Consistent cold call performance comes from consistent pre-call prep. The reps who hit their numbers don't wing each call differently — they follow the same research process every time, fast enough that it doesn't eat their morning, thorough enough that they always have something specific to say.
Here's the checklist. Five items, five minutes, in order.
The checklist
Pre-call research — run before every dial
Company homepage — positioning and offer
Read the headline and opening paragraph. What do they sell? Who to? What problem do they solve? If there's a "customers" section, glance at the logos — it tells you the tier and type of company they serve.
~60s
Google News — recent announcements
Search "[Company name] news" and filter to the last 3–6 months. Look for: funding, new hires, product launches, awards, expansion. Note anything you can use as a hook or that contextualises their priorities right now.
~60s
LinkedIn company page — activity and headcount
Check headcount (and whether it's grown recently), any posts from the last 30 days, and whether they're hiring in relevant departments. Rapid headcount growth or active hiring in your buyer's function is a signal.
~60s
Prospect's LinkedIn profile — role, tenure, activity
How long have they been in the role? What was their previous company? Have they posted recently — and if so, about what? Any shared connections you can mention? Someone 3 months into a role has very different priorities than someone who's been there 4 years.
~60s
Pick your hook — one specific thing to open with
From everything above, choose one thing to reference in the first 10 seconds. It must be specific to them (not their industry in general), and it must connect logically to why you're calling. Write it down or say it out loud once. Then dial.
~60s
"Five items. Five minutes. Every call. The reps who do this consistently beat the ones who do it sometimes."
Hook examples by trigger
Opening line templates
TRIGGER: New funding round
"Saw you closed your Series B — congrats. We work with a few SaaS companies at that stage on [relevant problem]. Worth 20 minutes to show you what that looks like for [Company Name]?"
TRIGGER: New senior hire (them)
"I saw you recently joined [Company] as [Title] — still getting into the seat? One thing most [VP Sales / CROs / CMOs] we work with want to solve early on is [problem]. Is that on your radar?"
TRIGGER: Hiring in relevant dept
"Noticed you're building out the [Sales / CS / Marketing] team — looks like [Company] is investing in that function. We help teams at that stage [relevant value prop]. Is now a good moment?"
TRIGGER: Recent press or award
"Saw [Company] was featured in [Publication] last month — congrats. We've been working with a few companies in [space] on [problem that's relevant]. Worth a quick intro?"
TRIGGER: No obvious signal
"I've been working with a few [industry] companies your size on [problem]. Given your focus on [what you know about them], I thought it was worth reaching out directly."
What to do when the checklist finds nothing
Sometimes you complete the checklist and come up empty. The website is thin. No news. LinkedIn is inactive. No obvious hook.
In that case, use what you know — the industry, the company size, the role. Your hook becomes relevance rather than specificity: "I've been working with a few [size] [industry] companies recently on [problem]." It's not as strong as a specific signal, but it's honest. Don't fabricate a hook. Prospects can tell.
And note the gap. An account you can't find signals on is worth queuing for later rather than burning now — sometimes the right move is to wait for a trigger event.
Print this checklist. Save it somewhere accessible. Run it before every call that matters. That's it. Consistency here compounds faster than any script change.
Run this checklist automatically for every prospect.
Triage does all five steps for your entire list and delivers a brief per contact — hook, email draft, call script. Upload your CSV and go.
Try Triage free →