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.

Prospecting is the price you have to pay in advance for success in sales and the income you want. -Jeb Blount In this episode of Level Up: From Agent to Entrepreneur podcast, featured sales

Prospecting Machine Jeb Blount and Adam H. Michaels talk sales, prospecting & more! The Lighthouse with Adam H. Michaels · Jeb Blount | The Prospecting Machine From dealing with crazy rejections to what makes a

Salespeople cultivate customers through prospecting and referrals; they convert customers into clients by establishing and maintaining a relationship that allows them to build a sense of trust. Times are tough – but as an

Objections frustrate sales reps to the point of them developing some serious call reluctance. Don’t you wish that you, and your team, had a proven approach that actually works? Every month, I get emails from

Introducing a salesperson to cold-calling is the same as Edison introducing electricity to the world by demonstrating the use of the electric chair. It’s universally known that sales professionals hate cold calling. And, yes,

Instead of wasting time figuring out an impressive response, spend time understanding what caused the objection in the first place. Identify what you are doing, or not doing that triggered the money objection in

As a call screener, my job is to protect the time of the decision maker that I work for – so I need to make sure I’m not passing through calls that are going

What is the real objection to buying your product? The “price is too high” is usually just a smokescreen to some other objection. Ask the right questions and you’ll get the answer. Do they

What you’re trying to do is isolate and uncover what the objection or stall is going to be at the end so you can position yourself to deal with it and advance the sale.

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

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