A problem that a lot of sales reps struggle with, especially at scaling companies, where
processes might not be in place and the market isn’t aware of your product, is what to
say. This script is at the heart of our outbound
strategy and by script, I don't mean a piece of paper that you read off.
I mean, an indicator of what to say and when to say it.
My name is Ben, Marketing Development Representative at Cognism
and today, we are going to discuss the ultimate cold calling script that
new sales rep at Cognism uses when they’re being ramped up!
The script is broken down into five segments:
Opening
Pitch
Questions
Conversation
and closing
Now, this is used as a general guide, but not as an absolute rule.
At Cognism, we encourage all our SDRs to be individual in the way they sell.
Now this is due to how we all convey our messages.
This can be done through different tones, voice, different vocabulary you use on a day to day.
Now, the structure is there to help our reps with the flow of the conversation, not to pin down
their every word and just read off a piece of paper.
So, let's start with the opening.
This is the very start of your cold call. Often, if you’re calling a senior level
prospect, it’s the gatekeeper, typically a PA or secretary that will pick up the phone.
“Hi, it’s Ben from Cognism. Is Sarah available?” “What is it regarding?”
This is your chance to get creative. If it’s a first-time call, here are some replies we
use: “New business”
“Your client acquisition process” “How you find new clients”
Now, the reason why we use little snippits and quotes like this.
is because it relates directly to what we provide.
We help our clients find new clients, we help with their business development
really the key to this is to find little snippits that relate to your product or service.
Now, If it’s a follow-up, try: “oh, I’m just following up on an email
You can try different things, such as these:
I'm just following up on an email I sent to Sarah.” “I’m just chasing up on some emails. They’ll
know what it’s regarding.” When speaking to the gatekeeper, don’t be
afraid and treat them with respect.
You want to make it sound like you're meant to be speaking to the person on the other end of the phone.
you want to say "Hi, I'm looking to speak to Sarah;. Following up on some email correspondence"
Say it with confidence
That way, the gatekeeper isn't going to question what you're saying.
and they're more likely to put you through.
So, let's assume that your call is transferred, and the
prospect picks up… “Hi, its Ben from Cognism. How are you?”
“I'm good, thanks.” “Great! Look, Sarah, I’ll keep it brief
as I appreciate, you’re busy. I came across your company online and I can see you do
B2B sales. Have you got 30 seconds for me to explain the nature of my call?”
It’s vital to establish rapport early on in your cold call. Acknowledging that the
prospect’s time is limited, and asking for their permission to continue, is a good way
to start. So, they gave you permission, and now its time to pitch.
What I would like to say at this point is, again, is that the pitch is something that isn't set in stone.
It can change depending on the SDR or who you're talking to.
But the three things that you must remember:
• First, it must be Clear – the prospect must be able to understand it. Make sure you
adapt the pitch for each prospect. It must be relevant for them and their industry.
• Next, your pitch must be Concise – think of it as a springboard to further the conversation;
you don’t need to reveal absolutely everything about your business. One good tip is to think
of your pitch as a tweet – what can you convey in 280 characters or less?
• Lastly, it must be Easy to remember – you don’t want to get tongue-tied or lose the
flow on your cold call. Keep in mind 2-3 facts or stats up your sleeve and use them every time.
An example would be “We help companies like yours prospect and
gain new clients by giving you access to our lead generation tool that contains over 400
million B2B profiles.” Or
“We provide companies like yours with direct and accurate contact details for key decision-makers
in your target industries and locations. Ultimately saving you an abundance of time prospecting.”
When you’ve delivered your pitch, it’s time to progress to the next crucial stage,
the questions Asking open-ended questions is one of the
most essential things that any cold caller can do. In any call, the prospect must do
70% of the talking, while the salesperson should only do 30%.
The more the prospect talks and feels they’re being listened to, the more likely they are
to buy. in a recent study by HubSpot, 69% of buyers said that the one thing they wanted
from sales reps was to “listen to my needs”. Open ended questions are a great method of
showing the prospect you’re a good listener. They open up the conversation, allowing you
to gain vital insights that’ll help you in the last stages of the call.
Here are some examples we give to our SDRs:
“How do you currently go about finding new clients?”
“What does your outbound process look like at the moment?”
“How are you generating new leads?”
“What are your frustrations with your prospecting data at the moment?”
There are a number of tactics you can use to keep your prospects engaged and keep the conversation flowing.
Here are some good methods for getting the most out of your conversation.
1. Tonality The way you speak, this is extremely important.
You must always sound excited and enthusiastic, especially if the prospect is being blunt
and unresponsive. Now, if you're talking to senior level employees.
They're used to receiving these types of calls. You have to make yourself stand out and make yourself memorable.
Having good tonality, and sounding like you're approachable is a great place to start.
2. Pauses. Now, pauses enable us
to emphasise key points for example:
“Our lead generation tool gives you the access to 400 million B2b profiles… globally”
Using a simple pause will ensure that important points are quickly highlighted and are more
likely to stick in the prospects mind.
3. Mirroring All you have to do is keep your ear out and
listen to how the prospect speaks and the words they use. Then, imitate the way they
talk. It’s as easy as that! What’s the purpose behind this? Its proven
to be an effective way of building rapport and increasing the odds of being “accepted”
by the other person you’re talking to. It relaxes the prospect and makes them feel more
comfortable talking to you.
4. Repetition Don’t be afraid to repeat what the prospect
says to you. You’ll be surprised how much someone will reveal when they’re
questioned in a manner that relays the information they provided to you.
an example of this:
“all my sales team manually fine their leads”
"Ok, since your team is using a manual process. How we could really add value, is by reducing that and providing you a tool which can cut your prospecting time."
Repeating their words back to them shows that you have been listening.
encourages them to reveal more about their business.
Things such as what the process looks like, how long it takes, the amount
of recourses they put into it and so on. These are the further pain points which you can then address
one by one, steering them ever closer to the final stage in your cold call.
The closing
Following a conversation, you might be ready to go in for the close. If your feel like
you can close early, if you’ve addressed all the key pain points and the prospect has
shown interest in seeing your product in more depth – go for it!
“Look, Sarah, I appreciate this is a lot to take in over the phone. It would be great
to show you the tool and run some live searches for you. Have you got 15 minutes free later
this week?”
At this point, you’re likely to encounter some objections. If you try and close to early, they're going to push back.
The prospect will come back with some obstacles that you’ll have to overcome. One of the most common ones that’ll
crop up at the stage is:
“Please could you send me some more info first?”
When you get this question
generally, this means you've closed too early
you haven't generated enough interest for the prospect
for them to actually commit to seeing the platform or tool that you provide.
Some good responses to this are:
“I could send you some more information, but by the time you’ve read through it,
I could answer the questions you have. Why would you like to know?”
“it would be quicker and more useful to show you the platform. How does Monday at
11am sound?” At this point, an element of judgement is needed.
However, if you feel the prospect is on the move or very busy at the time, and perhaps pushing
harder for a demo will irritate them, you need to judge whether sending them a further
email would be easier. In which case, a good option is to find out
exactly what information they want in the email which correlates to that. A good example:
“What would you like me to include in the email?”
This will get the prospect to reveal their concerns, which you can then address on the
phone - eventually leading them back to the close.
Try out the above strategies for handling objections and persuading a hesitant prospect
to agree to a demo. Before you do so though, you must first gauge the receptiveness of
the prospect. Some people do not respond well to being pushed for a meeting.
When you get to the close, always make sure you qualify the prospect further before you
let them go. Such as this: “Great! In order to tailor the demonstration
as best as possible, and make the best use of your time, I just need a few details. Please let me ask one or two questions soI cna tailor the demo to you"
This will help the BDM or account executive to personalise the product demo to exactly
the prospect’s needs, increasing the chances of a sale. Then, when that’s over, it’s
time to end the call. “That’s great, thanks a lot for your time
today, Sarah. I really appreciate it. Do you need anything else from me or would you
like me to include anyone else on the call?” You can also repeat the agreed time of the
demo back to the prospect. It’s another way of making sure the demo stays in their
mind and means that (hopefully!) they’ll show up.
“That’s great, thanks a lot for your time today Sarah. I look forward to seeing you
on Monday at 11am.” And that’s it! You’re done! With this
ultimate cold calling B2B sales script, you should know exactly what to say to your prospect!
Thanks for watching!