Writing or developing a cold
call script can be challenging
due to the fact that there is a
lot of information that we would
like to share and gather from a
sales prospect, yet we only have
a very brief amount of time to
work with. One thing to help
with this is to have a framework
for the main components of a
script and then we can just plug
in the content as it applies to
situation.
Below are components that could
be used as a framework for a
cold calling script with some
information on how to be most
effective in each area:
Introduction
Of course, any
time you pick of the phone and
call someone else, you will need
to begin with some sort of
introduction. The key here is to
be as brief as possible by
simply stating who you are and
what company you are with. One
thing that can make an
introduction more powerful and
effective is to name drop other
individuals or organizations
that you have worked with.
Confirm Availability
At some
point early in the cold call
script, it is critical to
confirm that the prospect is
available. You do not need to
confirm that they are available
for a meeting, but more so
confirm that they are available
for your cold call. A good way
to accomplish this is by asking
if you have caught them in the
middle of anything or if they
have a moment.
Confirming the prospect's
availability is key because not
only does it buy you two to five
minutes right off of the bat,
but it also does a lot toward
building rapport with the
prospect as you are showing them
that you respect them and their
time.
Value Statement
The key
ingredient in a cold call script
is the value statement. A value
statement is a brief statement
summarizing the value that your
clients receive from doing
business with you. The goal of
the value statement is to get
the prospects attention and let
them know why they should spend
two to five minutes talking with
you.
Qualify Questions
Once you have
communicated how you help
businesses or individuals, it is
powerful to tell them that you
don't know if what you have can
help them and to ask a couple of
questions to qualify the
opportunity. This step is
powerful for three reasons:
1. By you trying to qualify the
prospect, their guard will be
decreased as they will not have
that feeling like someone is
pushing a sale on them.
2. You will gather key
information that you can use
later in the cold call or sales
cycle.
3. You might identify that it is
not a qualified opportunity and
end the call saving yourself and
the prospect valuable time.
Building Interest
Once you have
qualified the prospect, it is
time to build interest. You do
not have time to go into a
tremendous amount of detail but
there should be a couple of
statements made that connect the
value statement with any pain
identified while asking
qualifying questions.
First Conversation
The last
step in a cold call script
should be to tee up a first
conversation. This first
conversation may actually occur
during the cold call, but
ideally the cold call will be
the invitation to talk in more
detail at another time that is
scheduled with both parties.
Source: Michael
Halper
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