Crafting the Perfect Cold Call Script
We get it. No one really says “Wow, I hope some random sales person I don’t know will call me today.” But the reality is cold calls work. Cold calling should be a part of every outbound strategy, because it gives you unique advantages in both closing sales and collecting important feedback, quickly.
For most of you, picking up the phone and calling a random stranger doesn’t come naturally. There’s a lot of fear and hesitation around making that first, second, or even 10th cold call. It’s much easier to send an email or a LinkedIn pitch. And those are both important in a comprehensive outbound sales strategy. In fact, we have an entire course on just on outbound email.
Fun fact: 49% of buyers prefer to be contacted through a cold call. Cold calling is far from dead.
So let’s get into it and cover our framework for a great script.
The Pitch Chart: Your Script Foundation
Before you jump to writing a script you need to get your pitch down. A succinct pitch serves as the cornerstone of your cold call script, providing a roadmap for concise and impactful communication. In cold calling, where seconds count, a well-crafted pitch ensures you get straight to the heart of the conversation.
The pitch chart looks like this:
The Formula: PRISM
Now that you’ve mastered your pitch, let’s put it into a framework. The PRISM formula, that we created and tested through thousands of cold calls, is comprised of five steps: Permission, Right Person, Investigate, Solution Outcome, and Meeting or Move On. Let's break down each component:
Permission and Right Person: You typically have 10-15 seconds to either earn the next minute, or completely turn someone off. Securing permission to proceed and confirming you're speaking with the right person are critical. Granting prospects control fosters trust and respect, setting a positive tone for the conversation.
Investigate: This is where you have the chance to be a scientist or a sales person. No one wants to talk to a sales person. Let go of wanting a meeting and seek to understand. And use a tone that shows openness and curiosity. When you are investigating, you want to validate your industry knowledge, your understanding of the persona you’re talking to, and set the stage for asking these probing questions. Push down your impulse to jump into selling.
Solution Outcome: Here’s your chance to relay back the problem/pain that the prospect has shared with you, and validate your expertise on their pain. You’ve listened, investigated with curiosity, and now you become an ally. Try saying the problem back and emphasizing why people come to you for help. Sprinkle in what they get from working with you.
Meeting or Move On: If you’ve gotten this far, a meeting probably makes sense. Be careful about the way you position it. No one wants to be sold to. But they do want to learn. Keep that in mind. And remember, you are going to open and helpful, not pushy. Sometime it’s just not a fit- so be honest! If what you are selling isn’t right for them, don’t push for a meeting. Tell them, it’s likely not a fit and move on.
It looks something like this:
Bringing Theory into Practice
With a solid foundation in place, it's time to translate theory into practice by crafting your cold call script. Let's integrate the insights from the pitch chart and the PRISM formula into a cohesive and compelling script:
Permission: “Hey John, Susan with ACME. You’re not expecting my call. Mind if I share why I reached out and then you can decide if you’d like to hang up?”
Relevance: “John, looks like you run sales dev at Initech”
Investigate: I’m hearing from (your target persona) who struggle with things like (challenge 1 and 2), does this resonate with you? - What does (process) look like for you? - Curious how you’re (getting the job done)?
Solution Outcome: “John, it sounds like your team is spending a lot of time trying to find mobile numbers and not having many live conversations. Other sales teams are using ACME to find accurate mobile numbers that help them reach more people while they’re cold calling.”
Meeting or Move On: “It sounds like data accuracy could help your team have more conversations. ACME is a B2B contact database that allows sales teams to pull accurate contact data into their sales tools without having to worry about wrong numbers or dialing through phone trees, so they can have more conversations that turn into meetings.”
And that’s it. Your goal is to be open, have a conversation and learn from your prospects.
If you need more help, we can custom-write a cold call script for you <details here> or take our online course.