How to Build a Cold Call Script that ACTUALLY Works

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1. Always follow a cold call script.

This might sound obvious, but it doesn’t matter how good your cold call script is if you don’t use it consistently. Any salesperson who makes a lot of cold dials and doesn’t follow a script is doing the equivalent of banging their head against a cement wall as hard as they can 20 to 50 times a day.

You simply must follow a script for your cold calls. Always.

2. Pattern interrupt with contingencies.

Your script for the first 10 seconds of any cold call is extremely important. Those 10 seconds set up the call for success or failure. Now, most salespeople today are starting cold calls by saying, “How are you today?” Don’t do that. Instead, break the pattern.

I call this “pattern interrupt with contingencies,” and it’s key to any successful cold call script. You want to interrupt the pattern by asking a different question or using another phrase to engage the prospect in a way they haven’t heard a lot. And then have your contingencies ready.

3. Get permission up front.

When it comes to building a cold call script that actually works, it’s imperative that you get permission to continue the call from the prospect up front. If you just plow through your script without asking permission, prospects will either stop paying attention or try to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

4. Super-short intro.

The introductory part of your cold call script should be very short. You simply don’t have a lot of time. Your prospects are busy—typing something on their keyboard, looking at emails, texting, getting yelled at by a spouse during a pandemic. Whatever it is, there are lots of other things on their minds. So keep you introduction super-short, one sentence only.

5. Dangle the carrot.

Picture a horse that’s walking around, chasing a carrot that’s dangling just out of reach in front of its face. What is the carrot that can get your prospects to engage with you on a cold call?

Your cold call script must include a piece of content or insight that serves as the carrot to dangle in front of your prospects, so you can demonstrate something that gets them to say, “This person is useful to me. I’m willing to stay on the phone just a bit longer and hear them out.”

6. Demonstrate quick insight.

Demonstrating insight makes your cold calls much more effective because it enables you to be seen as someone with expertise and authority, as opposed to just a cheeseball salesperson.

7. Share their challenges.

This is one of the best ways to demonstrate insight through your cold call script. Say something like, “George, some of the challenges that I'm seeing a lot of our clients face in today's marketplace are A, B, and C." By sharing challenges that your prospects find relevant, you show that you're an expert in their world—and they’ll be much more likely to want to connect with you.

8. Engage.

Once you’ve crafted your cold call script to share challenges, you want to build in true engagement for your prospects. So you might say, “George, some of the challenges that I'm seeing a lot of our clients face in today's marketplace are A, B, and C,” and then follow up with the engaging question, “Does any of that sound familiar to you?” or “Does that make any sense for your world?” The actual question you incorporate into your cold call script isn't that important. The point is to have a question in there that truly engages the prospect in conversation and can really get them talking.

9. Keep your cold call script short.

Keep your cold call script short. Why? Because cold calls are short.

If the prospect starts talking a lot and they want to keep going, that's fine—but don't build out a super-long script because shorter scripts are much more effective at actually scheduling the appointment.

10. Make a recommendation.

Once you feel like you've got them engaged and talking, it’s time to make a recommendation. Build something like this into your cold call script: "George, can I make recommendation?" The prospect will say, "Sure." Then you can say, "Okay, great. Why don't we schedule a call and...," fill in the blank. Make a recommendation for that next step.

11. Get the clear next step.

Always get a clear next step scheduled at the end of a cold call. The only successful cold call is one that has a clear next step. It doesn't have to be a sale. (Chances are it's not going to be a sale, but you always want to have a clear next step before you get off the call.)

The best clear next steps are scheduled appointments in your calendar. Be sure to build language for scheduling a next step right into your cold call script, so you never skip this critical point of the call.

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