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Writing an outbound sales script doesn’t have to be the most agonizing part of your sales job.
In fact, it is an incredibly useful tool to facilitate your outreach towards prospects and helps your sales team close deals. The key is to use your outbound sales call scripts as a guiding force so you don’t sound robotic or hesitant.
What to say while calling prospects you’ve reached out to before? What to avoid saying on a call? How to sound professional and confident?
This article will answer all your questions and provide you with a few call script examples to help you craft the perfect outbound sales cold calling script.
The DOs in an outbound cold call sales script
- First, get the prospect’s attention by using their name.
- Next, identify yourself.
- Tell prospects why you’re calling – getting straight to the point shows that you’re a professional and saves small talk after you’ve already initialized the conversation.
- Bridge the gap – connect why you’re calling and why they should care, i.e., the value proposition
- Be an active listener and provide any additional information if they ask.
- Last, make the ask.
Outbound sales script for the first attempt at making an effective sale
There are a few questions you need to address as sales leaders in small businesses when you call someone for the first time for effective lead generation. While answering the phone, they’ll wonder:
- Who you are?
- Why you’re calling them?
- How will this call benefit them?
- What are you asking from them?
You must answer all these questions to make a sale, close deals, or even convert them into potential customers who are a good fit. To get there, take time to research your prospect’s profile. Find a commonality and use it as a connecting statement for your sales call, more like an elevator pitch.
Your outbound sales call script should consist of an introduction, a connecting statement, a reason for calling, the benefits, and the ask. Here’s an outbound sales call script sample.
Introduction: Hey Alice, this is Sam from <name of company>. Hope your day is going well.
Connecting statement: I’ve had an eye on Bloom Ventures for a while now, and I saw you closed a big round of funding last month. Congrats on that!
Reason for calling: I noticed you’re hiring a new team for <name of department>. It sounds like you guys have a need to <highlight pain points>. I can imagine how frustrating it is.
The benefit: That’s something I hear often. <name of company> was built to ease these issues. We strive to solve <problem faced>. Do you use any of these products?
Ask: I know you’ve probably got a busy schedule, but I’d love to book a slot this week to have one of our consultants walk you through the product. Are you available on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week?
Sounds perfect, Alice. I will book the slot and send over an email.
Related reading: Sales script examples and how to write one
What to say if you’ve called or emailed before
Source: Storyset
While analyzing your list, you may realize that you have reached out to certain prospects who were great fits in the past, only to be ghosted by them. This gives you a reason to reach out and show them personal value as sales reps and get great results.
The prospect you’re calling is a busy person with various responsibilities. You need to make the little time they spend on your call memorable and not feel like a tally number on a board of outbound calls made. To stand out, your call must add value to their business.
Here’s how you need to organize this call:
Introduction: Hi Dave, this is Sam from <name of company>. I just wanted to follow up on the email I sent last week. Did you have time to look at it?
{Respond according to their answer}
Context: Dave, I noticed under your LinkedIn summary you oversee <department> at <prospect’s company>, and it looks like you’re scaling your team. Is that correct?
{Tailor conversation to the prospect’s response and the value prop or benefit}
Ask: Could I block 15 minutes this week to walk you through the product?
Are you available on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week?
Sounds perfect, Dave. I will book the slot and send over an email.
If the prospect says they have read your mail and aren’t interested, ask them questions instead of ending the call and schedule a follow-up call by understanding the best time to talk. In such a situation you shouldn’t sound pushy; instead, try gathering information to give a meaningful response in your sales process. So, train new agents with mock cold calls.
Related reading: Powerful telemarketing script samples for successful calling
Sales outbound call script for when a prospect doesn’t answer
Source: Storyset
Sometimes, your prospect may not be available to pick up the call. Don’t worry; just leave a good voicemail. Keep it short, about 20-30 seconds, and highlight the pain points.
Here, your aim is to nurture your prospect’s trust and build a relationship.
To make sure your prospect hears it for at least 5 seconds, insert your connecting statement at the beginning, with a short introduction, and end off on a note that triggers curiosity.
Your voicemail should comprise social proof, metrics, and a curious closing statement.
Pro tip: Another way to increase your chances of getting in touch with your prospect is by enabling incoming calling. This will ensure your prospects connect with your agents if they miss your call and call back.
Example:
Hey Michael! Sam from <name of company> here.
{connecting statement}
You’re hearing from me today because it looks like your company faces <problem>, and we’re all about solving it.
Social proof: We’re backed by awesome customers like <name 2-3 big customers>.
Metrics: These companies have seen 15%+ business growth within a month of using our product.
Closing statement: Michael, I would love to connect with you about your specific needs. I also have other resources to get your team to work faster. Please call me at 560089 or reply to the email I sent you. Thank you.
The DON’Ts in an outbound cold call sales script
- Don’t talk about the industry with prospects; impress them with how well you know their pain points and how you can solve them.
- Avoid asking them how they’re doing. This may seem natural, but it can backfire if the person is busy and you feel like you’re wasting time.
- Replace reasons like “just checking in” with the actual reason for the cold call.
- Do not counter all objections made by prospects. If they become defensive, slow down, detach yourself, and offer a solution to the objection.
Check out our handy list of outbound calling tips for businesses.
Pro tip: Collect insights during calls and add them as notes on your calling platform. On CallHub, agents can add notes when they’re on sales calls. These notes may include the prospect’s stage, priorities, etc.
Writing outbound sales scripts may not be the most exciting thing to do as a sales manager, but it is an effective tool in your sales efforts. The outbound sales call script sample above can help. By making your prospects smile and offering them solutions to the problems they face, you’re one step closer to making a sale. Following the aforementioned tips and outbound cold calling scripts, you’ll be able to excel at making cold outbound sales calls.
Check out this article on building call center scripts that motivate action.
