In partnership with
When it all clicks.
Why does business news feel like it’s written for people who already get it?
Morning Brew changes that.
It’s a free newsletter that breaks down what’s going on in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to keep things interesting. The result? You don’t just skim headlines. You actually understand what’s going on.
Try it yourself and join over 4 million professionals reading daily.
GM to the Top 1% 📞
In my first sales role, my manager handed me a list of 400 names and told me to start dialing.
No research. No context. Just a script and a headset.
By week three, I had memorized every variation of "not interested" a human being can deliver. I was getting faster at getting rejected. I thought that was the point.
It was not the point.
🔥 WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU ABOUT COLD CALLING
Cold calling is not dead.
Cold calling the way most people were trained to do it has been dead for a decade. We just kept doing it anyway because it was the system we inherited.
The version that stopped working: dial 80 numbers, read a script, get told no 79 times, log the calls, repeat.
That approach assumed that volume would compensate for zero context. It doesn't. It never did. It just used to work better than the alternatives.
Here is what has changed.
Buyers are more informed than ever. They have already Googled your company, read the G2 reviews, and compared your pricing to three competitors before your call hits their screen. If you lead with a pitch that sounds like you've never heard of them, you've already lost before you've said your second sentence.
The cold call that works in 2026 is not cold at all.
📲 THE 3-TOUCH PRE-CALL SEQUENCE
I have tested this sequence on enterprise accounts across multiple industries. The connect rate is consistently 4 to 5 times higher than a straight dial from a cold list.
Touch 1: LinkedIn connection with a single specific line. Not "I'd love to connect." Something like: "I noticed you expanded your team into EMEA last quarter. Wanted to be in your network." One line. No pitch. No ask.
Touch 2: A genuine comment on something they posted publicly. Two sentences. Add perspective. Don't extract value. Show that you've been paying attention.
Touch 3: The call. Open with three words: "I've been following your work."
Then stop talking.
Let them respond. What they say next tells you everything. If they engage, you have a conversation. If they brush you off, you have useful signal.
The reason this works is not magic. It is familiarity. You are no longer cold. You are someone they've seen twice before in a low-pressure context. That tiny amount of recognition changes the entire dynamic of the call.
⚡ YOUR HOMEWORK
Pick five accounts you've been wanting to call but haven't.
Before you dial, spend 10 minutes per account on steps one and two.
Connect on LinkedIn. Find one piece of content they've posted or been tagged in and leave a real observation. Not a compliment. An observation.
Call on day three.
Track your connect rate versus your straight-dial rate over the next two weeks. The data will make the case better than I can.
🌙 QUESTION OF THE DAY
What's the best opening line you've ever used on a cold call that actually started a real conversation?
Hit reply. The best ones go in the next issue.
☕ Share Morning Sales & Earn Rewards
Know a seller who's still building decks without knowing the room? Share your link:
1 referral = The $500M Sales Vault
3 referrals = 500 AI Sales Prompts PDF
5 referrals = Private Community Access
10 referrals = 30-min strategy call with me
You've referred {{rp_num_referrals}} people.
Only {{rp_num_referrals_until_next_milestone}} more until your next reward.
See you tomorrow.
Edward Founder, Morning Sales
P.S. The 500 AI-Powered Sales Prompts collection includes a full chapter on prospecting sequences, including pre-call research prompts that cut your prep time from 30 minutes to 5 without losing the personalization that gets people to pick up. Built from 15 years and $500M+ in closed deals. Get the full collection at edwardgorbis.com.