The #1 Opening Line to Build Rapport in a Cold Call
Every business owner I know is seeking the hottest new lead generation tactics but seem to forget about old faithful, cold calling. In this post, I'm going to share the #1 opening line my team & I have been successfully using to set appointments. Winning the opener is oftentimes the most challenging aspect & the key to a successful cold call. I will also briefly touch on the mindset & method to this madness.
In the examples below I will be using the solar industry but this approach can be applied to nearly any business model with some minor changes.
Step 1: Picking up the Phone.
The first step is the hardest part. 99% of people can't mentally work past this internal challenge. Picking up the phone. There is nothing I can do or say to inspire change when it comes to getting YOU to take action, that comes from within. Working through this mental barrier will liberate you. You either have the dog mentality or you don't.
Making your first call is the hardest part & it's only up from there. Expect to make mistakes & fumble words...it's going to happen. You're not going to be a lights out closer from the get-go. It may take you 100 calls to get the hang of it & 10,000s to become a consistent closer.
Step 2: What to do When They Answer
Once they answer you simply say 'Hey {{name}}'.
You want to have a casual, friendly & self-assured tone as if you are the boy/girl next door.You also want to be sure you aren't saying their name as if you are asking a question. There is a big difference between, 'Hey Bob' & 'Hey Bob?'.
Once you say their name in a casual, friendly & self-assured manner, you're going to simply wait for their response.
Ordered from warmest to coldest, the most common responses at this stage are:
- 'Hey, what's going on?'
- 'Yes?'
- 'Who Is this?'
- 'Wrong number'
At this point, you will want to (1) introduce yourself & (2) ask for permission to keep the conversation going.
I typically say, 'This is Justin, did I catch you at a good time?'. This helps build rapport by (1) revealing your identity and (2) also showing that you are considerate of their time. These are micro wins at building that initial rapport.
Ordered from warmest to coldest, the most common responses at this stage are:
- 'Hey Justin sure what's going on?'
- 'Justin who'
- 'No, Im busy, I just have a minute'
- 'No.'
In the next & final step we will touch on how to Segway into your pitch.
Step 3: How to Segue Into Your 'Pitch'
Before we segue into the pitch, notice I didn't reveal what the call was about yet. This is done purposefully. The hardest part of a cold call is smoothly working past the first threshold of the call, the opener. You are using this initial 20 seconds of dialogue to build rapport.
We're also tapping into the 'Lindy Effect' here which states, 'For certain non-perishable things (like technology, companies, and ideas), the expected lifespan increases according to the length of its current age. A simple way to rewrite the adage is: However far you are, you can probably double it.' In layman's terms, the longer you can draw out the call, the higher the likelihood of it continuing onward.
Ok, back to the talk track. As mentioned above the most common responses to 'This is Justin, did I catch you at a good time?' are:
- 'Hey Justin sure what's going on?'
- 'Justin who'
- 'No, Im busy, I just have a minute'
- 'No.'
Here is how I respond to each. In this example I will use a model we developed for solar sales:
- 'Great, I’ll just be a minute. I'm calling because we did a few installs in your area this past week & I’m just following up with other homeowners who haven’t switched to solar yet. Have you given solar any consideration?'
- 'This is {{Full_Name}}, we did some work in your area this past week & I’m just following up with other home owners in the area who haven’t switched to solar yet. Have you given solar any consideration?'
- 'No problem, I’ll just be a minute. I'm calling because we did a few installs in your area this past week. I’m just following up with other homeowners who haven’t switched to solar yet. Have you given solar any consideration?'
- 'No problem, I understand you weren’t expecting my call right now. Would this evening or tomorrow be better for you?'
You may notice that all 4 responses are similar but vary slightly. There are a few key takeaway to note from each one:
- When you're segueing into your pitch, begin by saying 'Great'. This alone gives them a subtle reminder that they just granted you permission to continue your pitch. Additionally, by saying, 'I'll just be a minute', relieves any anxiety that you're going to try to keep them on the phone for an extended duration of time.
- When they ask 'Justin who', you don't want to respond by simply repeating your name. This generally results in an awkward silence. Simultaneously, you don't want to ignore their question & jump right into your pitch like a call center script-jockey. I've found the best way to approach this question is by repeating your name but also including your last name. This creates an element of trust. Once you state your full name, effectively answering their question, you want to continue into your soft-pitch.
- When someone says 'they're busy' this is oftentimes a smoke screen. This doesn't mean you've 'lost' the deal. Many of my best customers and champions started with loads of objections. The way to respond to this is acknowledging that you heard them. People like to be seen and heard.
- Usually at this point they will be curious & ask what this is about at which point you can Segway into your soft pitch.
Conclusion
Don't overcomplicate it. Simply get your reps in & you will begin seeing success with this basic script. In every sales process I've developed, the goal of cold calling isn't to close on the first call - it's to introduce yourself, build rapport, gauge interest & schedule a follow up call with an account executive who should be a seasoned closer.
Other
I will be adding real life audio examples to this article in the future so you can see how I personally used this approach to set appointments.
In the future, we'll be doing more posts about tone, identifying your ICP, making a script for your business model, finding high quality & affordable leads to call, acquiring inbound leads for an easier close, the best cold calling CRMs, the Predictable Revenue sales model, dealing with objections, & more.
