Cold calling might be the most dreaded activity in sales, especially during a slow season. As someone who‘s trained countless sales professionals at HubSpot, Stage 2 Capital, and Harvard Business School, I can tell you it’s also one of the most misunderstood.

I run an exercise in some of my HBS classes. We have students make real cold calls selling $20 pizzas to local businesses. I’d say out of 1,000-or-so calls, students generally manage to sell five or six pizzas. The success rate is pretty brutal, but the learning experience is invaluable.

I recently demonstrated this approach on The Science of Scaling YouTube channel with Matthew Brown, who bravely stepped into the role of a novice salesperson. Here’s a look at how that went.

Table of Contents

• Why Cold Calling Is So Challenging
• The Cold Call Framework That Actually Works
• The Three Critical Elements of Successful Cold Calling

Why Cold Calling Is So Challenging

There’s a reason that cold calling is often viewed as one of the most — if not the most — frustrating activities in sales. If you‘re good at it, you’ll still get hung up on 80-90% of the time, and even the best SDRs tend to only book one meeting a day. That’s why many salespeople would prefer to avoid it altogether. But mastering cold calling is possible with the right technique, mindset, and practice.

For this exercise, I played the role of a busy chiropractor‘s office manager. Matthew’s first attempt to sell me a pizza fell flat. He got flustered after the first objection and didn’t know how to proceed. This is the reality most salespeople face when cold calling.

After watching Matthew‘s initial struggle, we broke down a framework that transformed his approach. Here’s how that went.

The Cold Call Framework That Actually Works

After years of studying and teaching cold calling techniques, I‘ve found Sam Nelson’s approach to be the most effective. It’s built on simplicity and repetition, allowing your mental energy to focus where it matters most. Let me break down each component:

1. Open with “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

This question only has two possible answers (yes or no), and your response remains identical either way: “I’ll be brief.” If they say it‘s a bad time, you acknowledge but promise brevity — if they say it’s fine, you‘ve created a small commitment to listen.

Either way, you’ve established a foothold in the conversation that buys you precious seconds to deliver your message.

2. Deliver a tight elevator pitch.

Your elevator pitch should follow a simple formula: “We provide X to Y leaders that improve Z by [specific outcome].” It should be concise, value-driven, and tailored to the prospect’s likely pain points.

When Matthew revised his pitch to emphasize how the pizza would save the office time and improve staff morale rather than just describing the product, his effectiveness improved dramatically. Remember, you‘re not trying to close a deal yet — you’re creating just enough interest to continue the conversation.

After delivering your elevator pitch, immediately follow with a direct ask. In our pizza exercise, this was straightforward: “What do you think? $20 for the pizza?” In a B2B setting, you might say, “I’d love to set up an introductory call. How is your schedule?”

3. Handle objections and repeat the ask.

When Matthew first heard objections, he backpedaled and froze. In our revised approach, he acknowledged each objection, provided a counterpoint, and immediately circled back to the ask. The key insight: objections are expected parts of the conversation, not conversation-enders.

When I objected about preferring healthy food, budget concerns, or being too busy, Matthew countered each point and immediately returned to: “I’d still like to send you that pizza today.”

The takeaway? The average successful cold call involves handling three or four objections before booking a meeting.

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The Three Critical Elements of Successful Cold Calling

Beyond the framework, there are three essential elements that separate successful cold callers from the rest:

1. Embrace scripts (even if you hate them).

I‘m not typically a fan of scripts, but cold calling is an exception. This is a game of seconds where every word counts. A good script isn’t about sounding robotic — it‘s about freeing your mental bandwidth to focus on what matters: listening and responding.

Matthew noted this was transformative. He said, “I don’t have to think or feel nervous about how I‘m hearing this person’s voice for the first time.”

2. Master the objection flywheel.

Objections aren‘t roadblocks — they’re expected parts of the conversation. Effective cold callers enter a continuous flywheel: deliver pitch, make ask, hear objection, handle objection, make ask again.

The key is persistence. Don’t let objections throw you off your game. Always circle back to your ask, and never exit the flywheel until the prospect either agrees or hangs up.

3. Adopt an authentic tone.

Counterintuitively, sounding like a polished salesperson hurts your chances. I advise reps to “channel being a skinny 14-year-old kid.” People feel bad hanging up on someone who sounds slightly nervous or authentic.

Sound like a regular person having a conversation. Your authenticity will make prospects more receptive.

The mindset shift: You’re not there to make friends.

One of the biggest barriers to successful cold calling is the “need for approval.” Many salespeople prioritize being liked over making the sale. After our exercise, Matthew had an epiphany: “You’re not there for a relationship … You’re there to solve a problem for them.”

I often compare salespeople to doctors. When a doctor diagnoses a health issue, they tell you what you need to hear because they believe in their ability to help. Similarly, if you truly believe in your product, persistence isn‘t pushy — it’s necessary to deliver value to people who need it.

Cold calling may never be easy, but it can become a powerful tool in your sales arsenal when approached with the right technique, mindset, and expectations. Just as Matthew progressed from completely freezing up to successfully closing a sale in our session, you too can develop this critical skill through structured practice and the right framework.