How Do You Make So Many Cold Calls? (Ask Jeb)

Tyler Goss, from Tampa, has two critical sales questions: 1) How do we achieve those “crazy” prospecting numbers I talk about in my books? 2) When should a lead become a pipeline opportunity?

In this podcast, I break down these answers in plain English.

When to Create a Deal: Finding the Sweet Spot

There’s no shortage of opinions on when to create a deal in your CRM. Some sales leaders will tell you to create a deal before you even make the first call (ridiculous). Others won’t let you create one until the contract is practically signed (equally absurd).

Here’s my take: Both extremes are problematic. You need a pipeline that gives you meaningful data. Here’s how we handle this at Sales Gravy:

For Inbound Leads:

We categorize inbound leads into three distinct groups:

1. List Leads
These are people who sign up for our newsletter or download basic resources where we only ask for a name and email address. They’re joining our community, and while some might become customers down the road, they’re not pipeline opportunities yet.

2. MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads)
These folks have given us more detailed information through webinars or content downloads. They’ve provided their phone number, email address, company, role, etc. There’s an implicit understanding that we might reach out, but they haven’t expressed a direct interest in buying. I don’t want these in my pipeline just yet.

3. Hot Leads
These people come to us with their hands up, saying things like: “We’ve got a team of nine and want to do sales training” or “Our SKO is in February, and we want to hire Jeb. How much does he cost?” These leads have an open buying window and go straight into the pipeline. We’ll close 95% of these because they’ve already self-identified as buyers.

For Outbound Prospecting:

When prospecting outbound we only put opportunities into the pipeline after the prospect has agreed to a first-time appointment (FTA).

Here’s why: First-time appointments are your Money Ball metric—they indicate the health of your prospecting efforts. When an FTA is in your pipeline, you can measure critical data points like:

• Show/no-show rates by rep
• Advancement rates from FTA to next stages
• Conversion rates from FTA to closed business

If I have a rep setting tons of FTAs with only a 10% show rate, I need to diagnose that problem. If another rep is advancing 50% of their FTAs to the next stage, that tells me something completely different.

The qualification point is simple: Both parties have agreed to step into the sales process. That’s when it becomes a pipeline opportunity.

Some organizations resist this approach because they only want “fully qualified“ opportunities in their pipeline. I get it, but you’re missing valuable data if you wait too long.

Consider this example: If you work in an industry where everyone’s under contract, and you know contract expiration dates, you might be tempted to automatically add prospects to your pipeline as their contract end dates approach. I wouldn’t do that. Wait until you’ve had a conversation where they agree to meet with you to discuss options. That agreement to step into the process is your trigger.

If you’re putting everything into your pipeline, you’re diluting your data. If you’re waiting until deals are practically closed, why even have a pipeline? The sweet spot is somewhere in between—and for most B2B sales organizations, it’s at the first-time appointment stage.

Maximizing Prospecting Efficiency: How We Make So Many Calls

Tyler also asked about those “crazy” prospecting numbers I mention in my books. How do my teams make hundreds of calls during designated call blocks? The answer boils down to three key principles:

1. Separate List Building from Prospecting

Research and building lists is NOT prospecting. When we’re prospecting, we’re just chopping wood. We have our lists ready in advance, and when it’s time to prospect, that’s all we do.

Too many salespeople mix research and prospecting, which kills efficiency. They take 12 minutes between calls, check email, watch cat videos, and then wonder why they can’t get anything done.

2. Use High-Intensity Prospecting Sprints

In our Fanatical Prospecting Boot Camps, we run high-intensity prospecting sprints. If I give you 15 minutes to make calls with the goal of setting one appointment, most salespeople will make at least 10 calls.

Run four of these sprints, and you’ve made 40 calls minimum. Do that three times, and you’ve made 120 calls in just three hours.

This isn’t theory. We run these events for clients all over the country. Sales teams are consistently stunned by how many calls they can make when properly focused.

3. Create the Right Conditions

The key is setting the right conditions. Use a simple dialer that lets you click and move to the next call quickly. Have your list ready. Eliminate distractions. Focus solely on making calls during your designated block.

The Hard Truth About Prospecting

Most B2B salespeople don’t need to make hundreds of cold calls daily. With one solid hour of focused prospecting every day, most will set all the meetings they need.

But here’s the kicker—almost no one actually does this. They don’t set the conditions for success. They don’t separate list building from calling. They don’t eliminate distractions. They don’t create a cadence.

Everyone is capable of hitting extraordinary prospecting numbers. They just need to decide to do it. Most people don’t make that decision.

Putting It All Together

So, when should you create a deal? When both you and the prospect agree to step into the sales process, which is typically at the first-time appointment stage.

And how do you hit those crazy prospecting numbers? By separating list building from calling, running high-intensity sprints, and creating the right conditions for success.

The beauty of these approaches is that they’re simple. No fancy technology or complex methodologies required. Just disciplined execution of the fundamentals.

What I’ve learned over decades in sales is that success isn’t about finding the magic bullet—it’s about consistently executing the basics better than everyone else. Whether that’s knowing exactly when to create a deal or understanding how to maximize your prospecting efficiency, the fundamentals will always drive results.

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Got a sales question or tough challenge and need answers? Then go to https://salesgravy.com/ask and Ask Jeb!