Cold Calling Scripts That Work: Drive More Leads and Revenue with the Right Sales Call Scripts

Cold Calling Scripts That Work: Drive More Leads and Revenue with the Right Sales Call Scripts

November 14, 2023 | Convoso

Let’s face it, if you’re cold calling leads, things aren’t always easy. Today’s leads are harder to reach than ever. Once you do get someone on the phone, you can’t blow your chance to convert.

Even worse: You’ve got less than 20 seconds—maybe even less than 10—to hook your potential customer.

But how do you craft that high-performing cold call script in the first place? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Below, you’ll find some tips on how to guide agents in a starring performance of your Pulitzer Prize-winning outbound sales script.

Alright, we exaggerate. But peruse these tips for creating sales call scripts, along with the examples of cold calling scripts we’ve provided, and you’ll be on the fast track to boosting your ROI—which is its own kind of prize.

How to Create Cold Call Scripts That Work

Cold calling can feel like a daunting task, even for the most experienced sales reps. But no matter who you are, the key to success lies in the preparation and structure of your cold call script. A well-crafted script not only guides you through the call but also helps you build rapport and address a customer’s needs and concerns.

Walk through the process of how to create a cold call script here—and start developing scripts that aren’t just scripts, but powerful tools for opening dialogues and driving more sales. From understanding your audience to refining your approach based on real-world feedback, these steps are designed to put your cold calling strategy front-and-center and increase your close rate.

Step 1: Research and Understand Your Audience

Understanding your audience is paramount in any area of outbound sales and lead generation, including cold calling. Start by identifying the industry, size, and nature of the businesses you’re targeting, or the key, shared demographic data of consumers in your list. From there, gather information about their current challenges, needs, and the solutions they might be looking for. 

This process can help you create realistic personas, which can be crucial to getting better results. That’s because treating the numbers on your lists like real customers with real problems allows you to personalize the script, making it more relevant and engaging to the potential customer. Use social media, company websites, industry reports, and other sources to gather as much information as possible.

Step 2: Define Your Objectives

Every cold call should have a clear objective. Are you trying to set an appointment, gathering info to qualify a lead, striving for the direct sale? Your objective will dictate the overall structure and underlying tone of your script. For instance, if the goal is to set an appointment, the script should be geared towards piquing interest and securing the meeting, rather than pushing for an immediate sale.

Step 3: Craft a Strong Opening

First impressions are critical in cold calls. Your opening should be concise, engaging, and tailored to the listener. Begin with a friendly greeting and a brief introduction of yourself and your company. An effective opening could involve a compelling fact about the prospect’s industry or a common challenge they might be facing. Avoid sounding scripted; the goal is to initiate a natural, flowing conversation. In the meantime, be sure that you present yourself as respectful of the prospect’s time.

Step 4: Highlight Key Value Propositions

Clearly articulate what makes your product or service unique. Your script should quickly and effectively communicate how your offering can benefit the potential customer. Focus on benefits that directly address the needs and pain points you identified in your audience research. Keep your language clear, simple, and jargon-free to ensure your message is easily understood.

Step 5: Anticipate and Address Common Objections

Prepare for potential objections. Common sales objections might include budget constraints, satisfaction with current suppliers, or a lack of perceived need. Your script should include empathetic and informed responses to these objections. Show understanding and offer solutions or alternative perspectives that can help overcome these hurdles.

Related Content

Read about the 5 Keys to Handling Sales Objections in the guest post by our integration partner Balto.

Step 6: Include a Strong Call-to-Action

Your script should always end with a clear call-to-action (CTA). This might be an invitation to schedule a follow-up appointment or meeting, a request to send over more information, or an offer for a product demo or quote. Ensure your CTA is specific, achievable, and relevant to what was discussed during the call. A strong CTA will guide the prospect towards the next step in the sales process.

Step 7: Test and Refine the Script

Continuously improve your script based on real-world feedback. After using the script in live calls, take note of what works and what doesn’t. If you’re a manager, enlist the help of your agents, and refine your script accordingly—adjusting openings, value propositions, and responses to objections as needed. Regularly testing and updating your script is essential for maintaining its effectiveness over time.

Outbound Cold Call Script Examples

Still not sure exactly where to get started? Use these outbound call center script examples to get the ideas flowing.

The Initial Approach: Setting an In-Person Meeting

For many outbound call centers, the initial phone conversation with a lead is all about setting a follow-up meeting. That meeting is where you’ll sell your product, not the phone call. For that reason, it’s important to stay light on the product info and focus on setting a meeting. To do so, your to-the-point script might look something like this:

Hello, my name is _____ and I work with  [Company Name] . Are you familiar with us? We are _____. 

[Note: This moment is a good opportunity to remind a lead how, where, and perhaps why they opted-in to be contacted in the first place. Don’t forget, you’re usually calling your leads because they’ve expressed interest in hearing from you!]

The reason I’m calling is that I’ll be attending a [Event/Meeting] in your city/town and I wanted to stop by to introduce myself and my company. Would you have some time on (Date) at (Time) or (Alternative Time)?

Handling Objections to the Appointment

As we discussed, objections are par for the course. Don’t be discouraged, however. Equip your agents with the right responses. For example, if your prospect tells you to that it’s best to talk to someone else, your cold call script template might include something like:

Great! I’ll be glad to meet with/talk to whomever you recommend, however, my experience suggests that I meet/talk with you for a few minutes. Then, if you’d like to proceed, I’m more than happy to meet up with you wherever you’d like.

As I mentioned, I’ll be in your area on _____ and I’d really like to stop by and introduce myself and my company. I really believe you’ll get value from it. Would you have some time on [Date] at [Time] or [Alternative Time]?

If your lead says that they would rather you send them the information than set an in-person meeting, you might respond to the objection with:

[Prospect Name], great, I’ll be happy to do that. However, the material we have doesn’t cover everything I’d like to tell you in person. It will just take about 15 minutes.

As I mentioned, I’ll be in your area on [Date], would you have some time at [Time] or [Alternative Time]?

Alternatively, suppose your prospect claims they’re not interested, you might respond to that objection by following this outbound script example:

[Prospect Name], I can certainly understand that. Most people don’t have enough info when I call to know whether they are interested or not. In order to give you the most insight for your company specifically, I can put together some material that’s custom-tailored to highlight areas specific to your needs. May I follow up to present that material to you on [Date] around [Time] or [Alternative Time]? 

How Dynamic Scripting Drives Engagement—and Helps Agents Stick to Cold Calling Scripts

These cold calling script samples only scratch the surface of potential introductions and responses that today’s businesses can use when talking to their customers. Luckily, with the advancements of today’s call center automation technologies, businesses can use smart, dynamic scripting that accounts for virtually all possibilities.

Outbound call center agent using Dynamic Scripting

Dynamic scripting prepares your agents to interact with each specific lead by auto-populating dynamic fields you select within the script, such as their first name. It can also prompt agents to a new set of instructions or a different script loaded with CRM data, based on the reaction of the lead.Once you input your script and set up the flow, a predefined page pops up every time a call is connected, prompting the agent to say the correct thing at the correct time. Scripts can be simple with all information on one page, or you can move from page to page based on the lead’s responses.

Dynamic Scripting Boosts Call Center ROI

The automation of dynamic scripting decreases training time, helping to drive call center efficiency, and get agents on calls making money sooner. Managers report seeing agent motivation dramatically improve when using dynamic scripting. With greater call center efficiency, call center agents experience more success more often. The result? More revenue, lower turnover.

Boom. Just like that, you’ve just boosted your call center ROI.

To understand the power of this tool, get a demo of Convoso’s dynamic scripting capabilities, powerful predictive dialer software for increased conversations, and other advanced tools and dialer features tailor-made for outbound call centers.

Looking for a dialer that will give you the competitive edge all year? Check out our solutions with a DEMO  You’ll be amazed at the difference.

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