Critique my cold calling script

3 replies
Hi all, I'm a dealer for a business telco. I call businesses to try and set up an appointment where I can then review a phone bill and provide a tailored solution that will save the business money. We're targeting a smallish town, so our local service is also a big part of our added value.

There is a lot of call fatigue in this town so many business owners immediately shut down when you mention phones/internet/ etc. Below is my script. I want to hone it so I can cut through quickly and try to get them talking and finally to agree to meet with me.

OBJECTIVE:Get an appointment

* Please note this script is heavily influenced by Jason Kanigan. Thanks Jason

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Hi. I’m not sure who the best person to talk to is – hopefully you can help me.
My name is xxxx and I’m from xxxx here in xxx. We help businesses by providing them with the best customer service and saving them money each month on their phone and internet. Can you point me to the best person?

- The owner isn’t in
No problems, when are they in next?

- I’m the right person
Great. Is now a bad time to talk?

I’m just calling to see if you’d be open to the idea of looking at some different ways to lower the cost of your phone service.

I know for a fact that 90% of businesses in xxx spend too much on their phone bills and don’t get great customer service when they need it. We can generally save a business up to 40% on their monthly call rates, and because we’re locally based in xxxx we’re here whenever you need to talk to someone. Does that interest you?

- No, we’re happy with the service we’re getting.
Ok, thank you for your time.

- Yes
Ok, here’s what I think:
- Running a business is tough enough to be spending too much on your phone and internet bills
- To cut down on your bills and put money back in your pocket, you need someone local who can sit down and analyse your current set up and provide a solution that suits your business needs
- By having a tailored solution, at the very least you can make an educated choice about how much you want to spend each month. And let’s be honest, less is best.

Do you agree with that? (most people say yes)

Typically our customers are:
- Eager to reduce their bills but are too busy to sift through and compare through all the pricing info that’s out there
- They’re frustrated when things go wrong, only to wait forever on hold and talk to someone overseas
- They’re concerned that they’re throwing away good money

If you’re experiencing any of these, we should set a time to meet for 15-20 mins. I can review your set up and provide a tailored proposal.

What do you think?
What day suits you?

There’s only one important thing I need you to do. Can you have a recent phone bill for me at the meeting.

Ok, looking forward to meeting with you. See you on xxxx

--

If I get a 'not interested' up front and don't really to to save the call with a rebuttal. I just thank them and move on so I can make the next call and find that one business owner that is interested. Good move or am I just excusing myself?

Where can the script be improved so I can reduce the amount of 'not interested' or 'we're happy with what we have' type of objections?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.
#calling #cold #critique #script
  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    Seems like a good script to me.

    I like the idea that you're not being pushy.

    If they say no, or not interested, just thank them for their time and end the call.

    (A lot of marketers would disagree with me... But that's just my style).

    I'm not really good at calls.

    More of a computer nerd / blogger / email marketer.

    But... I do have a tiny piece of logic you could try.

    One thing I told my friend to do once was use reverse psychology.

    (He laughed and thought it was a great idea).

    For example

    "I don't really want to waste your time, this call is only for people who need to save money with XYZ".

    I think that's a powerful line. It might actually prompt them to ASK you how to save money with XYZ. Or ask you about XYZ whatever XYZ is.

    It's kind of like asking a fish if he wants a worm.



    The emphasis is on "Don't waste time, only for people who want XYZ", where XYZ is an astounding benefit.

    Who the hell doesn't want to save money with XYZ right?

    Might be worth trying that hook too, and it's small so you could insert it easily.

    I love reverse psychology.

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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    There is an Offline subforum where we discuss phone scripts and other calling techniques. I think you posted this there, too, but readers may not know that.

    I see you have pain points there, but they are not niche-specific. Work on making them so, with industry jargon. Start with what you've got (the first two aren't bad), and listen to what people say in response. Make a week's worth of calls and in there people will tell you what their pain points are.

    At least you have committed to a direction and not created a hybrid monster script. Those don't work.

    There is something strange going on in your bit with the gatekeeper. You're pitching the gatekeeper, maybe by accident, and it's really vague. Do you provide business process outsourcing services to your clients for their customer service function? I don't understand that from what you've said.

    Change it to something like "Hi, I'm not sure who I should speak with." (Pause for the "Okay!" that will probably be given in response.) "Maybe you can help me. I usually talk to the person who takes care of ..." (whatever it is that you do). "But I don't know how that would be there..." and trail off.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    If you have multiple threads for the same post then others can't follow the replies and add to it because it's divided over more than one thread. So do yourself a favor and keep everything intact into one thread.

    Here's your original thread:
    http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ml#post8568048
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