How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script

by Wendy Weiss

Many people think they can just “wing it” or they “know what they want to

Say.” On the telephone, however, you have 10 seconds to grab and hold your

prospect’s attention and frequently you don’t get a second chance. Ten

Seconds goes by very quickly. Your first impression has to be strong enough

To carry you through the rest of your pitch. “Winging it” is risky and just

Generally doesn’t work, and “knowing what you want to say” without having

Actually crafted your message and practiced it can easily turn into “gee, I

didn’t say that very well…” In addition, when you have to think about what

You are going to say it is extremely difficult to focus on and listen to your

Prospect. You will be nervous and anxious and thinking about what might

Happen rather than focusing on what is happening.



Like the Girl Scouts, it is better to be prepared. A good script, a wellthought-

Out presentation that says what you want to say, precisely and

Succinctly, yet that still gives you room to maneuver, is one of the keys to a

Successful telephone pitch. This is about communication and about being

Prepared. In writing your script you are crafting a message and focusing

Your message to your prospect. Your goal with your script is for your

Prospect to hear you and for your prospect to get “hooked.”



So what makes a good script? Write your script the way you talk—and get to

The point. Written language and spoken language are very different. If your

Script is in written language you will sound phony. Real people do not speak

With capital letters at the start of sentences and periods at the end. People

Actually speak more in phrases or fragments, with pauses, sometimes

Improper grammar and the occasional ah or um… It is imperative that you

Sound real, so if you are having a difficult time with this, try talking into a

Tape recorder, then playing it back and writing down what you say.



Don’t bother asking your prospect “how are you today?” or “may I have a

Moment of your time?” or anything else. Start by asking for your prospect

By name. You have probably already asked the secretary for your prospect

By name but when you think your prospect is on the line, ask again. “Jane

Jones please.” There are two good reasons to do this. Reason number one—

Everyone loves the sound of their own name, and reason number two—the

More practical reason—you want to make sure that it is indeed your prospect

On the other end of the line and not the secretary or someone who picked up

By mistake. Then greet your prospect, “Hello Jane” or “”Hello Ms. Jones”-

Whichever way you are comfortable. Next, introduce yourself. “My name is

(your name goes here), my company is (your company name goes here)” or

“My name is (your name goes here), I’m with (your company name goes

Here).”



Next is your sound bite. A sound bite is one sentence, 2 seconds in length,

Which expresses simply and succinctly what you do (or what is your product

Or service). Example: Wendy Weiss teaches people to get what they want

Over the telephone.



So in one sentence you must describe what you or your company do. If you

Do not have a good, solid sound bite description, stop here and work on it till

You do.



Your sound bite, or the following line, should position you as the expert—

Someone (company, product or service) who stands out from the pack. If you Do this well you will preempt the objection: “I can’t meet with every

Salesperson who calls.” You will not be “every salesperson who calls.” To

Do this, you cannot say the same things that everyone else is saying—so be

Creative. When I started my business there were many others providing

Similar services representing companies, making calls and setting new

Business appointments for sales representatives. Generally these people

Worked in-house, were not particularly well paid and were called

Telemarketers. Even this early in my career I knew I was not a telemarketer. I

Decided I was a Marketing Consultant Specializing in New Business

Development. This put me in a different category altogether. I was the

Expert, the outside consultant hired to help develop new business. I could set

My own fees and work the way I wanted to work and build my business.



Another example: I have a client with whom I work setting up new business

Meetings. He is a printer— and New York City is full of printers. So this is

How I position my client and myself as experts. After introducing myself and

My client and giving my one sentence sound bite, I say: “…we’re educated,

we’re accommodating and we’re reasonable people.” At this point my

Prospect and I are no longer talking about printing—we are talking about

People. I have changed the subject, taking my client out of the “printer”

Category and placing him in the “people” category. This sentence does

Something else—it positions me, my client and the company on the same

Side as our prospect, with all of the uneducated, unaccommodating,

Unreasonable printers on the other side. Since anyone who has had any

Printing done has probably had at least one bad experience, they identify

With this sentence and I have them hooked. The last thing this particular

Sentence does is to make the prospect laugh. Laughter is a great connecting

Force.



Find a way to set yourself up as the expert. You can use phrases like “ we

Specialize in…” or “our reputation is…” “we are known for…” You can

Also name-drop credentials to help this positioning. Mention clients or

Customers in similar businesses as your prospect. This does two things: it

Lets your prospect know that you are familiar with their industry and it will

Also make prospects feel safer if they have not heard of you before. Most

People do not like being trailblazers and instead prefer to follow another’s

Lead. If they know that you work with others in their field they are more

Inclined to pay attention. Do try and sound bored when you name-drop

Credentials. It’s reverse psychology; if you sound impressed with your client

List, you can also sound rather foolish. If, however, you sound unimpressed

With your client list, it is actually a strong way of positioning yourself as the

Expert. In addition, if someone has referred you, this is a good place to drop

His or her name.



Next is the heart of the script. Describe your product or service, pointing out

Relevant customer benefits. Remember—your customers are interested in

Benefits. In addition, when you point out customer benefits remember, as

Much as possible with the limited knowledge you may initially have of your

Prospect, to point out customer benefits that may actually interest your

Prospect. Your prospect will buy for her reasons, not yours. That is why it is

Important to do your research so that you have a sense of what your prospect

May need and may be interested in.



Focus your message to your prospect and speak in their language. If your

Industry has a particular jargon—don’t they all?—use it. You cannot be the

Expert if you do not know the language. If, however, you are in an industry

That has a jargon—but your prospect doesn’t know or use that jargon—speak

Plainly. Your intent here is communication. You want to be understood. This

Part of your script does not need to be long and unwieldy--a few salient

Points will do. You can bolster this section with a success story, something

You, your company or product did for a customer. How you saved them

Money, or saved them time or saved the day when they were in a tight spot.

By inference, this will mean that you will do the same for your prospect. It is

Also a way of pointing out customer benefits without actually having to say

“and the benefit to you, Ms. Prospect, is…” You might have several

Different success stories that you use depending on the type of lead on which

You are working.



I recently worked with an accountant who is starting his own business. This

Client had no background in sales and had absolutely no idea about how to

Even begin to make introductory calls. He came up with several different

Success stories about clients in different industries and how he saved them

Money. He then targeted these stories to the appropriate prospects. He had a

Success story about an entrepreneur starting a new business—he told this to

Other entrepreneurs starting new businesses… He had a success story about

An attorney—he used this success story with other attorneys… These stories

Showed by inference that he understood their businesses, their needs and

Their problems. He had helped others with exactly the same businesses,

Needs or problems—he could therefore help his prospect as well. You can

Use success stories in exactly the same manner.



Your script is fluid. How your conversation with your prospect proceeds will

Determine what parts of your script you will use. So make sure to leave some

Maneuvering room in your script so that if you need to change tactics, for

Example tell a different success story, you can easily do it. You make sure

That you have maneuvering room by being prepared, knowing your customer

Benefits and knowing which customer benefits may interest a particular

Prospect. Also have several success stories that you can use depending on

The point you are trying to make. And please, don’t be afraid to say the

Unexpected or to use humor. Yes, this is business, but we don’t have to be

Dull about it.



Then the close. Here it is… Ask for what you want. All your hard work is

Worth nothing if you do not ask for what you want. Do not expect that your

Prospect will know what you want, or guess what you want, or offer what

You want… It is your job to ask, clearly and precisely.



So, what do you want? Most would probably answer that you want to turn

Your prospect into your customer. You want your prospect to buy your

Product or service. That’s all true, but that comes later. What you want now

Is to get your “foot in the door.” You want to introduce yourself, your

Product and/or your company so that later the prospect can be induced to

Buy. If your prospect does not know you, is not familiar with your product or

Service, they will never buy it. They have to know you exist before they will

Even consider making that purchase. Therefore what you want now is an

Appointment. At this moment you are not selling your product or your

Service, you are selling an appointment and only an appointment. You want

The prospect to give you 10 to15 minutes of their time, so that you can

Introduce yourself, your company, your product, your service—that is it. At

This point you are not asking for the prospect to do anything but give you

Time. You are not asking her to buy anything or change anything that she

Does—only to meet with you.



If you think about the appointment in this manner, you will also realize that

Almost any objection to a meeting that your prospect may voice is then

Largely irrelevant. Perhaps your prospect already has a vendor that provides

A similar product or service. So what. None of us can predict the future. The

Situation could change. Besides, you’re not asking that she buy anything,

You want to meet with her and introduce yourself. Period. Perhaps your

Prospect doesn’t use a similar product or service and says she has no need.

She doesn’t need it; she will never need it. So what. None of us can predict

The future, anything is possible, and one day perhaps she may. Now I am not

Suggesting that you spend your time setting up meetings with people who do

Not need your product or service, but what I am saying is that the

Qualification is on your part, you actually need to decide if you want to meet

This prospect. Is this prospect worth your time and energy?



Salespeople frequently ask me about closing a sale. Closing a sale is

Certainly your ultimate goal. You will also use many of the same techniques

To close that you use in introductory calling. At this moment, however, your

Focus must be on “getting in the door.” This is step one and all of the other

Steps follow this. You cannot allow your anxiety about closing a sale to

Interfere with the step you need to start the process that ultimately will effect

That sale.



When making introductory calls it is always vital to stay “in the moment.”

That means that you are only thinking about what you are doing right then.

You are not looking at the past; you are not looking into the future. You are

In the present—moment by moment. If your previous call was a disaster—it

doesn’t matter. It is now history. Your focus is on now. When in the middle

Of an introductory call, you must also be careful not to allow yourself to

Worry about your future introductory calls. That’s in the future. Your focus

Needs to be totally on what you are doing at the moment. And what you

Should be doing at the moment is making an appointment.



So with that out of the way--what do you say?



Ask for an appointment--ask for a meeting. I generally like the word

“meeting” better than “appointment.” It has more weight and substance. Say:

“I would like to meet with you,” “I would like to introduce myself, my

Company, my product…” “I need 10 minutes of your time.” Be clear, be

Bold, be to the point. Give them some choices of times: “Is this Thursday

Good or would next Thursday be better?” It is easier for your prospect to

Choose between options, such as different dates, than to decide whether and

If to schedule. Assume your prospect will schedule the meeting. It makes

Sense that they would want to. If they are using a similar product or service

Then they need you or someone just like you. If, on the other hand, you are

Introducing a product or service that is new or that your prospect is not

Aware of, something that might save them time or money…you are helping

Them—and they will want to know.



Additionally, if your prospect is already using a similar product or service

Then making the decision to purchase this particular item is part of their job.

And they are supposed to do their job to the best of their ability. Part of that

Would be finding the best for the least, staying on top of new developments

In the field, exploring options, contingency planning… This is where you

Come in. Meeting with you works to your prospect’s advantage. By

Introducing yourself and your product or service you are helping your

Prospect to do her job.



Once you have scheduled the meeting, make sure that you confirm the

prospect’s name, title, and address. Also make sure she has your name, your

Company name and telephone number. Repeat the date and time of the

Meeting at least twice. You want to make sure that you are both talking

About the same date. In addition, as you give your prospect your name etc.

And when you repeat the meeting date and time use your voice to direct your

Prospect to write everything down. Speak s-l-o-w-l-y and distinctly at a pace

That they can write. Your prospect will interpret this way of speaking as a

Direction to write. This way they too will have the meeting in their calendar

And there should be no mix-ups.



The Script Formula:

Ask for the prospect by name
Say hello. “Hi. Ms. Prospect” or “Hi Jane”
Identify yourself and your company. “My name is ______. My company is_____”
Say what you do (sound bite)
Position yourself as the expert. Use phrases like “we specialize in…” Or “our reputation is…” “we are known for…” You can also do some name dropping of credentials here
Describe your key selling points and clearly point out the Customer Benefits
Tell a success story that is tailored to your prospect to help point out Customer Benefits
Ask for what you want—an introductory meeting. “I would like to meet with you…” “I would like to introduce myself, my company, my product…” “I need 10 minutes of your time.” “Is this Thursday good or would next Thursday be better?”
Keep asking for what you want.