Cold call openers, and what to say after "not interested"

What an opener has to do

It has ten seconds and three jobs. Say who you are. Give a reason you called this person and no one else. Ask for a small, fixed amount of time.

Anything else can wait. The product, the company history and the discount all belong later in the call, if there is a later.

Four openers

The plain one. It names what the call is, which most people find disarming.

"Hi Sam, it's Dana from Larch. This is a cold call. Can I have thirty seconds to say why I picked you, and then you decide?"

The reason first. Use it when you know something specific and recent.

"Hi Sam, Dana from Larch. I'm calling because you're hiring three support reps this month. That is usually when teams like yours first talk to us."

The referral. Only when it is true, and only with permission.

"Hi Sam, Dana from Larch. Priya Nair at Fenwick suggested I call you. She thought our onboarding work might be useful to your team."

The follow-up. A call after an email is warmer than either one alone.

"Hi Sam, Dana from Larch. I sent you a note on Tuesday about onboarding. I wanted to put a voice to it."

Whichever you use, stop after the question and wait. The silence feels long to you and normal to them.

The five brush-offs

You will hear these on most calls. None of them is about you.

"Not interested." They do not know what you are offering yet, so this usually means "not now".

"That's fair, you don't know what this is yet. One question and I'll go: how do your new reps practice calls today?"

"Send me an email." Sometimes it is a real request. Find out which.

"Happy to. So I send the right thing, is the bigger problem ramp time or call quality?"

"We already use someone." Good. They have a budget and a problem.

"Then you know the problem is real. If you could change one thing about what you have, what would it be?"

"I'm busy." Believe them and offer two times.

"Understood. Is tomorrow at ten better, or should I try Thursday afternoon?"

"How did you get my number?" Answer plainly. Dodging this one ends the call.

"From your company's website. If you'd rather I didn't call, I'll take you off my list now."

When to stop

Two noes is a no. Thank them, end the call and make a note. A third attempt costs you the next call to that company as well.

Calling rules differ by country and sometimes by industry. Check the do-not-call rules where you sell before you dial.

Rehearse the first ten seconds

An opener only works if it comes out without effort. Say yours out loud until it is boring, then say it to someone who interrupts.

The cold call at the top of this page does that: an office manager picks up, cuts in and objects. In the app you can write the same call as your own scenario and read the transcript afterwards. There is more on cold call practice, and murmur for teams builds the prospect from your own objections.

Updated 11 November 2026.