Cold Calling 101

A quick note before we dive in:

Cold calling is a lottery ticket which keeps on giving (all with ZERO downside.)

Literally ZERO downside.

Now the great news:

99.65% of people are afraid to do this—which means there are more opportunities, more clients, more everything for those willing to take that step outside of their comfort zone.

Honestly, I've created most of my bigger opportunities...by cold calling.

Find an interesting opportunity - give them a call.

Find a very profitable niche SME - give them a call.

Find an interesting person you want to work with - give them a call.

Do you need an investor for your business? Call them.

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Let's say tomorrow is your first day of your cold calling journey.

Before starting the call (based on my own experience):

1. Wireless headset - you must be able to move around to maintain high energy.

2. Have about 40-50 potential people for the day (different databases I’ve used, the ones you can also use are Zoominfo and LinkedIn)

Before we get to the script (btw things that are more important than the script itself).

• Confidence (believe that what you offer is valuable)

• Tonality (business owners like to speak to genuine but direct people)

• Clear communication (speak slowly and have clear delivery)

• ENERGY (Smile and be passionate about what you do - people feel it)

Me: "Hello! This is Mikk from SLAM Group, am I talking to John? Great! The reason I'm calling may be a little unexpected, and I know you have been building this business for a long time, but have you ever thought about bringing in a strategic investor or maybe even selling your business?

John: "Nah, I'm good. I get these calls all the time. I'm not interested."

Me: "So, how did you get into this business if you don't mind me asking?" (ignore that he's not interested and just go for it)

John → Either he opens up here or still gives you the "I'm not interested"

- - - -

Me: "I'm sure you get these calls all the time, but may I ask at least if your kids are taking over the business?" Him: Yes (then okay move on) or No

Me: "Reason I ask is a lot folks like yourself are in the same boat, but what I've found is they at least want someone they're proud of to take over whenever that might be. Hope that makes sense. So, did you start the business?".

See how the conversation goes, but in most cases I'll try to share what I'm doing:

“John, the reason I called you and what many business owners like about us is that we are building a holding company that invests in local companies whose founders have built a great business and may be looking to raise additional capital to invest in future growth, or in some cases they want to sell part of their business… Pause.”

“Do you mind if I send you a very short email about what we are doing?”

Most of them say Yes.

You then send an email and then I usually give them 3-4 business days and then give them a call. And just go from there.

- - - -

One of the biggest lessons after making hundreds of calls:

Use pauses, it's often an unexpected call and you really made them think.

After each question, be silent, and every time he finishes a sentence, be silent as well and count to three in your mind.

They often give you very valuable information about what they think about their company, the overall market, and opportunities. Sometimes even their family.

- - - -

People are programmed to say "I'm not interested", but anytime anyone solicits you, all you want to know is why are they calling and what do they want.

As long as you're:

1) Confident

2) Genuine

3) Clear communication

4) ENERGY!

You'll be better than 99% of folks.

Lastly, I hope you got a lesson or two which you could implement in your own cold calling journey.

Take care,

Mikk aka PrivatEquityGuy

P.S. If you want to look at our deals or check out the investor deck we put together, please send me a message on Twitter and I am happy to send it to you.

Please note that building this HoldCo will be a bumpy road, but building in public, in front of thousands of smart folks—and maybe even attracting experienced professionals to advise myself and our team—we’ll get there!