Here is a cold call script example from a salesperson who is selling cable and internet services. In this video and blog post, I will break down the call into the different steps of the SMART cold call process. At each step, I will share what she does and then share what I would do, and between the two, you should be able to walk away with ideas and thoughts for how to improve your cold calling and cold call script.

 

SMART Cold Calling Process

These are the steps that you can go through during a cold call. You don’t have to go through each of these steps, but they provide optional directions to go and things to talk about depending on how the prospect responds.

  • Introduction
  • Give a Reason for Talking
  • Pre-Qualifying Questions
  • Pain Points
  • Product and Company Info
  • Close

 

Introduction

In this cold call script example, the salesperson starts out the call by saying this:

This is XXX calling with XXX, how are you?
Are you the one that deals with your internet and phone?

I recommend not asking prospects on cold calls how they are doing and would open the call this way:

This is [Your Name] calling with [Your Company], have I caught you in the middle of anything?

I also typically do not ask the prospect if they are the right person to talk to with my first question because I usually try to narrow them down to being close to the right person with my research or by their title and then let them tell me if they are not the right person. If I am not able to identify if they are the right person through our discussion, I will ask if they are the right person toward the end of the cold call or in the first appointment meeting.

 

Give a Reason for Talking

The very first thing that you want to do or say on a cold call is to give the prospect a reason to talk with you. You are calling them and want them to talk to you, so give them a reason why they should do that. In this cold call script example, the salesperson says this at this point in the cold call:

I was checking to see if we could discuss business and if I could earn your business?

She gives a reason but the reason is more aligned with her interest in selling her services and getting a new client. The prospect does not care about that, so this reason is not a good motivator for the prospect. I would say this:

The reason for my call is that we help small businesses to decrease their costs for internet, phone, and security.

I don’t know if I can help you to decrease costs the same way I have with other small businesses and that is why I am reaching out.

This reason is basically the value that the salesperson has to offer the prospect and that is a reason for them to talk. I also include a soft takeaway after the reason for talking.

 

Pre-Qualifying Questions

The next step in the process is to ask some pre-qualifying questions. On this cold call script example, the salesperson does a decent job of asking questions by asking these questions:

  • Do you use XXX or who is your supporter right now?
  • How is that been going for you?
  • Could it be better? Pricing? Service? Any of it?

Those are what I would classify as Current Environment Questions as they probe to learn what is currently going on with the prospect. They are not bad the way she asks them but I think they could be better and this is how I would ask these questions:

  • Who are you currently using today?
  • How long have you been with them?
  • How is everything going?
  • What are some of the things you like about what they provide?
  • What are some things that you think could be better?
  • If you could change one thing about their product/service, what would it be?
  • When was the last time you considered other options in this area?
  • (Sizing Question) How many _____ do you currently have?

But before I ask about the prospect’s current environment, I would probably ask some Pain Questions and these are questions that probe for pain in the areas the product can help:

  • How happy are you with the quality of service that you are getting? Internet speeds? Service quality?
  • How confident are you that you have the best available prices for the services you are using?
  • How do you feel about the customer service and support you get?

 

Pain Points

Up to this point in the call, you have asked a few questions and your hope with those is to uncover something that could be better for the prospect. If your questions do not uncover that, you could just share the pain points you help to solve and see if the prospect has any of those with something like this:

A lot of small businesses that I talk to have issues with:

  • Feel like they are paying too much
  • Experience low internet speeds or service disruptions
  • Unhappy with customer service

Are you concerned about any of those?

On this cold call script example, the salesperson does not perform this step.

 

Product and Company Info

Toward the end of the call, you need to build a little interest in what you sell so that you can close the prospect on moving to the next step in your sales process, which should probably be to set an appointment or schedule a meeting. You only have 30 to 60 seconds for this, so some high-level details like this can work:

We have [Product] and it includes:

  • Feature 1
  • Feature 2

Some ways we differ is that:

  • Differentiation 1
  • Differentiation 2

Name Drop

  • I worked with a business around the corner from you and provided our X package.
  • This actually decrease their monthly spend by 20% and they ended up with a better package of services with better customer service.

 

Close

On this cold call script example, the salesperson says this to close:

Are mornings or afternoons a better time to follow up?
Maybe follow up towards the end of the week. Does that sound good for you?

My main concern for that is that she tries to schedule time for a casual follow-up call, and I think if the call is handled properly, you can strengthen that by closing for the appointment with this:

Are mornings or afternoons a better time to schedule a quick meeting? We can either have a call or I can pop by your office.

I hope this cold call script example gives you some ideas of how you can improve your cold call script and cold calling efforts.