The art of COLD CALLING

The art of COLD CALLING

Hello! Cold Calling? Many salespeople like to distinguish between cold calls, warms calls and lukewarm calls. However, a cold call refers to any situation where you are attempting to contact someone without a scheduled appointment either someone is expecting your call at a specific time and it s on their calendar, or they are not. The fact that the prospect is an old friend, a new friend, was referred by a colleague, filled out a Contact Me form or you pulled their name off of data. com simply defines the source of that prospect rather than the temperature of the call. Of course inbound requests, referrals and personal relationships are more comfortable calls to make, and they will absolutely have a better ratio of dials to meetings set. That said, it is critical to: (1) (2) Use the exact same process in all of your prospecting efforts, and Acknowledge that when you are not on someone s calendar, you are interrupting something they are doing, which, by definition, is a cold call. Remember the Goal The goal of sales prospecting (again regardless of lead source) is not to generate interest, excitement or even to have a conversation right now. The goal of sales prospecting is to convert an interruption into a scheduled interaction, specifically a brief (10 15 minute) phone conversation. In the following scripts, you ll notice a lot of the information that would normally be conveyed up front and all at once is intentionally (even artificially) broken up into multiple sentences that require the prospect to respond. More specifically, this call flow script is engineered so that the prospect is highly likely to respond in a relatively limited number of predictable ways. Practice these scripts. Increase conversions of calls to scheduled interactions. Realize greater ROI. Happy Selling, Townsend Wardlaw TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 1

Cold Calling Script Gatekeeper: Salesperson: GK GK Hello, this is Bob Smith s Office. Bob Smith, please. Who may I say is calling? This is MY NAME. What company are you with? I m with MY COMPANY. Bob is still the CFO right? [VALIDATION Question] GK What is this regarding? I am looking to get on Bob s calendar for a brief introductory call. Are you able to route me through to him? Are you responsible for scheduling appointments on his calendar? GK What does your company do? We are in finance and accounting software business. Are you familiar with MY COMPANY? [Then Routed to Voice Mail or work through the Gatekeeper to a live conversation.] TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 2

Voice Mail Hello Bob, this is MY NAME and I m the founder of MY COMPANY. The purpose of my call today is I am looking to schedule a 10 minute introductory conversation sometime early next week to formally introduce myself and my company as well as learn a bit more about THEIR COMPANY. I m sorry I missed you but will continue to try and reach you until we are able to connect. In the meantime, if you have spare minute you can reach me at MY PHONE NUMBER. TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 3

Live Conversation Script Prospect: Salesperson: P This is Bob. Hi Bob, this is MY NAME with MY COMPANY. Have I caught you at a bad time? Yes, but what is this about? Thank you for asking. Once again, my name is MY NAME, I m the founder of MY COMPANY. The purpose of my call is I am looking to schedule 10-15 minutes for an introductory conversation sometime early next week (or later this week). Would you have 10 minutes on Thursday afternoon say 1pm? P I m sorry, what is this about? Who are you? My name is MY NAME and I m the founder of MY COMPANY. P Have you heard of MY COMPANY? No I have not. (What does YOUR COMPANY do?) I work with [HIS TITLE] of [COMPANY SIZE] [INDUSTRY] like yourself in the area of [HIGH LEVEL CONCEPT OF WHAT YOU DO]. [ASK A VALIDATION QUESTION ABOUT HIS COMPANY] Is that accurate? P Yes, it is. Excellent! As I mentioned, the purpose of my call is to schedule a brief 10 minute introductory conversation sometime early next week (or later this week). P But what do you do? Great question. We [USE A HIGH LEVEL ENHANCED VALUE PROPOSITION STATEMENT]. The purpose of my call is to schedule a brief 10 minute introductory conversation sometime early next week (or later this week). [SCHEDULE CALL] Would Thursday afternoon work by chance at 1pm MDT? TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 4

Time! There are only FIVE possible objections you will face during cold call prospecting. Remember these steps: (1) (2) (3) Agree with the objection. It s their perception, belief, or reaction, so don t argue with them. Use the objection as an opportunity to gather information. Ask a clarifying or qualifying question. Get back to the purpose of your call! You are calling to schedule a meeting so suggest a time. TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 5

Time! We already do this! Agree: That s wonderful! I spend most of my day speaking with folks who are satisfied with their. Clarify / Qualify: Tell me this, [ASK A VALIDATION QUESTION]? Redirect to Goal: Well, that is interesting. Again, as I mentioned, the purpose of my call was to schedule an introductory conversation sometime early next week. Looking at my calendar, I see an opening on Thursday at 1pm mountain time. How does that look on your calendar? #1 #2 I am very busy. I don t have time for this! Agree: I understand you are a busy professional. That s exactly why I am proposing a quick 10 minute conversation at a time when I am not interrupting you. Clarify / Qualify: Just to make sure I am not barking up the wrong tree, I wanted to confirm that my records are correct when you indicate [ASK A QUALIFYING QUESTION]? Is that accurate? Redirect to Goal: Perfect. Looking at my calendar, I see an opening on Thursday at 1pm mountain time. How does that look on your calendar? TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 6

Time! #3 I m not interested! This doesn t sound like something we would be interested in. Agree: Fair enough. In fact, I imagine if was front and center on your radar. You d be calling me rather than the other way around. Clarify / Qualify: Let me ask you this. [ASK A QUALIFYING QUESTION]? Redirect to Goal: Perfect. Looking at my calendar, I see an opening on Thursday at 1pm mountain time. How does that look on your calendar? #4 This sounds interesting. Let s talk now! Agree: I very much appreciate the offer Bob. However, given you are willing to give me a little of your time, I am hesitant to do you the disrespect of presenting myself without having done the appropriate research ahead of time. With your permission I d like to have a few days to properly prepare. Is that fair? Clarify / Qualify: Just to make sure I am not barking up the wrong tree, [ASK A QUALIFYING QUESTION]? Redirect to Goal: Perfect. Looking at my calendar, I see an opening on Thursday at 1pm mountain time. How does that look on your calendar? TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 7

Time! #5 Send me information. Agree: Absolutely. I d be happy to send you some information, and we have some great materials as well. Clarify / Qualify: So that I have a better understanding of your current situation, [ASK A QUALIFYING QUESTION]? Redirect to Goal: Looking at my calendar, I see an opening on Thursday at 1pm mountain time. Does that look good on your calendar? Alternate Ending: Note: If the prospect objects and wants you to send information first before agreeing to meet, you ll need to offer them an out. I understand what you are asking and I am happy to do just that. However, in the interest of saving both of us time can I ask if you are just saying that to get me off the phone? If they say yes then respond: No problem, and thank you for your candor. With your permission, I ll try to catch you in a few days or weeks. Can I ask you quickly before I let you go, [ASK A QUALIFYING QUESTION]? If they say No (some genuinely will review information), then respect their position and let them know a specific date and time when you will be calling them back. Create this as a calendar event, and don t drop the ball! TownsendWardlaw.com // Page 8