After his opening, he heard... nothing but breathing.

Then a click.

The sales rep sat there, staring at his phone, trying to figure out what went wrong.

I knew immediately.

You will too after you read what he opened with:

Seriously?

That is awful.

And here's why:

First — "You don't know me and this is a cold call."
This triggers instant threat detection. The brain hears “cold call” and immediately shifts into defensive mode.
You've essentially announced, “Prepare to protect your time.”
You’ve labeled yourself as a stranger with an agenda, which destroys any chance of a normal human conversation from the very first second.

Once a prospect’s defense wall goes up, nothing else you say gets through.

Second — "Don't hate me…"
This is insecurity disguised as humor.
It forces the prospect to evaluate you negatively before you've said anything meaningful.
It puts an emotional burden on them to reassure you—which they won’t.
Self-deprecation is not an opening strategy; it’s a credibility killer.

If you sound uncomfortable, the prospect becomes uncomfortable too.

Third — "If you give me 15 seconds…"
You've now asked for the one thing prospects guard the most: their time.
And you asked before giving them a single reason to care.

It’s like walking up to a stranger and saying, “Hey, can I borrow your car keys real quick?”

Their instinct is always to protect, not cooperate.

Permission-based openings fail for this exact reason: they focus on the salesperson’s needs, not the prospect’s relevance filters.

Fourth — "Then you can decide if you want to roll the dice…"
This creates uncertainty and risk—the opposite of what we want in the first few seconds.
Prospects don’t want to “roll the dice.” They want clarity and relevance.

This line signals, “This might not be worth your time.”
And then you gave them the idea of hanging up—before they even had it themselves.

And finally — the entire opening is about HIM, not the prospect.
His fear.
His need for validation.
His need for permission.
His quota.

There’s nothing that signals relevance, insight, or value.
No reason for the prospect to lean in.
No indication he did even a minute of preparation.
No others-focus of any kind.

The entire opening says:

Would YOU stay on the line after hearing that?

Of course not.

Because openings like this don’t fail due to lack of talent.

They fail because they activate every resistance trigger the brain has.

And that type of opening, and others like it,  is one of the main reasons I’m reintroducing this newsletter with the goal of helping as many sales pros as possible avoid resistance and create interest. 

So in this inaugural issue, we’ll tackle the right way to create and deliver great, interest-piquing openings and voice mails. 

We’ll do that in the Big Lesson below (which will be a recurring feature each week.)

Let’s get to work!

If the opening you saw above is what not to do, here’s the version that actually works — the Smart Call Opening Statement.

This is the framework I’ve taught hundreds of thousands of salespeople. And when you do it right, the first 20 seconds of your call become the easiest part — not the scariest.

Let’s walk through it.

A great opening has four components — simple, natural, conversational, and designed to create curiosity instead of resistance.

Keep it clean. Keep it human.

“Hi Sarah, I’m Art Sobczak with Smart Calling.”

Nothing more.
Nothing less.

Not your life story.
Not a pitch.

Just a normal introduction the way real people talk.

This is the game-changer.

It proves you’re not a random, smiling-and-dialing stranger.
It signals relevance.
It shows preparation.
It gets the prospect thinking:

“Okay… this might actually matter to me.”

Examples:

This ONE step is what separates Smart Calls from cold calls.

This is where you connect your intel to a likely situation, challenge, or outcome.

IMPORTANT: You're not pitching.
You're not solution-dumping.

You're hypothesizing with confidence.

Three easy PVP styles:

“We work with VPs of Sales who want new reps generating pipeline in their first 30 days.”

“What we're hearing from software sales teams right now is trouble getting live connects.”

“A challenge companies face after adding new product lines is longer ramp time for reps.”

Whichever you choose, keep it:

No vague claims.
No “best-in-class.”
No features.

Just clarity and value.

This is what keeps the call alive.

It moves you naturally into discovery without sounding needy or begging for time.

Two options:

“I’d like to ask you a couple of questions to see if this is relevant.” Or, “…to see if it would be worth talking further.”

“Curious — how are you handling this now?”

This is where the prospect leans in instead of leaning out.

Short. Simple. Human.

Here’s a complete example:

“Hi _______, Art Sobczak here.
I understand your Account Management team has a pretty ambitious new business quota this year — and that there’s been some hesitancy around prospecting since it hasn’t really been part of their role before.
We’ve helped similar teams get comfortable with a proven process and conversational messaging that reps feel good about — and that helps them start producing new meetings quickly.
Curious — what plans do you have to help them buy into making those calls and doing it with confidence?”

See the flow?

This is the opposite of the “don’t hate me, this is a cold call” status-lowering, resistance-inducing nonsense that gets clicks instead of conversations.

And by the way… how did I know about their new quota and the hesitancy?

Simple: Smart Calling Social Engineering…calling in and talking to a sales rep in the department.

Pros don’t guess.

Pros get the intel and use it responsibly.

Take 90 seconds and build your own Smart Call opener right now using this simple template:

1. Introduction:
“Hi ___, I’m ___ with ___.”

2. Connection / Intel:
“I noticed / saw / read that…”

3. PVP:
“We work with… who…”
“What we’re hearing from people in your role is…”
“A challenge we often see is…”

4. Bridge to Questions:
“I’d like to ask a couple of questions to see if this might be relevant.”
or
“Curious — how are you handling that now?”

A rotating recurring feature will be timeless tips from my archives that are as relevant today as they were when I originally shared them.

From March, 2009 (Originally written during the Great Recession. The principle is timeless.)

A local radio commercial for a car dealership had a crazy pitch: Don't get one Kia—buy two!

At first, I thought they'd lost their minds. Then it clicked. You could own two Kias for the price of one luxury car. In the middle of a recession, when everyone else was apologizing for selling anything, they doubled down.

Brilliant.

This is a perfect time to be a contrarian.

If you're doing the same thing as everyone else, you'll likely get the same poor results as most people. But if you're willing to be different—maybe even a bit over the top—you'll see and seize opportunities others miss while they're in reactive mode.

Marketing guru Dan Kennedy has a principle I've always loved: "Observe what everyone else is doing, and do the opposite."

So here's the question: What are you doing right now that's exactly what everyone else in your industry is doing?

Same prospects? Same messaging? Same approach?

What if you went after business you previously thought was unattainable?

What if you reached prospects through channels you've never considered?

What if you opened your calls in a way that's the complete opposite of what your competitors are saying?

The possibilities are limited only by your thinking. And right now, most of your competition isn't thinking—they're copying.

Be the contrarian.

_________________

And here’s what strikes me reading this again all these years later:

This is Ultimate Sales Pro thinking.

It’s the mindset of someone who doesn’t wait for the market, the economy, or their company to hand them opportunities.

They create them. They question assumptions. They think bigger. They choose to operate from possibility, not limitation.

That’s identity work.

Because amateurs look at their territory and say, “This is all there is.”

Professionals look at the same territory and say, “What else is possible?”

When you train your brain to think this way — contrarian, expansive, creative — you don’t just find more opportunities…

… you become the kind of person who consistently sees and capitalizes on them.

That’s the Ultimate Sales Professional identity in action.

So ask yourself: What opportunity are you missing right now because you're operating from limitation instead of possibility?

For over 30 years, one of the most popular sections of my paid subscription newsleltter was the back page TeleTips. Brief, instantly-usable how’to’s. These ywill be a regular, weekly feature of this newsletter.

Most reps ask prospects to invent problems on the spot:

That question forces them to think too hard — and they won’t.

When they say, “We’re all set” or “We’re happy with our current supplier,” shift them into experience mode with:

“Sure. When you have run into challenges with ___ in the past, what did those look like?”

(Insert a likely pain point: accuracy, integration, backorders, ramp time, etc.)

Why it works:
You’re tapping into their memory, not their imagination.
Memory recalls honesty.
Honesty drives real conversations.

If a prospect says, “We’re comparing you to a cheaper solution,” don’t defend your price — reframe their decision.

Use:

“Understood. What long-term costs have you factored in with the lower-priced option?”

Then zip it.

They’ll begin considering:

You’re not arguing price.
You’re expanding their thinking — and elevating the conversation.

Stop emailing decks and PDFs to anyone with a pulse.

First ask:

“Would it be worth it for me to email you a quick overview — just in case things change on your end?”

If they say yes, follow with:

“Great. Just so I’m sending the right thing… what would have to change internally for this to become relevant?”

That one question reveals:

The deck won’t qualify them . Your question will.

Coming Next Week: Bad Online Advice,

Okay, that’s it for the inaugural issue of the return of the Smart Calling Report.

I’d love to hear from you — reply and let me know what you liked, what you’d love to see in future issues, or your favorite barbecue recipe 🤣. I read every email.

Also, to ensure you keep getting this each week, please take 10 seconds to whitelist
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And hey, one more thing (yes, I know, I’m sounding needy here)...

If you know a friend or colleague who would benefit from the Smart Calling approach, do them a favor and forward this email. They can subscribe at SmartCallingReport.com.

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Go make it your best week ever!