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.
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
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.
Quick Summary Cold calling anxiety is not a symptom of weakness. It’s human and natural to feel fear when you cold call. You are interrupting a stranger who was not expecting you, and everything
Fear of the phone is quietly draining sales pipelines, and the reps who win are the ones willing to stop hiding behind email and LinkedIn and simply make the call.
Salespeople seek a magic window that makes cold calling easy. When prospects answer happy, say yes without a fight, and book the meeting themselves. So, is there a best time to call?
Short Answer Yes, you can make cold calling fun, and it is worth doing, because the reps who enjoy the phone are the ones who stay on it. Fun is not a personality trait
Don’t confuse your sales role with role-playing. Role-playing sends most sellers running for the nearest exit. Everything Terry was taught about sales reinforced the idea that he had to be, “larger than life,” or
It’s when we humble ourselves and admit we could do better and continue to push our activities, efforts, and risk for being humbled that we find the greatness we can really achieve. I cringed
Want to build rapport quickly and get people to like you more? Notice, and bring up similarities. You can easily find out some useful info on a person’s LinkedIn profile or company bio if it’s
What’s wrong with focusing on your sales process first and your sales philosophy second, or just ignoring the whole thing? It’s all about the results you want vs. the results you will get. Have
Poor time management is the biggest challenge for new sellers. Your most finite resource as a sales professional is time. In our business we work with salespeople and sales managers of all levels. Recently,
Closing the sale involves being able to diffuse and deflect (and often anticipate) customer objections. Closing the Sale Like putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece work of art – closing is the apex
Your challenge is that you can’t use a positive sales approach with a negative person. Are you too positive? If you’re like most salespeople—and most salespeople are—you’re pretty positive. The same is true if
How do you view yourself as a salesperson? What would happen if you changed that perspective? Sales still slumping along and not where you want them to be? Maybe you need to change your
Billions of dollars are spent every year on carefully crafted impressions by businesses anxious to carve out a valuable position in the minds of their customers. Alas, if only the same thing could be said
Giving critical feedback to your salespeople is a key element of coaching and improving sales behaviors. It’s also challenging for sales leaders to do it the right way. Giving salespeople feedback is hard to
Are You Facing Sales Fatigue? These team building techniques will ensure that your organization will exceed your goals this year and create a culture of high performance. Holding frequent success meetings and instilling passion
There are Two Fundamental Classifications of Salesperson The difference between Sales Pros and Sales Reps is important for business owners, executives, and sales managers who want to accelerate revenue growth by acquiring new accounts.
On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast Jeb Blount (People Follow You) and Kristie Jones discuss the trials and tribulations of building and sustaining a sales accountability culture. You’ll learn that without accountability
The Case for Virtual Training Virtual Instructor-Led training blends the social benefits of classroom training with the speed, agility, and cost effectiveness of e-learning. These are the seven ways that virtual training has become
Keep Burnout At Bay Especially now, burnout threatens the best of sales teams. Fight it by focusing on recovery, not on hours worked. How can team leaders keep burnout from closing in? Of all
Don’t Just Coach the Numbers When coaching your sales team, always put the focus on what your team members did to achieve great sales results, rather than purely on the numbers. Are You Guilty
Great Ideas for Sales Contests It is a sales leader’s objective to make sales contests a fun experience. Creating fun in your sales culture with different types of contests will help you achieve different
Delivering An Excellent Customer Experience Many elements make up an effective customer service training program. Here are seven secrets we use as a base to introduce customer service reps to the fundamentals of delivering