Everyone has at some point improved upon a prior conversation in their heads. You know, the kind where you have been in discussion with your colleague, and the next day in the shower, you think of 50 better comebacks, five new jokes, and whatnot. 

But now the moment is gone; you cannot use those awesome comebacks. Tough, isn’t it? 

Of course, if you’re on a sales team, you probably tend to playback sales pitches. “Oh, I should have played that card for this objection!”

“Oh no, why didn’t I quote that success story from existing client X when prospect Y said abc!” 

And the truth is you make lots of calls in a day, and all of them could go to waste if you aren’t using all the aces in your deck.

And no amount of next-day shower ideas will be able to get you another chance with those prospective customers. 

And yet, cold calling can often be stressful, even for sales stars with tons of experience. 

You're not the only one who feels this way about cold calling! 

Cold calling is difficult. We get it. 

It takes patience and comes with lots of rejection. Even when you get hold of the right lead, you'll only have a few minutes to clearly explain the value of your product to them.

In those few high-pressure minutes, how are you supposed to play all the best cards in your deck? All the best tricks up your sleeve. All the rabbits in your hat. 

Not possible, right?

Well, what if you had prompts? 

Clear, concise, and straightforward cold-calling scripts can help you bring your best sales game to every call, from the discovery call to the pitch call - no matter how challenging the potential customer at the other end of the line is. In fact, sales scripts can help you ace every step of your sales process. You can also take cues from some of the winning cold-calling strategies here. 

Cold call script templates 

Here are some of the best cold calling scripts that sales reps can use for building rapport and handling objections

1. Dealing with gatekeepers. 

We’re starting with this call script example because gatekeepers tend to be a sales professional’s foremost hurdle in the calling process. Cold calling is very much like one of those online treasure hunt games. You have the map of the treasure and all the necessary supplies in your backpack. You can reach your destination in no time. But what's a game without any hurdles? 

You need to get past some gatekeepers of the treasure to finish the game. 

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The gatekeepers in the cold calling game are tough nuts to crack. And the reality is that quite often, they exist to ward off cold callers. 

Ouch! 

It’s the truth: Most calls must go through at least one person before reaching the decision-maker whom you actually called to speak to. You often have to deal with the person's secretary, assistant, or subordinate.

The best way to get through this is to connect with the person you're speaking with and turn them into an ally rather than an obstacle. Use a sales script that goes something like:

“Hello, I am Thomas. I was wishing you could help. I looked through [COMPANY’S] LinkedIn page but just couldn't find your name there. Do you usually answer the phone? I'd feel much better about contacting you for a favor if I knew your name first.

(Say the gatekeeper's name again and offer thanks to them.)

I would like to talk with [PROSPECT'S NAME] or whoever is in charge of (mention the department). "What is the best way to go about doing this?"

This technique works best for salespeople pursuing leads in large corporations or upper-management decision-makers.

Be sure to take note of the gatekeeper’s name so that you can personalize your greeting in follow-up calls. 

2. The classic ‘I am busy’

"I don't have the time."

“Call me next week” (and when you do, they repeat the same spiel).

This is just a polite way of saying, "You're not important enough right now."

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How would you handle this roadblock?

Easy! Showing them that you have something valuable that is worth their time and could help them achieve their goals or overcome their pain points.

Here's a good way to deal with this rather common objection:

“I understand that this isn't a top priority for you right now, or that you don't see the value. Several people said the same thing, but after a brief discussion, they were eager to learn more. Give me two minutes of your time, and I guarantee you’ll have a better idea of the value we bring to the table, or you’ll know otherwise and I’ll be on my way.” 

Don’t forget to say it with a smile in your voice. (Yes, that's a thing!) 

3. "A mutual friend gave me your phone number."

How can a cold call be turned into a warm call?

Well, a lot of sales professionals will agree nothing beats the clever "A friend referred me" opening line. Referrals work like a charm.

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You can always say that a mutual link suggested you contact them.

“Hello [NAME], Joe and I are currently seeing great results from automation, and Your name came up when we were considering who else may be likely to benefit from this.

"Congrats on [making an investment/acquiring a new item/other personalization]."Your work at [PROSPECT COMPANY] is incredible!”

"I'd love to demonstrate to you how we helped Joe achieve [RESULT] and how we could be able to accomplish the same outcome for you. Do you think you'd be willing to take part in this?

Set an appointment for further discussion or a demo as usual from this point.

Of course, even with a reference, you might have to answer some questions. Follow your usual procedure, and whenever they need additional reassurance - over and above what you can offer by way of case studies and success stories -  you can always remind them that they can verify your claims with mutual friend Mike. 

Bite-sized pitches are easier to swallow (and deliver!)

Nobody likes to just pick up the phone and hear a truckload of information. 

It might be too much for them to process. 

Put yourself in their shoes. Would you like to pick up the phone and be bamboozled by someone going blah-blah-blah? Apply this philosophy to your cold-calling scripts.

How? Instead of overloading your prospect with information, present them with a one-sentence value proposition.

“Hello [NAME], This is Daniel. I'm calling sales-driven organizations in our industry to see how our solution would be beneficial to them.

To give a brief of what we do, we assist sales managers in empowering their reps to become unstoppable by providing a CRM for maximizing the output from their sales process.

Is this something you'd be interested in?”

This will help you keep the conversation short and crisp, and you can quickly move to the clarification process. 

The best cold calling examples

Let’s analyze a few cold-calling scenarios and see what we might understand better from both actors and writers who nail the best approach.

1. The struggle of Steve!

STEVE JOBS CALLING SCENE FROM JOBS MOVIE (2013)

You never expected to hear that, did you? The scene highlights Steve Jobs' infamous story of contacting 100 investors and getting 100 refusals.

Key takeaways:

• Identify whether the client understands what you're offering. During these sales calls, no one knew what "home computers" were.
• Don't demean your listeners; instead, educate them and also educate yourself: understand their personas. Steve Jobs' experience could have gotten better if he had placed himself in the potential customer’s shoes and better explained the significance of his product.
• It's a volume game when it comes to cold calling. Of course, we all know that Apple’s computers found buyers and won in the market. However, Steve Jobs had to work hard for it and survive a lot of rejection.

2. Our prices have never been lower.

Michael, Jim, Dwight epic scene

If you haven't watched The Office so far and work in sales, now is the time to start. The scriptwriters certainly present our ordeals in a lighter vein. 

Key takeaways:

• Don't be hostile, aggressive, or difficult. It’s as simple as that (even if your prospect's name is Bill B.)
• If a million dollars is on the line, don't be afraid to fire your employees. (We’re  kidding!)

Tips for cold calling

Undoubtedly, as salespeople, cold calling might not be our favorite activity. But the truth is that cold calling actually works (as long as you do it right).

So before your next call, learn a few tips with these memes. 

Oops! It was the ideal call until you hung up before deciding on a clear course of action.

You should never, ever forget this on a sales call. But let's be honest, we are all only human. 

And to be honest, all is not lost. Send an email or text as soon as possible to clarify the next step in your sales process if you forgot to clearly communicate the next steps during the phone call. Depending on the familiarity that was bred in that one conversation you might even admit to your humanity and say “That conversation was so interesting that I forgot to take you through the steps ahead…” 

You sound like Usain Bolt running a race at the Olympics. 

And you’re done in the blink of an eye.

Even though you have repeated your opening statement countless times, you must still say it as if it were the first time and that it would make a difference.

So, slow down a bit.

Keep in mind that prospects will hang up if you confuse them, but they will give you the attention you demand if you speak slowly and with intention rather than speaking like a semi-robotic telemarketer.

Having to wait for a callback after leaving a voicemail can breed a lot of anxiety

To improve your chances and spark interest in consciously crafting your voicemail as a  preview into your pitch call. Something like a trailer for a movie. 

Ace your call scripts with Wingman

Wingman’s AI-powered call recordings to help you turn winning calls into scripts for the whole salesforce. It gives you scannable transcripts and insights into sales calls for powering your analysis, identifying your prospects’ pain points, and creating scripts that work like a charm. What’s more, Wingman enables you to personalize and speed up sales coaching by letting you revisit your call recordings and show your team members how they could have done better on call. That’s not it, you also get live assistance on call with valuable information and battle cards to help you navigate tricky situations and battle sales objections. Wingman is the wingman you need - without any doubt.

Lend wings to your call scripts with Wingman. Try it now. Get a demo today.