SALES PROSPECTINGCALL SCRIPTSTemplates and Tips Your Reps Need to Book Qualified Appointments

The commitment to daily performance in a sales environment is intense for good reason: Your sales team is the foundation of your business. With the right people, processes, and resources at the ready, the sky’s the limit for driving revenue and growing your business.

One of the most important tools you need to provide for your team is sales call scripts.

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The Role of Sales Call ScriptsSales call scripts are essential for many reasons.

• You overcome common objections early on in the prospecting process.

• You maintain consistency in how your team positions your brand.

• You measure performance, revise, and update them to optimize your results.

• You improve lead generation and fill your pipeline fast.

• You get your new hires trained fast on an effective approach.

Scripts should be used on a continuous basis as your representatives commit to increasing engagement levels and booking more appointments with your closers.

You need scripts for all kinds of calling, including both cold calling and warm calling.

Cold Calling vs. Warm CallingCold calling refers to the process of calling a person with whom you have had zero contact with in the context of your business offerings. It continues to be a viable option for sales development for companies in all kinds of industries.

There are plenty of benefits to cold calling. You can:

• Learn more about who to target within specific companies you’re reaching out to.

• Gather feedback from recipients and evolve your strategy to optimize your efforts.

• Add a human element to your brand, showing prospective customers that your company does in fact employ real people who can help.

• Capture interest fast and start qualifying prospects instantly while on the phone.

• Deliver your brand’s value proposition in an engaging way.

There are many different ways you can approach your cold calling, which is why you need sales call scripts.

Warm calling is the process of contacting people who have already engaged with your business in some way. Since they previously connected with someone in your company, they’ve demonstrated some interest in your brand.

Your main goal of sales prospecting calls, regardless of if they’re cold or warm, is to set up an appointment for your sales team.

The lead or prospect on the line should want to learn more about what you’re offering, so they will be eager to book time on your account executive’s calendar.

Tips for Implementing Sales Prospecting Call ScriptsThere are many ways to create, update, and distribute your sales call scripts for your team of business development representatives (BDRs).

Many teams resort to simple document management systems, like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Google Drive, or even print out their scripts and tape them to their desk.

One of the best ways to save time and organize all your sales communication is to use business software tools like HubSpot Sales Hub.

The snippets feature allows you to create short, reusable text blocks that you can use within your records within your HubSpot CRM. These canned phrases can be entered into email templates, chat conversations, and notes with a simple “#” command.

For example, you can write a sales prospecting call script in the snippets tool, then in your lead’s contact record, you can add “#prospectingcall” to the notes tab. Simple as that: Your rep has access to that script within your CRM.

The playbooks tool in HubSpot Sales Hub is also helpful for your

reps. While they’re on the phone with a lead, they can pull your sales scripts up in the same window within your HubSpot CRM.

Your playbook can also include product sheets to highlight your top sellers and sales battlecards to show how you stand out from competitors.

Regardless of how you manage and organize your sales scripts, the most important part to focus on is actually distributing and updating them on a regular basis.

Before Using Your Scripts: Pre-Call PlanningThe actual first step for your BDRs before they can use your scripts is to conduct some research. Your preparation process will vary depending on what information you have in your CRM for each lead.

Essentially, you want to identify the following:

Full Name

Phone Number

Email Address

Company Name

Job Title/Role

With this lead data, you can dive a little deeper. Research their company by looking at their website, then visit the lead’s LinkedIn profile. Take notes that could be relevant to your conversation.

For example, you might have a mutual interest or connection that you can share with them when they answer your call.

Let’s face it: Cold calls can be off putting to some people, and most prospecting is cold. Based on whatever information you find, mention that information upfront during the greeting portion of your call.

ExampleLet’s say you share a friend or colleague you both know. Greet them on the call by explaining the situation.

This script demonstrates an approach you can take if one of your customers is referring you to them:

Hey [their name] . [Mutual connection’s name] and I

have seen excellent results with [your company name]’s

[name of relevant software or service you’re selling] .

They mentioned your name as we were discussing who

else this could deliver value for.

I also heard [success story involving the lead] . That’s

awesome to see! It’s really impressive how you

[describe their success] .

I’d love to walk you through how we helped [mutual

connection’s name] , especially how they generated

[relevant results] . Knowing your current status, I know

we’re able to get the same results for you.

Would this be something you’re interested in exploring?

This is part of the crucial first step of the sales prospecting call script boilerplate.

SALES PROSPECTINGCALL SCRIPT BOILERPLATE + TIPSYou can break your script for sales prospecting calls into four key steps.

The Greeting

Be quick, speak clearly,

and confidently say

hello when they

answer the call.

1

The Reason

Lead with your big

promise – describe

why you’re calling to

generate interest.

2

The Qualification

Shift into starting a

dialogue by asking

impactful questions

and searching for

details about their

decision makers.

3

The Booking

Create urgency

during the dialogue

by requesting an

appointment today.

4

Hey [their name]. This is [your first name] with [your company].

The reason I’m calling today is because recently we started doing business with a competitor of yours. We were able to [describe a success that is relevant to them]. I want to connect with you to show you exactly what we did for them.

To be sure I’m not wasting your time and our company can actually help you, let me ask you a question: [question that aligns your products or services]?

Look, if I could do for you just half of what I did for the competitor and [describe the metric you will help them hit], would you take 10 to 12 minutes to learn more?

Wait for their answer.

Great, other than yourself, who would be involved in influencing or making a decision on a project like this?

When would you be available? Are you available this afternoon?

Good, is there any reason you would not be available [next open date and time]?

Here’s an example of a cold sales prospecting call that follows this boilerplate.

Greeting

Reason

Qualification

Booking

Greeting Ideas

• I also know a friend who is a [name of their university] alumnus! What did you enjoy studying there?

• I noticed that you used to work for [previous employer’s company name]. What did you think about their culture?

• I see that you advanced significantly from [previous job role] to [current higher ranking position]. What was your best success that earned attention from your leadership team?

• I saw your latest post on [topic of their social media post]. I have to say, I think [add a valuable point that supports their message].

There are plenty of approaches you can take for each part of your sales script boilerplate. Here are a few tips and suggested phrases to include in your sales call scripts.

Personalize Your GreetingCreating a personalized experience is vital in marketing and sales. Just because prospecting requires a cold call does not mean you can’t add a personal touch to your message.

Use the information you found during your pre-call planning to build a sense of familiarity and trust. Some ways to personalize your opening lines after they answer the phone include:

"Hello?"

Be Direct With the GatekeepersYou’re not going to be able to simply get through to a decision maker on your first cold call. Instead, you’ll likely encounter gatekeepers.

They’re responsible for filtering outreach, but you can win them over easily. Here is an example of a script you can tailor to your needs:

Hello, my name is [your name] . I was wondering if

you could help me. I looked on the [target company]

LinkedIn page. However, I didn’t find your name.

Are you usually the person who takes company calls?

I’d feel more comfortable knowing your name before I

asked my favor.

At this point, they’re likely going to provide their name. Simply repeat it back to them, then say thank you.

I’d like to speak with [decision maker’s name or person

in charge of your target department] . What’s the best

approach to making this happen?

This direct approach can be effective, most notably because even gatekeepers don’t have a lot of time to be on the phone. They may inquire more to see if they should give you more information.

If they do, you can engage in a dialogue that builds trust while you educate them about why you’re calling and how you can deliver value.

Leave an Impactful VoicemailThe dreaded voicemail. This is an unfortunate circumstance you’re bound to face, as many prospects will likely miss your initial outreach.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a positive impact and earn a call back. Use this script as reference to get an enthusiastic response:

Hello [their name] , this is [your name] from [your

company] . I’m reaching out because I have an idea on

how to help you with [specific pain point your business

helps address] . Let’s have a quick conversation on how

we can accomplish this through [details about relevant

products or services you offer] .

Give me a call at [your phone number] . Again, my

name is [your name] from [your company] . Thank you.

This is super simple and quick, which is how a sales voicemail needs to be.

Follow Up the Voicemail With More ValueDon’t settle for silence as a rejection. In many cases, leads and prospects are simply too busy to respond back in a timely manner. This is why you need to master the art of the follow up.

Follow along this script to emphasize how you can help them solve a pain point:

Hello [their name] , this is [your name] from [your

company] . I left a voicemail last [timeframe of your

last message] and wanted to see if it’s a good time for a

quick conversation.

We [deliver your value proposition] , which I know will

help you generate [relevant results] . Let’s schedule a

time and date for a quick call to walk through what this

process looks like.

BRING IT ALLTOGETHERUse the sales call script framework as your outline and build scripts that align with the strengths of your BDRs. Make sure your reps are using scripts that match their style and personality so leads and prospects can sense their authenticity.

When you master the sales prospecting call scripts, you’re bound to prioritize good fit leads, book more appointments, and fuel revenue growth.

Fill Your Pipeline FastFill Your Pipeline FastBook a free business development consultation now to create a personalized strategy that sets your closers up for success.

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