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

Stop thinking your job is done when the contract is signed. Stay on the ground. Remain active even after the deal is closed. Redefine Closing the Sale It’s time to reframe how we think

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

In order to strike a balance between no theme and full-on theme park, it’s important to understand how to choose a theme that’s right for your presentation and your audience. A group of flight

To create true sales predictability (and avoid Sales Whiplash), it’s critical to consider both independently, and to have your pipeline numbers influence your forecast output. Drastically Refine Your Sales Pipeline This Year Understanding that

When you are winning deals, it’s easy to slip into a euphoric mindset and completely forget about the process that got you there in the first place. Out of all the sales rules, there

A deeper understanding of naturally recurring patterns of thoughts and behaviors ensures that everyone on the team can maximize their strengths and work in collaboration with others to achieve both personal and professional goals.

You must realize that leading someone does not consist of getting them to do what you want, but putting value on what they want. I’ve been a leader in various organizations and of teams

On this podcast Jeb Blount, author of People Follow You, and Will Frattini, Sales Leader at Zoominfo, discuss the challenges of leading sales teams in rapidly changing environments.

Leaders must never forget that every action they take and word they speak is being analyzed by their people for meaning.

We live in a society that thrives on the 24 hour news cycle where there always seems to be an endless stream of stories about leaders gone bad. In the midst of this barrage,

On this Sales Gravy Quick Tip, Jeb Blount introduces you to the five levers of effective leaders. This is how you get people to follow you!

On this Sales Gravy Quick Tip, Jeb Blount explains why leadership is personal, and why leaders must engage their people at the human level.

On this episode Jeb Blount and Kevin Eikenberry give you best practices and actionable tactics for leading and managing remote employees.

Sales cultures scoring low in emotional intelligence are filled with old sales dogs that refuse to learn new tricks. They sit on the porch of denial, refusing to adapt new approaches to selling. How