The Cold Calling Framework that Earned Charlotte Lloyd $1.5M in Outbound Sales

Don’t believe the “cold calling is dead” hype.

Picking up the phone and dialing is one of the fastest ways to book a meeting.

I discovered a framework that resulted in $1.5M in closed-won when I transitioned to SaaS from a career of selling to governments and revisited my cold-calling style, 

Here are the steps I now take for every cold call, from gaining consent to pushing toward the close.

The 5 C’s of cold calling

#1: Consent

Forget that the cold call is some kind of “power transfer”. It isn't.

A cold call by default is an interruption of someone's day, so why not be polite about it?

One of my favorite ways to gain consent is by asking:

“Hi {{first name}}, I know you're not expecting my call. Mind if I take a few moments to tell you why I am calling? Promise I'll be brief."

I’ve found that this permission-based opener works 99 times out of 100. It shows the prospect, right out of the gate, that you recognize their time is a gift and will continue to respect it.

#2: Challenge

Next, identify and address the prospects’ pain points. 

If you’ve been in sales for longer than a day, you have your own strategies for this—but one way I’ve found particular success is by framing their pains by challenging the status quo and their preexisting ideas.

Ask a specific, data-based question about a problem you know they have.

“Curious, when I speak to VPs of marketing like you, they're overpaying by up to 31% for their outsourced lead gen. What is your take on outsourcing versus doing in-house?”

It’s a sneaky way to present the inadequacies in their current solutions,  pique their interest, and create a need for the solutions you're offering. You can also try something like:

“According to Marketing Week, 72% of outsourced marketing campaigns don't generate enough leads for the sales teams to close—curious, what percentage of your marketing campaigns bring sales-qualified opportunities?”

If they recognize it is a problem, then move to “convey”.

#3: Convey

Once the challenge is acknowledged, present your solution with a value drop.

This is the short and sweet “pitch” of the cold call. Here are some of my favorite examples:

“{{First name}}, we help {{your competitor}} avoid this problem by helping them achieve X business outcome which solves {{impact of pain}}.”

“{{First name}}, we help {{your competitor}} avoid wasting 72% of their outsourced marketing spend which leads to an approx 25% increase in MQLs converting to SQLs…”

Remember, this is a cold call. The goal of this interaction isn’t to close the deal—it’s to book a meeting or demo or other follow-up action item.

So don’t get focused on the sale, focus on the next steps. 

If there is genuine interest, move to “close” that next step. If you’re met with objections, you’ll need to know how to effectively counter.

#4: Counter

I have a few key strategies for responding to a prospect's disinterest.

More often than not, a prospect who wants to dodge you will say one of three things:

• I’m all set 
• I’m happy with my current supplier 
• I’m not interested

Each of these requires a different response to get the outcome you need:

• If they say “all set”, you can say: “Sounds like you solved this problem, mind telling me what your secret sauce is?”
• If they say “I’m happy with my current supplier”, you can say: “Great! It seems like it's going well. What do you love about them/what would make you consider an alternative?”
• If they simply say “not interested”, you can say: “Most aren't when I call, and it seems like you don't have this challenge. How did you prevent/solve it?"

#5: Close

My mentality around the “cold call close” has always been that I’m creating a long-term relationship, not just booking a meeting or making a sale.

I learned the most successful cold callers give prospects a compelling reason to consider their offering, along with clear next steps and a glimpse into what a potential deal might hold for them.

You can give them all of these things in two quick sentences:

“Would it make sense to take a look at this tomorrow or later this week? You will know in the first 15 minutes if this is relevant or not.”

This line is also great because, again, it shows the prospect that you’re honoring their time and willing to work around their schedule.

Common cold-calling questions answered

Through my sales training business, I’ve seen firsthand all of the obstacles sellers face when they go outbound.

Here are my best tips on some of the most commonly asked cold-calling questions.

What’s the ideal time to make a cold call?

Personal opinion - it's always an ideal time! I like to block 60-90 minutes off in the AM and another one in the PM to hit everyone on my lists. (As long as the time is appropriate, try calling outside of normal business hours. It can get you better responses.)

Should I follow up after a cold call? If so, how?

Always! And always leave a voicemail if there’s no pickup. Direct the prospect to the email that you’ve sent or mention the one you will be sending.

I’ve found that “Just called you” in the email subject line or a LinkedIn voice note works wonderfully for follow-ups.

What tools or technology can enhance cold outbound?

This is what I’ve found to be must-haves for my cold outbound tech stack:

• A sequencer for your outbound cadence
• An auto or parallel dialer if you are making more than 50 calls a day
• A sales engagement and data tool like Apollo
• An AI email writer like Lavender

What metrics are the most important to track when analyzing your cold calls?

To improve your cold calling (and any sales process for that matter), you need to vigilantly track the data. Look for patterns across:

• Calls to connect 
• Connects to meetings 
• No shows for the meeting booked 

How do I overcome rejection in cold calling?

Do it more and do it often! It’s the only way to get comfortable with rejection.

With the right approach of precision and empathy, cold calling can be transformed into a warm, engaging, and revenue-generating activity. 

And it all starts with not giving up on cold calling as part of your sales process.

Give this framework a try today. (P.S. it works!)