Cold calling is not outdated. Despite what other marketers say, cold calling is still one of the top lead generation strategies to reach and engage potential customers. It is also the most dreaded by a lot of salespeople.

It’s not surprising!

Imagine talking to people you don’t know for the first time without telling them first that you’re going to call. The fear further intensifies if you know you’re going to call the top guns! So you brace yourself for shame and rejection.

But don’t you know that by thinking like that, you have positioned yourself ahead of time for failure. Why suffer the same fate most salespeople have when they call those in the C-suite?

You can change that and head for success instead with these following strategies!

Talk plainly

They’re CEOs and executives all right, but that doesn’t mean you will fill them with mindless jargons and technical stuff. They want to hear what you can do for them in understandable terms. Why does your product/service matter? Why would they be interested?

The following resource helps you leverage telemarketing in your ABM efforts by providing you with a practical reference guide on how to engage key prospects with the right messaging tailored to each contact’s role.

Get your FREE ABM Telemarketing Scripts for Cold-calling Key Prospects.

Be direct to the point

CEOs, managers, and other C-suite people are busy. They handle a lot of people as well, so they don’t have time for small talk. Tell them the reason why you call immediately – are you organizing an invitation-only event? Have you done some research that might resolve an issue their company is struggling with?

Whatever your reason is, be direct to the point after a few seconds into the call. Then, you don’t waste their time and yours.

Show immediate value

Right after you make your point, tell them why your product/service matters and its relevance to their company. You will know if you get their attention if they ask follow-up questions to clarify things. Once that happens, you can be the “expert” who gives them valuable insight and advice that they can apply immediately.

Make sure you research the company and the person you are calling. Those will give you an idea of what to present and how to present your offer.

This infographic goes over the 3 C’s of selling to the C-suite to help you start closing larger and more profitable deals.

Create a balanced conversation

C-suite people reached the top because they are a valuable asset to the company. In the same way, people who can add value to their organization is worth their time. Value attracts value – that’s how the law of attraction works.

If you can also offer something valuable to them, the conversation will easily turn into a two-way communication instead of you rambling your usual spiel as the client listens uninterested.

Make the offer open-ended

Even if you have captured their attention and showed how your product/service could help them, don’t be too eager or too insistent in closing the deal. These people are the ones who control what’s going on in their organization. Therefore, you have to make them feel that they are in control of the decision as well.

Make the offer open-ended and ask whether they want to schedule another time to get more in-depth information. By making an open-ended offer, you cease to become a salesperson but an expert they are willing to listen to or negotiate with.

Never assume that because they asked you interesting questions, they are ready to decide right there and then to make the purchase.

Be professional

Once they agreed and scheduled another meeting with you, confirm the time and date before you hang up and say goodbye. It also helps if you go over the points you discussed and ask them whether there’s still anything they forgot to mention in the conversation. Lastly, thank them for giving you their time.

C-level prospects will also appreciate if you extend an invitation to call you anytime if they have any questions or mention the next step you will make/do.

How long does all of these take? You’ll be surprised that they would have taken place a little between five minutes and less. Is there any amount of selling that happened? NONE. But you were able to catch their attention and have a conversation with them.



