For me, nothing beats a WhatsApp message to the owner, or picking up the phone, when direct contact is welcome and appropriate. You can get close to the person who feels the commercial problem and can decide whether it deserves attention.
But have a reason to interrupt their day.
An owner could be dealing with a staffing problem, a supplier or a customer when your name appears on their screen. Your enthusiasm for your product is understandable. Why should they care right now?
That is the question your sales story needs to answer before you press send.
Start with a reason they would recognise
Do enough homework to explain why you are contacting this particular business. Perhaps they have announced a second site, started recruiting salespeople or introduced a new service. Use something you can verify, then connect it to a commercial question.
A second site might create a challenge around consistent follow-up. It does not prove their follow-up is poor. Go in curious, with a sensible hypothesis, rather than announcing a problem you have invented.
Be clear about the person too. An owner may hold the budget, but a manager might understand the day-to-day issue better. If they point you towards someone else, listen.
Get your sales story straight
You should be able to explain who you help, the problem you help them tackle and why a conversation could be useful. Add relevant evidence when you have it. Never fill the gap with a made-up result or a promise you cannot support.
Say your pitch out loud. Would another person understand it without seeing your deck? Could you deliver it calmly if the owner gave you thirty seconds?
If it takes five minutes to explain why you called, keep working on it.
Here is a hypothetical WhatsApp opener for an owner who has agreed to hear from you there:
“Hi Alex, Grant here. Thanks for saying I could message. You mentioned that following up new enquiries is taking too much of your time. I help teams tighten that process and practise the conversations that move enquiries forward. Would a ten-minute call next week be useful?”
Use that structure with your own facts. Keep it personal, relevant and easy to answer.
Permission matters. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy requires the recipient to have provided their number or username and opted in to subsequent messages or calls. Respect a request to stop. Finding a number online is no invitation to start pitching. WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy
Earn the next minute on the phone
For a business call that is appropriate to make, try a simple opener:
“Hi Alex, it's Grant Tinney. I saw you're recruiting your first sales team. I help businesses prepare reps for customer conversations. Have you got thirty seconds for why I'm calling?”
If they say yes, explain the relevance briefly and ask a useful question. For example: “How are you planning to practise those first customer conversations before the new team starts calling?”
Then listen. Their answer should change what you say next.
If the timing is wrong, respect it. Agree a better time only if they want one. If there is interest, suggest a small, clear next step. If there is no fit, leave it professionally.
Build rapport quickly and naturally
I’ve found NLP techniques I learned from Rintu Basu especially useful for building rapport quickly: aligning with the other person’s physiology, tonality and verbal patterns, and using pacing and leading.
Pay attention to their pace, tone and choice of words. Respond naturally in language they recognise. On video or in person, posture and body language can also help you notice how comfortable they seem. Give them space; copying every gesture or phrase will feel odd.
Pacing starts with acknowledging their actual situation. If they tell you they are short on time, keep it brief. Then lead with a useful question or an agreed next step: “Understood. Would it help if I sent you the two points we discussed?”
For me, the aim is to help someone feel heard and comfortable enough to talk openly. Respect their answer, including a no.
Practise before the opportunity arrives
This is why good sales training matters. Your first real conversation with an owner should not be the first time somebody challenges your pitch.
Training gives you a structure. Practice shows you where it falls apart. Feedback helps you improve it.
An AI sales gym can be part of that practice: a place to role-play a busy owner, a sceptical buyer or somebody already happy with their supplier. Rehearse the awkward moments. “Send me something.” “We've tried that.” “Why should I give you any time?”
Practise asking questions as well as answering objections. Try a shorter opening. Listen for where you rush, over-explain or fail to respond to what the buyer actually said.
Use AI feedback or scoring as a prompt for review. Have a manager or coach check it against real buyer conversations and your commercial standards. A confident-sounding answer can still be irrelevant.
You want enough practice to stay clear and flexible when the conversation goes somewhere unexpected. Learning a script word for word will only take you so far.
Be ready to take your shot
A poor first impression can make the next conversation harder to earn. You cannot assume another opportunity will arrive on demand.
So do the preparation. Get your sales story clear. Practise until you can explain the value naturally, ask a good question and handle the answer.
Then pick up the phone or send the welcome message.
Want to sharpen your pitch and how your team practises it? Book a conversation with Grant Tinney.