Tools & Tech

You don’t need anything fancy to make effective cold calls. One of our clients, Mike Williams, runs a multi-million dollar recruiting firm and personally bills over a million dollars annually—he and his team use just their mobile phones.

That said, three specific tools can increase your productivity and help you achieve better results in less time:

1. VoIP Phone System and Headset

Ideally, you should call directly from your ATS or CRM because:

• Your prospects should already be in your database
• You can create call lists and dial directly from the system
• You can quickly update records as you go
• It helps keep your CRM current and prevents duplicate outreach
• Good systems automatically track metrics (call attempts, conversations, meetings booked)
• Click-to-dial functionality removes friction and makes you more likely to take action

Remember what James Clear says in “Atomic Habits”: if you want to build a habit, make it easy.

2. Call Recording and Transcription

Start recording your calls immediately. This is game-changing because:

• Transcription eliminates manual note-taking
• Systems automatically integrate with your ATS/CRM (no more manual data entry)
• You can review your calls to identify what works and where to improve
• For managers, listening to real calls is the most effective training method
• Transcripts can be used for AI-powered coaching, personalized follow-ups, pitch decks, and content creation

Just check your local call recording laws—some regions require notification. You can easily incorporate this into your intro: “On a recorded call, tell me…” and then ask your first question.

3. Dialers

Beyond click-to-dial, dedicated dialers take productivity to another level:

• Create call lists in advance
• One button automatically dials contacts sequentially
• Maintains intensity and flow between calls
• Can auto-drop voicemail messages while moving to the next number
• Multi-line dialers can call 2-4 numbers simultaneously, dramatically increasing connection rates
• Some recruiters use this method to make 200+ cold calls daily

Note that there’s overlap between platforms—your VoIP, dialer, and CRM might all provide similar features. Unfortunately, no single system does everything perfectly, so you’ll need to integrate multiple tools.

We’ll provide a handout with specific platform recommendations and examples of service providers to consider. These recommendations may change over time as technology evolves.