How to create the best cold calling script

Cold calling might not be favored by every sales team – but it’s still an important component of the sales process, especially in the B2B arena. In fact, 78% of decision-makers are said to have taken an action after a cold call. In order to make the desired impact, though, you have to take care of your cold calling script. Here’s how to do it properly. 

There are a few factors that can influence cold calls – the skills or your sales agents, a quality lead base, or simply good preparation. If you truly want to prepare your team for making calls, you should create a proper cold calling script that will make the whole process much easier for them. Not to mention that you can also improve your customer experience this way. 

Basically, no one wants to talk to a nervous sales agent who can’t find the words and keep the conversation going. Having that in mind: A cold calling script can actually be of enormous help to every member of the sales team, especially during their onboarding process.

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What to take into account when creating a cold calling script 

There are a few things to keep in mind when starting to create a cold calling script for your team: 

#1 The purpose of the calls

In order to write a proper script, you should first establish what are you writing it for. To put it simply: the scripts might differ, depending on the purpose of your call. Be careful, though – it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should have a wide range of scripts at your team’s disposal. As a matter of fact, having multiple scripts can make cold calling really confusing for your sales agents. 

That’s precisely why you should dedicate some time and effort to your cold calling script at the very beginning – and then adapt it to the needs of your team whenever necessary. To start with, try to ask yourself why do you want to take advantage of cold calling in the first place, and what are the outcomes you expect from it. If the objectives are clear and realistic, it’s much easier to achieve them in the long run. 

#2 Your interlocutors

As already mentioned, the “quality” of leads can also make a big difference. As a sales professional, you should strive to present your offerings to the right prospects – to those who might actually be interested in it. That being said: it’s essential to gather as much information about your interlocutors as possible and make sure your product or service is suitable for them. This, on the other hand, should help you adjust your cold calling script exactly to the needs of your prospects. It makes the whole experience much better for them and increases the chances of meeting your objectives – whatever those might be. 

#3 The value you are offering

Every company should focus on providing value to its customers. Sometimes, however, the value you’re providing is not that obvious, especially at a first glance. That’s precisely why sales professionals are needed – to make your offer attractive to your prospects.

Whenever you’re making a call, focus on what’s in it for your prospect. Start with the value statement that can catch the attention and encourage your interlocutor to hear you out. Then, make it appealing for the prospect to take action – you can “charm” them with an invitation to an online or offline meeting, without the necessity to commit to anything at this stage. 

#4 Possible objections

If you take advantage of cold calling, you’ll have to deal with sales objectives sooner or later, especially if you don’t have a particularly good lead base to take advantage of. Basically, your interlocutors will make excuses, just to make you give up on presenting your offer. That’s why it’s a good practice to take common objections into account when creating a cold calling script. 

Start with listing possible issues the prospects might have with your offer (regarding price, the offer not being a good fit, or simply the lack of time or interest to hear you out). You can even consult your team to brainstorm on these reasons together. The more important step here, though, is to come up with potential solutions to the objections you might encounter. If possible, consider discounts and special offers that could interest your prospects.  

A cold calling script in a nutshell

As you can see, there are many factors that you should look at before you create your own cold calling script: your offer, the people you are calling, and the skills of your sales team. There’s no single best recipe for success here, but if you follow a few important steps, you can create your own script in no time: 

1. Greet your interlocutor. This goes without saying, but you shouldn’t bombard the person you’re talking to with your offer at the very beginning. 

2. Introduce yourself. First, say your name and which company you work for – and say it a clear and confident manner. Simple “Hi, this is [name] from [company].” will do just fine. 

3. State the reason behind the call – this will actually be the value statement as well, so make sure you do it properly. For example: “I help organizations increase their revenue by identifying new business opportunities and improving productivity”. 

4. Establish rapport. Ask whether your area of expertise is something that the person might struggle with, and is there any way you could help them. Don’t forget to ask for their opinion on the matter and talk about it first. 

5. Hear your interlocutors out. Before you start presenting your offer in detail, listen to what they have to say. You might have to deal with possible objections at this point, and tailor your presentation to your interlocutor. Acknowledge them by saying, “I see. Tell me more about that?” or “So, what I’m hearing is …” – repeating the issues they’ve mentioned, as an example.

6. Use testimonials. Telling your prospect about similar use cases and customers can serve as an attractive “social proof”.  For instance: “We’ve already helped hundreds of customers increase their revenue by X percent. You can see plenty of case studies on our website”. 

7. Encourage the interlocutor to take action. The specific action should be related to the goals you have for the call. Ask for their email address, invite them to a meeting, or agree on another call – the possibilities here are endless. For example: “Would you like to schedule a free consultation?” or “Could I send you our portfolio/a dedicated offer via email?”.

8. Thank you for the call. Yet again – this step might be obvious, but you should always keep in mind to stay polite, no matter the outcome of the call

Get your cold calling script read

It might not seem like it at first, but cold-calling scripts can work wonders for your team. They shouldn’t be created to make you read every sentence and sound like a robot, though. Quite the contrary: They can actually help you structure the calls better, be less nervous and more focused on the person over the phone, and lead the calls however you want to.  At the same time, you treat your prospects the right way and increase the chances of closing a deal. It’s basically a win-win situation. 

Are you ready to take action yourself? Prepare your own script and use CloudTalk to make your cold calling campaigns even more efficient.