By Megan Fallis, Copywriter & Editor
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, read, or have had someone make a snarky comment about cold calling not working; it’s a thing of the past or my personal favorite….cold calling is dead. I guess that those folks did not have their cold calling scripts effectively dialed in or just really didn’t like cold calling and were looking to hurry and skirt away from the topic altogether. Who knows, maybe a combination of the two. I know for sure that designing compelling cold calling scripts is essential to effective and successful prospecting.
I think it’s safe to say that our team is experts in writing cold calling scripts. We have years of developing, testing, and fine-tuning thousands of scripts (no, I’m not exaggerating).
We believe it’s important to share what we’ve learned along the way. I mean, why should anyone have to start from scratch when we can share what we’ve learned and use today when creating cold calling scripts?
So, we are on the same page, let us dig into some of the basics before hopping into the structure of the script itself.
What is cold calling?
In a business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C) setting, cold calling refers to calling contacts/ individuals who have not previously expressed interest in the targeted product or service. Distilling it down, it’s the first telephone interaction with a prospect.
What is the goal of cold calling?
The goal of cold calling is to engage prospects one-on-one and move them to the next step in the buying process. This could be setting an appointment, generating a lead, or obtaining contact information for the right point of contact.
The bottom line is that cold calling means to raise awareness and ultimately move to a designated next step in the sales or discovery process. This is where effective cold calling scripts are essential to the success of the goal.
Why do I need cold calling scripts?
Great cold calling scripts help make cold calling and the entire process much easier while improving prospect engagement, increasing efficiency, and achieving the desired goals.
Begin with the end in mind: what’s the goal?
To craft effective cold calling scripts, start by understanding and identifying the goal of the call. What is the overall desired outcome? Perhaps to secure an appointment for the next step in the sales cycle or bring awareness regarding a solution to a challenge. It’s important to know what the goal is before drafting a script
Briefly identify yourself & your company
Just assume that every prospect you will call is going to be busy when they answer. They weren’t expecting your phone call and likely won’t want to take the time for the pleasantries. Skip the “how are you today” fluff. These calls last 2-3 minutes total. There is a limited amount of time to get down to the overall purpose of the call.
Example: “Hi (prospect name), this is Megan calling from Great White Prospecting.”
Confirm the contact
Before moving forward with the pitch, make sure you’re speaking to the right point of contact.
Example: “Do you oversee the sales teams for (prospect’s company name)?”
State the purpose of the call
Consciously or not, salespeople often make the mistake of speaking way too much and using overly salesy language on an old call. It’s as simple as saying why you’re calling and then moving on. You can look at it as a mini elevator pitch. Short and sweet, generally one or two sentences of how you help or the value you offer in relation to the problem they have.
Keep in mind that you’re cold calling to start a conversation not to make a sale. The cold calling script should reflect the language of how you can help a prospect with the products and/or services being offered.
Example: “I’m reaching out today to see if we can schedule a few minutes next week to learn about your lead generation efforts and how you are currently keeping your sales teams’ pipeline full. Great White Prospecting is an industry leader in generating well-qualified leads, which helps our clients to hit their organizational goals.”
Explain the challenge(s) your solution solves
Keep the explanation clear, and don’t reveal absolutely everything about your solution as it may require further explanation or discussion. Cold calling scripts are not meant to be in-depth. The goal is to pique interest just enough for the prospect to take the next step.
It is a best practice to highlight a positive outcome as a result of the solution being offered. Doing so will help solidify the value of the product or solution being offered.
Example: “GWP provides companies like yours with well-qualified leads to augment sales pipelines allowing internal sales teams to focus on the most important part of the sales process, closing deals, and achieving quota.”
The ask
Cold calling scripts can be used to accomplish a variety of goals. They provide an excellent opportunity to assess and gather important information for whatever they ask is. Keep in mind the overall call objective and guide the prospect to that point.
Example: When is a good day for you to further discuss how Great White Prospecting can assist your sales team by keeping their pipeline filled with well-qualified leads?”
When it comes to writing cold calling scripts, it’s best not to make them overly complicated. Choose one or two specific pain points that will resonate most with the audience. Keep in mind the importance of feedback from the teams using each script. If a portion isn’t working or a value proposition is weak and doesn’t resonate with the prospects, change it up and test again. Expect to have several iterations, even if the changes are minor, to make the cold calling script the best it can be.
Megan Fallis is the Copywriter & Editor for Quality Contact Solutions. Megan’s experience includes working as an outbound telemarketing manager for a Fortune 100 company for many years. Megan has been both a client and an employee of QCS, so she knows first-hand the quality, productivity and passion the team brings to work on a daily basis. You can reach Megan at megan@qualitycontactsolutions.com or 516-656-5120.
