven alternatives to picking up the phone that build real pipeline and actually work.
Welcome to the Sales Gravy blog, where salespeople and sales leaders get better every week. We publish new sales training articles and podcast episodes three times a week, covering prospecting, cold calling, objections, negotiation, and leadership, written by Jeb Blount and the Sales Gravy trainer team.
Can’t stomach cold calling? Steal Jeb Blount’s 13 proven alternatives to picking up the phone that build real pipeline and actually work.
The right time to hire a fractional sales leader is when your team has outgrown what you can manage on top of running the business. Here are 7 signs that tell you it’s time,
Making just three to five of proactive calls to customers in a five-minute block, breaks the reactive cycle most account managers live in and builds the relationships that drive real, predictable revenue.
Recruiting is a sales leader’s number one job, and the way to find sales candidates is the same way your reps find customers: recruit like you prospect.

Steal this trial close technique and exact scripts to motivate buyers to make decisions and act without making big price concessions.
Referral leads close at three to four times the rate of cold and self-generated leads. Once both reach a real sales conversation, referrals close at roughly 26 percent versus 9 percent for cold and

When should you ask questions on a cold call? Questions come after you’ve earned the right, when you’re gathering information and qualifying, and they lead the conversation only when the prospect contacted you first.
To prospect for new clients, stop making random touches and run a consistent five-step system. Work this system every day and you gain control of your pipeline, along with the peace of mind that
The best way to measure sales productivity is with leading indicators—the KPIs and metrics that predict future revenue and let you fix problems before sales dry up.
A good sales voicemail is short, scripted, and gives the prospect one clear reason to call you back. This guide gives you seven word-for-word sales voicemail scripts that work!
Salespeople fail at cold calling for five common reasons. Fix them and the phone starts producing appointments again.
Email response rates are collapsing because decision maker inboxes are stuffed with automated, AI-written slop. This is exactly why the phone is more powerful today than it was ten years ago.

Opening, rather than closing, is the most important phase of selling because it’s binary. It’s akin to doing science without Newton’s first law or acknowledging gravity. It’s like trying to be a fighter but

What I love about Jeb is his charismatic ability to weave personal stories from his time in the trenches into his material. He has a great sense of humor, no nonsense approach and always

Sales Gravy CEO Jeb Blount joins Tim Martin on this episode of the Success Is Voluntary podcast to discuss two of Jeb’s bestsellers: Fanatical Prospecting, and his most recent release, Objections. From establishing micro-commitments, to

There are two types of sellers – Rain Barrels and Rain Makers. One waits for leads to show up, the other gets after it and makes it rain. On this podcast episode, Jeb Blount,
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with prospecting. Where do you even start? In this short video, Jason Eatmon, who is a Sales Gravy master trainer and author of BOSS, teaches you how to take

The Four Types of Sales Objections Jeb Blount explores strategies and techniques for effectively skipping past the 4 types of sales objections. On this episode, I have a conversation with Chris McDonough. He’s a

The difference between average salespeople and UHPs is, more often than not, their mindset about prospecting and pipeline.

In this podcast, Jeb Blount tells the real truth about why you suck at prospecting and gives you the tips, tactics, and techniques you need to keep your sales pipeline full.

On this podcast, Jeb goes head to head with the great Jeffrey Gitomer on some of the toughest objections faced by sales professionals.

For many salespeople, the fear of getting a no is real and holds them back. In part four of Jeb Blount’s interview with Tom Hopkins, they discuss sales objections and what to do when

On this podcast episode, Sales Gravy’s Jeb Blount discusses the key to blending social media into your sales day to keep the pipe full and close more deals.

Ultra-High Sales Performers are masters at levering sales specific emotional intelligence to bend win probability in their favor and gain a decisive competitive advantage.

If you haven’t included video marketing into your integrated marketing plan, maybe now is the time to take that action. Ensure A Maximum Return With Limited Time Recently, I entered the world of video

You have done it. I have done it. And most of us will do it again. We ask this question without considering the consequences – which almost always turn out badly. On this podcast

The most pressing issues facing sales professionals and sales leaders are, Prospecting, Pipeline, and Productivity. In this exclusive re-broadcast of VSKO17, four of the world’s most cutting edge thought leaders, shatter modern day sales

People buy on emotion and justify with logic. In fact, human emotions have a massive impact on buying behavior. On this podcast episode, Jeb Blount discusses why ultra-high performing sales professionals are astute students

Learn to say “No” thoughtfully and respectfully with the focus on creating a high-performance sales culture. Are you limiting your sales team and the ability to increase sales by not ever saying “No”? Sometimes,

Bullying behavior creates a hostile work environment. Eventually, word will spread about you being the bully boss. With technology, the spread of bullying in schools continues to make front-page news. Schools, corporations, and parents

First of all, I don’t enjoy gambling; and second, I really don’t know how to read a horse racing program. When it comes to betting on a horse race, I tend to look at

Be a true leader and use these 13 rules to ensure your business not only survives, but thrives, in any economy! Adversity is just a road to success – you have to learn from

So, what is the front line sales manager’s job? Simply stated, it’s maximizing the performance of each person on their team. The only way sales managers achieve their goals and make their numbers is

In the chaos of daily priorities managers often forget their most important responsibility: Developing their people. Overlooking this core leadership imperative sub-optimizes the performance of their team. A manager’s primary job is to develop

People don’t learn by listening to the words you speak. They learn by watching your behavior. They learn from what you do, the actions you take, not your words. Make sure the lessons you
The most dangerous lie that salespeople tell themselves (and anybody else who will listen) is that they lost the opportunity with their dream client on price. Salespeople—like all other groups of people—lie to themselves.

Developing a deep knowledge of your sales landscape helps you sell more in less time. English navigator Henry Hudson learned the hard way in the 17th century what can happen when you don’t know

Characteristics of a resilient, sustainable business include leadership that understands the difference between working “for” and working “with” their employees. Consider these glum facts: Only one in eight workers worldwide are engaged at work,

Salespeople and sales managers are caught up in their own version of Ground Hog Day. They keep using the same approach, having the same conversations, which are leading to the same outcomes. Sales Ground