Me: Do your SDRs do any cold calling, or are they all email/social?
Kevin "KD" Dorsey: My SDR's ONLY do cold calling.
Me: WHAT?!?
KD: If all you can do as an SDR is personalize email, I do not need you. I have tech for that.
Me: So all you have SDRs doing is cold calling. Zero email or social?
KD: We do all that for them. We just have them hitting the phones.
Me: What’s your ACV?
KD: About $10k/year.
Me: And that works? With US reps?
KD: The biggest thing people get wrong about cold calling is they think it’s about ACV. It’s NOT. It’s about the numbers - how many demos per month is each rep booking.
Me: So your reps book enough to cover a $10k ACV?
KD: 200 dials/day on a power dialer generates 25-30 demos/mo, which covers the 10k ACV. We’re growing the team.
Me: I love that everything is so data driven.
KD: Gut can get you to $10m, maybe $20m … Data gets you to $100m.
Me (feeling stuck at $25m): I HEAR THAT. As a gut guy. What script works nowadays for cold calling?
KD: Here’s the 7 step script to book 30 demos a month:
1. The Intro
Hi this is X from Y (how’s it going/been/are you)
2. The Justifier
I was speaking with, spoke to, work with, sent you, looked at your LI, etc
3. Ask Permission
I was hoping to ask you just a couple quick questions, see if it would even be worth having a larger conversation, would that be ok/do you got a sec?
- Yes - thx. - Bucket q
- No - when would there be a better time?
- WDYD: Bucked Question
4. The “Bucket” Question
I talk with/meet with _________ all day long, and they all seem to be struggling with _________ ,_________, or ___________, I mean does that sound like your world at all or ___________ (blow up/perfect)
- Yes/Sounds right - Ah gotcha, which one is the biggest issue/top of mind, frustration, etc.
- Um sure/kind of - Same as above.
- No - Oh wow! That’s great, how did you solve those things?!
- WDYD
5. The Enlightenment Questions
- Most frustrating/top of mind?
- Tell me more
- What’s causing?
- What’s that causing
6. The Personal Interest Questions (do 2 of them)
How are you ____________, so that _____________ (doesn’t happen)
7. The Might Make Sense Ask
I think this might make sense. You’re dealing with _______, causing _______ and ________. We might be able to solve that, I mean it’s at least worth having a deeper convo with ________. Let's get 30 min on the calendar next week sometime, how does ______ or ______ look?
Me: That sounds straightforward.
KD: It is. But that script isn’t enough. You have to have the correct TONE, or it won’t work?
Me: What’s the correct tone?
KD: We call it the “lost in the city” tone. You have to sound like you are walking up to someone you don’t know to ask them directions. If you sound like that, this script crushes. If you don’t, this script will do you ZERO good.
Me: Really? How do you monitor for that?
📌 KD: We train for the tone and monitor it with AI tools.
Me: Wow. Futuristic. Do you think AI will replace SDRs?
KD: For outbound phone calls, it’s not legal to do. And if you are using AI, you must say it’s an AI, which kills it. So, for the moment, humans doing outbound on the phones is the best we’ve got.
Me: But the tech is there?
KD: Oh, man, is it ever. I’ve seen systems for INBOUND that are far better than a person is ALREADY … And we’re just getting started w/ AI.
Me: I just want to keep getting taught by you.
KD: It’s your lucky day …
If you are trying to figure out how to be a better sales leader, you could join my program. There is nothing else like it.
https://salesleadershipaccelerator.com/
(This is not a paid email … it was an actual dialogue)