Before you book a call.
The things people actually ask us, including the awkward ones.
Do I need to already have an outbound team?
No. We work three ways: as a fractional outbound team alongside your closers, building an outbound system from scratch if you don't have one, or a short sprint to fill your pipeline fast. Tell us where you're starting from and we'll work out which one fits.
What exactly do you do?
We research your market, build and score the target list, write the opener and qualification criteria, then run the calls and book qualified meetings onto your calendar with notes attached. Actual phone calls, not an email sequence standing in for one.
Who actually makes the calls?
The strategy, targeting, messaging and qualification bar are built by our founder on every engagement. On smaller campaigns he's on the phone himself. On larger ones we put trained callers on the campaign, running to the script and the target he built, with him directing and reviewing the work. Either way the campaign is ours and we own the result.
How much does this cost?
Three published plans. Caller only is $997 for 30 days if you already have the list, dialer and CRM. The 30 day pilot is $2,997 and I build everything. The two-caller pilot is $4,997. Every plan has a guarantee in writing. Full details are on the pricing page.
How much does outsourced cold calling cost?
At ShazRise the price is published. Caller only is $997 for 30 days if you already have the list, dialer and CRM. The 30 day pilot is $2,997: I build the list, run the dialer and CRM, and guarantee 2,000 dials and 100 live connects. The two-caller pilot is $4,997 for buyers who are hard to reach. Full details are on the pricing page.
What is a fractional SDR?
A fractional SDR is an outside sales development rep who works part of the week on your pipeline instead of a full-time hire. You get someone making calls and booking meetings without the salary, benefits, ramp time and turnover of an in-house rep.
Is outsourcing cold calling better than hiring an SDR?
For the first months, usually yes. A full-time SDR costs roughly $100k a year all-in (here is the math) and takes about three months to ramp before they book anything. An outsourced caller starts dialing in your first weeks and tells you whether your market answers the phone. If outbound works and you need full-time volume for years, hiring makes sense, and you keep the list, script and objection library to hand over.
What counts as a connect on a cold call?
A connect means a live person picked up. Voicemail, phone menus and AI gatekeepers don't count. Connects are the number I guarantee, because meetings depend on your offer and price as much as on the calls.
What results can I expect from cold calling?
It depends mostly on the list. On lists I built and checked myself, about 1 in 10 dials reached a live person. On a list a client supplied, it was closer to 1 in 25. My best campaign booked 15 meetings in 28 days. I don't promise a meeting count, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
Why fractional instead of hiring someone full-time?
A full-time SDR is roughly $100k all-in for the first year once you count salary, payroll tax, benefits, a seat and software, and that's before they've booked anything. Then months of ramp, and you start over if they leave. We arrive with the strategy and the callers already in place.
How soon will I see meetings?
Outbound compounds. The first days go into market research, list scoring and the opener, and meetings build from there as the message tightens. Anyone promising a full calendar in week one is either guessing or selling you something. What we will commit to is telling you honestly, early, if the target or the offer isn't landing.
What if the meetings are junk?
That's the most common thing we hear from people burned before, which is why the bar is written down on the What We Do page rather than left vague. If a prospect doesn't clear it, they don't reach your calendar. If you want the bar stricter for your business, we set that before we dial.
What happens if a prospect doesn't show up?
We confirm the time with the prospect when we book it, and that confirmation step does most of the work. In one recent month we booked 16 meetings with zero no-shows and zero cancellations, every confirmed prospect showed up. When someone does no-show we go back and reschedule rather than writing the meeting off. No-shows happen in every outbound motion, including good ones, and we'd rather work them than pretend they don't.
Do you close the deals too?
No. We get you in the room with the right person and hand over everything they told us. Your team sells. If you want someone to run the whole cycle end to end, we're not the right firm.
What industries do you work with?
Most of them. We've run outbound across telecom, healthcare IT, logistics and supply chain, financial services and accounts receivable, IT integration and infrastructure, SaaS, agencies and local services. We don't position as a single-vertical firm, because the method transfers: find who holds the budget, build a list worth calling, get them on the phone. If your buyer can be reached by phone and the deal is worth a real conversation, the industry is rarely the blocker.
Do you use my company's name on the calls?
Yes. We call as part of your team, using your positioning and your tone. Your prospects shouldn't be able to tell the difference, and the goal is that the conversation sounds like your company rather than an agency.
What do I have to do once we start?
Give us the offer, pricing bands and the objections you already hear, sign off on a list sample and the opener, and be reachable in the first couple of weeks when a live prospect asks something we can't answer. After that it mostly runs, and you take the meetings.
What if it doesn't work?
We're not selling a guarantee that doesn't survive a bad quarter. If something isn't landing we'll tell you and go fix that part instead of pretending it's fine. If the honest answer is that outbound isn't your problem, we'll tell you that too.
Tell us what you sell and who you sell it to.
Thirty minutes. You'll leave the call with a straight read on whether outbound is your problem, and a number if it is.