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Why Phone Prospecting is Still So Effective - An Interview with Josh Braun

Picture of Nicholas Page   Nicholas Page  ·  2 minute read

In this episode of Tech Marketing Trends, Jakob Löwenbrand, CEO of Brightvision, sits down with renowned sales trainer Josh Braun to explore the continued effectiveness of phone prospecting in today’s digital sales landscape. As the founder of Braun Training and an advocate for human-centered selling, Josh shares how psychology-based sales tactics and empathetic messaging can cut through the noise. Whether you're a seasoned sales pro or new to the game, this episode offers actionable strategies to make your outreach more authentic, effective, and scalable.

 

 

The Real Reason Phone Prospecting Still Works

Josh explains that phone outreach remains relevant because of one thing: real-time feedback. While emails and DMs are one-way messages, phone calls allow for dynamic, back-and-forth dialogue that reveals whether your message is landing—or not. He stresses that success doesn’t come from aggressive tactics, but from letting go of the outcome and being genuinely curious.

“The antidote is to actually let go of having any expectations… when you adopt that as your mindset, your intent, what ends up happening is you sound very relaxed and chill on the phone.” - Josh Braun

 

 

Start with problem training, not product pitches

Before you can sell, you need to understand what causes people to switch from their current solution to yours. Josh encourages reps to conduct Jobs-To-Be-Done interviews with recent buyers, which can reveal powerful language and unmet needs. These insights are often far more compelling than anything your marketing team could write.

“The best messages aren’t written, they’re found… and you can’t find them unless you’re having real conversations with your customers.”

 

 

Don’t scale until you nail the message

Rather than trying to scale prospecting too early, Josh suggests creating a talk track based on a small group of high-value customers. The goal is to test whether others with similar roles and problems respond to the same message. You’re not pushing a product—you’re diagnosing a problem.

“Your product has no value without a problem… and what we’re doing on a cold call is just seeing if there’s a potential problem for us to solve.”

 

 

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The “poke the bear” framework for cold calls

Josh introduces his popular “Poke the Bear” method, which shifts the salesperson’s role from explainer to interviewer. Instead of launching into product features, sales reps should ask pointed questions that uncover hidden challenges—just like a great therapist would.

“People are more persuaded by what they hear themselves say… buyers have the answers, sellers have the questions.”

 

 

Channel doesn’t matter but message does

Whether it’s over the phone, email, or LinkedIn, the essence of great prospecting is the same: start with a problem your customer actually cares about. Personalization isn’t about referencing a recent LinkedIn post—it’s about showing you understand their struggle in a way that feels personal.

“It’s personal, but it’s not personalized… as long as I know the problem and that these people might have it, I don’t need to know what school they went to.”

 

 

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