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
Growing up, I was easily the shyest girl in the room. Not just quiet—debilitatingly shy. I was so shy that I wouldn’t even ring the bell to get off the bus. I’d simply ride
“I can’t do that.” How many times have you said those four words when facing a challenging sales situation? It could be picking up the phone to make that intimidating cold call. It could
Here’s a hard truth most salespeople never hear: The most dangerous thing you can do is think like an employee. On this week’s episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, business consultant for entrepreneurs David
Tyler Goss, from Tampa, has two critical sales questions: 1) How do we achieve those “crazy” prospecting numbers I talk about in my books? 2) When should a lead become a pipeline opportunity? In
Fear will kill sales and crush your chances of making quota. Hesitation, paralysis, and missed connections with prospects—that’s the consequence of fear. The truly trapped stop picking up the phone entirely. Fear hijacks your
During a practice round at a major golf tournament recently, one of the players hit an exceptionally beautiful shot. A fan in the gallery exclaimed, “Man, I wish I could hit a shot like
Here’s the brutal truth: Self-awareness is the ultimate sales skill. We obsess over skills like closing techniques, objection handling, and prospecting cadence. But self-awareness is the real make-or-break. Self-awareness is the lever that separates
You don’t want to be mediocre. You don’t want to be stuck in a rut of repeating last year’s performance. And you definitely want to smash your personal selling goals this year. In the
Steve from Portland, Oregon, faces and an all-too-common consultative selling dilemma: how to sell to prospects who claim they already know everything, have already “done the research” and question what value he can bring.
Before You Promote That Salesperson to Sales Manager… Often, top performing salespeople are promoted to sales manager roles with the expectation that their talent, drive, and success will motivate the rest of the sales
This hard-hitting and thought provoking episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast features a deep conversation on the state of sales leadership. Jeb Blount, author of People Follow You and Frank Cespedes, a Harvard Business
Why Great Sales Leaders Are A Little Paranoid Great leaders have to be a little bit paranoid because they can help their team uncover holes or problems well before they emerge. As long as
Forward-Thinking Leaders Stay Ahead of the Curve Forward-thinking leaders have their thumb on the pulse of their team, their organization, and the ever-changing landscape of modern business. Here are 10 tips for staying ahead
The Five Cornerstones of All Wise Leaders Every leader wants to become a GREAT leader. It seems to be in their DNA to strive toward this goal. In examining how leaders operate, we must
Great Leadership Requires A High Level of Emotional Intelligence Effective leadership requires a high level of emotional intelligence. Great leaders are developed, not trained. These 5 skills are what sets great leaders apart from
Giving Positive Feedback During a feedback session, the sales manager cannot only congratulate the sales rep for their achievement but also help the sales rep to better understand why they achieved the win in
On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount who is the author of People Follow You, sits down with Wanda Wallace, author of You Can’t Know it All. In this power-packed conversation
Don’t Get Stuck With Hiring Remorse Hiring a new sales rep is less than a perfect art or science. And many salespeople simply don’t work out or perform as expected. This is largely due