HOW TO

CRUSH IT,
KILL IT &
MASTER
COLD CALLING
NOW!
ANTHONY IANNARINO

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................3
The Anti Cold Calling Crowd are Charlatans. Period.............................................4
The Truth About Why Salespeople Dont Like Cold Calling. .............................5
C-Level Executives Want to Hear From You. Maybe.............................................6
The Best Way To Lose a Prospects Interest While Cold Calling .......................8
Six Principle for Effective Cold Calling.....................................................................10

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

Introduction

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

HOW TO CRUSH IT, KILL IT, AND

MASTER COLD CALLING NOW.

Over the past year, I have written blog post after blog post at my site, http://www.thesalesblog.com. Most of
what I have written was written to be published later as a book. That book is coming in the not too distant
future.
Of all the topics I have written on, what I have written about cold calling has always struck a nerve, eliciting
strong opinions either for or against. Much of the email I receive is for advice and ideas about how to be
more effective at cold calling, or it is to remind me that Sales 2.0 has replaced cold calling (an idea with which
I am vehemently opposed with every fiber of my being).
I collected a few posts on cold calling here to serve as a guide for those who would endeavor to improve their
cold calling skills. I hope you find it useful in improving your effectiveness and that you adopt these ideas
into all of your prospecting activities.

G O C R U S H I T. G O K I L L I T.

GO AND MASTER COLD CALLING.

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

Introduction

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

The Anti Cold Calling Crowd

are Charlatans. Period.

networking, referrals, traditional marketing, social

There are two reasons that cold calling takes a

sales person. If you dont like cold calling, consider

beating by so called sales gurus. The first reason is

that you might not like it simply because it is hard

that most salespeople arent very good at it (most

to be really good at cold calling. Treat cold calling

people like to do work at which they are above

like anything else that you want to be really good

average, especially when it is noticeable). These

at and dedicate the time and resources necessary.

salespeople complain about cold calling.

The second reason cold calling gets bashed is the
fact that a whole cottage industry has popped up to
sell the idea that cold calling is dead to the group of
salespeople who arent very good at it and wish for
an easier way to set appointments.
The anti cold calling crowd preys on weak
salespeople. These charlatans are no different than
the charlatans that sell the idea that you can lose
weight without exercise or diet, that you can get
rich quickly without working, and that affiliate
marketing creates millionaires (which it does, but

media and more. You cannot leave cold calling out

of your arsenal; it is just too valuable a skill for a

1. Read a book on cold calling. In fact,

read two books.
2. Ask someone who is good at cold calling to
listen to you make calls and offer suggestions.
3. Record all of your calls and listen back to
them to hear how you sound to the prospect.
Then do something to make your calls better,
stronger. Rewrite your scripts to make them
more compelling to the prospect.
4. Get a coach.

the millionaires are the folks who sell the picks and

Buy a cold calling program on CD and listen to it

shovels, not those that are standing in the stream

on the way to and from work.

panning for gold). Cold calling has much in common

with weight loss, fitness, and getting rich. Like all
of these, cold calling is hard work. Cold calling is
also a prerequisite for success in sales, just like
diet and exercise are prerequisites for weight loss
and fitness, and spending less and saving more are
prerequisites for becoming wealthy. To succeed

If you work at cold calling, you can and will get

better. If you work especially hard at it, you can get
better even faster.
Whatever you do, dont buy the snake oil sold by
charlatans and con artists.

at prospecting today, you need to use every

If you plan to do well in sales, plan to get good at

weapon in your arsenal, cold calling, warm calling,

cold calling

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

The Anti Cold Calling Crowd

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

The Truth About Why

Salespeople Dont Like Cold
Calling

4. Does your script make you sound like a

professional whose clear goal is to create
value for the customer? Or does it make you
sound like a credit card company?

There are two groups of people who cold call:

telemarketing firms and professional salespeople.

Lack of Ability to Differentiate

For telemarketing firms, cold calling is all

Professional salespeople need to differentiate

that they do.

themselves in a crowded field. This is difficult to

For professional salespeople, cold calling is one tool

in an arsenal of many tools (or at least it had better
be). There are many reasons that salespeople dont

do, and it is more difficult over the telephone

especially when the salesperson rattles off the same
lines the prospect just heard from a competitor.

like cold calling, but in professional salespeople, it

Salespeople dont like to make cold calls when they

is rarely a fear of rejection. Instead, it is usually one

cannot differentiate themselves. There are a lot of

of three reasons:

gimmicks and tricks to differentiate that have been

tried over the years, like fake polls and surveys, but

1. Lack of Preparedness

all result in a lack of trust once the call turns into

a sales call. To differentiate yourself on the phone

2. Lack of Ability to Differentiate

3. Inability

to

Create

Value

is difficult, but it has to be done and it has to be

for

their

Dream Client

authentic. The best way to differentiate yourself is

to create value for the prospect.

Lack of Preparedness

Inability to Create Value for the Prospect

No one wants to do a job that they dont have

Professional salespeople succeed when they create

the proper tools, technology and training they

value for their prospects and customers. When

need to succeed.

cold calling doesnt provide you with the ability to

The tools, the technology, and the training prepare

you to succeed and build confidence. The opposite

create value for the prospect, it doesnt feel like a

worthwhile use of your time.

is also true; a lack of the proper tools, technology

There are sales organizations who have figured out

and training destroys confidence. For cold calling

how to deliver value before claiming value over

this boils down to a couple of key factors.

the telephone. They still ask for appointments.

1. Do you have a written script?

2. Do you have a written script for objections?
3. Is the script something that you can be
proud to use?

But the calls are valuable for the prospect because

they provide the prospect with something more
than a request for an appointment. The reason
telemarketing is so offensive to the people receiving
the call is because it is so one sided; it isnt about
creating value for them.

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

T h e Tr u t h a b o u t C o l d C a l l i n g

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

C-Level Executives Want to

Hear From You. Maybe.

Conclusion
Poor Results and Call Reluctance
All of the above factors lead to poor results, and
poor results lead to less activity. Correcting and
improving the three factors above can make cold
calling a more valuable tool in a salespersons

Could it be that some salespeople are simply

more effective than others at calling and gaining
appointments with C-level executives?

Cold Calling C-Level Executives

arsenal. Answer these questions:

There is no reason that you, as a professional

Questions

salesperson, cannot pick up the phone and call

Here are some questions you can use to start

thinking about how you can improve your cold
calling activity.

(and you do have great ideas!). There is no reason

you cannot pick up the phone and say: Hi Tom.
This is Anthony with The Sales Blog. I just read an

1. Do I have a great script for making calls? Is it

2. Do I have written scripts for all of the

objections

article about your new initiative, and I have some

ideas that I believe will helpful to you and XYZ

super professional?

potential

C-level executives, providing you have great ideas

might

receive

on the call?

Company with this project. Id like to invite you to

grab a cup of coffee and a quick discussion on two
of these ideas. I promise it will be 20 minutes that
will be worth your while whether you use us or not.

3. Does my script immediately make me

different in the mind of my prospective
customer? Does it make me sound like the
last ten salespeople who called?
4. What could I say on a cold call that would
differentiate me from my competitors?
Who do I have to be to stand out from the

What does Thursday morning look like? Does this

require that you have the ideas? Absolutely.
Do you have to be prepared to generate value on
the appointment? Absolutely.
Are some of these executives still going to say no?
Absolutely.

crowd? How does the prospect know I am

Which is why you never pursue a single

remarkable over the telephone?

approach and you instead use every prospecting

5. How could I make a cold call a valuable

method available.

use of my prospects time? What does the

prospect need that I could use the cold call
as an opportunity to deliver?

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

C-Level Executives

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

Why Do C-level Executives Take Your Call

Who do you think has the worst case of insomnia in
your prospects company? No one, and I mean no
one, has bigger problems with more at stake than
C-level executives. No one wants to make sure
their initiatives succeed like C-level executives.
C-level executives are charged with achieving their
companys strategic goals and objectives.
Where those goals and objectives rub up against
market realities are where problems are found.
Where problems are found is where there is an
opening for you to create value.

are interested in business. (I am not suggesting

rapport isnt important, but you Damn well better
not start with the trivial). C-level executives need
you to be their go to expert in your field. They know
they are not subject matters on everything, and
they know they cannot afford to not understand
the parts of their business where your business can
make a difference.
They will expect you to be a subject matter expert
par excellence, filling a gap that they have in their
knowledge and experience. You will need be the
kind of person that is going to own the initiative
and the results of what it is you sell. You will need

Whats Expected of You

to be the kind of person who can achieve the

In order to provide value to C-level executives, you

their team throughout the entire process.

outcomes you promise, engage with your team and

have to be able to either solve a problem for them

or help them create a new competitive advantage
(although I would argue that creating a competitive
advantage is still solving a problem, it is just
creating the problem of not having the competitive
advantage first).

Conclusion
Lets not forget that C-level executives are human
(well, I have met a few that may not be). They usually
have more experience and greater competencies
which has led them to a position of responsibility.

To get the opportunity you have to be a couple

things. You have to be supremely confident that
you can solve their problem or help them with
a competitive advantage. You have to have the
business acumen to be able to speak to them in
their language, and the language of business is
often financial or strategic.

This responsibility includes achieving results for

their company, their clients and customers, their
stakeholders, and their shareholders. They build
teams to achieve those results, and their partners
are part of that team. If you can differentiate
yourself, you can get their attention. If you can
solve problems and/or create a competitive

This means you have to be able to read a financial

statement, and that you are as good with Microsoft
Excel as your nearest CFO. You need to be able

advantage (owning the outcome), you can be part

of that team. Having the necessary skills is up to
you. And so is having the confidence to do so.

to prove out your points, and this includes ROI.

You also need to know how they compete and
their strategic advantage in their market. You
need to forgo the simple rapport building. C-level
executives are interested in business and they are
interested in doing business with other people who
7

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

C-Level Executives

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

Questions

Your Call to Action Is Self Centered

1. What do you believe about C-level executives

If you were on the other side of this salespersons

that prevents you from being able to pick up

request for an appointment, what might you

the phone and call them

suspect you would spend your time talking about

2. What do you believe about yourself that

on a sales call should one be given?

prevents you from being able to pick up the

This statement makes the prospect absolutely

phone and call a C-level executive?

certain that you are going to spend your time

3. What are you missing that, if you had it,

would make it easier for you to make the calls
higher up your prospects organizational
chart? What do you have to do to get it?

talking about you and what you do. But wait, you
say. That isnt at all what I hoped to accomplish on
the first call But that is what you said, and that is
what your dream client now believes.

Your Call is Undifferentiated

4. What is your best language for calling a
Truth is, there are a lot of people using this very

C-level executive?

same opening (it works sometimes, especially with

The Best Way to Lose a

Prospects Interest While Cold
Calling
A few weeks ago I received an email from a first
time salesperson struggling to make appointments.
Her problems were many, starting with the fact
that she has had no sales training and no sales
manager. Her question was on how to get better,
and I recommended two of my favorite sales
books. She had read one, and she bought the other.
She sent me a follow up email to better describe
the real problem she was confronting, which she

smaller, transactional clients). Your prospects and

dream clients are subjected to this request over
and over again. In the past, they have agreed to
meet with some nice sounding salespeople and
they have found them all to be pretty much the
samenot value creators!
By using the exact same approach with the exact
same language choices, you have confirmed that
you are no different than those who have come
before youand the many who will call using the
same line in the future.

Your Call Provides No Value and Confirms

No Future Value

described as having trouble introducing herself

and her companys consulting services. There

By making your request both about yourself and

is no doubt that making the statement Id like to

undifferentiated, you confirm for your prospect or

come by and introduce myself and my companys

dream client that you lack the ability to be valuable

service to you, is sometimes effective.

to themthis is true, even when you really can be

of value. By making even your request about you,

But that sometimes is very, very rare. Here is why

you demonstrate that the focus of this call is about

that openings call to action isnt effective and what

creating value for you and not your dream client.

to do about it.

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

L o s e a P r o s p e c t s I n t e r e s t

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

By not making your call different, the dream client

has no choice but to believe that you have no
new value creating ideas worth her time and her
attention. The first assessment that your dream
client makes is whether or not you are someone
worth spending time withwhat are they going
to get out of the call. The best they can hope for,
based on your request, is that they might get to
visit with a really nice salesperson with nothing
very valuable to offer.

Conclusion
The first step in gaining appointments when cold
calling is to capture your dream clients interest.
In ti out of 10 cases, offering to talk about yourself
isnt interesting and it isnt compelling.
Effectiveness in cold calling and appointment
setting is built on differentiating yourself and your
offering and by proving you can and will help your
dream clients produce better business results..

Your Call Confirms That You Lack Business

Acumen
Your dream clients have business issues, business
problems, business challenges, and business
opportunities for which they require outside help.
Your call does nothing to indicate that you have
the business acumen, the experience, or the
resourcefulness to help them overcome their
problems or to take advantage of their opportunities.

Questions
1. What does your script suggest about your
intentions for the first appointment with
your dream client?
2. How does your script differentiate you in
a crowded marketplace? Does it confirm
that you are no different and that you have
nothing new to say?
3. Do your scripts and your language choices

How to Remedy This Problem

suggest that you are a professional in your

The way to remedy this problem is to write

field and that you possess the business

better

acumen to make a difference for your clients?

scripts,

scripts

that

dont

violate

the above principles.

4. Do your scripts and your language choices

Better language will be customer focused, it will

confirm your ability to create value for your

differentiate you from your competitors, it will

dream client, even on the very first call? Why

demonstrate that your intention is to create value,

would they believe that meeting with you

and it will confirm that you have the business

would benefit them now and in the future?

acumen and the resourcefulness to really help

them with their business.

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

L o s e a P r o s p e c t s I n t e r e s t

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

Six Principles for Cold Calling

1. You Are Going to Hear

No. Dont Believe It Means
Anything.

Your dream clients and prospects get hundreds of

2. Your Dream Client Receives

Lots of Calls. You Have to
Differentiate Yourself.

Your dream client cannot tell from a telemarketing

cold call who is worth seeing and who
isnt worth seeing.

calls from salespeople. Your dream client has no

In order to gain their attention, you have to

way to know who is worth spending time with and

differentiate yourself from your many competitors.

who is not worth spending their time with. When

A lot of companies treat all of their providers and

faced with this dilemma, they make the easiest

partners as commodities, which means one of us

choice: they say no. They dont just tell you no. They

is as good as the nexteven when this is not true!

dont just give you an objection. They give almost

During your call, you only have two tools that

everyone the same no and the same objection

you can use to differentiate yourself from your

because it works. The objection prevents them

competitors:

from having to spend their time with salespeople

who are wholly unprepared to create any value
for them. Those that are great at cold calling and
telemarketing do not attach any meaning to the
word no or to the objection that they receive.
They do not feel as if they have been rejected.
They dont believe that the word no or the dream
clients objection is some insurmountable obstacle
to making an appointment. They dont believe
that it means that they have failed. They attach no
meaning to it at all. To succeed at cold calling you
have to know that your first answer to a request is
going to be no and that it doesnt mean anything
about you, about their need for you or your service,
or about your prospect of gaining an appointment.
It is simply part of the dance.

1. The language choices that you make, and

2. What you personally bring to the call.
If your language choices are the same as all of your
competitors, you are not going to be perceived as
being different. If the way you say what you say
makes you sound like you are not passionate, like
you are not excited, like you are not interesting, and
like you do not have the ability to make a difference,
you will not differentiate yourself. Your competitors
are trying to sound professional. You need to sound
different. Being real, being conversational, and
being authentic will help you differentiate yourself.
If you do not sound like you are passionate about
meeting with them and helping them, how do
you expect them to be passionate about meeting
with you and giving you their time? You still need
to have the business acumen to talk about your
dream clients challenges in a meaningful way, but
authenticity and professionalism are not mutually
exclusive. Authenticity is enabled by confidence.
Be yourself (and be a confident you).

10

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

Six Principles of Cold Calling

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

3. You Have to Prove You Are

a Value Creator. Not a Time
Waster.

Writing down what you intend to say also prevents

you from having to read it from a piece of paper.
By writing your script, utilizing it in practice,
discerning what works and what doesnt, and then

Your dream client has allowed her time to be wasted

re writing your script, you build greater confidence

by salespeople in the past. Your call is already

and competency. You should also write down all

suspect; your dream client believes that you will

of the common objections and concerns you hear

waste their time and that you are not a value creator.

from your dream clients so that you can have

You have one chance to make a first impression,

prepared, effective language choices.

and you have to say something that proves that

you know that it is your job to help them achieve
a better outcome than they are presently getting.
You have to say something that indicates that you
know that you own that better outcome. If you say:
Id like to stop by and introduce myself and my
service, you have said nothing that indicates that
you intend to create value. If instead you say: Id
like to sit down with you for fifteen minutes to see
how we might be able to help reduce your overall
cost of _________ and improve your __________
results, you sound like a value creator.

5. Your Goal Is an
Appointment. Nothing Else.

Your goal is not a conversation. Your goal is not

a needs analysis. Your goal is not a presentation.
Your goal is simply an appointment, nothing else.
All questions that would lead to a conversation
need to be responded to in a way that instead
leads to an appointment. You hear: what makes
you different? You say: we have six fundamental
things that make us different and that make a
difference for our clients, including a couple of

4. You Are Already Using a

Script. Write a Better One.

proprietary service offerings that only we have.

Ill make sure I am prepared to show you how
we put these six ideas to work for our clients.

Even if you dont use a written script, chances are,

What does next Thursday afternoon at 2:00 PM

you are saying about the same thing on every call

look like? If you answer the questions without

that you make.

leading the conversation towards committing to

Improving your script improves your results. It

is tremendously helpful to go through the act
of writing down what you intend to say before
you say it. It helps build the language into your
nervous system; it makes the language part of you.

11

an appointment, you are arming your dream client

with the information they need to say no. You are
giving them enough to say that your answer isnt
enough for them to want to change right now. You
cannot sell without first understanding your clients
needs and their dissatisfaction. However, the cold

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

Six Principles of Cold Calling

C O L D C A L L IN G BOOT C A M P

call is not the place to conduct that needs analysis.

The more questions you ask, and the deeper you get
into a conversation, the less it becomes necessary
for your dream client to meet with you. In B2B
sales, always be closing is problematic; especially
when not enough time, trust, or value has been
created to deserve the close. But when it comes to
cold calling, always be closing is the rule. In order
to create an opportunity, you have to first get in.

Conclusion
Lots of salespeople are challenged by having to
make cold calls. But there are some principles that,
if taken to heart and adopted into your practice,
can make your cold calling a lot more effective.
1. What meaning do you attach to the word no?
What could it mean instead?
2. How do you differentiate your call from the

6. You Are Going to Have

to Push if You Want an
Appointment.

It will not be often that you reach the contact you

need on your first call. It will not be often that you

hundreds or more calls your dream client

receives every year?
3. What do you say to ensure that the recipient
of your call knows for certain that you are a
value creator and not a time waster?

get an appointment the first time you reach your

4. Could your cold calling be improved by

decision maker or decision influencer. It will not be

taking the time to choose more effective

often that you get an appointment the first time you

language? Could it made more effective if

ask for one. If you really want the appointment, you

you spent, say, two hours writing out what

are going to have to push. You are going to have to

you really want to convey?

call more frequently than feels comfortable to you.

You are going to have to ask for the appointment
more times than feels comfortable to you. You
are going to have to be persistent and resilient.
Persistence means that you dont accept no for an
answer and you keep trying. Resilient means that
you bounce back from the no to try again, without
allowing the answer no to discourage you in any
way. You are going to have to push. You are going
to have to ask for the appointment more than once

5. Are you trying to create the value of a

needs analysis on the telephone instead of
scheduling an appointment?
6. Are you willing to push in order to get the
appointment that you need? Is a quarterly
phone message really indicative of your
strong desire to perform for your dream
client?

each time you connect with your decision maker

or decision influencer. If you really want the
appointment, you have to behave as if you really
want the appointment.

12

Cold Calling Bootcamp

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

Six Principles of Cold Calling

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 5 B 2 B S a l e s C o a c h & C o n s u l t a n c y. A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .
How to Crush It, Kill It, and Master Cold Calling Now!