I received a call today, and I think that it is a great “not so great” cold call script example. Here is how it started off:

Ring Ring
Halper: Hello, this is Michael.
Caller: Hi Mr. Halper. How are you doing today?
Halper: I am good. How are you doing?

Let’s jump in here at this point to look at what is wrong so far. Notice that I am asking someone how they are doing, and I do not even know who I am talking to. He asks me how I am doing before introducing himself and if someone asks me how I am doing, I always ask how they are doing, and in this case, I have no idea who it is, and I am asking how they are doing. That is a little weird right?

And it is not my fault; I am trying to be polite. But the caller has clearly skipped something, and that is to introduce himself. We actually advise not to ask the prospect how they are doing at the beginning of a but whether you do or not, always introduce yourself and your company at the beginning of the call with something like, “Hi, this is [your name] calling from [your company]. Let’s continue through the call.

Caller: I am good. This is [his name] from [his company]. I appreciate you taking time to talk with me here today.

OK, what is wrong with this piece? He thanked me for taking the time to talk with him. How does he know that I want to talk with him or that I am even available to talk with him? He is essentially thanking me for something that I did not agree to give him.

We always advise confirming that the prospect is available for your call in a cold call script example by asking, “Have I caught you in the middle of anything?” If he would have asked this, it would have been more appropriate for him to share his appreciation.

Caller: The reason for the call is that we have high demand in our preowned department for the vehicle that you drive so I wanted to see if you are interested in coming in and seeing what you could get for it and see what new models are available.

You know what I call on this last part – I call BS. I don’t think that there is a line of people asking for my model at the preowned department, and this leads to the salespeople needing to call the current owners of my model and see who is interested in trading theirs in. Could he probably sell my model quickly? Sure. But I do not think he is being honest with what he is saying right there, and that has a negative impact on the level of rapport and trust that I have with him.

Caller: How is your car treating you?

OK, now we finally get to the caller saying something good in this cold call script example. This is an excellent pre-qualifying question. My answer to this will help the caller to begin to have an idea if I am anywhere close to being a prospect for him.

Halper: It is great. And I actually will probably keep driving it for a number of years.
Caller: Yes, I understand. And those are great and you can definitely do that as that model will keep running well for a long time.

On this last part of this cold call script example, I am concerned about how he handled the objection. Yes, maybe I am not a qualified prospect, but he complied with the objection and gave in right away. We recommend trying to get around an objection at least 2 to 3 times before moving on. What he could have done is redirect the objection to ask another pre-qualifying question.

Caller: Listen, if you reach a point where you want to look at something new, please remember my name and come in and see us. Again my name is [his name].

Do you know what I did right after this sentence on the call? I forgot the guy’s name. Don’t just tell me your name over the phone. If you want me to remember your name, send me something. An email or card, something I could file away. He also probably could have closed on a next step. Even if I am not going to come in to see him anytime soon, he could have scheduled his follow-up call with me in this cold call script example. If I were to provide this caller coaching, here are my tips:

      • Introduce yourself first thing on the call.
      • Don’t ask a cold prospect how they are doing.
      • Confirm I am available for your call.
      • Ask more pre-qualifying questions to find out what is going on with me
      • Have your pre-qualifying questions tied to pain that a prospect might be experiencing
      • Have a response to the objection that I gave you
      • Respond to any objections with another pre-qualifying question or common pain points
      • Don’t give up and comply with my first objection
      • Schedule the next call back, even if it is a year or more out, and call me back at that time
      • Don’t just give me your name; I already forgot it
      • Send me a follow-up email so that I will remember your name better and have something I could save

 

That is pretty much the end of the, and we hope that this cold call script example helps you with your cold calls.