Cold Calling
Quick definition
Reaching out to potential customers by phone without prior contact or relationship.
Detailed explanation
Cold calling is calling prospects you don't know yet and who haven't requested contact. While it's a challenging sales technique (many rejections, low contact rates), it remains effective in B2B sales when done well. Successful cold calling requires thorough research on the prospect, a strong opener that communicates value, excellent listening skills, and the ability to quickly build rapport. The goal is not to sell immediately, but to spark interest and book a next step.
Synonyms
Examples
An SDR calls the CFO of a tech company: "Good morning, I see you recently raised €5M funding - congratulations! I help scale-ups automate their finance processes during their growth phase. Do you have 2 minutes to hear how others approach this?"
A sales rep uses a referral: "Hello, Jan from [company] mentioned you might be interested in [solution]. Is it true that you're struggling with [pain point]?"
When to use this?
Use cold calling for high-value B2B deals where phone contact is still the norm, for urgent prospecting needs, or when your target audience is difficult to reach online. Always combine with email and LinkedIn outreach for better results.
Match-day approach
Match-day trains your team in modern cold calling techniques: from effective openers and pain-driven discovery questions to objection handling. We believe in "cold calling 2.0" - doing high-quality research so the conversation is relevant, and focusing on creating value in every conversation, regardless of the outcome.
Related terms
Outbound Sales
A proactive sales strategy where you approach potential customers, instead of waiting for them to come to you.
Sales Development Representative (SDR)(SDR)
A sales professional focused on generating and qualifying new sales opportunities.
Warm Calling
Calling prospects who have already had some form of interaction with your company, such as a website visit, content download or LinkedIn connection.
Learn more
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