Episode #409: Lisa Schnare
Meet
Lisa Schnare
Lisa Schnare, Managing Partner at ValueSelling Associates, excels in sales development and operations. With a focus on early-stage businesses, she simplifies B2B sales through the ValueSelling Framework®. Founder of IMPULSION Sales Consulting Inc., Lisa aids SaaS and services companies in lead generation. She’s an active mentor in women-focused business communities and co-hosts The B2B Revenue Executive Experience podcast.
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Now, more than ever, there’s an element of authenticity that must be present when you make cold calls. People are beyond frustrated with AI-generated calls. You know the ones—where there’s dead space at the beginning of the call before someone connects.
They have to know that you’re genuinely interested in the result of the call and what they need. Lisa shares how she empathizes, connects, and directs the cold-call conversation in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
Outline of This Episode
- [1:02] What is cold-calling? Is it still relevant?
- [2:32] The art and science of cold-calling
- [5:04] How to prepare for a cold-calling session
- [7:09] Effective opening lines and techniques
- [11:31] How to keep the conversation engaging
- [15:42] Tools, technology, and metrics
- [18:51] Lisa’s top cold-calling dos and don’ts
- [22:01] Empathize, connect, and direct
How to prepare for a cold-calling session
Lisa prefers to stand when she makes phone calls because it energizes her (and allows her to talk with her hands). When she runs her workshops, she has the group pick a song that’s catchy and upbeat to boost their mood. Some people like to drop and do 20 push-ups. Pick the thing that gets you in the right frame of mind.
Lisa always recommends organizing your call list by role and industry. Is it a technical role? Or a marketing role? Specify your research for each role and industry so you sound relevant. It makes it scalable and you’ll be more well-prepared.
Effective opening lines and techniques
Lisa was working through a legal contract when she decided to go on a walk. She got a cold call on her AirPods, which automatically picked up. The caller was bubbly and happy and said “How are you doing?” but Lisa wasn’t in the mood and hung up on her. The woman—who was with the Red Cross—called back a few days later and Lisa made a donation.
But opening lines and techniques are important. You have to think about how you’re calling and the region/country you’re calling. If you’re calling in Manhattan, they’re likely busy people who want you to get to the point. There’s no time for small talk.
In that case, Lisa may say “Hi, I’m from Value Selling, how are you today?” If they respond with, “It’s terrible, why are you calling?” She’ll say, “I’m not going to make your day any worse, I’m calling because we work with people like you to help them do X, Y, Z and they see impact and value like this, this, and this. Is that something you have 5 minutes to talk more about today? Or can we book time on your calendar tomorrow?”
You have to highlight value and impact and build credibility. If you’re calling someone from the deep south, they expect a warm conversation. It’s the same in Canada. Do research into the region and culture.
Write down questions, key words, and phrases to prompt you in the conversation (instead of using a script). Use those things to guide conversations and let your natural curiosity guide you. Practice and roleplay calls so you’re not taken off guard.
How does Lisa keep the conversation engaging? Does she script her calls? She shares her techniques in this episode.
Empathize, connect, and direct
Lisa points out that the only thing you can’t recover from is someone hanging up on you. If someone is still on the phone, you still have the opportunity to ask a question. Objections usually come from two places:
- The desire to get off the phone: They’re in fight or flight mode and what you’ve said doesn’t resonate with them.
- They’re busy and their attention is divided. Can you try and find a better time to call back?
Empathize, connect, and direct. You’re empathizing, “Yes, I’ve heard this before, I understand where you’re coming from. People just like you have told me that. However, we’ve managed to work together by…” then you insert case studies or examples. Amplify the impact. Connect them back to how you’re able to help.
People don’t care who you are or who your company is. They care what you solve. You have to provide value.
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Learn More About Lisa Schnare
What was a pivotal moment or experience in your career that shaped your approach to cold calling, and how did it change your perspective or strategy? I’ve done a lot of cold calling for early stage tech startups where we didn’t yet have many customers, zero brand recognition, and the customers we did have we couldn’t name drop so I got good at telling value stories – the measurable impact we have on customers – rather than relying on case studies or customer names. Punching through the “you’re calling from where??” with a “This is how we help…” became an important part of successful cold calling for me.
Cold calling often comes with its set of challenges and rejections. Can you share a particularly tough challenge you faced while cold calling and how you overcame it? Depending on the region and industry you’re calling into you need to be flexible with your approach. Some people respond best to a “straight to the point” cold call and others prefer a little small talk. Be aware of that and ready to roll with it. Also – do some research. I’ve had multiple prospects say to me “I’ll give you your 5 mins if you can tell me right now what we do here.” Luckily I always had their website open in front of me at the very least so I never failed that test.
What are the top three tools or resources (e.g., software, books, training programs) you consider essential for someone looking to improve their cold calling skills and outcomes? I’m completely biased but ValueSelling and Vortex Prospecting Training are the best there is. I’ve been trained in a lot of different methodologies and it’s the only one that I actually see huge results with – assuming it’s reinforced internally. I also follow a ton of other sales influencers on LinkedIn where they share their advice and top insights…FOR FREE.
How do you foresee the practice of cold calling evolving in the next few years with advancements in technology and changes in buyer behavior? What advice would you give to sales professionals to stay ahead of the curve? Learn about AI tools, embrace them and understand how they can help you to do the least revenue generating tasks – research, data entry, email and call script writing, role playing – so that you have more time to apply your unique, authentic, human skills to the most revenue generating tasks – calling, social engagement, responding, and discovery.
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