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.

These 7 tips will help you maximize your sales, generate better leads, and create long lasting customer relationships. Cold calling potential prospects can be frustrating and hard. Whether you are doing it in person or

You must be proactive and have a plan set in place when you reach a prospect’s voicemail. Voicemail – your best friend and your most frustrating adversary. On one hand, it allows you to

“Go through the ‘no’s’ and hang ups until someone finally says, ‘yes.’” Ecch! No wonder so many people hate cold calling.” Getting to ‘Yes’ During a Cold Call “Rejection comes with the territory. If

Social engineering is asking for information from people that will help other people and the organization as a whole. One reason that most “cold” calls fail and result in rejection is that sales reps

“Go through the ‘no’s’ and hang-ups until someone finally says, ‘yes.’” Ecch! No wonder so many people hate cold calling. “Rejection comes with the territory. If you’re going to cold call you’re going to

There are several reasons for inaccurate sales forecasting, however, the two below are the most common I see when working with sales organizations. Monday mornings start off with sales meetings and the infamous sales
Jeb Blount and Karen Briscoe discuss the Secrets of Fanatical Prospecting and the Key to Success on the 5 Minute Success Podcast.
Rejection is an inevitability that we all face and a powerful key to finding success in sales, business, and in life, is to become rejection-proof. In this video, Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy, and
In this video, Jeffrey Gitomer, Jeb Blount, and Jennifer Gluckow discuss the two types of objections: The ones that we respond to. The ones that are prevented in the first place. A solid sales
Summary A LinkedIn social selling strategy works when sellers show up with authenticity, not automation. The biggest mistake sellers make today is using AI to generate posts and messages in bulk, then publishing without
Summary The easiest way to spot a fake sales guru on LinkedIn is to ask one question: are they selling you something before they’ve proven anything? Fake gurus manufacture credibility through aesthetics and urgency.
Summary How do you know what sales advice to trust? Look at who’s giving it. Credible sales advice comes from people who are actively selling today, have a verifiable track record across years and
Most salespeople are wired for now. The quota is now. The pipeline review is now. The pressure to close is always right now. And that urgency is exactly what gets in the way when
Summary: The leading indicator of sales success is not calls made, emails sent, or LinkedIn touches. It is the First Time Appointment (FTA) — a net-new meeting with a prospect you have never spoken
Buyer resistance is at an all-time high and has reached a tipping point. Two emotional intelligence competencies separate sellers who push through from those who back down. Key Takeaways: Using Emotional Intelligence to Break
Quick Summary Q1 surfaced a consistent theme across our best podcast conversations: the reps who win consistently are the ones who treat the fundamentals (goal setting, communication, prospecting discipline, and self-awareness) as non-negotiable. In
Quick Summary: The most effective way to rehearse a sales pitch is to practice out loud in front of real people until you own the story, not just recall it. When you reach that
Philip is a character licensing agent in the Philippines. His job is to connect beloved brands, anime titles, video games, and comic properties to companies that want to put those characters on their products.

So what’s your team’s Sales EQ? Here are three emotional intelligence skills to look for in your next hire. You’ve met this person. They are brilliant. Their ideas are creative. Yet no one wants

For leaders, nothing is more important or critical than trust. If people do not trust you, they will not follow you.

On this podcast episode learn the keys to leading and coaching ultra-high performance from respected sales thought leaders, Jeb Blount and Alice Heiman.

On this podcast episode, Jeb Blount and sales leadership guru, Ken Thoreson, discuss how and why modern sales management has changed and where sales leaders need to place their focus to be successful.

The glaring gap in your hiring process is that you are hiring salespeople with no prior experience in lead generation. Are You Tired Of Hiring Bad Salespeople? You may have seen this movie before.

How can you enjoy sustainable and predictable revenues? Here are three ways that can make you the right kind of leader of the sales pack. It’s the second quarter of the year and revenues

Our interpersonal skills and our selling styles often influence buying decisions more than our products or services do. Sales training is great, but, we cannot expect sales training to sustain our success. Think about

People do not need to like you in order to follow your lead and work hard for you or with you as part of a team. Often, our best lessons are learned through stumbling

The cost of a bad hire extends beyond the physical hiring, from running the advertisement to interviewing. If this decision is made in error, other areas of the small business are affected as well. Many