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Category: Prospecting and Cold Calling

Cover image of an episode of Ask Jeb on the Sales Gravy Podcast. Episode title "How to Use the Ledge Technique for Sales Objection Handling"

Use the Ledge Technique for Overcoming Objections (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that'll make every salesperson's blood pressure spike: What do you do when your cold call gets an objection in the first five seconds because prospects immediately stereotype you as something you're not? That's the challenge facing Rick…

Learn the 5-step system that increases show rates by engineering commitment at every stage. No-shows are a systems problem. Listen to the full episode with Ask Jeb on The Sales Gravy podcast, the number one sales training podcast

How Do You Stop Prospects From No-Showing Virtual Appointments (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that'll frustrate every salesperson reading this: What do you do when you prospect, set the meeting, block the time on your calendar, and then... your prospect no-shows? That's the challenge Emily Weissmueller faces every single day. Emily…

Here's a question that hits every sales professional right in the gut: What do you do when your email prospecting tanks and you're staring at response rates that are circling the drain? That's the question Tara asked on a recent episode of Ask Jeb on The Sales Gravy Podcast, and it's one I hear constantly from SDRs, account executives, and even sales managers who've convinced themselves that cold calling is outdated. If you're nodding along thinking email is the future and cold calling is dead, you need to wake up. Email efficiency is going down without bound, and if you're not picking up the phone, you're leaving money on the table. The Hard Truth About Email Prospecting Let me be blunt: Your email isn't failing because the channel is broken. It's failing because what you're doing is terrible. Before you blame the medium, look in the mirror. Did people ignore your email because you sent them something genuinely personalized and valuable? Or did they ignore you because you followed up thirteen times in five days? Did they ghost you because your seven colleagues already called them that same day? The brutal reality is that most salespeople treat email like a spray-and-pray numbers game. They blast generic messages, add zero personalization, and then wonder why nobody responds. Meanwhile, they avoid the one thing that actually works: picking up the phone and having real conversations. Why Cold Calling Will Always Matter Cold calling isn't going anywhere. It never has been, and it never will be. You want to know why? Because sales is a human business. People buy from people they trust, and you can't build trust through automated emails that sound like they were written by AI. A phone call gives you something email never can: the ability to prove you're a real human being who's genuinely there to help, not just to pitch and sell. When you call someone and say, "Hey, I sent you an email last week with this case study because I saw you talked about this at the Outbound Conference," you're showing them you did your homework. You're not just another robot in their inbox. Here's a line I love: "Would I be the worst salesperson in the world if I didn't also try to call you?" It's honest, it's human, and it cuts through the noise. You Don't Know What to Say? Make the Calls The number one excuse I hear from salespeople: "I don't know what to say." Here's my advice: Make one hundred calls and talk to people. They'll teach you. You're going to learn what not to say. You're going to start seeing patterns in how your prospects think, what problems they face, and what language matters to them. This is how you develop business acumen that separates you from the pack. You can't learn it behind a keyboard. I was in an alignment call today with a new client, and they said, "You totally understand us." Why? Because last week I was with a business adjacent to their industry, learned their language, and pulled that knowledge into the next call. Use Tools to Compress Your Learning Curve Use tools like ZoomInfo to accelerate your learning curve. At Sales Gravy, we use it every day to find information about people, see what they're doing on our website, and get intent signals that build our lists automatically. You can use these tools to learn the language of industries you're breaking into. You can see company news, understand their challenges, and show up on calls sounding like you belong. But here's the key: The tool doesn't make the call for you. It gives you the ammunition. You still have to do the work. Be Strategic and Resourceful Here's a strategy most salespeople are too lazy to try: If you're having trouble getting through to a decision maker, call someone else in the company who'll actually talk to you. Selling HR services? Call a sales rep. They'll talk your ear off about the company and might even make an introduction. Try this: "Hey, I know you're in sales. I've been trying to get hold of Joseph for nine months. Is there any way you could help me out?" That's not being cheesy. That's being resourceful. But you have to be genuine. You can't just ask for something without building rapport. Your Action Plan If you're struggling with email effectiveness: Pick up the damn phone. Stop making excuses about why cold calling doesn't work. It works if you work it. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Introducing yourself to strangers will never be easy, but it's the price of admission for being great at sales. Use data strategically. Build sequences that interweave multiple channels over 30, 60, 90 days. Email, phone, LinkedIn, video. Give yourself the best odds. Don't oversell on the cold call. A little interest isn't an invitation to vomit your pitch. Your job is to earn the next conversation. Make one more call. At the end of the day when you're tired, make one more call. That's where discipline separates winners from everyone else. The Bottom Line Email isn't dead, but it's not a magic bullet. Cold calling isn't outdated. It's the foundation of everything we do in sales. Stop hiding behind your keyboard. Stop blaming the tools. Stop making excuses. The shortest path to a meeting is through a real conversation. That's how you build relationships, develop trust, and separate yourself from every other salesperson who's too afraid to dial. Get outside your skin. Be genuine. Be there to help. And pick up the phone. Ready to take your prospecting skills to the next level? Join us at one of our upcoming Sales Gravy LIVE events where you'll learn directly from top sales leaders and get hands-on coaching to transform your results.

Why Cold Calling Will Never Die (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that hits every sales professional right in the gut: What do you do when your email prospecting tanks and you're staring at response rates that are circling the drain? That's the question Tara asked on a recent…

Here's a problem that'll make your head spin: What do you do when you can sell way more than your company can produce? That's the question posed by Dylan Noah from Toronto. Dylan sells craft cider to bars and restaurants across his territory. He's the only salesperson for a small producer, working with limited tools (no proper CRM), and here's the kicker: he could sell a million dollars' worth of product, but production isn't enough to meet that demand. If you're shaking your head thinking this is a champagne problem, you're half right. But for Dylan trying to hit his income goals through commissions, it's a real constraint that's costing him money every single day. Stop worrying about what you don't have and focus on maximizing what you do have. Build a simple segmentation system using whatever tools are available. Create detailed buying profiles for all your accounts so you know exactly who to call when specific products become available. Work your account coverage pyramid from top to bottom, always prioritizing your highest value customers. Sell out of everything, even the less popular products, so you have leverage when talking to ownership about compensation. The reality is that most sales challenges aren't about having the perfect tools or unlimited resources. They're about having the discipline to work a proven system consistently, even when conditions aren't ideal. That's how you win in sales. That's how you hit your numbers. And that's how you build a foundation of skills that will serve you for your entire career, whether you stay in a resource constrained environment or move to a role where the sky's the limit. Ready to master the fundamentals of prospecting and account management? Check out Jeb Blount's latest book with Brynne Tillman, The LinkedIn Edge, and learn how to build systematic, relationship-driven sales processes that work in any environment. Sales Gravy is the number one sales training company

How to Hit Your Number When Production Can’t Keep Up (Ask Jeb)

Here's a problem that'll make your head spin: What do you do when you can sell way more than your company can produce? That's the question posed by Dylan Noah from Toronto. Dylan sells craft cider to bars and restaurants…

Here's a question that'll stop you in your tracks: Would you let someone walk up to you, take your wallet, empty out all your cash and credit cards, and leave your family with nothing? Of course not. That's insane. But if you're in sales and you let rejection stop you from making calls, booking appointments, and closing deals, that's exactly what you're doing. You're handing over your commission check to fear. That was the powerful insight from Wendy Ramirez, a leading Mexican sales expert and author of Lo que nadie habla de las ventas: Estrategias para no ser llamarada de petate or What Nobody Talks About in Sales: Strategies to Avoid Being a Flash in the Pan, on a recent episode of Ask Jeb the Sales Gravy Podcast. When you give rejection the power to stop you, you're literally taking money away from your family. Let that sink in. Listen more on the Sales Gravy Podcast, the number one sales training company

Are You Letting Rejection Control Your Sales Career? (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that'll stop you in your tracks: Would you let someone walk up to you, take your wallet, empty out all your cash and credit cards, and leave your family with nothing? Of course not. That's insane. But…

If picking up the phone feels tough again, start here. Learn how to make that first call, rebuild confidence, and get back to consistent prospecting that wins. Ask Jeb Blount on the Sales Gravy Podcast

Beat Sales Call Reluctance and Get Back to Fanatical Prospecting (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that hits closer to home than most sales reps want to admit: What do you do when you've been away from prospecting for a while and suddenly the call reluctance feels brand new again? That's the situation…

How to Train MLM Recruits to Sell With No Sales Experience (Ask Jeb)

How to Train MLM Recruits to Sell Without Sales Experience (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that'll make your head spin: How do you train MLM recruits who have zero sales experience to actually sell instead of just posting on social media and hoping for the best? That's the question Andrew Osborne from…

How to Prospect in Sales When You're Starting From Nothing, Jeb Blount

Building Pipeline From Zero as a First Time Sales Hire (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that keeps startup founders up at night: How does a first sales hire build pipeline and prospect effectively when there's zero technology, no tools, and absolutely no data resources available? That's the challenge Matthew Russell brought to…

ask jeb jeb blount sales gravy

How Emotional Regulation Impacts Sales Performance (Ask Jeb)

Here's a question that'll make you rethink everything about sales performance: What happens when your team has all the skills, tools, and training they need, but they're still underperforming because they can't regulate their emotions under pressure? That's exactly what…

Ask Jeb Interrupting Sales Gravy Jeb Blount

Overcoming Call Reluctance: How to Stop the Mental Block of Interrupting Prospects (Ask Jeb)

Overcoming call reluctance starts with understanding why even seasoned sales pros freeze up when it's time to pick up the phone. They're paralyzed by one simple fear: interrupting a prospect's day. That's exactly what Kirk Roberts from Richmond, Virginia, brought…

prospecting attempts jessica stokes sales gravy

The 3-Call Fallacy: Why Most Sales Reps Quit Prospecting Too Early

How many times do you actually attempt to reach out to a prospect before you give up? On the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jessica Stokes calls out a common sales reality when prospecting: “We all know the average salesperson typically stops…

fanatical prospecting

5 Things You’ll Learn at Fanatical Prospecting Live

Let’s be real—prospecting isn’t always fun. It’s like going to the gym: you know you need to do it, but cleaning out your inbox or reorganizing your desk suddenly seems so much more important. But just like hitting the gym,…