Cold calling is thought to be a dying art by some, but with the continued swing of the pendulum towards automation, mass outreach, and general shortcuts, having an actual human touch will be a very valuable asset moving forward. As a general rule of thumb, 95% of your cold calls will be research related activities. Finding out the correct person is your main objective. Once you have the correct person identified and send them a relevant pitch, its rare in my experience to not receive a response, whether good, bad, or indifferent. So buckle up and learn to master the key three steps, and you’ll be generating real new opportunities for you/your company in no time.

You need to look on your various platforms for contact titles that are related to the object or service you are offering. Using linkedin, platforms like apollo.io, and general google searches, you will find a name. Once you have your name, take a step back and look at the company website. Why would they benefit from the object or service you sell? What tells you that? What pains can you eliminate for them? Then take a deep breath, sit up straight, and dial.

I recommend starting with telling them who they are, and then immediately asking them if they handle the purchasing of your product. If yes, then you begin asking them about their needs and current techniques. Actually listen. Take notes, and once you’ve learned enough, push for an introductory call to learn more, or ask for drawings, etc. I would write more in this section, but truly every call goes a different direction, and the only way to be prepared is to gain experience.