I like this guy’s thought process, but I hate his general vibe. Luckily, we can get the best of both worlds (also luckily, Nick Cegelski is a much better boss and has never told me “third prize is you’re fired.”)
Some people say not to ask for permission on your cold calls.
They say it makes you sound weak and opens the door to rejection.
But buddy, let me tell you: in sales, the door to rejection is always open.
So I ask for permission twice on every cold call…and it works great.
That’s just one part of a winning cold call, here’s the exact step-by-step framework I used to book a meeting on 1 in every 5 conversations last year:
(1) Opener: Name a Relevant Business Signal
(2) Ask Permission to Discuss
(3) Hypothesize a Specific Problem
(4) Ask Permission to pitch
(5) Go in for the Kill Meeting
Or…if you’d rather see it in action: check out a real cold call I made in a 92-degree room as I went head-to-head with Nick Cegelski, Armand Farrokh, and Jason Bay to see who could book more meetings.
(1) Opener: Name a Relevant Business Signal
The first thing out of my mouth on any cold call is the relevant signal that prompted me to reach out:
"Hey Tina, saw you signed up for our cold email webinar last Thursday. This is Alex from 30 Minutes to President's Club. Is that name ringing a bell?
“Hey, this is Alex Murphy, how you doing today?” feels easier.
But we know from 300M cold calls analyzed in Cold Calling Sucks (and that’s why it works) that starting with a specific, relevant signal is far more effective.
That’s because most people answer the phone ready to hang up. I have about 3 seconds to get their interest, and the best way to do that is to talk about THEM and then ask a QUESTION.
(2) Ask Permission to Discuss
Whether they’ve heard of us or not, I have no interest in backing someone into a corner and rolling right into a pitch.
So I ask this:
“Well listen, I know I’m catching you in the middle of your morning. Do you have like 30 seconds for me to tell you why I wanted to reach out to you?”
Sure, some will opt out here, but for the ones that don’t, you’ll create the little bit of trust necessary to earn more time and set you up a much stronger conversation.
(3) Hypothesize a Specific Problem
Nobody wants to hear about my company. They DO tend to want to hear solutions to real problems they’ve having:
“I know you’re leading an SDR team, and right now we’re hearing a lot that outbound in 2026 is like running with a weighted vest. It just feels so much harder than even a couple years ago.
Typically, leaders who sign up for these webinars are looking for ways to help their reps figure out how to keep hitting their numbers.”
Notice that I named something very specific that might apply to them.
Bonus points if you can spice up your sentences with analogies like “running with a weighted vest.”, it keeps people engaged.
(4) Ask Permission to Pitch
Now that I've validated a specific problem, I will ask whether my hypothesis is correct, and ask permission to pitch a solution:
"I had a couple ideas for how we might be able to help you with that, but is that something you’re dealing with right now?”
Pitching into a void is a great way to not book meetings; I want to know that we’re talking about the right thing.
This also invites my prospect to open up about their business, so I can make sure my pitch is on-target.
(5) Go in for the Kill Meeting
Now I’m going to very briefly describe my solution and then explicitly ask for a meeting:
“Our cold email webinars are great, but even if you send them to your team, it’s really hard to actually help everyone implement them.
We’ve got some outbound selling courses that are more in-depth and our team will help you make sure everyone of your reps can apply them to your sale.
If you’re up for hearing how we might be able to help, I’d be grateful for a few minutes to walk through it with you.”
I have earned this person’s attention and interest, now I need to get a decision and some action: specifically, will they agree to talk about this in more depth?
Notice here that I’m not trying to sell anything yet, I’m only giving enough information to make it clear that a longer chat might be worth their time.
It’s a light touch, which makes it a much easier “yes” and proves I’m not going to waste their time if they do agree to meet.
Close
The point of a cold call isn’t just to book meetings. My goal is to start a business relationship founded on trust.
Sure, maybe asking for permission twice means that I get shut down more. But I know I’m setting myself up for more, bigger wins down the road.
