\u201cI have 30 seconds. I’d better say something brilliant before they hang up.\u201d<\/em> So I led with features, results, big client names, all the things I thought would grab their attention.<\/p>\nIt didn\u2019t work. Not because my pitch was bad, but because I hadn\u2019t earned the right to give it yet.<\/p>\n
People don\u2019t want to be pitched. They want to be understood. They want to know why you\u2019re calling them specifically, right now, and whether it\u2019s worth their time to stay on the line.<\/p>\n
Once I stopped trying to impress, I started to engage. I learned to open with context. I showed that I knew the company by mentioning a funding round they just raised, a new initiative their company launched, or a role they recently stepped into. Then, I asked a smart question, one that opened a door instead of slamming one shut.<\/p>\n
That approach changed everything. When the first 10 seconds feel tailored, people stop bracing for the pitch and start listening for value.<\/p>\n
2. Over-Relying on the Script<\/h3>\n
I\u2019ve seen this play out across so many teams. The rep prints out a script, memorizes it word for word, and reads it like a customer service manual. No pauses. No personalization. No flexibility.<\/p>\n
I used to do this too. Especially when I was new, the script gave me confidence. It felt safe, that is, until it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The moment someone interrupted me or said something I wasn\u2019t prepared for, I froze. The call derailed. I didn\u2019t know how to recover, because the script didn\u2019t give me permission to think.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I made a shift. I stopped treating the script like gospel. I started using it like a compass. Something to guide direction, not dictate every word.<\/p>\n
I created frameworks instead, with openers that had modular parts. Objection responses that could be adapted. A structure that gave me freedom to be human, while still staying intentional.<\/p>\n
The result? I sounded more natural. More confident. More in control. The person on the other end noticed, and they stayed on the line longer.<\/p>\n
3. Mistaking Politeness for Pipeline<\/h3>\n
Early on, I celebrated every polite response.<\/p>\n
\u201cInteresting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cSend me more info.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cSounds like a good fit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nBut guess what? None of those people replied to my follow-ups. None showed up to meetings. None converted. I learned that these platitudes weren\u2019t real signals. They were soft deflections \u2014 ways for the prospect to end the conversation without conflict.<\/p>\n
I learned that politeness isn\u2019t a commitment, and vague enthusiasm isn\u2019t a pipeline. So, I started clarifying.<\/p>\n
\n- \u201cWhen you say interesting, what stood out to <\/em>you<\/em>?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- \u201cIs this something you\u2019re actively exploring or just a general interest?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- \u201cWould it make sense to schedule something now, or is this not a priority?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
When you start qualifying early, you stop wasting time. Your calendar gets tighter. Your pipeline gets healthier. Most importantly, your energy stays focused on real opportunities, not on chasing ghosts.<\/p>\n
4. Panicking at Objections<\/h3>\n
Early in my career, objections scared me. A \u201cno budget,\u201d<\/em> or \u201cwe already use someone,\u201d<\/em> or \u201cwe\u2019re not interested\u201d <\/em>would throw me off completely. I\u2019d feel defeated. I\u2019d try to defend or overexplain. Worse, I would just end the call and tell myself, \u201cThey weren\u2019t ready anyway.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nThen, I realized something: Objections aren\u2019t rejection. They\u2019re engagement.<\/p>\n
If someone pushes back, it means they\u2019re thinking. It means they heard you. They care enough to have a perspective.<\/p>\n
So I changed my relationship with objections. I tracked them. I studied them. I wrote down every common pattern and created responses to reframe pushback. Now, when I hear an objection, I lean in with curated responses.<\/p>\n
\n- \u201cOh, that\u2019s exactly why I\u2019m reaching out.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- \u201cTotally understand. Can I ask you something about that?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- \u201cWhat would need to change for this to be more of a priority?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Objections became my signal that I was getting closer, not further.<\/p>\n
5. Talking More Than I Listen<\/h3>\n
In the beginning, I treated every call like a performance. I thought I had to drive the entire conversation, always have the next point ready, and sound confident.<\/p>\n
Then, I realized that the more I talked, the less they did. The less they talked, the less I learned. The less I learned, the weaker my pitch became. In the end, I was pitching to assumptions, not real context.<\/p>\n
So, I flipped it. I trained myself to ask, pause, and wait. I practiced listening to both their words and their tone. Their energy. Their timing. I used techniques like mirroring, summarizing, and layering my questions. Prospects opened up. They told me what they actually cared about. What was urgent? What was blocking them?<\/p>\n
From there, it stopped being a pitch and started becoming a real conversation \u2014 one built on curiosity, not control.<\/p>\n
6. Not Personalizing the Opener<\/h3>\n
I used to start every call with \u201cHow are you today?\u201d<\/em> or \u201cDo you have 30 seconds?\u201d<\/em> And while it felt polite, it also felt \u2026 forgettable. Because, that\u2019s what everyone says.<\/p>\nIn cold calling, sounding like everyone else is the fastest way to get ignored. So, I stopped being generic. I started being specific. If they just hired a new CRO, I opened with that. If they announced a new partnership, I mentioned it. If they posted something on LinkedIn, I referenced it in the first line.<\/p>\n
Personalization isn\u2019t fluff. It\u2019s friction removal. It shows you\u2019ve done your homework and that this call isn\u2019t just random. You came prepared to speak to them, not just a persona.<\/p>\n
When you do that, people listen. Not because they owe you time. But because you\u2019ve earned their attention.<\/p>\n
7. Giving Up Too Soon<\/h3>\n
There was a time when every \u201cnot interested\u201d<\/em> felt like a wall. I\u2019d thank them, hang up, and move on. I told myself, \u201cThey\u2019re just not ready.\u201d But in reality, I gave up too early.<\/p>\nThen I started treating every call, good or bad, as data. I tracked my tonality, my timing, my opener, even the time of day. I started noticing patterns.<\/p>\n
\n- Sometimes, a quick \u201cno\u201d was actually a timing issue.<\/li>\n
- Sometimes, I could re-engage the same contact two weeks later and get a yes.<\/li>\n
- Sometimes, I wasn\u2019t even getting rejected. I was just poorly positioned.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Now, I use every no to improve the next yes. I refine the script. I test new angles. I follow up smarter, not just harder.<\/p>\n
In cold calling, you\u2019re not looking for approval. You\u2019re collecting intel. If you treat every objection as insight, your strategy sharpens with every call.<\/p>\n
<\/a> <\/p>\nPivoting From Mistakes to Success<\/h2>\n
Let me close this with something I wish someone had told me earlier in my career. It would\u2019ve saved me from a lot of stress, burnout, and second-guessing.<\/p>\n
The real difference between the rep who dreads cold calling and the one who turns it into a predictable pipeline machine? It\u2019s not experience. It\u2019s not talent. It\u2019s not even confidence. It\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n
Cold calling isn\u2019t punishment. It\u2019s power.<\/p>\n
When I saw it as a grind, it drained me. When I saw it as a numbers game, I rushed it. When I treated it like a race to quota, I burned out faster than I hit my goals. But now? I treat cold calling like a craft. It\u2019s a skill set I keep sharpening.<\/p>\n
Cold calling, done right, is strategic. It\u2019s personal. It\u2019s one of the last places in business where real human connection still happens in real time. That alone makes it valuable, and rare.<\/p>\n
That call I mentioned earlier \u2014 the one that crushed me at the time \u2014 taught me valuable lessons. The experience showed me that rejection doesn\u2019t define you, but rather it redirects you. I learned that connection is always more powerful than performance. And, it reminded me that if you\u2019re willing to pause, listen, and learn, every failure becomes part of your system.<\/p>\n
So to every SDR, AE, founder, or sales leader reading this:<\/p>\n
\n- Don\u2019t just make dials, craft conversations.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t just chase pipeline, build momentum.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t just listen for gaps, listen for growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Because, cold calling isn\u2019t just about getting the meeting. It\u2019s about becoming the kind of rep who knows how to earn attention, build trust, and open doors that most people gave up on.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what I\u2019ve committed the last 17 years to. That\u2019s what I teach. And if you\u2019re serious about leveling up, just know, I\u2019ve been where you are. I\u2019m here to walk with you, call by call, pattern by pattern, breakthrough by breakthrough.<\/p>\n
And, once you learn how to create that? You never look at the phone the same way again.<\/p>\n
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I\u2019ve made over 11,000 cold calls. I\u2019ve booked 335 meetings, closed over $287k at a startup company and $40m in an enterprise multinational company, and saw what works. I\u2019ve also seen what burns out reps fast. I remember one call early in my career that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4364"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4374,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4364\/revisions\/4374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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