It is not always considered the easiest thing to do when writing a cold call script. One challenge is that you typically only have a small amount of time for executing the cold call, and you most likely have a good amount of information that you would like to share and/or collect. The following are tips to assist with making a call script efficient and effective.
1. Determine the goal
Initially, before writing a call script, you want to determine the goal of the call. For example, is your goal to close a sale, simply establish a relationship, gather some information, schedule an appointment, etc.? By having your goals identified, you’ll clearly set the stage for the script.
2. Use brevity
Typically, most people you will cold call are busy. With that said, your cold calling script should be as brief and to the point as possible. Attempt to use as few words as possible and take out any words that don’t add value or that can simply be left out when writing a script.
3. Use an outline format
One quality of a good is one that is simple to use on a daily basis. Even if you transcribe the most optimal script, if it’s cumbersome to memorize, the use and effectiveness of it will be gone. By building a cold call script in an outline format, it will make it easy to use and adopt on every call.
4. Name drop
As you are cold calling, the prospect on the other end of the phone is going to have their guard up and will attempt to decipher if you’re a friend or a foe. You can add a spot in the cold calling script for name-dropping someone else in the organization to decrease a prospect’s guard.
Confirm availability: Keeping in mind that prospects we call are busy, it’s imperative to have a place within the cold call script for confirmation of their availability. This may come across as common knowledge, but this step can often be overlooked, and it’s very important for establishing rapport.
5. Communicate value
A value statement designed for capturing the prospect’s attention should be placed early in the cold call script. The overall goal of including a value statement is to share with the prospect how you help people who buy from you. Your statement should explain to the prospect the reason(s) they should use two to five minutes of their time speaking with you.
6. Disqualify
Adding a statement to a cold call script to disqualify a prospect is extremely powerful. Basically, it is a statement that explains to them that you aren’t sure if they’re the right individual for you to speak with or that you’re not certain if what you’re calling in regards to is a right fit for them. This helps to decrease the prospect’s guard because they’ll feel like you are not going to be too pushy or aggressive.
7. Qualify
Your time is very valuable as a salesperson. By spending the majority of your time with qualified prospects in terms of need, fit, and ability to purchase, you will maximize your sales performance significantly. Include qualifying questions in your call script to decrease the amount of time you waste on cold calls.
SalesScripter provides a sales script development tool to help sales pros to write a cold call script.
