Cold calling, contacting a person or a business who isn’t expecting to hear from you, and attempting to sell them something isn’t an easy task. At the outset, the person you’re talking to may be eager to end the call as soon as they realise they’re about to hear a sales pitch.
A winning script, delivered well, may be able to grab their attention. If the person your rep is speaking to is a good fit for your product, they stand a good chance of piquing a prospective customer’s interest and holding it. But to do so, they will need skill and an excellent cold call script.
The best cold call scripts begin with a carefully crafted introduction that can lead to an unscripted or semi-scripted conversation. You can steer the conversation, but the people your agents are talking to never get the impression that your people are not listening to them.
Important Components of a Cold Calling Script
You can build your own cold call script by incorporating the following components. Each has a purpose and should be delivered accordingly. Build-in flexibility. Simply gabbling off a rigid formula will rarely make a favourable impression.
The Introduction
Your introduction begins with a greeting, followed by your agent’s name and the name of the company they are representing. Next, they should say why they are calling a specific prospect. For example, they previously bought a related product from you, or you noticed an expression of interest.
Pain Points, Solutions, and Benefits
This is the meaty section of the call in which you will either gain a receptive audience or be rejected. Keep it short and benefits-laden. The person on the other end wants to know whether it is worth listening to you, so tell them why it might be.
Mention the top pain points your company addresses and how you may be able to solve them. Limit it to a few short, impactful sentences. You can provide finer details later.
Ask Whether They Can Spare a Few Minutes to Learn More
You do not know the circumstances of the person on the other end of the line. If they are feeling rushed when your agents call them, they are likely to focus on bringing the call to an end. Besides this, it is only good manners to check whether it is a convenient time for a cold-call prospect to talk.
If your agents have called at an awkward time, they should ask the customer to suggest a favourable one. Once your representative has reached a prospect at a time when they are open to learning more, you can adopt one of several strategies to move prospects toward making a purchase.
Moving Towards the Sale
We find that listening is as important as talking, so you might decide on a few questions your representatives can ask. This can help reps adjust their sales pitch to match individual customers’ needs.
A common tactic in B2C selling is to prime customers by asking questions they are likely to respond to positively. The theory is that the more they say “yes”, the more likely they are to say “yes” to your call to action. This can work, but be careful of overdoing it. Keep those questions open-ended, and don’t miss the opportunity to get to know your customers.
Whatever strategy you employ as your reps transition toward selling, ensure that they take a moment to understand the prospective customer’s perspective.
Propose a Solution That Will Work For Them
As you can see, we are moving away from the word-for-word script and into the give-and-take of negotiation. However, you can script pitches that your agents can adopt and adapt based on their understanding of the customer they are speaking to.
Summing up how the conversation has worked so far:
- You have identified one or more problems that may bother your customer
- You have shown you can offer solutions, but you have not provided much detail
- You have confirmed that the customer may be interested in hearing more
- You have learned a little about each customer’s needs
- You have clearly indicated a way to meet those needs
Now, it is time to show how your product will add value for the customer. Pitch away, adding a few of the most important details, but keep it relatively brief.
Handle Questions, Objections, or Doubts
With this done, your reps should check whether customers have any questions at this point. A simple “How does that sound to you?” offers them an opportunity to raise any queries or doubts your agents can address before moving on to a call to action.
They must pace this, ensuring that customers are satisfied with the answers they have received for each of their questions. This part of a cold call is not easy to script. You can provide answers to frequently asked questions on a cold call script, but provide a formula for question and objection handling. Here is an outline:
- Agree with the customer by reflecting their concern back. For example, “You are right. Scalability is important for a product such as this.”
- Address the concern: “Thanks to (product features), we are able to offer scalability across (parameters).”
- Confirm whether the response is satisfactory for the client: “Would that be acceptable in your context?”
This question-and-answer process continues until the customer is satisfied or has asked you to furnish proof of your claims. Your sales enablement toolkit should provide what’s needed. Offer to send the data requested and schedule the next call. Remember, B2B sales funnels are rarely navigated at first contact.
Deliver a Call to Action
Your call to action will depend on what you want your customer to do next. For example, you may ask if they would like to place an order, whether they would like to see a quote, or, for more complex sales processes, whether they would like to schedule a demonstration or meeting.
Provide for several possible outcomes based on customers’ reactions so far. Whatever options you script, make sure they offer customers a way forward without seeming pushy. Always allow for customers’ hesitancy to make an immediate purchasing decision over the phone. You can offer incentives to do so, but do not be too insistent.
Respect customers’ right to think things through and make provision for this eventuality in your cold-calling script. For example, your agents can ask prospects whether they need any information resources and when they would like to receive a follow-up call.
Crucial Cold Calling Tips
Cold calls can help customers find products that solve their problems. Undertake cold-call selling in this spirit. Your cold calls should never be nuisance calls. Use these tips to keep ethics and quality high.
Stay on the Right Side of the Law
Cold calling is legal – but only if you adhere to the requirements set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It has provided a convenient checklist to ensure that your cold-calling efforts are compliant. Yes, we know that it looks hard to stick to and likely requires investment in high-end tech and software, but we know that it can be done.
Use High-Quality Call and Customer Relationship Management Software
Your call management software not only helps you to stay compliant, but it also integrates with your CRM software. The latter allows you to develop a “do not call” list (a compliance requirement) as well as keep track of customers who have scheduled a time for your initial or follow-up calls.
Deploy Well-Trained Representatives
Effective cold-calling agents are well-trained salespeople with the ability to deliver scripts naturally and the interpersonal skills to build rapport with the people they call. Similarly, they will know when diverging from scripts is called-for, and how to end conversations gracefully, even when prospects are not interested.
In short, they talk to people rather than “talking at” them, a trap the inexperienced can easily fall into. Instead, they will use their scripts for guidance rather than implementing a formula that will not work for all prospects.
Research B2B Prospects Carefully, Adapt Your Script, and Talk to The Right People
Your B2B cold-calling approach begins with careful research. Some of the questions you will seek answers for include:
- Is this company likely to benefit from your product?
- What specific indicators have you noticed that make them look like a good match?
- Which manager will influence the purchasing decision in your favour?
- What kind of information will they need?
Use this information to craft a sales strategy before your representatives call. Tailor aspects of the pitch to match what you have learned about the specific companies you are targeting.
Selling an enterprise solution? Delivering a fabulous sales pitch to a receptionist is unlikely to be productive. Consider how to get past “gatekeepers.” They may ask what business your reps would like to discuss with specific managers. Develop a clear and concise response that makes a positive impression and can easily be conveyed verbatim.
Effective Cold-Calling With RSVP
Our cold-calling results speak for themselves. When undertaking cold-calling on behalf of Virgin Wines, we achieved a 25 to 35 percent conversion rate. Bear in mind, the industry benchmark for success is just ten percent.
Apart from our use of cutting-edge technology, our top secret to success lies in our choice to use professional actors to represent our customers. For them, adapting tone, pace, and delivery to represent a brand persona is second nature. They know how to “read the room,” responding to audience needs – and apart from reading cold-calling scripts with natural ease, they know when and how to improvise.
Our London-based outsourced sales solutions work wonders for our customers, earning us a reputation as a service provider that’s a cut above the rest. Pair the products you’re proud of with people who will represent you as well, and possibly better, than you could represent yourself.
We not only promise results – we deliver them. Work with us and get first-hand experience of the difference RSVP can make to your sales efforts.