Sales Call Scripts – Cold Call Like a Pro [FREE TEMPLATE]

Using a sales call script is one of the top cold calling tips recommended — but does it work?

A sales call script can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Used well, it’s your guiding light to navigate a conversation.

But abuse it and you become a telemarketing robot that sweats when forced to go off-script.

Look at it this way — a cold call script is a shoulder to lean on, not a crutch to carry you. Personalize it to the person, role, and account you’re prospecting to, and tweak it according to what works.

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Sales Call Script Success: The Science Behind Getting Positive Results When Cold Calling

First thing’s first: Write an outline of what you want to say.

It’s the best way to make sure you hit the right points during your call. (Keep reading for sales call script templates examples to copy/paste.) Remember, your goal isn’t to pitch someone on the spot; it’s to get them to commit to a meeting.

Next: Choose the right time.

If you’re not sure where to start, try Tuesday or Thursday afternoon. A Yesware analysis of over 25,000 calls made through our phone dialer discovered this is the best window. We found that sales calls lasting over five minutes most often occur 3:00 to 5:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Whatever time you choose, make sure to block it off on your calendar.

Ready, set: Time to call.

When it’s go-time, remove any visual distractions so you’re fully present to lead the conversation.

Here’s what you’ll need: your prospect list (ideally with prior research about the person), your sales call script, and a place to jot down call notes.

Tip: Try out these cold calling strategies in a mock call to boost your confidence before you pick up the phone.

The Bad Sales Call Script: How To Get Yourself Hung Up On

There are plenty of do-not’s when it comes to making a cold call.

• Don’t be sketchy about who you are or why you’re calling. Mystery buys time but can bite you later.
• Don’t talk at your prospect. Use questions to connect early on.
• Don’t give up if you don’t reach them the first time. It’s the marathoners who get the worm.
• Don’t just use the phone; “Following-up calls with emails increases your chances,” says Yesware Sales Manager Joel Felcher.
• Don’t paraphrase what your prospect does. They already know how to do their job. Instead, impress them with how well you know their pains.

Looking to follow up by email? Here are 18 proven email templates.

An example of what not to do: The sales call script that prospects everywhere are begging you to stop using.

How to Master Your First Cold Calling Attempt

If you’re calling someone who’s never talked to you before, they will likely be on the defense.

When they pick up the phone, they’ll be wondering these questions that you need to address, before you can even begin your elevator pitch.

1. Who are you?
2. Why are you calling me?
3. How do I actually benefit?
4. What are you asking for?

Your cold calling script needs to answer these questions truthfully while keeping the biggest cold call haters on the line.

Here’s a secret:

You (and everyone else on your sales team) both share a similarity.

You and this person have something in common—a background, a hobby, or a piece of knowledge. Maybe you went to rival colleges, or are big fans of tattoos, or have worked with the same person in the past. Or maybe you have some friends in common. Facebook recently proved that the degrees of separation between strangers is smaller than we all thought; it’s only 3.5 people.

Finding your commonality (and bringing it up in a natural way) makes you more attractive to your prospect. Finding a way to fit these commonalities into your sales call script is critical to building rapport.

How to get there:

First, before you even begin to dial that first outbound phone call, take a couple of minutes to research your prospect online—the person and the company (this can be done easily by looking up their social media profiles, especially their LinkedIn profile). Find a compliment or a specific pain point; your acknowledgment of this intimate fact can serve as your bond.

Then, come up with a connecting statement for your sales call. You and your salespeople can try something like this:

• “Hey, I happened to notice that you’re connected to Sarah Cuddy. I actually worked with Sarah up until last year at LiveCourse. She’s great to work with!”
• “I’ve had my eye on RealDrive for a while as an awesome company, and I noticed that your team is hiring additional Sales Reps. Congratulations on how fast you’re scaling! I see you guys all over Boston.”
• “Before I dive into why I’m calling, I just wanted to say, congrats on the recent funding! I read about it on TechCrunch. Awesome news for the SaaS community.”

Sample Sales Call Script Outline

Next, organize your sales call script:

1. Introduction (your name + company name)
2. Connecting statement / Reason for calling (remember, without this, even the best sales call scripts can fall short)
3. Qualifying Questions (remember to avoid asking open-ended questions – they can give your prospect the opportunity to shut down the conversation before the first discovery call has even had a chance to get off the ground.)
4. Ask

Here’s an example of this sales call script in action:

Remember though, your goal is to make your prospects feel comfortable, engaged, and to keep the conversation moving forward. Don’t worry about repeating your script word-for-word — use it as a guide to keep you on track.

Grab the sales call script template here:

Hey {!FirstName}, {!YourName} at {!Company} here. Hope your day is going well!

I’ve had my eye on {!YourCompany} for a while as an awesome company, and I noticed that your team is hiring for a {!Department} role. It sounds like you guys have a need to {!Pain1}, {!Pain2}, and {!Pain3). I imagine that can get pretty frustrating.

That’s something I hear often. {!MyCompany} was built to alleviate all of these issues. We {!Action}, which {!Solution}. Does your team currently use any {type of solution}s?

Understood. Luckily, {!YourUniqueValue}. I know you’ve probably got a busy day but I’d love to book some time this week to have one of our consultants walk you through what we’ve done for other customers like {!WellKnownBrand1} and {!WellKnownBrand2}, {!GoalOfCall2}, and {!GoalOfCall3}.

Are you available {!Day1} or {!Day2} of this week?

Sounds perfect, {!FirstName}. I will book that now and send over an invite.

Note: If the prospect interjects by saying “I don’t have time,” explain why you’re calling/ your value in one sentence (try using social proof or a memorable metric/stat). Then ask which day of the week (and after that, whether morning or afternoon) typically works best for you to learn more about their situation and needs. (See “Hurdle That Roadblock” Template below.)

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Mastering The Follow-Up Call: What to Say When You’ve Called or Emailed Before

When you’ve already tried and been ghosted, all the more reason to show them personal value. As simple as it sounds, the sweeping majority of sales call scripts lack the “what’s in it for you” — the value proposition. 

The prospect you’re calling is a person with a real job, and with real needs and frustrations. Connect with that reality. Prove you aren’t just cycling through selling activities with your own agenda.

Forbes contributor Carrie Kerpen puts it perfectly:

Every cold outreach that I’ve ever given 15 minutes of my time to was because they were memorable, and because I didn’t feel like a tally number on a board of “calls made.” Every single one was about how they could add value to my business in a way that others couldn’t.

Want to get me to talk to you? Learn something about me, and deliver it in a way that resonates.

Here’s how to organize this type of call:

• Intro
• Context (When you last reached out and why you’re calling)
• Possible Value Prop (PVP)
• Value Prop
• Ask

Dubbed by Art Sobczak’s book Smart Calling: Eliminate the Fear, Failure, and Rejection of Cold Calling, PVP is an important concept. It helps you stimulate your prospect’s curiosity, keep them talking, and schedule a meeting.

Before your call, outline each of the key personas that you will be talking to. Then ask yourself:

• What does their daily world look like?
• How are they measured? How can you impact that?
• As it relates to what you offer, what do buyers want?
• What do they want to avoid?

To give you an example of a PVP, here’s what ours looks like for different prospect personas:

When you’re developing your own PVP, think about value as a result of your product. (Hint: It isn’t just the product in itself.) Show them the end goal. And don’t just talk at them — engage with the person you’re talking to by asking questions.

Sales Call Script Use Case:

Sales Call Script Template:

Hi {!FirstName},

{!YourName} with {!YourCompany} here—wanted to quickly reach out and follow-up on the email I sent last week. Did you get a chance to take a look?

(Personalize what you say next to their answer.)

{!FirstName}, I noticed under your LinkedIn summary that you {!JobResponsibility} at {!YourCompany}, and it looks like from your Careers page that you’re scaling your team. Is that correct?

(Tailor conversation to response)

Note: If the prospect says he/she has read the email and wasn’t interested, ask questions. Don’t jump to ending the call. You want to make sure not to push too much, but gather as much information as you can. Do this by gauging the tone of their answers and giving meaningful responses back (don’t just say “ok” and then launch into another question).

Hurdling Roadblocks: Using Your Sales Call Scripts to Overcome Objections with Ease

The best way to overcome objections is to use the Best Friend Formula to build a rapport with your prospect and to get yourself in front of key decision-makers. Show them that you’re on their side, just like their best friend would be.

This formula comes down to a three-part formula:

1. Relate — Show that you understand and emphasize.
2. Bridge the gap — Offer new information that makes it easy to move forward.
3. Ask again — Get their commitment

And it works on any of these common objections:

• We already work with a competitor
• This isn’t a priority right now
• Email me your information
• Not interested

Real use case:

Here’s how our own Ian Adams perfected this technique with the “just email me” objection:

Notice how he didn’t fight the objection head-on? By asking the right follow-up questions to keep the prospect engaged, he was able to get a meeting on the books  — well done.

Copy this sales call script template to use when your prospect defers you to email:

Can we find a {!AmountOfTime} window next week to talk more?

[Prospect says to send email in order to get off the phone.]

Yeah that’s not a problem. What’s the best email to send that to?

[Prospect gives email address.]

Great, I’ll send you an email and include some possible times. Just so I send over reasonable times, is there a day that works better for you?

[Prospect tells you day(s) that are most ideal.]

Typically, mornings or afternoons?

[Prospect chooses either morning or afternoon.]

Great. [You pick specific time on the day in either the morning or afternoon] {!Day} at {!Time} works for me. I’ll send you a calendar invite as a placeholder.

Note: If the prospect won’t budge on giving timing, saying no time is good right now, try asking one question about their biggest pain point (and ask for their email address if you don’t already have it). Then tell them exactly what you’ll be sending over (NOT just a generic one-pager — personalize it to their specific need), and follow up by email, asking for a condensed amount of time.

Tip: Are you making the right amount of sales calls to meet your goals? Grab the free worksheet below to find out.

Interactive Cold Call WorksheetFully customizable worksheet that pinpoints roughly how many cold calls you need to make each day and in total for the month in order to hit your quota.

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BONUS: Voicemail Script

When your prospect doesn’t pick up, leave a carefully crafted voicemail.

Think of it as an audio email, and keep it to 20-30 seconds. Don’t worry about a reply; just focus on continuing to nurture your prospect’s trust in you.

Want to guarantee that your voicemail is heard beyond the first five seconds? Then insert your connecting statement at the beginning, right after you say who it is calling, and end off with a note that triggers curiosity.

Real use case:

The voicemail script below combines a trifecta of persuasion techniques:

1. Social proof
2. A metric that makes the value statement more compelling
3. A closing statement that sparks curiosity and is scientifically proven to drive action

Combining sales call scripts with a winning voicemail script is a great way to improve your outbound sales strategy.

And here’s the customizable template:

Hey there!

{!YourName} from {{!YourCompany} here.

{!Personalization statement}.

You’re hearing from me today because it looks like your organization loves to {!ValueStatement}, and {!MyCompany} {!ActionThatAligns}.

We’re backed by awesome customers like {!WellknownBrand1}, {!WellKnownBrand2}, and {!WellKnownBrand3}. And these organizations typically see {!HardMetricResult} within {!Time} after implementing with us.

{!FirstName}, I would love to connect with you about your specific needs and what your resources currently look like. I also have a suggestion for how to {!endpicture}.

Give me a call back at {!Number} if it’s convenient for you, or feel free to reply to the email that I will be following up with.

Thanks!

Tip: Looking for more templates? Grab 15 sales voicemail scripts here.

That’s all we’ve got for now with the scripts. What about you? What sales call scripts have you had the most success with? Are there approaches you’ve learned to steer clear of? Have any other great cold calling tips that we should know about? Tweet us: @Yesware.