3 words to avoid when cold-calling a new prospect

When cold-calling a new prospect on the phone, NEVER start the conversation by asking, “How are you?”

You’re probably thinking, “How are you?” is an icebreaker, just a friendly way to start a conversation. Unfortunately, that question just pushes the prospect away. They do not know you and therefore, have no reason to trust you. To the prospect, it feels artificial, a contrived question to get their guard down.

This advice does not hold true when you are calling an established customer. In those instances, it is perfectly appropriate to ask your customer how they are doing in order to catch up on anything that has happened (personal or professional) since your last conversation.