Stop Opening Sales Calls with “Hey, How Are You?”

The First Five Seconds Decide the Call

Most sales conversations do not fail in discovery. They fail before discovery even starts.

The opening line sets the psychological frame for the entire call. And the most common opener in sales is also the weakest.

“Hey, how are you?”

It sounds polite. It sounds friendly. And it instantly puts your prospect on autopilot.

Their brain has heard it thousands of times. Nothing new happens. Nothing sharpens focus. You have not earned attention yet.

And without attention, nothing else matters.

Predictable Openers Create Predictable Results

When a conversation starts predictably, the brain disengages.

Prospects answer on reflex. “Good, how about you?” “Busy.” “Can’t complain.”

At that moment, you are no longer leading the conversation. You are reacting inside a script they have already run a hundred times this week.

Sales leaders obsess over talk tracks, objection handling, and pricing strategies, but overlook the most important moment of the call.

The opening frame.

Attention Comes Before Trust

This is the part most sellers get wrong.

They try to earn trust before they have attention.

But trust cannot exist if the prospect is mentally elsewhere.

Attention is the gateway emotion. Trust is built only after presence is established. And deals happen only after trust.

If you skip attention, you are building on sand.

The Pattern Interrupt That Changes Everything

A strong opener does one thing well.

It forces presence.

Instead of asking a question they have answered all day, shift the frame immediately.

Ask something that makes them pause and think.

For example:

“What has been the biggest thing on your plate this week?”

This does not sound clever. It sounds intentional.

It signals leadership. It signals relevance. It tells the prospect this conversation is different.

Now they are present. And presence is where real discovery begins.

Where This Shift Clicks Instantly

If you watch the short clip embedded below, you will see exactly why predictable openers fail and how a small change immediately changes the energy of the call.

The moment you stop asking reflex questions and start asking intentional ones, prospects stop multitasking and start engaging. That shift alone changes the quality of discovery, the depth of answers, and how much control you have over the conversation.

This is not about sounding clever. It is about commanding attention early so the rest of the call actually matters.

This short clip breaks down why predictable openers kill engagement and shows how a simple shift immediately changes the energy of the call.

Why This Matters for Founders and Revenue Leaders

If you are a founder or revenue leader, this is not about being smooth.

It is about control.

Control of attention. Control of tone. Control of the frame.

Every high performing sales system starts with how conversations are opened. Fix the first five seconds, and everything downstream improves.

Discovery gets sharper. Objections surface earlier. Trust builds faster. Deals move with less resistance.

Your Sales Call Is Won or Lost in the First Five Seconds

Sales does not break down because reps cannot close. It breaks down because they never earn attention in the first place.

The first five seconds decide whether a prospect stays present or checks out. If your opener sounds like every other call they have taken that day, you are already behind.

Fix the opening. Attention comes first. Trust follows. Deals happen last.

Follow The Revenue Coaches for practical sales and GTM systems that drive predictable revenue.