{"id":498,"date":"2025-03-30T17:17:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T17:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/existing-provider.com\/?p=498"},"modified":"2025-05-30T10:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T10:33:15","slug":"cold-calling-playbook-tips-10-proven-tactics-for-sales-leaders-and-reps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/existing-provider.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/30\/cold-calling-playbook-tips-10-proven-tactics-for-sales-leaders-and-reps\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold Calling Playbook Tips: 10 Proven Tactics for Sales Leaders and Reps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to The GTM Newsletter by GTMnow <\/strong>– read by 50,000+ to scale their companies and careers. GTMnow shares insight around the go-to-market strategies responsible for explosive company growth. GTMnow highlights the strategies, along with the stories from the top 1% of GTM executives, VCs, and founders behind these strategies and companies.<\/em><\/p>\n

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GTMfund hosted an inaugural event called The GTM Workshop x Founders <\/em>this week (some photos here<\/a>). One theme was clear: AI is touching every part of go-to-market. We\u2019ll be sharing more content soon on how AI is reshaping GTM, and this week\u2019s podcast dives deep into what you need to know about AI agents.<\/p>\n

But one unassuming topic that kept coming up? Cold calling. Despite all the AI buzz, the phones are still ringing \u2014 and still driving pipeline. Seemed like the perfect time to share some proven cold calling tips that are working right now.<\/p>\n

Tips for sales leaders<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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  1. Set clear expectations.<\/strong>Establish minimum viable activity metrics, such as 150-200 cold calls per week, to ensure consistent engagement without overwhelming your reps. The magic formula is finding the activity metrics that balances both quality with quantity.<\/li>\n
  2. Cultivate a cold calling culture and lead by example.<\/strong>Normalize rejection as a step toward success. Rejection is a data point that provides feedback so you can iterate. Lead by example – when leaders actively engage in cold calling, it reinforces its importance to the team. Anyone who has made a cold call can certainly agree that it\u2019s not only a humbling exercise, but a great feedback loop from your ICP.<\/li>\n
  3. Equip your team with the right tools (and training!).<\/strong>Invest in platforms and tools that streamline cold calling efforts. For example, consolidating standalone tools into one platformand parallel dialers.<\/li>\n
  4. Motivate with gamification and incentives.<\/strong>Create healthy competition within your team using leaderboards and contests. Reward both the quantity of calls and the quality of engagements.<\/li>\n
  5. Align cold calling with broader sales strategies.<\/strong>Integrate cold calling into a multi-channel outreach strategy, ensuring consistency across all touchpoints, including email campaigns and social selling.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    Tips for sales reps<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    1. Tackle cold calling first thing in the morning.<\/strong> Make cold calling your first task of the day when connect rates are highest. Use tactics like the “10 dials, no pee” rule to overcome reluctance and build momentum.<\/p>\n

    2. Perfect your opener.<\/strong> Avoid generic openers. Instead, lead with a context-specific statement that shows you\u2019ve done your research. Example opener:
    \n\u201cHey [Prospect], I just finished reading your latest report on [specific topic]. This is a cold call, but it\u2019s well-researched. Can I get 30 seconds to tell you why I called?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    3. Focus on the problem, not the product.<\/strong> When pitching, emphasize the specific problem your product solves rather than its features.<\/p>\n

    4. Handle objections by agreeing then asking a trap question.<\/strong> When faced with objections, agree with the prospect first to lower their defenses. Then, ask a “trap question” that subtly highlights a gap in their current solution. Example objection handling:
    \n\u201cProspect: “We\u2019re already working with [Competitor].”
    \nYou: “Great choice, [Competitor] is solid. That must mean you’re not dealing with [specific problem your solution addresses], right?”<\/em><\/p>\n

    5. Integrate cold calling with email outreach.<\/strong> Use a multi-touch approach by following up cold calls with personalized emails.<\/p>\n

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    Share<\/a><\/p>\n

    Tag GTMnow so we can see your takeaways and help amplify them.<\/em><\/h6>\n
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    \"\ud83d\udc42\" More for your eardrums<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Ray Smith<\/a> is the VP of AI Agents at Microsoft. Previously, he was the Global VP of Product for SAP, CRM and Sales Cloud. Before that, he was the CEO and Co-Founder of DataHug, which was acquired by Calidus Cloud in 2016.<\/p>\n

    Ray breaks down why the rise of AI agents is a tectonic shift, how businesses are already seeing ROI, and what it means for SaaS, team structure, and go-to-market strategies. He also shares real-world use cases from inside Microsoft and partner companies, plus how founders and operators can build or adapt in this new AI-native era.<\/p>\n

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    GTM 139: AI Agents Are Changing Everything \u2014 Microsoft\u2019s VP of AI Agents on the New Era of Work and Software | Ray Smith<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Listen on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts by searching \u201cThe GTM Podcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    \"\ud83d\ude80\" Startup to watch<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Paid<\/a><\/strong> – Manny Medina officially launched his new company, a business engine for AI agents, along with \u20ac10M raised<\/a>. This marks the second pre-seed investment into Manny\u2019s companies that GTMfund GP, Max Altschuler, has made – first into Outreach in 2015 and now into Paid in 2025.<\/p>\n

    OfferFit <\/a><\/strong>– has been acquired by Braze.<\/a> The AI decisioning platform transforms customer interactions with automation and machine learning, now scaling its impact as part of Braze.<\/p>\n

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    \"\ud83d\udc40\" More for your eyeballs<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    If you can\u2019t delegate, you can\u2019t scale.<\/a> Delegation isn’t just about offloading tasks, it’s about building a scalable team that can achieve more together.<\/p>\n

    Lessons in product scaling and storytelling from Figma\u2019s CPO<\/a>. The playbook behind the gnarly phase of product building that arrives after a startup achieves product-market fit.<\/p>\n

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    \"\ud83d\udd25\" Hottest GTM jobs of the week<\/strong><\/h4>\n