April 14, 2025 | 3 Minute Read
If you’ve ever made a cold call, you know how critical the first few seconds are. One of the most common things I hear from investors or agents is, “Jonathan, I’m making calls constantly, and I can’t even get to the first question in the script—let alone generate a lead or appointment.”
To help with that, I compiled all the cold call openers and scripts I’ve used over nearly 20 years and I’m going to share those results with you.
A “contact” is when you get the decision maker—the person you intended to call—on the phone. It’s important to distinguish a contact from a conversation. A contact becomes a conversation if I’m able to at least ask the first question in the script before the call is ended or rejected.
For each cold call opener, I made 100 contacts using that specific opener. I tracked the results, then moved on to the next opener. The goal was simple: find out which opener had the highest success rate in leading to a real conversation.
Success was measured by whether the call got past the first few seconds and allowed me to ask the first question in the script. If the person answered and immediately hung up or rejected the call before any engagement, it was counted as a failed opener. If I was able to ask that first question, it was considered a successful conversation.
THE OPENERS
Here’s a quick summary of each opener with their success rates so far (based on 100 contacts each):
🏅 5th Place (76.5% success)
“Hi Jim. This is Jonathan. I am a real estate agent/investor. I don’t think we’ve spoken before. Do you want to hang up or can I tell you why I called?”
- Leverages curiosity with “can I tell you why I called?”
- Gives an easy “out”—and that paradoxically keeps people listening.
🏅 4th Place (78.1% success)
“Hi Jim. This is Jonathan. I am a real estate agent/investor. I know you weren’t expecting my call. Do you have 30 seconds or would you rather hang up?”
- Reverse psychology: Gives them permission to say no first.
- People don’t like being told what to do—so they don’t hang up.
🏅 3rd Place (81.4% success)
“Hi Jim. This is Jonathan. I am a real estate agent/investor. Would you hate me if I asked you something really quick?”
- Powerfully disarming.
- Very hard to say yes to that. It’s playful and persuasive.
🥈 2nd Place (85% success)
“Hi Jim. This is Jonathan. I am a real estate agent/investor. Before you hang up, I was hoping to ask you something really quick. Would that be okay?”
- Stops the “hang-up” impulse by acknowledging it upfront.
- Opens a curiosity loop and leads with permission.
🔑 1st Place. (88% success)
In the number one spot which is what you guys have all been waiting for:
“Hi Jim. This is Jonathan. Look. You’re gonna hate me, I am a real estate agent/investor. Do you want to hang up or will give me 30 seconds to tell you why I called?”
The line is genius because it triggers curiosity and lowers resistance at the same time. Combine that with the delivery — slightly playful, self-aware, confident but not pushy — and boom, you’ve got almost a 90% success rate right out the gate.
Why it works:
- It leans into the truth and disarms the prospect immediately.
- It’s unexpected.
- It gives the prospect control (psychological reactance at play).
- It’s disarming and charming if delivered with a smile or slight chuckle.
- It immediately makes you feel like a real human, not just another script-reading caller.
🔁 ACTION PLAN
Test the 5 openers (include the “you’re going to hate me” one).
Track:
- Contact-to-conversation %
- Conversation-to-lead %
- Total leads generated per day
Double down on the one with the highest conversion. If you do this effectively, your deals should increase dramatically. This is not about grinding harder — it’s about working smarter.
The opener isn’t just a line, it’s a conversion lever.