A 15-seconds cold call opener you can’t afford to ignore

In today’s issue, I’ll share a cold call opener I used to book a meeting with an AI avatar, when practicing with a cold call simulator. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m not a big fan of cold calling, mostly because I don’t like the direct rejection of a cold call, and because I have found a better system to book meetings.

But having the option to practice with an AI simulator is a great way to solve that problem and get more comfortable with cold calling, without worrying too much about what my prospect will think of me (it’s an AI after all).

A key part of a cold call is your opener, and the one I used in my simulation was incredibly efficient. Here’s how it’s structured:

Part 1: Salutation

I started the cold call by stating my first name only. I didn’t mention my company, why I was reaching out, and why the person should listen to me. In a real-world situation, this would help a prospect stay on the line (which is the goal of the first part of your cold call).

Example: “Hi, it’s Thibaut.”

I receive a ton of cold calls every day, and when people speak for over 30 seconds, without asking for permission, I always hang up because I know they are trying to sell me something I’m not interested in.

Part 2: Label the call

The second part of the opener is incredibly important. Instead of jumping in and trying to pitch my product, or convince the prospect to stay on the line, I explain that we don’t know each other, and this is a cold call.

Example: “Before you try to remember who is Thibaut, I just want to tell you that we don’t know each other, I’m a total stranger, and this is a cold call.”

This part of the opener is hard to master, it takes a bit of practice, but it’s an excellent way of addressing an objection before it even arises, and standing out to your prospect.

Part 3: Suggest to end the call

The last part of the opener is where you give the option to the prospect to end the call, or keep going.

Example: “So, do you want to roll the dice, and hear what I have to say?”

This last part is powerful because you’re not trying to convince someone who isn’t interested to stay on the line. You’re giving them an option to hang up, without turning it into a tensed situation. If they want to stay on the line, they can do it, if they want to hang up, they can do it too, and the rejection won’t be that hard to deal with.

Here’s an example of the entire opener:

“Hi, it’s Thibaut.

Before you try to remember who is Thibaut, I just want to tell you that we don’t know each other, I’m a total stranger, and this is a cold call.

So, do you want to roll the dice, and hear what I have to say?”

In case you didn’t notice it, I didn’t mention anything about my product, why I’m calling, and why the prospect should stay on the line. I just piqued their curiosity, and gave them the option to satisfy their need to know more, or escape the situation if they aren’t curious.

And if you’re interested in finding out the rest of my cold call, I have recorded a 4-minute video where I booked a meeting from a cold call.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thibaut