In this blog post, we will dive into a cold call sample. To start, let’s outline a common introduction.

Gatekeeper: Thank you for calling Pipe Supply Company, how can I help you?
Sales person: Hi, I am trying to reach the director of HR, can you point me in the right direction?
Gatekeeper: May I ask what this is in regards to?

Let’s stop here and look at that exchange before moving on. First, you can anticipate spending about 50% or more of your cold calling time talking to gatekeepers. That is simply the way it works, so it is important to develop your skills and knowledge around how to best deal with them.

Another thing that needs to be pointed out is that the gatekeeper delivers an objection of “What is this call in regards to?” This is an objection because it is meant to draw a response from you that allows them to shut you down, and this is one of the most common tactics that gatekeepers use.

If you directly answer that question with a response of trying to make an introduction, trying to schedule a meeting, or trying to learn more about their needs, which all are likely the truth in the cold calling sample, the gatekeeper will have what they need to know that you are a salesperson and they need to shut you down. To resolve this challenge, simply respond with your value statement.

Sales person: The reason why I am calling is that we help HR departments to improve their ability to meet federal compliance requirements.

Gatekeeper: OK, let me connect you with Bill Tucker.

Target prospect: Hello, this is Bill.

Sales person: Hi Bill, this is Susan from Employee Connect. Have I caught you in the middle of anything?

In place of asking how the prospect is doing in the cold call sample, we ask if we have caught him in the middle of anything. This is to confirm that it is a decent time to try to execute our call if he is dealing with a fire or has someone sitting with him, we are not going to be able to get anywhere.

Target prospect: No I am ok.

Sales person: Great, the purpose for my call is that we help HR departments to improve their ability to meet federal compliance requirements. I don’t know if that is an area that you are concerned with so I had a couple of questions, if you have just a couple of minutes.

Target prospect: OK.

Sales person: How concerned are you about your ability to stay up to speed with all of the ever changing federal compliance requirements?

In the cold calling sample, we ask a qualifying question to identify if the prospect needs what we sell. This can also make the call more conversational and less of a hard-sell approach.

Target prospect: This is a constant headache.

Sales person: Well, that is one of the areas that we help businesses to make sure they are doing everything correctly and we do that through a mix of consulting and software solutions. But I have called you out of the blue, do you have time to discuss in more detail next Tuesday or Thursday morning?

SalesScripter provides to help sales pros access a cold call sample.