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.
Prospects Have Objections, You Need to Know How to Handle Them Learning to handle objections is important so that you don’t spend time with prospects who are not going to buy and you ensure
Three Turnarounds to Common Insurance Sales Objections In inusrance sales, there are three objections that you will face when engaging prospects and customers. You gain a competitive advantage when you prepare in advance and
Your Prospect’s Attention Span is Short It is super easy to lose your prospect’s attention on a cold call. When you do, click . . . the call is abruptly over. When you make
Gatekeepers Are Not The Enemy It may seem like the gatekeeper’s primary job is to keep you out. But they can be your ally if you learn how to enlist their help. Knowing best
3 Key Elements of Sales Fitness To reach peak performance and productivity, sales professionals need to be physically fit, because mental energy is limited by physical energy. Here are three steps you can take
Snail Mail Isn’t Dead When it comes to making connections with hard-to-reach decision-makers, gaining familiarity with a prospect, and maintaining a relationship with your past and current clients, snail mail can’t be beat. Here’s
Video Messaging Works The simple truth is that video messaging works. Even a 60-second video can get you and your team right to the people who matter the most. Prospecting Isn’t Easy I was
Finding The Right Time To Prospect The best part of weekend warrior prospecting is that prospects tend to be more relaxed without distractions. Here’s why you should set aside a block of time on
Lessons In Sales Negotiation I built the confidence to never get rattled and to always ask for what I want. The worst thing that could happen is that a buyer walks away without putting
Your Guide To Attracting New Business With Case Studies Case studies are a powerful way to grow your client base. Solid case studies tell a story providing proof that you are a credible company
Which Customers Are Up-Sell and Cross-Sell Worthy? How can you determine who those perfect up-sell and cross-sell candidates are, and what should you do once you’ve identified them? Drive Business By Up-Selling To Your
Engage Your Audience With A Sales Dialogue Here are a couple of tips from the pros for turning those monologues into more of a dialogue in your presentation that keeps your audience engaged and
Salespeople Who Use Stories Win More Business The power of a good story is something we as salespeople can’t afford to ignore. Here’s how and why you need to consider adding the skill of
How Improv Comedians Engage An Audience With Silence Silence is golden on a comedy stage, just like it is on a sales stage. When the players don’t know what to verbally say to thoughtfully
7 Habits That Will Improve Your Initial Meeting Conversion Rates Planning and practicing are key elements for success…If you plan, practice and execute these habits for improving initial meeting conversation rates proactively, you will
Your Prospect Is Stalling. Now What? Top producers know a weak prospect when they hear one, and they would much rather know ahead of time who is leading them on and not likely to
All Salespeople Use Scripts— Even You Sales professionals who are extremely successful have scripts that they use regularly and that they have honed over the years. Many sales professionals claim that they never use
You Must Own The Deals You Lose The sales profession is a cruel teacher. You learn quickly that when you take short cuts, make assumptions, and stray from the basics and fundamentals— you get
Working smarter with people entails three key activities: assigning the right number of people, identifying roles and planning compensation strategically. Sure-fire Ways to Work Smarter with People Your sales force is defined by the
Data can do more than tell you facts about your own business. It also can reveal important information about what’s going on with your competitors in the marketplace. How to Be Data Savvy In