Nobody answers their phone anymore. 

Cold callers are sus. 

Cold calling is illegal. 

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Cold Calling in 2025? Are you Mad?! Maybe…

I don’t really care what opinions people have about cold calling in 2025. When you need to feed your business, you go hunting. If there’s no food in the pantry, you go get food. And that’s cold calling. 

As more people use caller ID to gatekeep their calls, the stats have changed. Cold texting is illegal until you get explicit permission from your prospect, and robodiallers will get you into a lot of hot water. 

But when you need calls on the board, you’ll do whatever it takes to get appointments. Let’s go over what you need to know to make it work legally. 

What is Cold Calling?

Cold calling is the unsolicited initiation of contact, usually by phone, with someone who has not previously expressed interest in your product, service, or business, with the goal of starting a sales conversation, gathering information, or setting a meeting.

Key points that make it cold:

• No prior relationship: The prospect hasn’t opted in, requested info, or engaged with you before.
• Intrusive by nature: You’re entering their world uninvited, which means you’re starting at -1 trust.
• Intentional prospecting: The primary aim is to move the prospect closer to a buying decision or next step.

What it’s not:

• Calling a current or past customer (that’s warm calling).
• Returning an inbound inquiry (that’s follow-up).
• Outreach to a referral (that’s referral-based prospecting).

Done poorly, cold calling is telemarketing’s loud, obnoxious cousin. Done well, it’s a high-effort, high-focus form of direct outreach that wins precisely because most competitors won’t do it well (or at all).

Is Cold Calling Legal in the US in 2025?

Yes, cold calling is legal in the US, but it’s wrapped in enough regulation to get the careless into hot water.

If you’re calling cold prospects in 2025, you need to navigate federal, state, and sometimes industry-specific rules.

Federal Rules That Matter for Cold Calling

1. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)

• What it does: Restricts telemarketing calls, auto-dialers, prerecorded messages, and texts.
• Key takeaways for cold calling:
  
  • No robodialing or prerecorded voice messages without prior consent, especially to cell phones.
  • Must display a valid caller ID.
  • Must maintain an internal Do Not Call (DNC) list and honor opt-outs immediately.
  • Calling hours: 8 am to 9 pm local time in the prospect’s time zone.

2. National Do Not Call Registry (DNC)

• What it does: Let consumers opt out of unsolicited sales calls.
• Key takeaways:
  
  • You must scrub your list against the DNC before calling.
  • Fines can hit $51,744 per violation.
    Exemptions:
    
    • Business-to-business calls.
    • Existing business relationship, within the last 18 months.
    • Calls to people who gave prior written consent.

3. FTC & FCC Enforcement

• Both agencies can enforce TCPA and DNC rules.
• Lawsuits are common, especially from “professional plaintiffs” who know the system.

State-Level Rules for Cold Calling

• Some states go further with stricter call time limits, licensing, or mandatory disclosures. For example:
  
  • Florida (FTSA) has expanded restrictions on autodialing and even certain text messages.
  • Oklahoma & Washington have similar “mini-TCPA” state laws with higher penalties.

The bottom line is, cold calling is still legal, but you must have a compliance process like DNC scrubbing, opt-out tracking, and time-zone checks.

Train your team to open calls with the right disclosures and document everything in case you get audited or sued.

What Does a Cold Call Sound Like in 2025?

Here is the modern cold call formula that blends old-school grit with new-school personality. This strategy is the difference between being hung up on in 5 seconds and booking an appointment in less than 60 seconds.

1. First Contact

Job one: kill the “sales call” vibe instantly. While all the typical call centers are chasing the yes to get the customer in a “positive mood,” it’s actually a fool's errand. No cold call in history has earned that right. So take FBI Negotiator, Chris Voss’s advice and go for the “no.” 

“Hi [first name], I know you weren’t expecting me. Would it be crazy to think I'm calling for a good reason? 

The key to an effective cold call is maintaining pace. Once you’ve received a quick no, move right along with a sense of urgency for respecting their time. 

2. The Hype Hook

There is literally only one reason a person would give you their money, effort, or time. You have something of value that they need, and you’re ready to give it to them in exchange for something logical.  

The four ingredients of hype include the following: 

1. An intrusive method of communication (like a cold call)
2. An offer too good to be true. 
3. A distinctly logical anchor.
4. A profound sense of urgency. 

You’ve got about 4 seconds to pull this off with confidence and class. For example:

“We’re a new Veteran-owned AC repair company in [specific neighborhood], and we are out looking to make a good first impression. We’re offering our fellow neighbors a $29 tune-up and donating 100% of proceeds to Veterans in need. Would it be too much to ask to count on you for an appointment today?” 

Now, don’t be a liar. That’ll come back to haunt you. Find your authentic offer that is too good to be true, and then anchor it with something that just makes sense. 

3. The Closing ARC

Almost everyone is going to find a reason to resist you. So spend less time on the offer and more time on the benefits of the offer. No one cares about your tune-up, but an awful lot more people care about Veterans, as in the earlier example. 

“[First name], I totally agree with you that you don’t know us, and maybe you even have a guy that you use already, but every 29 dollars goes a long way in helping a veteran in need get essential food and medicine. We want to do our part by doing what we’re good at, AC maintenance and repairs. Let us give you a great experience. It wouldn’t hurt to give your AC a little extra TLC, would it?”

Anytime you’re faced with resistance, recognize that you need to do three things instantly: 

1. Agree with the person no matter what they say. 
2. Rebuttal it with something that speaks to their most likely objection. In this case, it’s the lack of urgency. 
3. Close the sale by asking them to buy again. 

Repeat this Closing ARC process until they book a call or get off the call you’re on. Always make it super friendly, but be tenacious. You have one goal. Close the appointment. 

4. The Next Step

You don’t have an appointment until you have a specific day and time. Not a window. Not a general commitment. Not a day….or a time. All you have is a fake commitment that will fail to get the technician in the door. Here’s how you get a next step solidified.  

• Confirm a specific day and time for the appointment. 
• Get permission to text them before the appointment. 
• Text them a summary of the appointment after your call. 
• Text them the evening prior to the appointment.
• Text them the day of the appointment. 
• Text them 45 minutes before the appointment. 

If they are open, also collect their email and ask permission to send them a little info about your company. Everything you do from here on in is relationship building. We want them to feel really good about their decision and about you coming. 

5. The Referral 

Now that you’ve landed the appointment, here’s a litmus test for the truly brave. It’ll teach you how solid your actual appointment is, and how much value the prospect sees in your offer. Ask: 

“[First name], just before I let you go, would I be crazy to ask you to do me a tiny favor? [wait on no response] 

Would you know one other person who would love to get a $29 tune-up to support a Veteran today?”

The people who feel good about you enough to book a sincere appointment would feel even better paying it forward. 

A ballsy move, but one that will truly pay off once you’ve mastered the cold call. 

For those that want to get permission to share their loved one's info, have a text message standing by ready to send to your first appointment to share with your second opportunity. 

Some Phone Psychology for Cold-Calling in 2025

Be their friendly neighborhood repair guy. People like knowing you’re local. There’s a safety in that. Be ready to mention nearby streets, landmarks, or recent weather events to spike familiarity and engagement.

Use your late-night FM DJ voice. A warm, steady, and confident tone will make you sound more like a neighbor than a telemarketer.

The less cold you can make it, the better. Boost your answer rates by up to 30% by first hitting the call list with a direct mail piece if at all possible. 

Relentlessness is essential today. You’re not going to get away with 3 attempts at calling anymore. The average outbounder has to make 12 attempts at reaching a cold lead. 

Get a verbal commitment on the next step. People are more likely to protect their self-image by doing what they say they will do out loud. 

Use authentic scarcity. No one will believe you if you say we’re doing this as a limited-time offer. Base your limited offers on authentic reasons, such as limited appointment slots. 

Leverage unity as a means of connection. People want to do business with people who share the same values and elevate their own identity. 

Want more deals? Get dialling. 

Need help? This is what I do. Pick up the phone and call me. 

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