Step 8. Sales Prospecting: Cold Calls, Voicemails, Emails

This step is the core of your sales process. When your team gets its cadence in a groove and is saying the right things, writing effective emails, and qualifying Prospects who can close, you're on your way to having a team of sales champions. Sales teams who do not execute this step well will never reach their full potential. It is that important. There are a series of calling scripts, emails, qualifying questions, and objection-handling techniques already in your Sales Playbook, which I hope you downloaded earlier. There's way too much on prospecting to include here. Aside from the scripts, there are 91 qualifying questions and nine "Power Questions" in your Sales Playbook You're going to want to make all of these items your own, based on your product, market, etc. Let me address the debate of which you should do first: Make a cold call or send a cold email. I suggest making an initial cold call before sending an email for the following reason: You may get lucky and get the prospect on the line, thus avoiding the unnecessary task of sending an email. Even if you have to leave them a voicemail, you can let them know an email is coming. This may help keep you out of their spam folder or, at the very least, they will be on the lookout for your email. One note about qualifying prospects that will save you time and money. You're not only qualifying your Prospect in, but you're also qualifying them out. Too many Salespeople chase Prospects who are not your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). This is a huge time-waster and opportunity-lost cost. When your Salespeople are chasing a Prospect that is not in your ICP, they are missing opportunities to find people who do fit your ICP. Unfortunately, these Salespeople confuse activity with productivity. Be on the lookout for that. Prospecting works when it’s simple, consistent, and measured. This video gives you a clear system for cold calls, voicemails, and emails that busy founders and small teams can apply today. You’ll learn the core moves that raise connect and reply rates: tight ICP lists, talk tracks that state pain fast, and a follow-up rhythm that books meetings. I cover when to call, how to leave a voicemail that earns a call back, and short emails that get opened and answered. You’ll see opener lines, objection turns, and next-step asks that keep momentum. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q: Should I call first or send a cold email first? A: Always call first. If you reach the prospect, you've skipped the email entirely. If you get voicemail, you can mention an email is coming — which keeps you out of spam and puts them on the lookout for it. The call-first approach works because it gives you two bites at the apple from one outreach effort. Q: What's the point of qualifying prospects out? A: Most salespeople only think about qualifying prospects in — but qualifying them out is just as valuable. When your team chases prospects who don't fit your ICP, they're burning time that could be spent finding people who do. The mistake founders make is confusing activity with productivity. Fewer, better-fit prospects close faster and waste less of everyone's time. Q: How many qualifying questions do I really need? A: More than most founders think. The Sales Playbook includes 91 qualifying questions plus 9 "Power Questions" — but you don't use all of them in every call. The key is making them your own based on your product, market, and ICP. A tight set of the right questions will tell you quickly whether a prospect is worth pursuing. Q: What makes a prospecting system actually work? A: Three things: simplicity, consistency, and measurement. The most sophisticated calling script in the world fails if your team doesn't use it every day. Build a cadence your team can execute without overthinking it, track the results, and refine from there. Prospecting that isn't measured will drift — and drift kills pipelines. Q: My team is making calls and sending emails but nothing is converting. What's wrong? A: Usually it comes down to one of three things: the ICP list is too broad (chasing the wrong people), the talk track buries the pain point instead of stating it fast, or the follow-up rhythm is inconsistent. 🙋🏽‍♂️ I'm a Fractional Sales VP and INC 500 Winner I organize, optimize, and train your sales team, so you don't have to. My website - https://www.louiebernstein.com ➡️ Schedule a call: https://calendly.com/louiebernstein/30minutes