It’s Monday morning, and you have 100 cold calls to make before the close of play.
You know you need to smile and dial, but… what do you say?
If only you had a cold calling script…
I’m Frida Ottosson, VP of US Sales at Cognism. I’ve received many cold calls and helped train my team to become experts in cold calling.
So, now I’m here to help you. I’ve put together the best cold calling scripts for the most called demographics in B2B. These include specific scripts and talk tracks for role titles such as:
Plus, at the end, I will take you through how you can write your own sales scripts.
These sales call scripts are the heart of our sales strategy - without them, we wouldn’t have gone from $0 to $4 million in ARR and from 0 to 300+ customers in under two years!
Give them a read and practice them to help overcome your cold calling fears and discover your best cold calling techniques.
The ultimate CRO cold calling script
The research | The opener | Uncovering pain points | The pitch | The close | Top tips
It’s the start of a new week. You come into the office, raring to go - ready to jump on the phone and start dialling.
But then you see the first name at the top of your list.
It’s a CRO. #!@*&%!
The thought crosses your mind:
‘I don’t know how to talk to CROs, they’re all facts and figures. What am I going to say?’
The good news is, I’m here to help.
CROs are like anyone else. You just have to understand what they care about. Put yourself in their shoes; what could go wrong in the world of a CRO?
Focus on solving real problems CROs face in their day-to-day roles and make your outbound efforts genuinely helpful for them in their position.
I asked Steven Schmidt, the CRO of SellX, to share his top cold calling tips so I could help create the ultimate cold calling script.
Before I start, here’s some reassurance from Steven:
“I’m getting about two cold calls a day now, which is great. Before, I barely got any.”
“I’m a CRO, I’m genuinely interested in the state of cold calls. Why? I’m in sales, I’m a revenue guy. So I enjoy getting cold calls, and I’ll include voicemails in that too.”
“I often find people avoid leaving me a voicemail because they want to get me on the phone, but that’s the easiest way to get my attention. I listen to all my voicemails.”
“And if I get a good cold outreach, even if I’m not interested in the product, I’ll get in touch to give feedback or compliment them on their approach.”
Not sure how to leave a prospecting voicemail? This article on cold calling voicemail scripts has 10 ideas.
Researching CROs
Before you make your call, you should understand a bit about the person you’re calling.
- Do you know what the role of a CRO entails?
- What their objectives and responsibilities are?
- Do you know the industry they’re operating in?
- Do you know what stage of growth their company is at?
- Do you know the common pain points CROs face?
- Do you know the industry-specific trends going on at that point in time?
Of course, not all CROs are the same; however, they likely manage similar processes and face similar issues day to day.
What are the common pain points CROs face?
As you can imagine, when you’re in a role that spans so many departments… a lot can go wrong.
There are a lot of moving parts, and keeping track of all of them to ensure the business engine runs smoothly is not an easy job.
So what are the main pains? What keeps a CRO up at night?
Steven shares:
“Hiring is a big one, making sure you have the right team. Because everything starts with that.”
“I also worry if I’m doing everything I can to set my team up for success.”
Steven uses this bullet point checklist when thinking about his team:
- Do they have what they need to do their jobs well?
- Do they enjoy their work enough to put in their full effort for 8 hours a day?
- What can I do to improve that?
“And then there’s always a fear of layoffs. And hand in hand with that is the fear of outsider perception of how and why we’ve had to make those decisions.”
“Ultimately, a good day is when there are deals crossing the line, you’re ahead of your predicted revenue for the month, employees are happy and customers are getting what they expected from your product (minimal customer friction).”
What stage of growth is the company in?
The interests and tasks of a CRO may differ depending on what stage of growth the company is in.
When you call a CRO, consider these points:
- Are you contacting a start-up?
- Are you speaking to a huge enterprise account?
- What are the differences in the roles depending on which stage of growth the company is in?
Steven suggests:
“I’m a CRO of an early-stage company, so I’d expect someone cold calling me to know that. I’d hope they’d have done a little bit of research beforehand to find out what a CRO of a company like this might be tasked with.”
“It helps me feel comfortable knowing they’ve taken the time to understand my position and circumstances.”
Researching top tip
Brad Norgate, former SDR and AE at Cognism, recommends checking out the CRO’s LinkedIn profile before the call:
“If I’m cold calling a CRO, I’d definitely have a look at their LinkedIn. See if anything sticks out in their job history, see what they’ve said about themselves in their bio, see if they have any social media.”
I’ve found that doing a bit of research can really help you feel prepared going into a call with a CRO, and sometimes, confidence is half the battle.
Surrounding your target
Another thing to be aware of before contacting a CRO is that they may not be the sole decision-maker for implementing your product.
Yes, they’re in the C-suite. But there are other stakeholders you may need to get on board.
After all, a CRO is responsible for the domino effect of outcomes that occur as a result of their decision-making. They’re not going to roll out a new product without the buy-in of their colleagues.
For each target account Brad outreaches to, he tends to contact between 10 and 20 people within that organisation.
“CROs tend to be the most prevalent within enterprise-sized organisations that usually have hundreds to thousands of employees.”
“And at Cognism, we tend to have a minimum of 10 contacts per department, per enterprise company. They also tend to be management or C-suite level people.”
So think about who else might influence the decision to buy your product, and bring them into the conversation alongside your CRO target.
The opener
Alright, so you’re about to pick up the phone and call a CRO…
What’s the first thing you say?
First things first, be honest straight off the bat.
CROs aren’t stupid. They will be able to tell this is a cold call.
Then give them the option to hang up - it will disarm them a little. It’s very rare they will hang up the phone without letting you speak for the next 30 seconds.
This sort of tongue-in-cheek style can help to set the tone for an open and honest discussion.
“Hi, it’s [insert name] from [insert company name], just being honest - this is a cold call. I don’t know if you’d like to hang up, or give me 30 seconds and then you can decide?”
Uncovering pain points
A CRO is the most senior sales leader in the company. They report back to the CEO, so you should keep things very top-level and strategic.
You want to discuss the numbers they care about, such as conversion rates, increasing new business opportunities, and increasing pipeline.
Steven says:
“I’m not interested in someone telling me ‘X company is so much better than Y company.’
Instead, if someone cold called me and asked me something like:
“Do you know what you’re paying per lead?”
“And I’m thinking… ‘I’ve got no idea’, so they say:
“Can we break it down together?”
“Then they go on to show me how they can reduce this cost or demonstrate a way I can optimise my costs, improve conversation rates or help us book more meetings, then I’m interested.”
This means asking questions like:
- How do you manage xyz process at the moment?
- What are your growth plans for abc in the coming months?
- What information or tools do you have access to right now to help you reach your business goals?
Try this:
“I speak to CROs like you, and they tell me they’re having problems with xyz. Are you facing the same challenges?”
Provided you hit on a pain point that they’re dealing with, this is a great way to demonstrate that you understand the difficulties in their roles and the challenges in the current climate.
Steven adds:
“If someone nails that hook, and can tell me about the problem I’m facing without me having to say anything, then I’ll likely feel comfortable to tell them, ‘yeah, that’s me.’”
The pitch
There is absolutely zero point, nada, nil, in pitching to your prospect without first learning what they care about.
That’s why you do your research and pain point discovery first. Because your pitch shouldn’t be the nitty-gritty of how the product works, especially when speaking to CROs.
Instead, you should look at how this product would help them to reach organisational goals, alleviate pains/challenges or avoid future industry problems.
If you want the CRO to implement your product, they’re going to have to present it to their CEO with a use case. This is your opportunity to help the CRO build that use case.
Like so:
“Hey, I spoke with ABC at (company name), I know you two go a while back (if you do your due diligence on LinkedIn, you should be able to see this kind of info).”
“She told me she’s struggling with XYZ issues and I wondered if you might be feeling the same.”
The most important part of any sales pitch is personalising it to their specific needs, circumstances and pains.
Steven says:
“I want to know what metric you’re going to influence. And if you’re selling software that doesn’t have an impact on revenue, then I’m not the person to target.”
“At the end of the day, I don’t really care what it costs because that’s the role of finance. They’ll review ROI and if they’re happy then we both sign off.”
“If I want to implement your product, then I’ll have to present it to my CEO with a use case. So help me build that use case.”
The close
So what now? How do you close the call?
“So (CRO name), you’ve told me that you do abc process, and you’d like to bridge the gap between xyz.”
“After everything we’ve talked about today, do you see any reason why we shouldn’t set up a future time to discuss this a bit further?”
“Do you have your calendar handy?”
To be honest, though, if your prospect has been on the phone with you for this long and has been engaging with you the whole way, they’re likely interested in finding out more.
So you should have your meeting in the bag!
If not - then a referral to someone else in the team, or at the least, a request for an email with more information so you can continue your discussions. Remember what your goals/backup plans were from the beginning!
For example:
“I understand that maybe it doesn’t make sense for you and I to have another discussion, but is there someone else within the company who you’d recommend I speak to?”
Cold calling CROs: Top tips
A lot of SDRs, especially if they’re new to the B2B sales game, will feel a bit apprehensive calling someone so senior.
Steven has some final three top tips:
1. Learn their language
“If you want to do things to become a better SDR, don’t spend all your time listening to podcasts on how to be a better SDR.”
“Instead, spend some of that time reading the blogs, watching the YouTube videos and listening to the podcasts that your prospects are reading, watching or listening to.”
“Educate yourself on the things that your prospects are interested in. Keep up to date with industry trends. Be in the know. The more business acumen you have, the more you’ll be taken seriously.”
2. Provide value - don’t pressure CROs into a sale
“Another bit of advice I’d give is to just try to get in my swim lane. Don’t always try to sell me something straight away.”
“Share some new information with me and then stay in my peripheral vision. Maybe in six months when I’m reviewing our tech, I’ll contact you.”
3. Ask for an external referral
“And finally, one thing I’d encourage people to ask when cold calling is:
“Do you know anyone else at other companies who might be having the same problems as you?”
“Or if they’ve rejected you, you could say:
“Alright, I realise you’re maybe not the right person for me to speak to today, but do you know anyone else who might be having this particular problem?”
“Because then you give them an opportunity to get off the hook, but you also might get a new contact out of it. Turning a no into a future maybe.”
“And if they see you do a great job with the person they referred you to, they might change their mind. Especially if you phone them to thank them for the referral after the deal is done.”
The ultimate RevOps cold calling script
The research | The opener | Uncovering pain points | Objection handling | The close
I’ve always found cold calling people in revenue operations a bit tricky.
You know the prospect is going to know their tech; it’s their job to understand the tools on the market. So you’d better be on your A game.
The good news is I’m here to help.
There’s no great trick to it: you just have to understand what someone in RevOps cares about. And then provide them with relevant information in a way they’ll respond to.
I’ve always found it’s best to focus on solving real problems that people in RevOps face in their day-to-day roles and make your outbound efforts helpful for them in their position.
Of course, not all people working in RevOps will be the same. But I asked Tom Andrews, RevOps Advisor, to share some insights on the role of a RevOps manager.
I also called on Ashley Anderson, Cognism Account Manager and former SDR, for some top tips on outreaching to RevOps.
In this script, I’ll walk you through what interests someone working in RevOps, what keeps them up at night, and what you should say when you cold call them.
Researching RevOps
Before you ever dial a RevOps phone number, there are some things you should know first, such as:
- What does RevOps do?
- What industry trends should you know about?
- What can go wrong in the world of RevOps?
- Has this person purchased from you before?
I asked Tom these questions. His answers will give you some insight into the ins and outs of the RevOps role.
What does RevOps do?
Their job is to align sales, marketing and customer success operations across the customer lifecycle. They do this by tying them together with the goal of increasing revenue (and in turn, hopefully reducing silos).
The aim is to drive growth by finding ways to make processes more efficient, whether by using tools, streamlining processes, or eliminating wasted time.
What industry trends should you know about?
Wondering what to research next before you get on a cold call with someone in RevOps?
Tom let us in on some big things happening in the industry today.
For every technology in the market, there are likely a bunch of competitors. Everyone is buying from one another.
Tom explains:
“You end up in this situation where there are features in one platform you want, but not all of it, but you want this other functionality from this other system which overlaps.”
“You’re almost playing Tetris to get the perfect tech stack.”
It makes managing the technologies and understanding the combinations much more complicated.
As a result, one of the most important aspects of any cold call to someone in RevOps or during a product demo is integration with the current tools and platforms.
Tom adds:
“I think there’s an under-appreciation for how mature RevOps buyers have become because of this. I get cold calls from some companies and I probably know more about their technology than the person calling me, because it’s my job to know.”
Tech debt
Over the last 5-10 years, companies have bought a lot of new technologies, but they’ve been building and deploying them poorly and not integrating them properly.
RevOps will look to assess what they have in place, reintegrating the platforms they want to keep.
Then they can rebuild their enablement processes to ensure everyone can utilise the platforms as intended.
Recession
With the fear of a recession building, companies are likely to tighten their belts and prepare to streamline their tech.
RevOps will be concerned about helping companies grow sustainably and make the most of what they’ve got.
The sheer volume of choice
RevOps wants the perfect tech stack, but no piece of tech does everything they want.
As a result, integration with the current enterprise sales tools and platforms is one of the most important aspects of any cold call to someone in RevOps or during a product demo.
What can go wrong in the world of RevOps?
There’s a whole variety of ways in which RevOps decision-making can impact the business. In fact, there’s almost no corner of an organisation they can’t touch.
Which means there’s potentially a lot that could go wrong, and a lot that RevOps are responsible for.
Tom says:
“There’s a lot that could keep me up at night. For example, sales targets, more specifically, hitting those targets. I worry about marketing execution, creating pipeline, and whether we’re converting enough.”
“If we’re reaching quota, I worry about customer success capacity.”
“It all comes down to ‘have we built the company in a way that it can grow sustainably?’”
Another point Tom adds is that RevOps are responsible for ‘no persons’ land’, meaning the gaps between each of the teams, such as sales and marketing.
They need to be the glue that binds the sales and marketing leads - as without which, silos emerge. And with those silos come inefficiencies.
Tom adds:
“A great day in RevOps is when I can see everything is working like clockwork. Or I get a message from someone, like an SDR, saying I’ve saved them 30 mins a day. Because that’s huge.”
“If I save someone 10 mins a day, over the course of a year that adds up to a lot of extra time.”
Have they purchased from you before?
As I explained at the beginning of this article, it’s RevOps’ job to implement tech.
So it’s not unlikely that the person you’re calling - especially if you’re working for a big name in the tech industry - hasn’t already interacted or bought from you before (even if it was with another company).
Tom explains:
“I’ve bought Cognism four times and I’ve bought Salesforce 12 times. I’d expect there to be a Tom Andrews file somewhere with that information available to salespeople.”
“If I were to get a cold call from someone at Salesforce saying: ‘I see you’ve been on our website, would you be interested in buying Salesforce?’ I’d feel pretty frustrated.”
“I have less patience for things like that when my perceived relationship with the company is higher.”
“And if you can’t find that information in your CRM, maybe just ask me ‘Hey, do you have any experience buying this tool before?’
“Because then it gives me the opportunity to fill the gaps rather than get frustrated at the lack of awareness.”
Researching top tip
Ashley has an interesting tip for researching before he calls someone from RevOps.
He calls up someone in the team who is using a certain system or is in the team he believes his solution could help.
Using Cognism as an example, he would call an SDR using contact data from a competitor. He would then ask them about the quality of their data.
Because then he can call someone in RevOps with more information than just ‘we have quality data’. In this case, he can call them up and say:
“I’ve had a call with someone in your sales and marketing teams and they feel the quality of your data isn’t as good as it could be. It’s affecting their workflows and their prospecting efficiency.”
Well, now you have a use case. Something tangible that applies directly to them.
Ashley says:
“When you’re approaching those bigger companies, it really helps to have something like a use case under your belt. This helps justify your call to decision-makers.”
Who else should you call?
Again, depending on the size of the company you’re targeting, you may need to think about who else in the business might influence the decision to close a deal with you.
Because in larger organisations, the CRO may not be the only decision-maker - meaning you have more people to get on side if you want to get a deal done.
Ashley gives us an example:
“If I’m working a recruitment consultancy, typically, I’m going to want to speak to the Director or Managing Director.”
“Or if you’re targeting a tech SaaS company, your best bet is to include a Head of Marketing or Head of Sales into your list of people to talk to, alongside your CRO.”
“I’d sometimes recommend you speak to those people first; they’re more likely to understand what it’s like to use the processes the CRO helps to manage. It just gives you more information to back yourself up.”
Now all the pre-call shenanigans are out of the way, let’s get into the juicy stuff. Here’s what you should say when you get on the phone with someone from RevOps.
The opener
What you say on a cold call to RevOps will depend on your calling style. Would you prefer to call it a spade and tell them off the bat that it’s a cold call?
For example:
“Hey, just being honest - this is a cold call. You haven’t spoken to me before, but I wanted to reach out to find out if Cognism could be a good fit for your company. Do you have a couple minutes to talk?”
Or maybe you’d prefer to keep things casual. This is how Ashley likes to start his cold calls:
“Hey, it’s Ashley from Cognism. I appreciate you’re busy, I wanted to have a quick chat to see if I can provide any value to your company.”
He follows this up directly with a pain point statement:
“Typically, I speak to people in RevOps who say they are finding 'xyz' difficult, and I wanted to see if that resonated with you?”
One thing to note here is that anyone in RevOps worth their salt will know the tools on the market. They’ve done their research and they’re keeping an eye on emerging tech. Especially in larger enterprise-sized companies.
So they’re not likely to be impressed with someone sharing surface-level features. They’re more likely to be interested in seeing how your solution stacks up against their current setup to see if you can improve inefficiencies.
In addition, if you’re working for a larger company yourself, they’ve likely heard of you before.
So don’t act like you’re introducing them to something - say:
“I’m sure you’ve heard of us before, but I wanted to see if you were aware of this new addition to our product that might help you with 'xyz' problem.”
The main thing Ashley relies on in his opening lines is to have real-life information. He wants to be able to say ‘I’ve spoken to a, b and c people, and they believe there’s a problem that I think I can help with.’
This goes back to the research he does before the call even takes place, when he speaks to other people in the company and other RevOps professionals in the industry.
Armed with this knowledge, he’s more likely to have the information he needs to capture the attention of someone in RevOps quickly.
Uncovering pain points
The important thing to note here is that RevOps employees are responsible for the processes used by everyone in marketing and sales. They’re looking to improve those processes, reduce bottlenecks, and minimise time wastage.
So they’re going to be sensitive to the decisions that impact those areas or the teams they serve.
So saying things like:
“Our solution can help you alleviate 'xyz' pains for your colleagues.”
Will be more influential, because that allows them to do their jobs better.
The meat and bones of your cold call will be about reinforcing the pains they’ve revealed to you, and how you can alleviate those pains. You might try:
“We’ve talked about how 'xyz' is negatively impacting your sales team's workflow. For someone in RevOps, how might this impact your role?”
Ashley also explains that because of the nature of their role, there are also some specific keywords and phrases you should use on your calls.. Such as:
Instead of saying ‘what’s your data like?’
Say:
“What’s the accuracy of the data in the regions you’re currently targeting?”
Or:
“What’s the health of your CRM data?”
Tom offers some 3 areas he would like an SDR to focus on during a cold call:
- Integrations.
- Who it helps.
- How it saves time.
He says:
“If someone called me and said:
“Hey, I’ve got a tool you’ve never heard of but it will save your teams an hour a day.”
“I’m interested. I will make time to save time.”
Tom adds:
“I think what’s also important to someone in RevOps is knowing that the product is going to work.”
“I’d rather not go through the traditional pain point discovery process. Instead, cut to the chase. Is this going to practically integrate with my existing ecosystem?”
“I want to know this first before I go through all the next steps.”
“And then I’d always be trying to find out about the onboarding and customer success plan to make sure me and my teams are getting ongoing support.”
“I want to know if we can get specialist training if we need it, or if we have new team members join, they can get the support they need to learn to use the tool. Because ongoing adoption is always a challenge.”
Objection handling
An unfortunate part of any cold calling role is that you’re likely to face some objections from sceptical prospects.
And in the case of a RevOps manager, well… you can imagine they get cold called a lot! So they’re going to be well-versed in their objections.
Here’s how to handle objections on a RevOps cold call:
“I’m busy.”
Can be countered with a simple:
“I hear you, I appreciate you must have a lot on your plate. Is there a better time when I can call back when we can have a chat later?”
“This sits with someone else.”
This is a common objection from someone in RevOps.
In this case, you have a golden opportunity to ask for a referral to the right person.
Such as:
“Understood, would you be able to introduce me to the right person to speak with about this and I’ll get out your way?”
Referrals are brilliant outcomes - because now you can name-drop the RevOps contact when you outreach to this new person, saying:
“I spoke with (RevOps name here) and they said I should speak to you as you’re responsible for 'xyz'. Is that right?”
Being able to name someone they work with is a great way to bring down the protective barriers and get someone to open up and talk.
“We’re happy with the tool/process we’re using.”
This is a slightly more difficult objection.
Because it’s the role of a RevOps manager to research, implement and review whatever systems are in place. So they will - for better or worse - feel like they’ve done their due diligence to choose the best tool or process for their teams.
They’re probably not going to like someone suggesting that the tool they chose is a bad tool, because… well, you’re basically saying they made the wrong decision.
But at the end of the day, RevOps aren’t the ones using those systems or tools - they may be misinformed about the reality of the process they’ve chosen.
This is where Ashley likes to use the information he’s gathered from those who are using the tools. Because how can you argue with that?
The close
You’ve made it through the 5-10 minutes of your cold call with your RevOps target. Now it’s time to draw some form of conclusion.
Ashley says:
“Depending on how your conversation has gone, and if you’ve been able to drive those points home about how your solution could be better than their current one, then you could say:”
“I appreciate you’re the budget holder for this, you’re the decision-maker.“
“So rather than going through speaking to all the other people at your company individually, why don’t we set up a call with yourself and anyone else you think needs to be involved.”
If you’ve managed to keep their attention this far, you’ve got a good chance of getting the outcome you want - and remember, a meeting doesn’t have to be the only positive outcome!
The ultimate CFO cold calling script
The research | The opener | The pitch | The close | Post-call outreach
Here’s the deal:
Even if you’re not focusing on cold calling CFOs, it’s still important to know how to reach out to them.
Ryan Reisert, Head of Growth at NeonPixel, explained why:
“Even though financial leaders aren’t the product evaluators, they’re in control of the budget. Often, people forget to have conversations with CFOs throughout the sales process - this is a mistake. Because finance will be involved in the ultimate decision.”
He added:
“When you cold call the CFO, you’re pre-empting because you’ve got another specific and important evaluator involved with the conversation."
So, I’ve created a tailored cold calling script aimed at targeting CFOs by speaking to:
- Javier Brage, Cognism’s former CFO.
- Ryan Reisert, Cognism’s former subject matter expert.
- And former Cognism SDRs Henry Owusu-Addo and Brad Norgate.
Researching CFOs
Talk to your CFO internally
If you’re an SDR reading this, you might be thinking:
‘I don’t have a clue what a CFO does. I’m not an expert on the ins and outs of finance!’
And Javier agreed:
“It’s very hard to expect an SDR to know every single little thing - they could be fresh out of university, for instance. They’re not used to being in a company that’s gone through a full economic cycle (boom, recession etc.).”
So, what can be done? SDRs can’t just improvise!
Javier said:
“I’d get the SDRs to organise sessions with their own CFO or equivalent. The CFO can get them up to speed on important pain points or industry trends. And it’s important for SDRs to remember to reach out to people who will give them the time of day.”
Ryan agreed:
“Go to your CFO and ask them what keeps them up at night. What are they talking about? Because if you have a really good understanding of your solution and how it impacts people and spend - you’re on the right track.”
“For example, coming up with a solution that allows sales to accelerate and reach their target without having to double down on people or spending is an example of this.”
Don’t state the obvious
Javier said:
“When an SDR calls me, they should tell me something related to an issue I’m dealing with right now. They should call me with information that I’m also not going to know already. Don’t tell me stuff like cost cutting - think outside the box.”
Here are a couple of issues Javier has identified currently:
“If somebody called me to deal with transferring money from one region to another, where I’ve missed out because of exchange rates, I’d pick up.”
“I’m also likely to answer if someone speaks to me about how to change the culture of an organisation that’s been growth at any cost - that’s a big one for me. Changing people’s behaviour towards cost and spending. And how to do it without drastically changing the company’s identity.”
The bottom line?
SDRs need to avoid generic statements and issues.
The opener
Open strong, and get to the point as soon as possible. As Javier told me:
“The cold call needs to be fairly ballsy. I get so many calls of the standard script, so if an SDR hasn’t entailed what it is they do within the first couple of seconds, I just lose interest.”
Now, there are a million different ways you could open a cold call.
Brad opens with the following:
“I’m going to be honest, this is a cold call. Do you want to hang up now or give me 30 seconds and then decide?”
And Henry says:
“Hi…Henry here calling from Cognism - how are you? I appreciate the call is out of the blue. I noticed on your LinkedIn you’re the CFO at [insert company name here]. Is that still the case?”
The pitch
Once the prospect has given you permission to carry on the call, it’s important to think about the questions you’re going to ask.
We’ve given you a few different perspectives to consider, starting off with Javier’s:
“I want an SDR to show that they’ve got an appreciation of my own business. They should be validating information - almost asking questions they know the answer to.”
“The questions that are centred around research and personalisation will pique my interest. I’ll immediately be put off if SDRs don’t show a bit of respect, and ask questions just because they want to sell.”
If you’re talking to a CFO at a private company, Ryan said to ask questions with the following approach:
“I think the best thing to do is centre the conversation more around assumptions. Leveraging things like:
“Hey when I talk to other CFOs they typically say ABC - does this relate to you as well?”
You might also say something like:
“Typically with this funding round we see xyz - is this relevant to you?”
“That way, you’re building credibility by understanding the persona. And you can use information to build a financial argument.”
Brad agreed:
“Once you’ve found the pain, it’s important not to stop there. You’ve got to quantify how that’s impacting the persona, to really get their buy-in or interest.”
Henry added by stating it’s important to make sure the prospect has control of the conversation:
“When you’re digging deeper into prospects’ pain points, make sure you’re asking questions like:
- “Does that make sense to you?”
- “Do you think that would help?”
- “Can this benefit you in any way?”
“It’s about having resilience and actively listening at the same time. Mirror the prospect. Repeat their last three words, understand gestures when they speak, such as when they pause and reflect their tone.”
“As an SDR, I like to think of myself as a consultant first. I’m in the business of helping people and adding value - it’s not good practice to try and bully someone into a meeting.”
The close
Our SDRs offered how they usually close a call:
Brad opts for something like:
“Hypothetically speaking, if Cognism could solve these problems we’ve just discussed (link back to pain), is there any reason you wouldn’t want to discuss further?”
Henry closes with:
“If you’ve got your calendar in front of you, I’ve got this slot free - does this work for you?”
Post cold call outreach to a CFO
Hooray! You’ve booked a meeting.
Does that mean the job is done?
No!
As Ryan reminded me:
“It’s about compounding the information from the call into the digital nurture funnels.”
And how might you go about doing this?
I asked Javier to explain what the ideal cold call follow-up looks like:
“Ideally, the SDR needs to send follow-up information to someone I work with.”
“I also put a lot of value behind my own network, so if there’s someone in my network that they can reference, that’s preferable.”
“When it comes to the multi-channel approach, I don’t like it when someone goes in and likes five of my old LinkedIn posts, and then tries to contact me. That just tells me the SDR hasn’t done their research.”
“And finally, the material should match the feel of the phone call: quick, snappy collateral. Don’t send a 30-page document - I don’t have time to sift through it.”
Your work is never finished - even once the phone call has finished.
The ultimate CMO cold calling script
The research | The opener | The pitch | The close | Objection Handling | Top tips
My SDRs often feel a bit intimidated when reaching out to a CMO or marketing leader.
That’s why I created this cold calling script to help.
I spoke to:
- Cognism’s CMO Alice de Courcy.
- Cognism’s former SDRs Jack Harber and Lewis Johnson.
- NeonPixel’s Head of Growth, Ryan Reisert.
They gave me some great insights to help my team cold call CMOs.
So, keep reading, and you’ll find out all you need to know 👇
Researching CMOs
Before even picking up the phone, it’s important to understand who you’re talking to.
Jack said:
“If you don’t do your research, you’ll be fighting a losing battle. You need to say things that are going to resonate with your prospects. So this phase is a no-brainer.”
I asked Alice and our SDRs what else the research phase entails.
Understand common pain points
I’m sure you’re no stranger to the importance of offering value as an SDR.
It’s important to remember this, though, because CMOs have limited time, and you've got to make every second on the call count.
You can’t just list a bunch of product features. You’ve got to make it clear what’s in it for the prospect.
One way to do this is to understand the common pain points that CMOs or marketing leaders face today.
Ryan stressed why understanding this is crucial:
“You need to contextualise the conversation by putting it into the lens of the industry or the segment you’re selling to. So it’s important to ask yourself questions like…”
- What do CMOs care about?
- What sorts of things are keeping them up at night?
- What gets them promoted and what gets them fired?
Here are three sales pain points that Alice said SDRs should be made aware of:
- The shift away from outdated lead generation tactics. Instead, today’s B2B marketing teams are focused on creating demand and increasing the number and quality of direct intent demo requests.
- Being able to create a business case for any new spend that’ll tie back to the acceleration of increase of revenue.
- Showing the impact of marketing on the business, especially in relation to contributing to revenue.
The bottom line?
If you don’t know the pain points, don’t pick up the phone!
Be aware of industry trends
Again, it’s a similar story.
You can’t expect the CMO to understand how the product or feature will help them within the wider industry context.
You’ve got to be ahead of the game, by knowing what the B2B marketing industry trends are.
And once again, Alice offered three trends that SDRs need to know:
- The shift from lead gen to demand gen.
- Most CMOs set revenue targets rather than focus leads or MQL.
- Marketing budgets are being tightened due to the economic climate. So it’s never been more important to prove the value of every tactic, channel, or spend.
The opener
It’s important to open with a bang!
However you decide to open a cold call - just make sure it’s consistent and confidently delivered.
Lewis tends to open like this:
“Hey, it’s Lewis calling from Cognism, how are you doing today?”
It’s simple and to the point.
More importantly, it’s aligned with the idea that a cold call should be a conversation. Even something as simple as asking how the prospect is doing goes a long way.
Jack said it’s also quite useful to open with something like:
“Hey, it’s Jack calling from Cognism. I was just on your LinkedIn and I noticed XYZ. I was hoping if I could ask a quick question or two?”
Lewis agreed that this was a good way to ease into the conversation. After he’s introduced himself, he follows up with something along the lines of:
“Apologies, you weren’t expecting my call. I was just on your LinkedIn, and I can see you’re heading up the marketing side of things at [insert company name]. I was hoping to ask a quick question?”
The pitch
Now comes the make-or-break part.
Ryan told me:
“The difference between success and failure on any cold call, once you’ve got someone to say hello, is going to be how relevant and timely the statements will be.”
For example, saying something along the lines of:
“The reason for my call is…”
Here’s an approach you might want to take:
CMO: “Sorry, what do you do?”
Sales rep: “I’m [insert your name here] from [insert your company name here]. I work with…like yourself in the area of demand generation. Is that accurate?”
CMO: “Yes it is.”
It’s also important to ask questions - here’s how to do it:
Sales rep: “You are still the CMO of this company, and it seems like your customers are XYZ, is that right?”
CMO: “Yes - that’s right.”
Sales rep: “Okay - perfect! When we speak with CMOs who serve this customer base, generally they’re telling us things like…(list the problems). I don’t suppose any of those are relevant to you right now, are they?”
Sometimes, knowing if you’re asking the right qualifying question at the right time can be tricky.
But Jack shared some insights with us on how you can make this process easier:
“I recently read Spin Telling by Neil Rackham. And he identifies four types of questions: situation, problem, implication, and need-pay off.”
Here are some examples of each type of question, within the context of prospecting a CMO or marketing leader.
- Situation: “How are you going about your campaigns currently?”
- Problem: “Where are you getting the data to fuel these campaigns?”
- Implication: “Has legacy data hindered your ability to get through to your target audience? Or has it impacted your deliverability rate?”
- Need pay-off: “Would it benefit your team to have high-quality emails? How much impact could you see it having on your email campaigns?”
The best way to approach the body of the script is by acting a bit more like a detective than a sales rep. Uncover the insights, and then offer value.
Once you’ve uncovered these pains, you can then move on to the…
The close
You’ve opened with a bang.
How do you also make sure you close strong?
Ryan said:
“There’s always going to be this open dialogue, especially if it’s a strong lead - they’re [the prospect] likely to ask some questions. Once that’s completed, it’s time for the closing statements. And there’s a lot of variation.”
He stated:
“It’s important to give the CMO an opportunity to say ‘no’.”
So try statements like:
- “As I mentioned before, the purpose of my call is to schedule a brief 10 to 15-minute introductory conversation sometime early next week. Would [insert date and time] work for you?”
- “Would it be a terrible idea to put 15 minutes on the calendar next Wednesday?”
- “How open-minded are you…?”
- “Hey - I bet you’re a bit like me - in the sense that you’re open-minded to new ideas…?”
- “Hey, based on what you shared today, would it look ridiculous to get 15 minutes on the calendar?”
- “How does next ‘xyz’ look for you?”
- “Are you a morning or an afternoon person?”
Ryan explained:
“These statements are allowing the prospect to voice how they’re feeling, while simultaneously allowing you - the rep - to remain consistent and confident, right to the very end of the call.”
Objection handling
Sales objections are going to happen on every cold call you make - and especially when talking with CMOs.
But how you handle objections depends on each one. This is something my team has learnt over time.
As Jack shared:
“It’s important to understand that when a CMO or marketing leader brushes you off, it’s because they’ve got a legitimate objection that you haven’t solved for them. You haven’t covered the value proposition in enough detail.”
He shared an objection he often gets from marketers, and offers advice on how to handle it 👇
CMO: “I/We don’t need any help.”
Sales rep: “Okay, I understand. Just out of curiosity though, what methods/tools are you using at the moment to help with…?”
With this response, you can discover which tools the prospect is already using.
And then you can ask them what they like/don’t like about the tool - and offer up your own product/service as a replacement.
Cold calling CMOs: Top tips
Looking to refine your CMO cold calling process?
Ryan’s got some last-minute tips and tricks he wanted to share 👇
Respect the prospect
This is key. And Ryan explains why:
“Whoever you’re calling, the first thing you need to realise is that it’s a person who’s doing their job. You’ve got to be respectful in the sense that when you made this call, the prospect wasn’t expecting it. Therefore, you’re an interruption.”
He added:
“Respect that, and recognise that if the prospect is busy, offer another option. Don’t have the reflex reaction to immediately go into objection handling.”
Don’t go in with negative thoughts
And once you’ve been given permission to start the conversation?
Well, Ryan has noticed a common mistake that reps make:
“A lot of the time I notice that reps think marketers don’t like cold calls, so they reach them through other channels. It’s a mistake to have this mindset belief, as you’ll already create unnecessary friction in the conversation.”
“It’s important to remember that the call has just got to be relevant and timely.”
Compound the conversation
How can you maximise the conversation you have with a CMO?
Firstly, it’s about the actions you take after the first cold call.
Ryan said:
“There are opportunities for unique and creative ways to engage with CMOs post-conversation. For example, just sending a case study isn’t very creative. But a video can be.”
He went on to explain how video prospecting can be used creatively in a post-cold call follow-up:
“Don’t just opt for a simple whiteboard ‘Hi, how are you?’ Instead, call out a prospect’s LinkedIn profile in a video and say something like…”
“Hey, I noticed XYZ. So I’m going to send you this…”
Why is it important to get creative in an immediate follow-up?
“Links, stories, videos. All of these ways can help to engage the prospect and get them into the sales funnel.”
“And when this is done well, it should work pretty quickly, because as marketing leaders, they’ll understand how this structure works.”
Ryan told us that reps can also compound the conversation by prospecting to other marketers in the same organisation:
“If you’re prospecting to the top level, it might also be worth reaching out to other folks within the department at that organisation.”
“For instance, if I had a conversation with Alice at Cognism, I’d send a follow-up. But I’d also hit up Liam or Fran (Alice’s reports) if I was selling a demand gen solution.”
Ryan mentioned:
“There’s great power in this approach. You go high first, and then you can build along the way, as you go lower down the department.”
Why else is it important to adopt this sales strategy?
“A lot of the times when you’re cold calling CMOs, more often than not, you’re going to get a referral to another person.”
“So be prepared to compound and leverage this referral into something bigger, using the same concepts. Because doing all of these things simultaneously will increase your chances of a positive response.”
The ultimate CEO cold calling script
The research | The opener | The goal | Uncovering pain points | The pitch | The objections | The close | Top tips
Cold calling a CEO can be daunting. Trust me, I get it.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You CAN ace that call with the CEO.
All you need is a cold calling script that delivers, so I put this one together.
Researching CEOs
I asked Leslie Venetz, Founder of Sales Team Builder, for advice on researching CEOs and their companies before picking up the phone.
“The best way to get the attention of a CEO is relevant, hyper-personalisation in your outreach. To achieve that level of hyper-personalisation, you must get to know the organisation by doing research.”
Leslie recommended the following for pre-call research:
Talk to the CEO’s direct reports
Look up the company on LinkedIn and map out its organisational structure. Identify the people who likely report into the CEO and outreach to them.
Find out as much as you can about the CEO and their company from their colleagues. In particular, ask them about the business challenges and pain points that the CEO deals with.
Never underestimate the importance of this step. You’ll get a much better picture of the CEO’s company by engaging with the people inside it. You might also create an internal champion, someone who can refer you directly to the CEO and help you gain buy-in with them.
Quick hack for busy SDRs - use the Cognism Chrome Extension to source contact details for any LinkedIn profile.
Visit the company website
Browse on over to the CEO’s company website. Check out the blog, check out the news section. Are there any recent stories or achievements you can use on your call?
Take notes and get a feel for the company’s product portfolio and customer base. The CEO will know this info like the back of their hand - you don’t want to be caught out.
Study competitors
It isn’t just useful to view the CEO’s company website; you should also do the same for their competitors.
It’s likely that the CEO will bring them up as examples on your cold call, so being clued up on them is a must.
Researching competitors will also give you a good grounding in the CEO’s industry; they will be aware of all the latest news and trends, so you should be too.
The opener
The most valuable thing you can do in your cold call intro is to ask the CEO for permission to speak.
Psychologically, it’s gold dust. It puts the CEO in a position of power, which of course they’re used to in their day-to-day. It also puts them at ease on the call - instead of being immediately pitched to, they’re being engaged in a conversation.
Ryan Reisert recommends the following permission-based openers:
- “Hi (first name). We’ve never met, but I’m hoping you can help me out for a moment. Do you have two minutes?”
- “Hi (first name). I’m Ryan from Cognism. You weren’t expecting my call. This is the first time I’ve reached you. Do you mind if I take 30 seconds to share exactly why I called?”
Another good sales tactic is to be upfront that this is a cold call:
“Hi (first name), it’s Ryan from Cognism. You’re probably going to hate me because this is a cold call. Would you like to hang up or roll the dice?”
What connects all these opening lines is that you’re seeking approval from the CEO to continue.
It’s worth noting that people rarely say “no” when someone else asks for their time.
The goal
Having asked them for permission, it’s likely the CEO will reply with something like:
“Sure, I’ve got two minutes. What’s this about?”
Or:
“Okay. What are you calling about?”
At this point, the CEO will be expecting you to dive into your pitch. That’s precisely what you mustn’t do!
Instead, disarm the CEO by putting the goal of your cold call front and centre.
Like this:
“The reason I’m calling today is to find a time on your calendar to introduce my company. I was wondering if you might have some time in the afternoon, next Wednesday or Thursday. How’s that work for you?”
Or this:
“I’m looking to schedule 10-15 minutes for an introductory conversation sometime early next week. Would you have 10 minutes on Thursday afternoon at say 1pm?”
The purpose of doing this is twofold:
- It creates transparency on your cold call - the CEO is now under no illusions as to why you’re calling.
- It opens up the conversation - the CEO is now intrigued by you; they’ll want to know more.
With that in mind, the CEO will probably reply with:
“Wait a minute, what’s this about?”
Or:
“Could you tell me what you want?”
Just think about that for a moment. This is pure cold calling magic - the CEO of a target company is now asking YOU for more information.
Uncovering pain points
At this point in the cold call, you need to tease out the CEO’s pain points. They may not even know that they have a problem - but once you define it for them, it’ll be easier for them to visualise how you can help.
Start with a soft, one-line pitch (note: this section is based on Cognism’s USP - you can adapt it to suit your company):
“I work for Cognism, the B2B data provider.”
Then go into the problem:
“I’m curious about how your team generates contact data for your key prospects. Typically speaking to CEOs like yourself, they say their teams have mixed results with outreach by not having enough mobiles and emails not always delivering.”
“Does this resonate with you in any way or am I a million miles off?”
Note the use of the phrase “I’m curious” - this takes the pressure away from your cold call.
You’re not a sales rep, you’re just a curious person. Remember that CEOs love to talk about their businesses, so asking them a question about it will definitely pique their interest.
Note the use of the phrase “typically speaking to CEOs” - this builds trust on your call. It makes you sound like a consultant, rather than a salesperson. You speak to CEOs regularly and you know the kinds of problems they face.
When asked the question from above, and bearing in mind you’ve done your research into their pain points, most CEOs will reply with:
“Yes, that resonates with me.”
At this point…
PAUSE!
Don’t say anything. Wait for the CEO to speak.
9 times out of 10, they’ll come back with:
“So, what do you guys do?”
That pause is absolutely crucial. In the words of Morgan J. Ingram, pausing for 1.5 seconds after a prospect has finished talking means that “they continue to talk and then you get more information from them.”
In this case, by pausing, you’ve opened up a space for the CEO to ask you something that other sales reps can only dream of.
That’s right - they’ve just invited you to deliver…
The pitch
Follow up the CEO’s question with a short, succinct pitch. Include the names of other companies in the CEO’s industry, if possible.
Again, this pitch is optimised for Cognism, but you can change it to match your product/service.
“We have a tool that generates verified mobile numbers and email addresses for contacts in your ICP.”
“Our client (company name) was having issues generating the data they needed, but since they started working with us, their reps have cut hours off their prospecting time.”
And again - pause!
If the CEO doesn’t say anything after 1.5 seconds, you can try for a close:
“Would it make sense for you to see the tool for yourself? Would Thursday afternoon at 1pm work for you?”
Now, it’s unlikely the CEO will agree to a meeting straight away. First of all, you’ll have to resolve…
The objections
Every B2B cold caller encounters sales objections from prospects - and none more so than from CEOs!
To help you out, I delved into Cognism’s sales call library and compiled a list of the most common cold calling objections that our SDRs face. Plus, I’ve provided options on how to handle them.
Objection 1: “I’m really busy. I don’t have time for this!”
- “I understand you’re a busy professional. That’s why I’m proposing a quick 10-minute conversation at a time when I’m not interrupting you.”
- “I understand you’re really busy. Looking at my calendar, I see an opening next Thursday at 1pm. How does that look on your calendar?”
Objection 2: “You’re wasting your time. I’m not interested!”
- “This sounds like it might not be a priority right now. But typically, when I talk to CEOs, they tell me their reps are struggling to generate quality leads. Is that a problem for you or am I completely missing the mark here?”
- “Let me ask you a question: if I could show you how you can generate verified leads at scale and even save you (time/money), wouldn’t you be happy you took a few minutes to take a look?”
Objection 3: “I’m already working with a competitor.”
- “That’s great, I hear they’re very good. Just out of interest, is there anything you think they could improve?”
- “That’s interesting. However, all I’m asking for here is 10 minutes of your time for an introductory call next week. How does next Thursday at 1pm look on your calendar?”
Objection 4: “Send me more information.”
- “Sure, I’d be happy to send you more information. Just so I’m not wasting your time, what would you like to know?”
- “I could send you more information, but it would be quicker for you to see the tool for yourself. Would you be totally against having a 10-minute call next week?”
The close
The best way of closing cold calls with CEOs is to not come across as too pushy.
Don’t go straight for the meeting - instead, give the CEO the freedom of choice. Keep in mind that Chief Execs are used to being in control in their working lives.
Say something like:
“Would it make sense for you to see the tool so you can review what your options are?”
Josh Braun explains the psychology of this:
“It’s about reducing pressure. These words are very intentional around reducing pressure and letting the prospect be in control of if they want to move forward or not.”
“Because ultimately, when you take the freedom of choice away, people retreat.”
Tom Lavery, Founder and CEO at Jiminny, had this advice for SDRs:
“The best way to close a call is to identify the next step - be that another meeting, a demonstration with their team, or another tangible action that moves the deal forward. Ideally, you want to obtain commitment to that next step before the call ends.”
Cold calling CEOs: top tips
Mackenzie Whipp, Business Development Specialist at Online Optimism, gave me this checklist of tips for calling CEOs:
- Clearly state your goals in the first 30 seconds. Capture the CEO’s attention early and start off with a strong hook. This can be a quick: “Can I have two minutes of your time?” After this, you can begin your business pitch.
- Go into the call knowing what your objective is. Stay focused on this objective and try not to deviate.
- Educate the CEO about the benefits of your product. Don’t focus on product features; instead, tell them about the results they could see if they were a customer. Use case studies to build up some social proof.
- Tell the CEO that you appreciate them taking your call. CEOs are busy people; they’ll be grateful that you’ve shown consideration for interrupting their day.
- When closing the call, see if there are any questions on their end. Ask the CEO if they would like an email summary of the call. Don’t forget to thank them for their time and tell them to have a great rest of their day!
The ultimate enterprise sales cold calling script
The opener | The opening pitch | The discovery | The main pitch | The close | Qualifying questions
If you know Katy Mason-Jones, you’ll know she’s one of the very best salespeople Cognism’s got.
A consistent high-flyer in our outbound sales team, Katy has smashed targets and been rewarded with several promotions, including Enterprise SDR and Account Executive. As an SDR, she prospected into some of our biggest and highest-profile accounts.
So, I asked Katy to provide us with her cold calling script. This script enabled her to engage and convert decision-makers inside the world’s largest companies.
This is the ultimate cold calling script for enterprise sales 👇
The opener
A good cold call intro has to do two things:
- It has to catch the prospect’s attention, without being overly ‘salesy’ or pushy.
- It needs to be successful in building rapport with the prospect and getting a conversation going.
Since she’s dealing with enterprise clients, Katy likes to start with something unconventional.
She immediately lets the prospect know it’s a sales call.
Like this:
“Hi (first name), this is Katy calling from Cognism. For full transparency at the very beginning, this is a well-researched B2B sales call.”
“I appreciate I’ve called completely out of the blue. Is now a bad time for a two-minute chat?”
Contrary to what you might expect, Katy has found that this intro gets great results - and the occasional laugh! She told us:
“I’ve had so many prospects say that they appreciate the honesty, and go on to say that they have a couple of minutes for me.”
The opening pitch
Katy’s intro made it clear this was a “well-researched B2B sales call.”
The next step is to demonstrate to the prospect that you’ve done your research. This is especially important when talking to enterprise decision-makers. You have to come to the call armed with knowledge about their company.
This is Katy’s opening pitch:
“Great! I see that you work with some B2B clients like (company name) in the (industry name) sector. We work with many similar companies such as (company name).”
“After speaking with a lot of (job titles) at the moment like yourself, I’ve found they’re experiencing challenges with…”
The pitch will only work if you have a good idea of the following:
- Who the prospect’s clients are.
- What challenges people with their job title usually experience.
And, of course, every pitch you make must be tailored to the prospect’s specialism. Remember that in enterprise sales, you’ll be prospecting to multiple people in an organisation.
For example, when cold calling marketing leaders, you can say:
“I see that as a team you’re trying to grow your audience and target (persona names) with your marketing campaigns.“
“With that in mind, do you think your team could benefit from a piece of in-house software that can deliver your content to those key personas at their most receptive buying period?”
And for cold calling sales leaders:
“I see you target (persona names). When it comes to your outreach, I was wondering if you had thought that your team could benefit from a tool that generates time-sensitive contact data, including mobiles, for those personas?”
The discovery
If your pitch goes well, the prospect will enter into a dialogue.
This stage of your call - the discovery stage - is the most important. It’s where cold calls are won or lost.
What you have to do is walk a tightrope. You have to probe the prospect as much as possible, while making sure it’s them, not you, that does most of the talking.
Katy’s top tip is to ask open-ended questions. Her favourite first question is:
“How do you currently generate new business?”
The prospect’s answer to this allows you to tailor your later discovery questions. For example, if they reply with:
“We use LinkedIn and email campaigns.”
Then, you wouldn’t start pitching them about the quality of your mobile data.
Katy has a list of great initial discovery questions. They are:
- “What channels do you use to reach out to your leads?”
- “What’s your target market in terms of job title/location/company size?”
- “What are your email bounce rates?”
- “What’s your connect rate for every 100 direct dials you’re getting from your current contact data provider?”
- “Out of every 20 InMails you’re sending, how many responses do you get?”
But as you ask these questions and the prospect replies, remember...
You must take notes!
Make sure you write down every detail; you’ll need them in the closing phase of the cold call.
Formatting your notes means you can easily refer back to points during the conversation and repeat issues to the prospect. Katy shared an example:
“You mentioned your sales reps are manually inputting data into your CRM. Can you go into more detail on that, how long does it take?”
Katy had some more advice on note-taking:
“On enterprise sales calls, you can be given lots of information. Taking notes means you won’t miss any qualifying questions. It also makes life easier when it comes to typing up your demo notes. You don’t want to forget anything!”
The main pitch
The trick with your main pitch is…
Keep it simple!
Don’t go into too much depth. Explain how your product will fit it into the prospect’s current process, and what the end result will be.
Again, you should modify your main pitch depending on who you’re speaking with.
For sales:
“To explain where we could fit into your process, we have a tool that you would run searches on, find your ICP, and at the click of a button generate mobile numbers.”
“This would save your reps hours of time, so you can focus on more important, revenue-generating tasks.”
For marketing:
“To explain where we could fit into your process, we have a tool to help you find people in your ICP, generate their emails and increase your matched audiences.”
“We would act as a repeatable source of net new data in your funnel, so you can actively deliver your content at the optimal times.”
It’s also a good idea to integrate their current processes into your pitch. This adds another layer of personalisation to your call, which prospects often respond well to.
“Typically, clients who move away from (competitor name) found that they were experiencing issues with (x). Have you experienced similar issues?”
This helps you discover pain points and put forward your product as the solution.
Katy’s final tip for the main pitch - it pays to throw in a case study to back up your claims!
“Our client (company name) was experiencing similar issues with (competitor name/hours of time spent prospecting/high bounce rates etc).”
“Since they started working with us, they managed to cut (x) down and achieved ROI in 3 months.”
The close
Katy’s golden rule for closing enterprise sales is:
Assume the sale!
Instead of saying:
“Would you like to take a look at the platform?”
She makes it seem like attending a demo is the obvious next step for the prospect:
“When works for you to get eyes on the tool?”
After Katy’s arranged a time with the prospect, there’s something she always does next:
“Make sure they receive the calendar invite while you’ve got them on the phone! I’ve had the nightmare scenario several times where there’s been a typo in their email address or the invite lands in spam, so when it comes to the demo time, they’ve forgotten all about it!”
Qualifying questions
Now you’ve booked in the prospect, that’s it, right? Job done?
Wrong!
In enterprise sales, it’s good to ask some additional questions to qualify things like timing and authority.
Deals with enterprise orgs have much longer sales cycles and more decision-makers involved. You want to give the AE as much heads-up on this as possible, enabling them to manage the process more smoothly.
However, there are ways of phrasing these questions correctly. Questions like this might alienate the prospect:
“Are you the decision-maker in this process?”
Instead, Katy recommends you ask questions like...
-
“Is there anyone who would feel left out if they didn’t see the platform with you?”
- “Who else needs to get eyes on this with you to streamline the process?”
A good question Katy uses to get an understanding of timelines is:
“If the tool is right for you and you think it will help you achieve your goals, when would you want to implement it? Right away? Or in a couple of months?”
How to write a sales script in 6 easy steps
Now, it’s time for you to create your own script. The best scripts are ones tailored by reps for their target audience.
I’ve found that many of the sales scripts reps use don’t work because the tone doesn’t reflect the company, and the words come across as…well, scripted.
To create the best cold calling script that actually works, here are some of my top tips to follow:
1. Structure
First of all, your cold call scripts need to follow a set structure. Break them down into five segments:
This structure isn’t an absolute rule. Rather, it’s a guide to help reps flow with the conversation.
This is an important part of the sales process, as not every rep will use the same language as another or convey their messaging the same. Find your own individuality. Otherwise, you’ll come across as robotic.
The last thing any prospect wants to hear is someone reading robotically down the phone—that’s the surest route to cold call failure. One size definitely doesn’t fit all when it comes to cold calling.
2. Opening
Your opening is the very start of your sales call, and more often than not, it will be answered by a gatekeeper.
Especially if you’re calling a senior-level prospect.
You can afford to get a little creative to get past the gatekeeper, just as long as what you say makes sense with your offering.
Options SaaS sales companies like Cognism use are:
- “New business.”
- “Your client acquisition process.”
- “How you find new clients.”
If it’s a follow-up, try:
- “Oh, I’m just following up on an email I sent to (first name).”
- “I’m just chasing up on some emails. They’ll know what it’s regarding.”
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when speaking to a gatekeeper. It could make the difference between being put through to the prospect or never having your message passed on.
One great tip my team uses is to always sound senior. If the gatekeeper thinks you’re a management-level peer rather than a salesperson, they’re much more likely to transfer your call.
Assuming your call is transferred and the prospect picks up, you’ll want to establish rapport early on in your sales cold call script.
A good way to start an introductory call is to acknowledge that the prospect’s time is limited and ask for their permission to continue.
3. Pitch
Once you’ve got the all-clear from the prospect, it’s time to pitch.
Again, your sales pitch isn’t something that’s set in stone. It can change depending on the SDR and who they’re talking to.
But, when it comes to your cold call sales script, I’ve found that there are three things it must be:
- Clear - Your prospect must be able to understand your pitch. Make sure you adapt it for each person to stay relevant to them and their industry.
- Concise - Think of it as a springboard to further the conversation; you don’t need to reveal absolutely everything about your business. One good tip is to think of your pitch as a tweet - what can you convey in 280 characters or less?
- Easy to remember - You don’t want to get tongue-tied or lose the flow on your cold call. Remember two to three facts or stats, and use them every time.
A cold call example of a sales pitch would be:
“We help companies like yours prospect and gain new clients by giving you access to our lead generation tool that contains over 400 million B2B profiles.”
4. Questions
Once your pitch is delivered, it’s time to move on to what’s arguably the most crucial stage of your sales calling script - questions.
By this, I mean answering and asking open-ended questions that encourage conversation.
Questions that require simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers stilt the flow of conversation.
In any cold call, the prospect must do 70% of the talking, while the salesperson should do only 30%.
Why?
Because the more the prospect talks and feels they’re being listened to, the more likely they’re going to buy. In a recent study by HubSpot, 69% of buyers said that the one thing they wanted from sales reps was to “listen to my needs.”
Open-ended questions are a great method of showing the prospect you’re a good listener. They open up the conversation, allowing you to gain vital insights that’ll help you in the last stages of the call.
Here are some examples I give to our new SDRs for their cold calling scripts:
- “How do you currently go about finding new clients?”
- “What does your outbound sales process look like at the moment?”
- “How are you generating new leads?”
- “What are your frustrations with your prospecting data currently?”
These types of questions usually work very well with senior-level prospects, as they focus on common business pain points - finding new customers, lead generation, and data quality.
5. Conversation
This is where your B2B cold call script could go one of two ways:
The prospect could hang up, or they could be very much open to a conversation.
It’s your job to keep your prospect engaged, and there are four good conversational methods to do this while getting the most out of your conversation:
Tonality
How you speak and your sales jargon with potential customers is very important. You should always sound excited and enthusiastic, especially if the prospect is blunt and unresponsive.
A lot of times, the prospect will be doing this on purpose to see how you react.
Keep in mind that you’ll often be calling people who are B2B sales professionals in their own right and know all the tricks of the trade.
Pauses and hyperbole
A little bit of drama in your cold calling scripts goes a long way.
But I don’t mean that fight between Kelly and Shelly in accounting. Nope, I mean embracing pauses and hyperbole to emphasise certain points in your sales call.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
“Our lead generation tool gives you access to 400 million B2B profiles...globally.”
A simple pause will ensure that important points are quickly highlighted and more likely to stick in the prospect’s mind.
Mirroring
Doing this can lead to great results on your cold call. All you have to do is keep your ear out and listen to how the prospect speaks and the words they use. Then, imitate the way they talk.
It’s as easy as that!
What’s the purpose behind this?
It’s proven to be an effective way of building rapport and increasing the odds of being “accepted” by the person you’re talking to. Plus, it relaxes the prospect so they’re more comfortable talking to you.
Repetition
One of the best tactics I’ve found to utilise in any cold calling script is repetition.
For instance, try repeating what the prospect says in a questioning tone. You’ll be surprised how much they reveal when questioned like this.
For example, if the prospect says something like…
“All my sales team manually find their leads.”
You should then respond with…
“Your sales team finds ALL their leads MANUALLY?”
Repeating their words back to them acts as a guide, leading them to reveal more about their business - what the process looks like, how long it takes, and the number of resources they put into it.
These are further pain points that you can address one by one, steering them closer to the final stage in your cold call and prospecting script.
6. Closing
You’ve addressed all the key pain points, and the prospect has shown interest in seeing your product in more depth - it’s time to close!
However, this close to the end of the call, you might encounter some sales objections and obstacles to overcome.
But don’t be discouraged! Where there’s an objection, there’s a way to handle it.
One of the most common cold calling objections that’ll crop up at this stage is:
“Please could you send me some more info first?”
Some good responses to add to your cold calling sales script are:
- “I could send you some more information, but by the time you’ve read through it, I could answer your questions. What would you like to know?”
- “It would be quicker and more useful to show you the platform. How does (day) at (time) sound?”
You’ll need to instil an element of judgment, say, for instance, the prospect is on the move or very busy at the time. Pushing harder for a demo might irritate them, so you’ll need to judge whether sending them a cold call follow-up email would actually be easier.
In this case, I’ve found a good option is to find out exactly what information they want in the email. Like this:
“What would you like me to include in the email?”
This will get the prospect to reveal their concerns, which you can then address on the phone - eventually leading them back to the close.
Try out the above two strategies for handling objections and persuading a hesitant prospect to agree to a demo. Before you do so, though, gauge the prospect’s receptiveness.
When you get to the close, always make sure you qualify the prospect further before you let them go:
“Great! In order to tailor the demonstration as best as possible so you get the most out of it, I just need a few details. Please can you tell me about your target (industries/job titles/locations)?”
This will help the Account Executive personalise the product demo to the prospect’s needs, increasing the chances of a sale.
Then, when that’s over, it’s time to end the call.
“That’s great. Thanks a lot for your time just now (first name). I really appreciate it. Do you need anything else from me, or would you like me to include anyone else on the call?”
Another way of ensuring the demo stays in their mind is to repeat the agreed time of the demo back to them.
“That’s great. Thanks a lot for your time today (first name). I look forward to seeing you on (day) at (time).”
And that’s it, your cold calling template!
Cold call with confidence
With Cognism, your reps can cold call with confidence - with or without a B2B cold calling script!
This sales intelligence software is the number one toolkit for a scaling B2B sales team, allowing you to:
- Power your cold calling strategy with quality GDPR-compliant data.
- Discover contact details for target leads, including verified business telephone numbers and direct dial data for the USA.
- Take advantage of event-based triggers that let you know the best times to cold call prospects.
- Cut your team’s time on manual data entry and updating by integrating Cognism into your company CRM.
- Spend less time prospecting and more time calling!
Interested? Click 👇 to book your demo.
