2 builders who never spoke to each other · contested
Do not make a phone call the ask
Requesting a call is the most common opener and one of the weakest, because it asks a stranger for the most expensive thing they own before you have given them anything. The openers that work hand the recipient something first: a trial, free credits, or a request for their opinion that quietly gets them invested. One dissenting voice closes with a call ask at a specific named time rather than an open invitation.
Where this splits
One author treats a request for a call as the worst possible opener while another closes every follow-up by proposing a specific day and time.
3 claims against 1
Jakob Greenfeld
Give something first, do not request a call
- 01Avoid making a phone call the ask in a cold email even though it is the standard move, because it is the weakest of the available openers.
- 02Do not attempt to close a sale inside a cold message: put something in front of the recipient that leads to a purchase later, such as a trial, free credits, or a usable insight.
Close by proposing one named day and time
End that email by acknowledging their own team may have thought of some of it, then ask for a short call at one named day and time rather than leaving it open.
- 03Open a cold message by asking for feedback or ideas, since giving someone the chance to be helpful gets them looking at your product and quietly invested in it working out.
What it returned
Among the openers he lists, requesting a call is described as the most widely used and arguably the poorest choice.
He treats direct selling by cold message as close to impossible and lists a free trial, free credits and actionable ideas as the openers worth using.
He calls this a trojan horse message and says it works well because most people enjoy being useful, and the act of helping makes them aware of the product and invested in its success.
Sources
- The Ultimate Guide to Building Client Relationships - Double Your FreelancingAustin Church · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Court your clients. · 2016-09-12 · dissenting
- 60-30-10 - the most important cold email framework I ever learned – Jakob GreenfeldJakob Greenfeld · jakobgreenfeld.com · 60-30-10 - the most important cold email framework I ever learned · 2023-02-08
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
More in email
- Move the audience you rent onto a list you own7 unconnected
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- Decide whether cold email is worth what it signals5 unconnected · contested
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- Open the list before the product is real4 unconnected
- Send each subscriber the thing they told you they want4 unconnected