Cold Calling Script Elements
Understanding The Structure
Cold calling successfully is not quite as easy and smiling and dialing. Many sales representatives struggle with figuring out exactly what to say. This is especially so for individuals in the B2B sectors who have to market to business owners who don’t know about the product with not-so-effective lead generation processes. So what can be done?
It all comes down to a sales call script. Not only will a cold call script add some measurable structure to your cold calling strategy, but it’ll be a godsend for even the most talented sales representatives and marketing experts.
A good cold calling script will have the following elements, in order:
- An opening or introduction
- A good pitch
- Open-ended questions
- Conversation tactics such as tone, pauses, hyperbole, mirroring, etc.
- A non-pushy closing
Let’s break each of these down...
Create A Killer Opening
This is the initial start of your call. When cold calling in the B2B world, you won’t be introducing yourself to a consumer. Typically, you’ll be talking to a prospect’s secretary or assistant.
Keep it simple.
“Hi, it’s Sam from New B2B Company. Is [prospect name] available?”
This will usually lead to an inquiry about the call. There are a few ways you can approach this, but the best way is to have something to follow up on. Send an initial email to the prospect, and when the time comes for the cold call, say something like, “I’m following up on an email I sent to them.”
Making The Right Pitch
Once you’ve managed to get ahold of the prospect successfully, it’s time to craft your pitch. This isn’t going to be permanent, and it can change depending on who your reps are talking to. However, there are four major things that must be included:
- Clarity
- Brevity
- Comprehensiveness
- Ease of recalling
Your message must be clear. It must also be quick, but concise– the goal here is to say a lot about a product in very few words. Just as well, your reps don’t have superhuman memory. You should have three or so facts for them to focus on pitching.
Asking Good Questions
Open-ended questions are the way to go. Do your best to ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer. When it comes to cold calling, it’s vital that the prospect does three-quarters of the talking, while the sales rep should only do about a quarter of the talking. That’s because the more you can get the prospect talking, the more they will feel listened to, and the more likely they are to continue through to investing in your product. In a number of recent studies, the one thing most consumers and businesses noted that they wanted from cold calls was to feel listened to.
The Art Of The Conversation
Once you’ve launched your introduction, tossed your pitch, and asked some questions, it’s time to put the real work in. At any point the prospect could end the call or be open to learning more– and a great way to ensure the latter happens is to keep them engaged with conversation tactics. These tactics involve using an enthusiastic tone, using pauses strategically, and using hyperbole. Mirroring is another great tactic that involves picking up on words that the prospect uses and using those words yourself. Repeating back phrases is another great way to build connection.
A Solid Closing
When the conversation naturally winds down, it’s important to have a good closing. This closing will involve making a sale (as we noted earlier, this isn’t really the purpose of cold calling anymore) or establishing another touchpoint for the future. Typically, this touchpoint is a meeting of some sort. Be appreciative of the call and ease into scheduling, and openly give them more information if they ask for it. This is also a great opportunity to squeeze a bit more information out of them, such as the industries or job titles they are targeting. Then, simply close by asking if they need anything else from you before ending the call.
How was our in-depth guide to writing the perfect B2B cold calling script? Having the best cold call script in place is so important when it comes to training your team on cold calling techniques. With a B2B script, you’ll notice that it’s easy to measure the success of cold calls. If a script isn’t working, you can simply change it up with a different approach. Tell us what your experience with using a B2B cold calling script has been like for your business in the comments below!
Practicing Your Cold Call Script
In order to become comfortable with your cold call script, you need practice.
Imagine singing a song. Just because you know the words doesn’t mean you’d be comfortable singing that song in front of strangers.
Cold Calling is a performance, and like any successful performer you’re going to need to plan, practice, and perfect your performance before the show!
- Record yourself reading your sales script until you have at least 5 recordings that make you want to pat yourself on the back.
- Role play with your colleagues, preferably one you haven’t gotten a chance to meet formally yet. We love teamwork and we’re happy to help each other!
Indicators that your Cold Calling script needs improvement
- Consistent Premature Hangups
- Consistent “Not Interested”
- You feel like you have to speed through the meat of the cold call script to ensure they stay on the phone long enough to get to the ask
- You’re not booking any meetings
We start with a single baseline B2B script for each client, but when reaching out to multiple target personas it’s really important to make sure that you’re tailoring your cold calling script to address the needs/pains of each persona. Test subtle changes and note the results from your experiments (Positive and negative) to share with your team.
