Cold calling means making outgoing calls to potential buyers who have not contacted you for a proposal. These calls help a salesperson find the right person to speak to, establish whether they have a need the product can meet, and agree on how to continue. An effective script helps them through this process; you can stop making these calls if other sources bring the business enough suitable buyers.
A business owner is shown a new version of the script: the introduction is shorter, and responses to objections have been added. The report says “not interested” again. Asked which phrase brings the conversation to an end, the head of sales repeats the salespeople’s accounts. The recordings are stored in the phone system, but no one has reviewed them. This situation and the numbers below are an illustrative training example.
I think it is too early to pay for another revision of the text in this situation. A salesperson who was interrupted straight after introducing themselves and a salesperson who heard a specific reason for refusal received different information. If it is put into a single line, the company will start fixing the introduction where the offer does not fit at all, and changing the contact list where the salesperson did not let the person answer.
The purpose of a cold call
The buyer is under no obligation to listen to your presentation. They are busy with their own work and first decide whether the conversation is relevant to it. So you need to start with your name, company and a clear reason for calling. Save the list of awards and years in business for when the person needs evidence that you are reliable.
For a complex service, a reasonable aim for the first conversation is to establish whether the offer is relevant and agree on a small action: send details for an estimate, discuss requirements, or involve the right specialist. Requiring an immediate sale pushes the salesperson to skip questions without which they do not yet know what to offer.
Before calling begins, the head of sales must define three things:
- Who the offer suits. For example, organisations that are responsible for equipment maintenance across several sites.
- Who it makes sense to speak to. The person who organises maintenance or chooses a contractor.
- What response brings the first conversation to a close. For example, agreement to send a list of equipment and discuss the estimate at an agreed time.
This gives a refusal a clear meaning. If the landlord handles all maintenance and the person you are speaking to has no say in choosing it, there is no reason to continue the presentation. If the company handles its own equipment maintenance, but the salesperson did not get a chance to explain the offer, the reason for refusal is still unknown.
This distinction also saves the buyer time. The salesperson is allowed to end the conversation when the offer is unsuitable. They do not have to prove to their supervisor that they are working hard through the length of the call.
A cold calling script
Below is a sample conversation about equipment maintenance for organisations. The lines are made up for training purposes. You need to use real information about your own company and service: the phrase about several sites is only suitable for those who actually know how to service them.
Opening: explain the reason for calling and let the person answer
Good afternoon. My name is Anna, from [company name]. We maintain equipment in offices. I would like to find out whether you consider contractors for this work. Are you responsible for this? Is this a good time for a brief discussion?
Pause after the question. If the salesperson asks it and immediately carries on with the presentation, the customer’s answer no longer affects the conversation. You can hear it in the recording: the person tries to respond, while the salesperson keeps reading.
If another employee answers:
Could you tell me how to submit an equipment maintenance proposal to your company?
Do not pretend to know the director or refer to an agreement that does not exist. Once you have been told the company’s procedure for getting in touch, follow it. If you are asked not to call again, stop contacting them and record the refusal.
The question: establish whether there is something to discuss
Who currently maintains the equipment: one of your employees, an outside contractor or the landlord?
Under what circumstances would you consider a different provider?
The second question comes after the answer to the first. Otherwise, it becomes a questionnaire in which the salesperson collects information without relating it to the offer. For example, if the landlord handles maintenance, a discussion about comparing contractors is already unnecessary.
If the person mentions a difficulty, ask for details you can use to prepare a proposal:
You said you have to wait a long time for a visit. Which equipment is this for, and how soon do you need someone to arrive?
The answer “we need someone today” immediately limits the options for a sale. If the salesperson’s company can only come the next day, the salesperson must say so before arranging a meeting.
The offer: address the stated requirement
You are looking for maintenance for two offices with an agreed response time for visits. To say whether we can take this on, we need a list of equipment and the addresses. Are you willing to send them for an estimate?
Here, the salesperson does not promise to solve the problem before assessing it. They explain why the buyer should take the next step. Sending a general brochure is easier, but the brochure will not tell the person whether a technician will arrive when needed.
Responses to “not interested” and “send a proposal”
The same phrase calls for a different response depending on what has already been said.
- “Not interested” at the very start. “Understood, I’ll end the call. Thank you.” Note for the head of sales: the reason for calling was not discussed. Do not record that the customer has no need, or question them about it after they have declined to talk.
- “We already have a contractor”. If the person continues the conversation: “In what circumstances would you consider a replacement?” The answer “none, we are happy with everything” ends the discussion. A stated condition for changing contractors gives you a basis for a proposal.
- “I don’t have time now”. “When would be a good time to return to this?” A follow-up call is justified if a time has been agreed. A request to end the conversation does not, on its own, justify another call.
- “Send a proposal”. “What do you need a proposal for, so I don’t send you a general catalogue?” If a need is stated, clarify what the proposal should include and a convenient way to continue. If not, record only agreement to receive materials, without a note saying they are ready to discuss a purchase.
These are options for the salesperson, not a requirement to say every phrase. The head of sales explains which answer calls for each option, and goes through the points where the salesperson overlooked an answer.
Closing: state what each side will do
Then you will send the equipment list today. I will prepare the estimate and call on Thursday at 11:00 to discuss maintenance timescales. Agreed?
Once this is confirmed, the record contains what the estimate covers, the customer’s promise, the salesperson’s action and the deadline. For a meeting, you also need an issue to be resolved during it. “Getting to know each other better” leaves the buyer to do all the work of finding a point to the meeting.
Twenty conversations recorded as two successes
Now let us look at the numbers from the same training example. Over the chosen period, there were twenty first conversations with twenty organisations. Unanswered calls are not included here, and repeat contacts are counted separately. The report shows two agreements to prepare an estimate and eighteen refusals.
The recordings gave the following breakdown. Each conversation was assigned to one group according to where it stopped:
- Four: the employee who answered is not responsible for maintenance. The procedure for contacting the right person was not established.
- Six: the conversation ended before the reason for calling was explained. The need is unknown.
- Five: the issue was discussed, but maintenance is the landlord’s responsibility. The company does not choose the contractor.
- Three: the person described a need and requested an estimate. The salesperson sent a general presentation and did not clarify the requirements for the estimate.
- Two: the equipment list and a time to discuss the estimate were agreed.
The overall proportion of agreements is 2 out of 20, or 10%. We keep this figure: it shows the result of all the work. We can also see that the buyer’s need was discussed in ten conversations, and in five of them it matched the offer. Two of these five reached the estimate stage. The proportions in this training example are not market norms.
The head of sales now has four different actions to take. For the first group, clarify how to find the right employee. For the second, review the start of the conversation: what was said, whether there was a pause, and at what point the person declined. For the third, change the criteria for selecting organisations. For the fourth, teach the salesperson to collect information for an estimate instead of sending a presentation.
Rewriting the whole script would mix these actions together. A successful introduction will not give a company the right to choose a contractor instead of its landlord. Meanwhile, a salesperson who misses a request for an estimate will keep losing suitable enquiries, whatever the introduction.
Compare salespeople using similar lists of organisations and the same aim for the conversation. A newcomer given general phone numbers and an experienced salesperson with the contact details of the right specialists start in different circumstances. For the separate decision about a newcomer, see the article on how to assess whether a salesperson is ready to sell.
Sales without cold calling
You can do without it. Buyers come through search, advertising, referrals and partnerships, and return for repeat orders. The owner’s question is whether this flow is enough to meet the chosen sales plan and whether a profit remains after the costs of attracting and handling it.
For regular repeat purchases, the existing customer base is the foundation: you know who orders and when the next need arises. The head of sales is responsible for getting in touch at the right time. A call to a regular customer about an agreed matter is no longer cold calling.
When buyers are looking for a provider themselves, search and advertising are appropriate. But this choice involves costs and a wait before orders arrive. You cannot stop outgoing contact today, put future enquiries from a new source into the sales plan, and consider the replacement complete.
If the market consists of a small number of suitable organisations, introductions to specific contacts through partners, industry meetings and referrals from existing customers can help. Here, you need to say who will arrange the introduction and what will happen afterwards. Waiting for chance referrals does not ensure a regular flow of work for the sales team.
Before stopping calls, ask the head of sales to group the buyers from the most recent completed deals by source. Show repeat orders, new customers and one-off introductions by the owner separately. This will show what the company can repeat for itself and what happened only once. The decision to stop rests on this picture and the available alternatives, without arguing over whether the telephone is outdated.
What to ask the head of sales to do if no one reviews recordings
The business owner does not need to turn their evening into a session listening to phone recordings. They need to set a rule: a script change must be accompanied by examples of conversations, an explanation of the reason and a way to see the result. Below is a ready-to-use assignment; three working days is the time allowed for the review, not a deadline for sales growth.
Within three working days, review the twenty most recent first conversations about one offer with one type of organisation. Take them in sequence, including short refusals. If there are fewer conversations, state the actual number. Show unanswered calls separately.
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For each conversation, save the link to the recording, the role of the person spoken to, their last meaningful remark and the point where the conversation stopped. Separate unsuitable organisations, unknown needs, salesperson errors and agreed next steps. Leave unclear reasons as unknown.
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Propose one initial change. Include an extract from the recording on which it is based, and name the person responsible for applying it. If the list of organisations needs to change, explain what criterion to use to select them.
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For the next twenty conversations with comparable organisations, show whether the change was applied and what happened at the point being corrected. Set a timeframe for collecting this group based on the sales team’s actual rate of calls. Send me your conclusion and the decision you need from me.
When reviewing the work, the owner looks at the connection between the cause and the action. If the head of sales heard the salesperson interrupting a customer, the result of the correction will be recordings in which the salesperson pauses and gets an answer. If they removed unsuitable organisations, this should be visible in the make-up of the next list. Growth in the number of meetings is assessed separately: by itself, it does not explain what has changed.
When recordings build up faster than the head of sales can review them, RENTROP has AI ROP for this task: analysis of salespeople’s calls links the conversation to the deal record and shows mistakes with quotes and a suggested response. Each salesperson’s review is prepared as a file for a one-to-one conversation; the head of sales makes decisions based on it.
The new version of the script must have a reason that can be heard in the old recording. Otherwise, the company is paying again for a guess about why people would not speak to it.