How to Avoid the Instant Hang Up on Cold Calls (Ask Jeb)

0:00Chicago talks a lot. Hold on, let me step over here. People are talking too much. We debate about food, deep dish, tavern style, who's got the best beef. We yell across rooms, across blocks, across generations. Yes, nice earrings, Grammy. And now we're doing it on our phones, too. Video calls from the L train, group chats that never shut up. Neighbors texting you the score before your TV catches up. Come on! Get a load of this guy. Catch up on a dog. Yeah, we've got thoughts. Too loud? In Chicago, you're gonna hear it. Because nothing here gets built without conversation. Nothing moves without connection.

0:37So if you think you know AT &T, it might be time to rethink that. Because their network has improved, like, a lot. So Chicago can keep speaking its mind with AT &T Wireless and AT &T Fiber. Chicago won't stop talking. Our improved network backs it up. AT &T, connecting changes everything. AT &T Fiber, limited availability in select areas.

1:01This is the Sales Gravy Podcast. Hi, I'm Jeb Blunt, bestselling author, fanatical prospecting, objections, sales EQ, and inked. And I'm here to help you open more doors, close bigger deals, and rock your commission check. All right, next up on the show is Cindy Greichen from Germany, by way of Mexico, and now in Toronto, Canada. All right, Cindy, welcome to the show. Jeb, I'm so excited to be here, And thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you. I've read your books and I'm so happy. Thank you. Well, thank you so much. And for everybody who's listening, if you can hear my voice is a little bit shot.

1:39I've been under the weather. Tell me what your questions are. What you got going on? So I am a business development manager in logistics. I work for Global Freight for Water. So the customer base is all B2B. In your podcast, you often mention that you book appointments on around 40 % of your cold calls, which I think is incredible. I don't have that same rate. How do you get to those conversations and conversions? What's the biggest difference? I try to use your framework, the bridge, the because statement, but it just don't get there. That's a great question. So let's talk through this. So first, the 40 % seems a little high.

2:16Maybe as I talk to people on about 40 % of my calls. For me, if I do like 25 outbound calls, I'll typically set one appointment. So usually one out of 25, one out of 30 is appointments. But I talked to lots of people. I was with a client two weeks ago who on their calls, they do set appointments about 40 % of the time. It's at the same industry that you're in, but a different application. It depends on who you're calling. So what role you're calling. So for example, let's say you're calling CIOs and you're calling about software. Your conversion rate there's going to be much lower. You might make 50 outbound cold calls in order to set one appointment.

2:52That's not taking all the conversations in between. In my world, typically if I make 25 calls, I'm going to talk to anywhere from five to 10 of those people and I'm going to set one appointment. That holds up pretty well in my particular space. Now you're in freight forwarding and you are in a very, very competitive space. When your folks are calling in, is the intention to set an appointment or is the intention to move directly into a sales conversation? The intention is to get an appointment for a discovery call. What is your conversion percentage now? I think it's a very low conversion rate, to be honest.

3:25I think it's maybe one out of 50, to be honest. So if you made 50 calls, how many people would you talk to? I would say 10 out of 50. Okay, so you're making 10 out of 50, so about 20 % of the calls you're talking to someone, 10 % conversion rate on your conversation. And I would say that my conversion rate on conversations is probably 20 to 30%. So if we were to look at that just purely on conversion rates. And it's, again, application. So in a highly competitive world that you're in, you get them on the phone and you've got to give them a reason to meet with you. And if that reason isn't good enough, they're going to move on because you are the hundredth freight forwarder who has called their office that day.

4:04Yes? Exactly. And that's what I get to, right? I barely say my name and who I'm from. They just hang up. Right. That's it. Well, that's different, right? People just hanging up on you is a no. There's nothing you can do about that, okay? So let's just do that real quickly. Give me the front of your call. So if you ring, ring, call me up. Ring, ring. Hi, this is Jeb Blunt at Jeb Blunt Transportation. Hi, this is Cindy from Kentetsu. We are a global freight forwarder, and then I get already hung up. So as soon as you say freight forwarder, you're getting hung up on. Yes, or just say the name and they ask, are you a freight forwarder?

4:35Well, yes, they just hang up, right? Why do you think they do that? I think it's what you said. They get 150 calls and everybody wants the same. There's nothing really that I can say in the first four words that make a difference compared to the other 150 competitors, right? I think you can get further in, but I think if freight forwarder is the trigger that causes people to hang up on you, quit saying freight forwarder. Let's say I said, hi, Cindy, this is Jeb Blunt. I'm from TCI. The reason I'm calling is to grab a few minutes of your time because, right, if I run that play, you're not going to hang up on me in the middle of that because you're not going to have a chance because I'm just going, you know, Hi, Cindy, this is Jeff Blaner from TCI.

5:13The reason I'm calling is, grab a few minutes of your time, because at the end of my because statement, they might go, do you do freight forwarding? And you go, yeah, and they click, they hang the phone up, right? But getting hung up that early in the call doesn't even give you a chance to give them a relevant reason why they should pay attention. So I just say my company name and that's it. And then I go with my because statement. Yeah, go around your because statement. Because we'll cover it in the because statement. Like you say, I'm a global freight forwarder. At that point, it might make sense.

5:39It might not make sense, but I would probably do an A-B test. You're making tons of calls. So just do one where you don't say freight forward and do another one where you do and see what happens. The hangups are tough because the only thing you can do for the hangup is just call back and say, oops, I think we got hung up on. Going into a follow-up call, I want every important note right at my fingertips, not buried somewhere in a scribbled stack of notes. And with Plod Notepin S, I always have them because it's a wearable, portable note taker that lets me stay present and focused on customers during every single meeting.

6:11Plod captures the conversation and turns it into organized summaries and action items so I can follow up faster. And if I need a specific detail, Plod's recall has that ready for me. And that's why Jeb Sr. and I and all of Sales Gravy trusts our Plod Notepin S. Try Plod and stay focused on the conversation while it handles all of your notes. Go to plod.ai forward slash Jeb. That's plod.ai forward slash jeb and use code JEB to get 10 % off your purchase. But let's say we get it all the way through there. What's your because statement? Why should they meet with you? I usually research the leads that I'm calling.

6:45And since I'm focusing on European imports and exports, I know, for example, that that company I'm calling is sourcing from Germany, right? And then I would say, given the current market challenges we have from the Netherlands, we have helped our customers to navigate those issues. And would you be interested in setting up an appointment to discuss if we can also support you with your supply chain challenges from Europe? Let's see, you're primarily calling Europe and you're primarily calling companies that are transporting goods from Europe to Canada. Yes, but I call Canadian companies that import from Europe or export to Europe.

7:20And that's what you specialize in? Yes, that's my expertise. Good. I want you to hold on to that, right? This is what I specialize in. This is my expertise. Because that changes the shape. You are an expert in moving products from Europe into Canada and from Canada into Europe. Totally different animal here. What are the problems that people are facing? Like, what's the challenges? Well, they have disruption because of strikes and because of congestions. And the main issue, to be honest, aside from those external factors, are communication with other freight forwards. I think that's our strength.

7:54That's my strength. We have a very clear and very direct communication. So if there are any issues, we would proactively go and say, this is the issue, but that's the solution. If we have issues, we're going to call you. So imagine that on a prospecting call. You're telling me from the front that there's going to be issues. You're just trying to get an appointment. We're not trying to sell them anything. We're trying to get an appointment, right? The only one to sell is time. So I'd stay away from if you have issues because that's something you're gonna deal with in discovery. Because in the discovery, you'll find out what are some of your current problems?

8:22What are some of the issues that you're facing when you're trying to communicate issues to your current provider? That's not appropriate for a prospecting call. So prospecting call, let's start with, you're an expert, an expert in European transportation of products. What are the problems and challenges uniquely faced by Canadian shippers who are moving product in and out of Europe? It's the rate, it's the transit times, it's congestions, it's space issues, and it's communication. That's what they're missing. But the communication only happens when they've got problems. They had problems, they call you.

8:55But give me a little bit more granular. Tell me something as an expert that you are uniquely equipped to solve and how you solve it. Okay, so one case is usually I work with manufacturers in automotive, right, or machinery. So they really need their products or their materials on time. So their biggest issue is that they're, of course, dependent on the ocean carriers and everything. So what we do, what is very unique, what I can do is say, okay, you need, for example, the product from Poland to Toronto. But the transit time from Poland to Toronto is so long. So I would say, okay, we have here an out-of-the-box idea.

9:29we can truck it with a dedicated truck driver from your facility to the German ports or any other port that's not congested. We use the fastest ocean carrier and then we truck it with direct delivery from Montreal to Toronto. Hi Cindy, this is Jeb from Consessu. The reason that I'm calling is to grab a few minutes of your time because I'm an expert in transporting product, especially machines that are being used in manufacturing like your company works with from Europe into Canadian markets and the other way around. One of the things that people are telling me these days is that there is a lot of uncertainty about when things are gonna ever show up.

10:03And in manufacturing, that just doesn't work. So I've been building out-of-the-box solutions for my clients that are helping them get their machines in to their factories on time, without hassle, and with great communication all the way around. And Cindy, I don't know if what I do would work for you, but I thought it would at least make sense for us to talk about it so I can learn a little bit more about what your situation is and see if what we do would be a fit. I just think a few months of your time to ask a few questions. How about next Thursday at two? Yeah, that sounds very differently. You're right.

10:33It sounds good. How does that sound different than what you're doing? I started with the problem first and you start with the solution first. And it's much more proactive and much more positive in what I do and what I'm expert in. But that's important, right? Because confidence sells. Nothing sells like confidence. You're an expert in this. Like this is what you spend all your life on. I bring down the box solutions in a situation where it's tough. You're an expert in these particular sectors where time matters, right? Timing matters. Having things locked up for months, dealing with international shippers, all of that is a problem.

11:05And we're not going to change that. But what we can change is the way we look at the problem. And that's what I do. Yeah, I liked it. Yes, it's very different. I don't think that in your world that you can expect to get a 40 % conversion rate. but I do think a 20 % conversion rate. So if you talk to 10 people, then you should be able to convert two of those people into appointments. And that's really where you should go and keep track of it. It may be 1.25 or 1.75. It'll change over time. But the key here is this. First, if you sound like every other freight forwarder, you're gonna be treated like every other freight forwarder.

11:38And most freight forwarders are coming on and they're transacting. They're coming in, I'm a freight forwarder, I do this, I do this, they hang up on you because they've had a million conversations with a million freight forwarders And they're basically at this point, if I need a great order, I'll pick up a phone and call one. I don't need you right now. So I'm just going to say the name of my company. The reason I'm calling, the reason I'm calling is to grab a few minutes of your time, because I'm an expert in moving products, especially machines. They have to be on time from Europe into Canadian markets.

12:03And what my clients are telling me is that with all the uncertainty and when things are going to show up, they're having a hard time with their own clients making promises. And in manufacturing, when you need a machine there, it's got to be there. And what I work with my clients on are some really unique out-of-the-box solutions that help us get the machines and the product there on time. And look, I don't know if this would work for you. It doesn't work for everybody. But I thought it at least makes sense for us to sit down so I can learn more about what you're doing in this particular space and to see whether or not I can help you.

12:31How about we get together Thursday or two? Okay. Yeah. I like it. You just practice it a few times. It gets better and better and better. So the key is, right, first of all, don't show up like everybody else. And second, that because statement has to be hyper relevant, because if it's not hyper relevant, they're just going to say, no, they're going to hang up. They're going to move on. If you sound like you're pitching, they're going to move. They're going to be going to go on. If you start with a problem, they already know what the problem is. Right. And just think about this. These days when you have a problem, what do you do?

12:58You go to Dr. ChatGPT and ask for help. So they already know they got the problem. What they need is a guide. And that's you to help them move from the problem to a new solution. Chat TVD can tell them what's wrong, but it can't tell them how to fix it. That's what you do. And then start focusing on, like, I want to convert 10 and then reduce the number of hangups that you get. OK, so the hangups are troublesome. You're going to get them in an industry like yours. And there's a lot of really not so good people working in your industry. Yes. They're here today, gone tomorrow. Like, it's just overall the industry has got a bad reputation with shippers, but they need you.

13:33They can't live without you. They got to have you, but they don't like you very much. They're just getting slammed. But when you stand out with a relevant reason for them to meet with you, people will meet with you. And just always remember this. People meet with you for their reasons, not yours. Never forget that. As long as you remember that, you'll start improving your conversion rates. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's very helpful. Thank you. I haven't thought about that. All right. Next question. So it's a highly competitive market. So I'm trying to optimize the sequence, right? And I was trying drop-ins.

14:02I was also thinking about video messaging, if that makes any sense to somehow stand out or even snail mail. So I'm really trying to do something different. Snail mail really stands out, like handwritten notes really stands out. One of my clients sent me one of the notes that he wrote, a picture of it last week, and I was super impressed because it was just authentic. And he basically said, try this. I've tried this. I've tried this. I've tried this. I'm going to try this now. I do think it's a good sequence. Video prospecting is awesome. It's awesome where you can just send a message. It's always going to go through email or it's going to do direct messaging.

14:35So in your world, you'll either WhatsApp it to someone or you'll LinkedIn app it to someone. Right. So you get on your LinkedIn, you'll send to them that way. But if you're going to go out and do some canvassing where you're going to go knock on doors, which I highly recommend. Like if you can go out and go walk up to your customers buildings. Brilliant. Do it. Have it scheduled every single day. It works. A lot of times when you go, the person you want to meet with isn't there or doesn't want you to know they're there. So stand in front of their building with your phone out in front and shoot a video of you in front of their building with your phone.

15:05And then either WhatsApp the video to them, text the video to them. You can email the video to them. Or if you've got a relationship with them on LinkedIn where you're connected to them, you can put it in a direct message. I mean, I'll do as much as you possibly can. Do it from the office. It's part of a sequence that you put together. It's an intentional piece of that and one of those intentional steps in that sequence. I like that. Okay, I would combine it. Yeah, that's great because I wanted to ask it, what stage would I use video messaging just when nothing else worked or right from the beginning?

15:35I probably wouldn't use it right from the beginning. If I'm starting a sequence in your world, my sequence is going to be phone call, email, go in person. I'm going to hit that like same day or, you know, same week. But if I go in person or not there, I'm going to shoot a video. I'm going to send that over as an email. If you've got some particular insight, you can say, look, you know, one of the things recently is I had a client that was moving a piece of machinery that Siemens built. in Germany and they were moving it to Canada. The shippers in the Netherlands were telling them that they couldn't give them any guarantees.

16:02They didn't know when it was going to show up. They were complaining that it's the Iran war that's calling us all these things. So what we did was we actually dug into the problem and found a way to move the machine from Germany to a port in Belgium. I'm just making this up, okay? And to another shipper that we've got a relationship with and they were able to get it there on time. I don't know if you're running any problems like this, but if you are, give me a call back. Like you could do videos like that where you're teaching them something along the way. I will do that. I really like that. Okay.

16:32Thank you. You got one more question for me. I know the key is discipline and pipeline discipline and prospecting and consistency. But sometimes I think everybody from us needs some extra dose of motivation. So I wanted to ask you if there's any of your podcast episodes that you would recommend for that. There's one that I did a while back. It's a Money Monday. You know, you normally need an extra dose of motivation when things aren't going our way. There's one that I did. I think it's called George Foreman Masterclass on Resilience. There's another one that I did. It's either called Failure is Not Permanent or Failure is Not a Tattoo.

17:06One of my favorite ones is about Scotty Scheffler and about bouncing back. I think it's Scotty Scheffler, Goldfish and bouncing back or what have you. But that bounce back ability, I would highly recommend like you can load those three up. And on days it's not connecting with you, play one of those. I think you'll be OK. Thank you so much. Thank you, Cindy. I appreciate you coming on our show. Thank you again for joining me on the Sales Gravy Podcast.

17:52Built to simplify, designed to scale. This is Amex Corporate. Get started at go.amex.com. Terms apply.