Armand FarrokhCold Calling Sucks (And That's Why It Works): A Step-by-Step Guide to Calling Strangers in Sales

Spoiler alert, the authors ask you to review the book if you like it. Well, I liked it enough to leave a five star review. So why do I like it? I guess it is because they lay out a basic strategy to approach cold calling, in a very approachable manner, and it worked for me. I have no experience in sales or cold calling, but developed a product that required sales. I tried without educating myself at first, did horrible, and then ran into this book. To be clear, there are so many “how to do sales” resources out there. This approach isn’t better than anyone else’s, or a secret sauce to success, it is just approaches that have worked for the authors, and they explain how to replicate their approaches really well. You can listen to podcasts, watch YouTube channels about this stuff, but if you like to read as a means to learn, these guys did a good job writing a book on how to do it. While I am not a millionaire yet, I have figured out how to get past that initial “no”, as well as how to get people’s attention (spoiler alert, don’t lead with you) long enough to figure out if they should be interested or not. I also recommend buying the audio book. Even though I cannot sound authentic being as casual as these authors are, hearing them give examples of tone, cadence, etc., was way better than just reading it. To be clear, you don’t need the audiobook to access audio examples of how to do things (you can access all of these via their YouTube channels using QR codes in the book), but I listened to the book on my commute and then would go to the book for tables, summaries, etc. If you are struggling with sales and you aren’t cold calling, or if you just suck at cold calling, this can provide some tips or strategies to get better. But then you have to go call to get better!

I got hired into a sales role and was provided with no training. No cold calling script. Nothing. I come from a Door to Door background so I thought I could come up with stuff on my own at the start. Nope. I tried a ton of stuff before finding this book. It gives you a framework that works in the hardest of industries. It’s relevant to today’s world of selling. Only reason I wouldn’t recommend buying it is because I don’t want anyone else calling on my prospects sounding similar to me.

This book isn’t just another addition to the cold calling shelf it’s the blueprint. Hands down the most tactical, practical, and immediately deployable resource I’ve ever come across for anyone looking to take real action and start seeing results right now.There’s zero fluff, no filler chapters or vague theory. Every page is built around clear, actionable steps that you can start applying the moment you put the book down. From the very first chapter, you’re not just reading you’re building your cold call strategy brick by brick.What I appreciate most is how it strips away the mystery and stress of cold calling. Whether you're brand new or trying to sharpen your edge, this book equips you with everything you need from how to open a call with confidence, to handling objections, to navigating gatekeepers like a pro. Every tactic is backed by data, battle-tested, and easy to adapt no matter your industry.If you want something you can implement immediately, not just study and sit on this is it. It’s a true field manual for cold calling success.

Excellent book not just for cold calls, but probably navigating interactions with others in general. The material is backed by impressive data, and is written plainly as to be accessible to just about anyone.

Just finished reading the book as I wanted to grasp everything in it before making a proper review.For context, I'm new to sales, not as an SDR or BDR but starting an agency from scratch so I'm in need of a proper outreach strategy that's both effective and fast to implement.I read a couple other books now on prospecting / cold calling such as "fanatical prospecting" "smart calling" "high profit prospecting", and they're not bad books, they do contain some fundamental ideas and points that you can take home, BUT, and the big BUT, they're full of fluff-content and self-promotion that doesn't really adds to what we're looking for here which is HOW TO effectively sell over the phone and put it into practice ASAP, and they could basically be condensed into 50 page books.*Note on "Smart Calling", is much more practical, but still the tactics/strategies seem way outdated for today's consumers and for instances it seems like it lacks some structure.*That said, I wouldn't recommend reading those books if you're looking for something you can start implementing right away.Now, for "Cold Calling Sucks" all I can say is A MA ZING, not only the book has no fluff / self-promotion as all of the other 99% of sales books out there, which is extremely irritating and time wasting, but it delivers on its promise of being super practical and down to the point which I love, don't get me wrong, it does contain the why of each tactic and strategy, but it does so in a super concise and understandable way so that it doesn't keep you spinning your wheels and losing the focus of the strategies itself.I can confidently say that I could've totally skipped reading those other 3 books and start with this one, and I'd have the exact same foundational knowledge AND a super in-depth and effective training on Cold Calling.Armand & Nick have done an awesome job compiling and structuring everything they know around cold calling. Honestly, I think this should be the foundational bible for any SDR/BDR or anyone aspiring to book meeting over the phone.If you're sitting on the fence and trying to decide which book to pick to start doing cold calls, go this route, you won't regret it.

I have been a cold calling pro for a long time and still making my way through the book. There have been a couple tips I've picked up and there will probably be a couple more, though it doesn't always apply to the type of sales that I do. This would be really good if you are newer to cold calling.