Cold Calling Sucks (Book Summary)

Cold Calling Sucks (And That’s Why It Works): A Step-by-Step Guide to Calling Strangers in Sales

Armand Farrokh and Nick Cegelski

INTRODUCTION: 5 Minutes to Figure Out If This Book Is Worth Your Time

• Cold emails can get you to quota. But cold calls will get you to President’s Club.
• Every cold call you make and voicemail you leave draws attention back to your emails, so you book even more meetings across other channels.
• You can say the exact same words as the #1 seller, but if you talk too fast, use too many up-tones, or sound like a robot, your prospect will be able to tell.
• There is no book, podcast, course, or training in the world that’ll teach you more than actually making cold calls.

SECTION 1-The First 60 Seconds

• The goal of the first 60 seconds is to earn the next 60 seconds.

Chapter 1: Openers

• Everything you do and say on a cold call must sound and feel different from the typical cold calls your prospect usually receives.
• Banned Opener #1: How’s Your Day Going?
• Banned Opener #2: Did I Catch You at a Bad Time?
• Bonus Banned Opener: Is This Bob?
• You open the cold call with context about them — a mutual investor, another partner you work with in the same office, a customer in the same industry, or anything that demonstrates that you’re not a complete stranger.
• Opener 1: Heard The Name Tossed Around Opener-“It’s Armand from Northwestern. Heard the name tossed around?”
• Lead with context before you say anything else, even your name. Some examples include:
  • Same Investor. “We work with a few other Sequoia portfolio companies. “
  • Same Coworkers. “We work with a few other partners in the Downtown LA office.”
  • Same Situation. “We work with a few other multifamily homeowners down the block.”
  • Same Industry Peers. “We work with a few folks like Gong and Salesforce. “
  • Same Geo + Persona. “We work with other compensation leaders in Salt Lake City.”
• I’ll say something like:
  • “Ha? Guess I’m not as popular as I thought. Well, the reason for my call is …”
  • “Oh? Normally we would’ve crossed paths by now. Well, the reason for my call is …”
• Opener 2: The Tailored Permission Opener

• When you lead with context related to the problem you solve, it allows you to attach the context to your pitch,

Chapter 2: The Problem Proposition

• Dump your “value proposition” for a Problem Proposition. If you can show a prospect that you understand the problem in excruciating detail, you barely need to talk about your product at all. Spend 80% of your time talking about the problem, then explain the unique differentiator that allows you to solve that problem in a single sentence.
• If you nail the problem, you only need one sentence to describe your solution because all you need to say is that you can make the problem go away.
• There are three parts to a good Problem Proposition,
  • Step 1: Triggering Problem. Describe the problem so specifically that it triggers the prospect, creating a visual of the crappy situation they’ve dealt with in the past.
  • Step 2: One-Sentence Solution. In the format of “we do X so that the problem goes away,” explain your biggest differentiator that allows you to solve that problem. Continuing the vending machine example:
  • Step 3: Interest-Based Call-to-Action (CTA): Instead of asking for a meeting (which feels heavy), see if they’re interested in taking a look first. The final CTA sounds like: My guess is you’re all set. But open to taking a look so you know what’s out there?
• Saving time or making money is not specific enough. You get drowned out in the ocean of telemarketers and commercials because every single solution in the world does 1 of 3 things: saves you time, makes you money, or mitigates risk. You need to be more specific.
• For a problem to trigger a painful memory, you need to repaint the story as if you were describing a movie scene.
• You’ll be tempted to include every way that you solve the problem. Don’t. Less is more. Instead, rely on the problem description and the way you’ve helped other people solve that problem (aka social proof) to fill in the gaps.
• Buzz Words. Avoid terms like single source of truth, all-in-one platform, single pane of glass. They’re vague terms that mean nothing and scream telemarketer.
• Categorizations. Never put yourself in a product category like tax software, real estate agent, or CRM. If a prospect has one, they will dismiss you. Instead, focus on solving the problem they have, even if they have a solution in place.
• Random Accolades. No one cares if you’ve been in business since 1965 or if you’re the leading provider of toilet paper unless it enables you to solve the problem better.
• A rule of thumb that spans all aspects of selling: Only ask your prospect to make one decision at a time.
• Starting with a small ask (Are you open to learning more?) increases your chances of an initial yes, at which point you can inch forward and go for the meeting.
• Here are a few ways you can phrase the interest-based CTA:
  • My guess is this came out of left field for you, but open to learning more when I’m not calling you totally outta the blue?
  • I’m sure you have something in place, but does any of that sound even moderately interesting to you?
  • My guess is you’re all set, but would you be opposed to taking a peek at what that looks like?
• Confirm their email live. I’ve lost many meetings by assuming I had the right email address for my prospect, only to have my meeting invitation bounce as undeliverable.
• The last piece is to explicitly ask them to accept your calendar invite once it hits their inbox.

SECTION 2-The Rest of The Call

Chapter 3: How to Handle Objections Like Mr. Miyagi

• You can’t overcome emotion with logic. You need to disarm the emotional reaction first.
• When they snap, “I’ve got it taken care of,” they’re expecting you to do what every other telemarketer does. Pitch. Instead, you’re gonna say, “Yeah, it probably doesn’t make sense for you to switch.”
• Step 1 — Agree with the objection. Remove all the pressure of the sale to disarm the reaction: I hear ya. Nowadays, it’s hard enough to keep your budget, let alone add something new.
• Step 2 — Incentivize conversation.Just so no one calls you again, is it that you’re out of budget for this fiscal year or you get put through the wringer every time you try to buy something?
• Step 3 — Sell the test drive. Selling the product now will only reapply the pressure you just worked hard to remove. Instead, sell the test drive — what they will get out of the meeting — even if they never buy the car. I get it. Hey, you’re probably not gonna buy this thing now. But if budget ever frees up, the people who get it at least have a directional sense of what they’d want. Open to taking a look, so you at least know what’s out there?
• Here’s what that looks like for a few common objections:
  • Not Interested. Ah, my bad. You probably would’ve reached out to us if you needed help.
  • No Budget. I hear ya. Nowadays, it’s hard enough to keep something that’s in the budget, let alone ask for something new.
  • Competitor. I should’ve assumed you’d be all set. Honestly, most of the time, it doesn’t make sense to switch when you’ve got something in place.
• The reason to understand the objection is so that you really know they’re not worth calling. Here’s how that plays out: Not Interested. Just so no one reaches out again, is it that you’ve got something in place, you’re doing it yourself, or you just hate getting cold calls?
• Add multiple-choice to your questions, and [prospects will be] far more likely to answer. When you lay out the 2 – 3 potential situations they could be in, you establish credibility as an industry insider and make it easy for them to pick one.
• You sell the test drive by answering this question: Why would they want to take a meeting with you… even if they don’t buy?
• Not Interested (due to an in-house solution). You probably won’t outgrow your solution for a while. But would you be opposed to taking a look, and if nothing else you might get some ideas to add to your own process?
• If you come off as timid, rushed, or rattled, your prospect will categorize you as someone who’s junior and has nothing to offer them.
• If you slow down and look at them sorta funny with a raised eyebrow … you come off as a peer who expects the same level of respect,
• Laugh when you get an objection to show that you’re comfortable, like a peer.

Chapter 4: 18 Objections and How to Handle Them

• Here’s the list of the 18 common objections by category:

• It’s really hard to get mad at someone who’s leaning into the misery of the confrontation or being far more transparent than they could’ve expected
• If they’re not the right person, your goal is to get a referral instead of a test drive. I find that it’s very unlikely that they’ll make the referral because you’re a complete stranger. Instead, I ask for permission to mention their name when I reach out to their colleague:

• Product objections often come from industry or technical experts who think they know it all. Instead of fighting their expertise, boost their ego and encourage them to see what’s out there for themselves.

Chapter 5: Gatekeepers and Voicemails

• Next time you call a gatekeeper, remember that [they have] two jobs:
  • Job #1 is to close the gate on strangers.
  • Job #2 is to open the gate for important people.
• You need to make [gatekeepers] think: Shoot, I better get out of this person’s way; otherwise, my boss is gonna be pissed.
• Mistake #1 is trying to befriend the gatekeeper. A gatekeeper is not your friend.
• Mistake #2 is treating a gatekeeper like a prospect. Many sellers will reveal their product or try to convince the gatekeeper that it’s worth the boss’s time. We’ll give the minimum viable information needed to get connected to our prospect. The more reasons we give for our call, the more we’ll draw suspicion to the fact that we don’t actually belong.
• You get 3 tries to bypass the gatekeeper:
  • The Slide-by. When they answer, ask to be put through. Nothing else.
  • The Context. If they stop you, share context, not product.
  • The Social Proof. If it happens again, lean on social proof to explain what you do.
• Here’s what you might say:
  • Gatekeeper: Aubrey Graham’s office
  • Nick (Slide-by): Hey, could you get me over to Aubrey? It’s Nick.
• [For “The Conext”], We’re ending with a question that gets the gatekeeper answering our questions, not the other way around:

• We don’t recommend repeatedly fighting the impassable gatekeeper, so if you’ve been shut down 1 – 2 times, you’re better off avoiding them entirely by…
  • Calling Mobile Numbers.
  • Calling During Off-Hours.
  • Trying a Different Channel.
• The goal of a voicemail isn’t to get a callback. It’s to get a reply over email.
• Lead with context.
• Direct back to the email.
• Keep them really, really short.
• Only leave two voicemails.
• That brings us to our strategy: Double Tap Voicemails.
  • Voicemail #1: Context Only
  • Voicemail #2: Context + Social Proof

SECTION 3-How to Be a Machine

• How could you book more meetings if you weren’t allowed to work more hours? Well, let’s go through the list:  (The secret to becoming a cold calling machine lies in #2 and #3)
  • Get really good on the phones. (Nope, you’re already the best).
  • Call a list so good that other reps think your territory is unfair.
  • Make more cold calls in less time.

Chapter 6: How to Maximize Your Dial Conversion

• I’ve coached over 100 SDRs in my career and found that the #1 rep is never #1 on the activity board. Why? Because they put in the work off the phones to drastically increase their results on the phones.
• Using Gong data, here’s what the Golden 3 Conversion Metrics look like for an average rep vs a top quartile rep:

• Prioritize mobile and direct lines whenever possible since these numbers have a higher connect rate and allow you to skip gatekeepers and phone trees.
• Mark your tracks. Your first set of calls through a new list of numbers should be the last time you sit through a long phone tree or call a screeching fax machine.
• 5 dials in 4 weeks.
• Stop after two voicemails.
• Avoid impassable gatekeepers. If they keep shutting you down, avoid them by calling your prospect’s cell, contacting them on other channels, or dialing off-hours.
• Register your phone number. Wireless carriers reference call registries to determine your phone number’s reputation. You can register as a non-spam caller with those registries here: https:// freecallerregistry.com/fcr/
• Test your number regularly. Many purchased numbers are recycled, so call your personal line from any new number first to confirm that it’s not already marked as spam.
• Avoid tactics like double or triple dialing someone to make them think you’re an emergency from a loved one, using *67 to hide your phone number or cold FaceTime (this one’s sort of a joke, but people actually do it).
• Add two extra dials to your A and B tier accounts because they are far more likely to convert to a meeting if you get them on the phone.
• Don’t be the rep that wastes an A tier account by working only one person. If you decide to work an account, work the entire account. That usually means (continuing the Pave example):
  • All “above the line” executives — VP / Chief HR Officer and VP / Chief Financial Officer
  • All “at the line” department leads / champions — Head of / Director of HR Operations, Compensation, or Total Rewards
  • Some “below the line” business users — Manager of People Operations, Compensation, or Total Rewards
• Our practical answer is to send day-before confirmations for same-week meetings.
• Example Day-Before Confirmation Email: “Hey Jane, looking forward to our chat tomorrow. By the way, saw that you all announced the new hydraulic potato peeler — excited to hear more live.” This reveals that there’s a human on the other line who’s preparing for the call and reduces the chance of a no-show.
• For a meeting 2+ weeks out, send both a day-before and a week-before confirmation. Your first email can be the exact same one as the above, and your second email can be a simple reply (looking forward to tomorrow).
• The major drawback with parallel dialers is that you have no idea who’s going to pick up. That means leading with context in your opener is nearly impossible. [Thus, parallel dialers are only suitable for high-velocity SMB when you have limitless phone numbers. They are not suitable for MM and ENT selling.]

Chapter 7: How to Make More Cold Calls in Less Time

• “You don’t need to feel good to get started, but you do need to get started to feel good.”
• You need to structure your entire calendar in a way that ensures you have time to prospect in the morning and do the rest of your sales job. There are two things required to do that effectively.
  • Front-loading: Do the hardest revenue-generating activities before anything else (that means cold calling).
  • Time Blocking: Dedicate time blocks for those activities where you’re only allowed to do that one thing. If you’re in a dial block, you’re not doing anything other than dialing (that means you close your inbox).
• Starting with front-loading, I prefer to divide my day into thirds as follows:
  • Green Hours (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.): Hit your daily prospecting goal in the morning when you’re most likely to do it while allowing customer meetings to fill in the gaps.
  • Yellow Hours (12 – 3 p.m.): Take most customer meetings in the afternoon, then use any remaining slots to get ahead on prospecting or mix in some afternoon dials.
  • Red Hours (3 – 6 p.m.): Defer all of your administrative tasks to the end of the day or dedicated inbox time blocks.
• Tame your inbox (and internal chat) to 3 windows at 8: 30 a.m., 12 p.m., and 3 p.m.
• Try to hit your prospecting goal before 12 p.m., then use the afternoon to get ahead.
• Internal Meetings. Ask your manager to schedule your 1: 1s at the end of the day
• Research and List Building. Do all of your list building in the final two hours of the day so that you can come in ready to prospect the next morning.
• If you cannot hit 40 cold calls in an hour, you are probably spending most of your dial blitzes screwing around instead of cold calling.
• Close everything else. No email, no chat, no other browser windows open. Literally put your phone on do-not-disturb so you block out notifications entirely.

Conclusion: How to Kill Call Reluctance Forever

• The only certain path to failure: Never picking up the phone.
• You need to make so many cold calls that you become numb to the rejection, and your mind makes the connection that 50 dials = 1 meeting over time.