Your perfect cold calling script in 5min top time

Cold calling is one of the key tools of an effective B2B marketing strategy. Effective, but not always obvious. Cold calling can be scary, because when left unchecked, it can quickly become a source of frustration. If picking up your phone is not your cup of tea, but you want to boost your acquisition using your phone: you are in the right place.

At the end of this article, you will no longer have to worry, and you will leave with an ultra-efficient script adapted to your company.

Let's go, we're going to warm up your phone 📞⚡️

How to manage the first 15 seconds of a cold call

The main friction I encounter when discussing cold calling with salespeople, entrepreneurs or managers is the first 15 seconds. Logical, because it is the key moment, and the most difficult. During these first seconds, you have a very short moment to introduce yourself, and convince your interlocutor to listen to you, to continue the discussion.

To turn these 15 seconds into a conversion machine, here are the 3 key points to remember:

1. Cold calling is an interruption. Ask for permission.

When you call your prospect via a cold call, it's about Outbound marketing. Your call is by definition unexpected. It is therefore logical that your prospect is not initially “interested” in the discussion. There is nothing worse than picking up the phone and finding yourself in an ambush with someone who won't let go and force you an unsolicited sales pitch.

To avoid looking like a stupid telecom salesman (oops, the frustration had to come out 🙃), the first point will be to validate that the moment is right and that you are not bother.To do this, start by asking:
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• Is it a bad time?
• Is it a good time to talk?
• Am I not bothering you?
• Do you have a second?

2. Cold calling is not about selling. It's qualification.

Then, once you get permission from your prospect, don't fall into the mistake of trying to sell your product or service directly. Focus on an exchange, a discussion to validate that you are talking to the right person, and that they are coping with the problem that you can solve.

The main objective of the exchange will be to determine if you are talking to the right person, and if they have a problem that you can provide a solution to. If this is not the case, there is no use in continuing the call neither for you nor for the prospect.

3. Cold calling is first and foremost a discussion. Get your prospect to talk.

The essence of a discussion is that it takes two people. Your objective will thus be to trigger an interaction with your prospect as quickly as possible. Don't try to ramble on your script, focus on building an exchange.

A “Hack” at the start of the call What works quite well will be to act as if you did not hear your interlocutor well to push him to respond.

Example in action:

- “Marc... hello Marc?

- “um Yes?”

- “Can you hear me?”

- “Yes yes I can hear you perfectly”

And presto, one foot in the door!

This little hack is a great way to start the inertia of the discussion.

Use sparingly 😉

The real objective of a cold call is not to sell

As surprising as it may seem, cold calling is not about selling. Selling requires a thorough discussion, understanding the context of your prospect, and adapting your offer. Doing all this in a call of a few minutes (don't forget that a cold call is an interruption) is not possible.

The cold call can therefore be used for only two purposes:

The qualification and/or Making an appointment.

So rest assured, you won't need to memorize all your selling points before making your first cold call.

This is also why it is often different profiles who set appointments (who bring in SQLs - Sales Qualified Leads) and those who sell the product or service (transforming these SQLs into customers).

Preparing for an effective cold call

Understand & know your prospect

Before you pick up your phone and start calling, it's essential to find out about your target persona. Learn as much as possible about their situation, their context, their challenges, needs and expectations. The more you have a good vision of the situation of the person you are talking to, the more effective you will be.

Then, before each call from a prospect, quickly review their LinkedIn profile and company website, this will allow you to adapt and personalize your speech as much as possible.

Set specific goals

To improve, the first step is always to measure. So, set goals to reach and monitor your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

Here are some interesting KPIs to track:

• Number of calls
• The number of qualifying discussions
• The number of appointments made

Do not hesitate to adapt them according to your objectives and the evolution of your strategy.

Chain the calls to quickly increase your skills

Practice makes perfect, and when you call, you become... no, that doesn't rhyme. But you get the idea.

Think of your first calls as a workout and have sessions of at least 20-30 calls to allow you to better understand the dynamics. These first calls will quickly make you understand what is working or not working with your target prospect, as well as their main objections. The more calls you make, the more refined your strategy will be, and the more efficient you will become.

So don't hesitate to heat up your phone.

Communicate with a smile and energy

80% of human communication involves non-verbal communication, even on the telephone. Just because your prospect doesn't see you doesn't mean they don't feel your attitude. It is therefore essential to have a positive, cheerful and dynamic attitude.

You call your prospect to offer him a solution to a problem that he is having, this is great news and you can be happy to call him and talk to him about it.

Many salespeople like to make their calls standing up, this allows them to put more energy into it, and more dynamism, because they will literally be in motion. Get up and walk during your exchanges, you will quickly feel the difference.

Your ideal cold calling script in 5 minutes

A good cold calling script doesn't have to be complex. On the other hand, the shorter and more fluid it will be, the more easily it will take you to an appointment with your ideal prospect.

Today, we offer you our cold calling pitch in Leadix sauce, to allow you to qualify your prospect, set an appointment, regardless of your product or value offer. Bonus: we've even prepared answers to the various objections for you.

Grab a pen and a pen, in 5 minutes your script will be ready:

Your cold calling script

→ And presto, one Meeting booked ✅

Now that you have the keys in your hands, no more excuses!

Handling objections like a pro

The particularity of cold calling is that you will have to manage objections in real time. For this it is therefore necessary to prepare yourself a minimum and not to be surprised by them. So here are 10 ways to deal with the most common objections you'll encounter in your calls. It's a gift 🎁

“Why are you calling me?” 🤔

Answer : When asking me about {{Company}}, it seemed to me that you were certainly familiar with {{problem}}. Is that really the case?

Answer : “I'm calling because we work with a lot of businesses in your sector that are experiencing {{problem}}, and I wanted to make sure that if you encounter this problem you are aware of the solution available to you.

“How did you get my number?” 🤔

Answer : “I know that you are the right person in the company... So I found it relevant to reach you on this number that I found on Linkedin. Isn't that your business number?”

“I am not interested!” 🤔

Answer : “No worries, can I know what exactly you're not interested in?”

Answer : “Okay, so if I shared a solution that could bring you {{Benefit}}, you wouldn't automatically be interested?”

“I am busy. “🤔

Answer : “I understand, I don't want to disturb you. Would the end of the day be a better time to talk? I won't take you more than 3 minutes.”

“I don't know you!” 🤔

Answer : “Indeed, not yet, that is the whole reason for my call. My name is: {{First name}}, from the company {{companyName}}.

I'll tell you right away why I'm calling you:

I was able to discuss with your colleagues in your sector of activity, they regularly tell me that they are concerned by...

I have read about your company and it therefore seems very relevant to have your feedback on this subject!”

“I am not concerned!” 🤔

Answer : “Okay, thanks for coming back. If this is not your subject, would you please redirect me to the person concerned internally?

“We are already working with Competitor name“🤔

Answer : “Okay, great which means it's a topic within {{companyName}}. It therefore seems to me even more relevant to exchange in this case!

When can we make a short appointment?”

“Barrage secretary: He is not available!” 🤔

Answer (if not sure who to contact): “Alright, besides, I think you will be able to enlighten me, I should contact Mr./Mrs.... about... in the company?”

Secretary Barrage: “He/she is not interested!” 🤔

Answer : “Do you think? In view of the activity of {{companyName}}, and recent developments in the sector, especially {{mention regulation or very technical vocabulary}}, on the contrary, I think that M/Mme would be embarrassed not to be informed.”

“Email me the information. “🤔

Answer : “Can we take 30 seconds now so that I can explain to you what we can offer you and see if there is a potential fit? And then we will see the relevance of continuing the exchange in writing. What do you say?”

These answers don't seem like anything like that, but believe me: in the dynamic of the exchange, they will be great to allow you to close as many appointments as possible ⚡️.

Where to find the number of your prospects

To be able to have good results in cold calling, the first step is obviously to be able to find the phone numbers of your prospects. When the global company number (which can be found on their website) is no longer enough, you can now use superb tools to find the number of (almost) anyone.

Here are some of the best tools out there:

• Kaspr : The tool allows you to retrieve phone numbers and email addresses directly from LinkedIn. It integrates directly into your browser via a Google Chrome extension and allows you to enrich a Linkedin profile as soon as you are on it. Kaspr will help you find phone numbers as well as emails.
• Lusha : This one is the Rolls Royce of tools for telephone numbers. Lusha stands out for the size of its database, but also for its price. It's clearly not the most accessible tool. However, it can be a good complement to Kaspr.
• Fullenrich : Fullenrich is theSwiss knife tool. Instead of being a single enrichment database, the tool uses a cascade of multiple sources to find the coordinates of your targets, even when they are difficult to find. It is a great choice when you are hesitating between several tools, because it will give you the best result, without leaving the platform. At Leadix, it's clearly our favorite.
• Hunter : Although it's mostly known for finding email addresses, Hunter also makes it possible to retrieve valuable contact information by analyzing company websites.‍

Although these tools allow you to find the contact information of your targets, never forget that a little preparation on the person you are contacting, on their situation, their business, their industry, can make a big difference in the way you connect.

The number is the address, it's up to you to open the door.

Cold calling tools to increase your performance

Cold calling is an art, and like any art, it gets better with practice and the right tools. Here are some simple tools to optimize your efficiency and allow you to be even more effective in your calls:

• A call recording tool : Recording your calls allows you to listen to the conversations again and analyze what worked well and what did not. Tools like Aircall or Dialpad are great options. They record your calls automatically and allow you to listen to them again to adjust your script or your responses to objections.
• A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) : Managing follow-up after the call is essential. A CRM allows you to keep track of each interaction, to plan your reminders and to track the results of your calls. HubSpot, Pipedrive are the most common CRMs on the market. You also have Folk which has particularly stood out recently.
• Combine with cold email automation tools for a multi-channel approach. This will allow you to increase your chances of conversion, by contacting via email, LinkedIn & by phone.
• A good old pen and a sheet of paper : Sometimes simplicity is key. Taking notes during or just after a call is an essential practice to remind yourself of important details. A notepad or whiteboard next to your desk can help you write down objections and refine your strategy as you go.

Now that you know everything about cold calling. You only have one thing left:

Warm up the machine and go home from these meetings! 🔥📞

You go entrepreneur, go!

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