This is the blog transcript of our video “Proven Cold Calling Opening Lines You Can Use TODAY!”. If you’d like to see more of our videos, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here.
Welcome to our penultimate video in our cold calling series. If you’ve been following us each week, you’ve learned a lot to get to this point. You’ve learned the definition of cold calling, how to get over cold call anxiety, proven techniques for cold calling, and finally, how to get the motivation to make these calls in the first place.
Today, you’re finally going to learn another very important lesson — how to start off your cold calls.
Hey everyone, I’m Ian Campbell, CEO of Mission Suite. Before we jump into today’s video, do me a favor and hit the subscribe button and ring the bell so that you’re notified whenever we post new videos.
For the past ten years, I’ve helped my clients use Mission Suite to get the most out of their contacts. From juggling, and hopefully organizing, the contacts and knowing the right time to reach back out, there is no shortage of options for how to keep in touch with contacts.
As we’ve discussed the past several weeks, cold calling is one of those necessary steps we need to take in order to grow your business. And there are few things more crucial than those opening lines of a cold call.
After all, it’s how you set the tone of the call and capture the attention of your potential client.
Of course, every individual is different, but the following constitutes opening lines that have been proven to work in the past. As you will likely see, the most successful lines out there are a mix of intrigue and honesty. You’ll likely have a better idea what I mean as I make my way through the list, so let’s get started.
“I was hoping you could help me with this.”
I know, it seems a bit weird, but there’s some logic behind it. The approach is twofold here.
First off, you’re hitting that intrigue button. Right away, the potential client is wondering what it is they could help with. They at least want an idea of what you’re talking about.
Beyond that, it also helps appeal to their sense of self importance. I’ll add a link to this article in the description.
All of a sudden, you have introduced a problem and indicated you need their help. They not only want to know what you’re talking about out of pure curiosity, but because they wonder how it is they can possibly help. And, if you’ve done your research with this cold call, you’ll have made sure that this opening line is honest.
You NEVER want to go into a call trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.
Before making the call, ensure that this person is the right person at the right company to truly help you out with your problem. So once that opening line pulls at all the right strings, it leads straight into a seamless pitch that fits them.
And speaking of honesty, that leads right into perhaps the most direct approach.
“The reason for my call is…”
That’s right. There is no messing around with that line. You go straight from hello, an introduction, and right into what you’re trying to offer.
It may actually seem counterintuitive for some people but think back to the latest cold call you’ve received. If it was from someone who you didn’t know and who spent a lot of time beating around the bush, you may have noticed your attention start to wander.
Most likely, the call was already coming in at a bad time, and you were most likely sitting there waiting for them to get to the point.
That’s true for a lot of people.
Many of us are naturally suspicious of cold calls and just want them to get to the point already. As a result, we don’t really listen to much of what they’re saying until they actually tell us why they’re calling in the first place.
Being proactive like this can increase a call’s success rate by over two times.
But what if you mixed the directly honest approach with a layer of intrigue. Well that brings us to our third example of an opening line.
“I’m a little lost. Do you mind if I take a second to tell you why I’m calling?”
As mentioned before, this approach really sets you up to reveal your why right at the beginning. Again, potential customers really listen better when they know an answer is coming. And using this language, they can’t help but wonder why you’re a little lost.
The other thing about this opener is that it’s also a bit of a pattern interrupt. You aren’t jumping in right away trying to sell, but are asking for help. This is good in helping to build a rapport with the person you’re calling right away.
You’re giving them an opportunity to help, and people like to help others in need. So, there’s a bit of intrigue, a promise of a straightforward reason for the call to come, and you’re straight-up asking them for help.
Before we continue, I want to hear what you have to say regarding cold call opening lines.
I’m sure many of you have already been on the receiving end of cold calls in the past. What are some of the best and worst opening lines you’ve heard that have either captured your imagination or left you shaking your head.
So head down to the comments and let us know! And don’t forget to hit that like button if you’re finding this information useful.
Anyway, now on to the next line, which is another one of those directly honest ones.
“We’ve never spoken before.”
Weird line, right?
It almost seems like one that’s destined to receive a lot of hang-ups right from the get-go. But its logic makes a lot of sense. But I think it’s important to drive home that honesty angle. As you can see in this list, honesty is super important to those you’re calling.
According to some studies, 90% of people that picked up the phone were open to a conversation after that line. And it goes back to the ol’ honest Abe style of salesmanship.
You want to build trust with your clients. They get a lot of calls, and the last thing you want to do is start off on the wrong foot with an easily disproved fib.
So build that trust and build it early.
Plus, this line gets straight to the point, and you can hop straight from there into a request to tell them what you’re calling for. Or maybe a request for help.
“Hi there, we’ve never spoken before, but I was wondering if you can take a moment to help me out.”
Boom. Intrigue built, trust laid out. Now you just need to hop in with your quick pitch.
Finally, we have our final and perhaps most simple opening — and it’s actually a bit controversial.
“How have you been?”, “How are you?” (or something to that effect)
The logic behind the line makes sense. It’s a way for you to start feeling like a friend.
On a more cynical level, it’s also a question that begs an answer. They can either confirm or ask you who you are.
Either way, they’ve set you up to continue your pitch.
Now, understandably, some aren’t too hot on this line. It does feel like you’re tricking your caller into thinking you know who they are. But there is no denying the effectiveness of the line.
At the end of the day, the goal of an opening line is to open a dialogue between you and the potential client. This line, while simple, has proven itself to be quite the cold call opening contender. And, in many cases, you can even follow up this line with some of the previously-mentioned lines for a nice one-two punch.
So there you have it. Five great, proven opening lines for cold calls.
Take these and insert them into your cold calling script and give them a shot.
And if you don’t have a cold calling script, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered there too. If you click the link in the description below, you’ll find a link that will lead you to a cold call script builder.
We understand that every business is different, and no matter how great, every person’s approach will be that much different. So rather than give you a template, we created a way for you to build your own! So claim your cold call template by clicking the link in the description below!
Hey I hope you got something out of this video. And if you did, go ahead and give it a thumbs up and maybe a share so that others can see it too. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell so that you’re notified whenever we post new videos and while you’re at it, check out these videos too!
We’ll see you next time around!