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17 Cold Call Opening Lines That Work (and 6 That Kill ... - MRR Nerds
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Should you say 'how are you today' on a cold call?No. It signals a script within four words, costs about five seconds, and produces a one-word answer that gives you nothing to work with. Prospects have heard it from every telemarketer who has ever called them, and it primes the hang-up reflex the rest of your opener is trying to avoid. “Under ten seconds before the prospect speaks.”
You get about ten seconds. In that window the prospect decides whether this is a conversation or an interruption to be terminated, and almost nothing you say later can reverse that decision. “Three things make an opener survive it: you name yourself, you name the fact that this is a cold call, and you ask for something small and specific.” The permission openers
The permission openers “These work because they convert the prospect from someone being talked at into someone who made a decision.” "Hi Sarah, it's Alex from Northwind. I know I'm an interruption. Can I have 30 seconds to tell you why I called, and then you can tell me to go away?"
"Hi Sarah, it's Alex from Northwind. I know I'm an interruption. Can I have 30 seconds to tell you why I called, and then you can tell me to go away?" “"Sarah, Alex from Northwind. This is a cold call. Do you want to hang up, or do you want the 30-second version?"” "Hi Sarah, Alex here from Northwind. Is now a terrible time?"
The permission openers “People who agree to give you thirty seconds listen to the thirty seconds.” "Hi Sarah, it's Alex from Northwind. I know I'm an interruption. Can I have 30 seconds to tell you why I called, and then you can tell me to go away?"
Frequently asked questions “"Hi [name], it's [your name] from [company]. I know I'm an interruption. Can I have 30 seconds to tell you why I called, and then you can tell me to go away?"” Should you ask 'did I catch you at a bad time'?It is one of the most-debated openers and the evidence runs against it. It invites a yes, which is the easiest word in the conversation, and Gong's analysis found it associated with materially lower success rates than alternatives. "Is now a terrible time" performs better because the exaggeration makes a flat yes feel disproportionate, and "can I have 30 seconds" performs better still because it asks for something specific and small.