The 3 Cold Calling Phrases That Get Results

How can we possibly avoid rejection and still stay “real” while cold calling? Well, the truth is that the more genuine we are, the less likely we are to be rejected. 

Once you understand why cold calling is so difficult, and you start to shift your mental view of the cold call, then you can move from thoughts to actual language that’s in alignment with this new way of thinking. 

This new language will help you to cold call without triggering feelings of sales pressure that will lead prospects to reject you.

Here are three key phrases I’ve discovered that, when used sincerely, turn cold calls into relaxed conversations. 

1. “Maybe you can help me out for a moment?”

When you place a call and hear "Hello?," consider replying by saying in a very relaxed, casual tone of voice, "Hi, my name is, and maybe you can help me out for a second?"

Remember, there's no trust between the two of you yet, so it’s important for you to sound -- and be -- relaxed and low-key.

This may sound a bit awkward, but hopefully you can be open to trying something new.  The point is that when you ask the someone for help, it’s not a sales "technique" -- it's the literal truth. 

After you say, "Maybe you can help me out for a second?," the person you called will almost always respond by saying, "Sure. How can I help you?" Why? Because our normal human reaction when someone asks us for help is to offer it.

Eventually, you'll find that asking, "Maybe you can help me out for a second?" feels easy and relaxed because you're humanizing your call by being your genuine self. You're not

using the canned phrases that every other salesperson that day has used.

Most importantly, this simple exchange helps you to create a two-way dialogue with the person you've called. How different that feels from the standard one-way pitch, "Hi! My name is...I’m from...We do..."

Try making the mental transition to this new mindset by asking for help, and see whether your calls don't start feeling easier and more relaxed. This one simple question opens the door to conversation rather than closing it.

2. “I’m just calling to see if you’d be open”     

Now you're probably wondering, “What do I say next?"   It’s simple:  Make what you say next about the person you’ve called, not about you -- and make it specific and compelling

to them.

Don’t go into a pitch the way you would if you were operating out of the traditional sales mindset. Try to keep in mind that who you are and what you have to offer are irrelevant at this moment. All that matters is the person you've called and the issues or problems they may be having that, down the road, the two of you may decide you can help solve.

Your next step is to focus on a problem that you believe the other person might have. This wording is crucial, because you’re simply asking them whether they’re open-minded about considering something new that might help to solve the problem.

At this point, you might be tempted to slip back into the traditional sales mindset and launch into a mini-presentation about the services you offer. That would be premature at

this stage of your conversation. You still don't know enough about the person you're speaking with and his or her problem to offer your solution.  

3. “Where do you think we should go from here?”

Let’s say that you succeed in fully adopting this new mindset as it relates to cold calling. You focus your initial conversation on a specific problem or issue that you know from your own experience affects people in that business or industry. The initial call turns into a positive and friendly conversation. It moves in such a positive direction that you both feel there may be a match.

And at the point, you may start slipping back into the traditional sales mindset. You may start thinking about a potential sale. 

And this may lead you to start making statements that your prospect will construe as an attempt to "close." For example, you may start pressing, however subtly, for an appointment or a follow-up call, which implies that you're anxious to move things forward so you can make the sale.

The problem is that any such pressure on your part may lead your prospect to retreat and reject you.

Instead, at the moment when you feel as if the conversation is coming to a natural conclusion, you can simply say, "Well, where do you think we should go from here?"

This question reassures prospects that you're not using the conversation to fulfill your own hidden agenda. Rather, you're giving them the "space" to begin to decide if they trust you. You're not leading them down the path to a sale -- you're letting them

create their own path.