My EXACT script i use for Cold Calling

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92
Hello fellow Warriors.

It's been more than 2 years now that i 've been a member of the Warrior Forum. I feel that i've gained more than A LOT from this forum and it's members. I have learned priceless information that has helped build my online business. I am not a millionaire yet but i have taken the highway to reach there
I have made thousands of cold calls and have gained clients starting from 150$ to nearly 20000$(so far).

You shouldn't be afraid of cold calling. If you use this script, i am sure that it will help you get some clients and get over the fear you feel every time you pick up the phone.

I could easily sell this as a WSO or have an optin to let you have it.I won't do it though. I have paid hundreds of dollars in buying WSO's but i have also gained as i said before priceless information for free. So, this is my FREE gift to you, as a way to say THANK YOU for this 2 years we have been together.

So, let's begin.


Before making the call, take a while and visualize your call. Try to visualize the end result.


People love to buy but hate being sold. Keep that in mind. Your goal is to make them close an appointment with your IM firm.


Dimitris Skiadas :

Now, probably you ll have to pass the Gate Keeper,usually a secretary.. Her job is to see which calls are important in order to give to her boss, the CEO of the company.

She asks :

Gate Keeper :
DS : . PAUSE

You will hear a lot of answers like etc

NOT a SINGLE problem! Go on to the next company.

If you manage to pass the gatekeeper, you will now talk to the decision maker, the CEO of the business.

Decision Maker Intro

You repeat "
And then you carry on.

DS : "

80% of the times, they will answer "" to your question.



DM :


Now you make the Qualification Question No 1.

DS : PAUSE

If he/she answers to this, you are ready to go the final step, which is closing an appointment.

DS :
DM:
DS:


Your goal is achieved.You closed the appointment.

If you count down your statistics, they will be something like this :


70 calls per day ----> 52 DM's ------> 8 DM's Interested ------> 6 appointments -----> 2 cancelled on you -----> 4 actual appointments ------> 1-2 sales

What does the above mean to you? That approximately every 70 calls you make, you have 2 sales! If an average sale of your service is let's say 1000$, every time you pick up the phone, you ARE MAKING MONEY whether you close an appointment or NOT!

2 sales = 2000$. 70 calls per day.

You make approx. 28$ every time you pick up the phone!!!!This is amazing

So, give it a try and you can thank me later!

PS The above numbers are not precise.I am just showing you the possibility here.You may achieve greater or worse results.It is really up to you.

PS 2 I am not a native English speaker, so you might find some phrases a little bit weird. I translated it from Greek to English as good as i could

PS 3 Feel free to change the script at your will.Add or remove something. I am just giving you my way of doing it. It is not necessary that it will work for you too!

Have a great day all of you!

Dimitris
#offline marketing #calling #cold #exact #script
  • Thanks for sharing - I guess anyone can start with this script, and tweak it later to fit his style and personality.

    Have you tried outsourcing your cold calls?
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    • Truth is i haven't tried yet outsourcing my calls to another company. I was thinking about training some people to work full time for me,paying them with a steady salary plus commission on every appointment they close or sale(if eventually the sale closes after the appointment).

      I am not sure how well will an outsourcer will perform on cold calling paying him/her 10$/hour and with no commission

      Dimitris
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  • That's really interesting. It goes to show it is so important to track everything you can do.
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    • I must admit I'm not a fan of this type of script.. you're not qualifying anywhere.. but hey, this just shows that cold calling will always work if you just put in the effort.

      BTW selling the appointment can be just as hard/easy as actually selling your product/service.. it just depends on how you look at it. You've decided yourself people don't like to be sold on the phone so naturally you're not gonna get any that will..
      As they say; the sale is made in the mind of the salesman.
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  • Never pay a TM'er per lead generated.

    A straight hourly plus small bonus is best.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
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    • Usually i make 50-70 calls per day.I won't lie to you. When i first started cold calling, i sucked at it. But after thousands of calls, i got better and better. And there's always room for improvement

      Of course it can. It's really in your hand what to say and how to present your company.

      Tracking your results makes you become better.True story

      Depends on the occasion. I would pay a TM'er per lead only if i trusted him and wanted to keep him motivated in bringing more leads. I surely know that some TMers would try to lie by bringing in fake leads.

      Dimitris
    • What's your reason for this? This may already have been asked and answered so sorry if I missed it (didn't read thru all the responses yet. But thought ask this before it skipped my mind. Cheers.
  • You'll go broke before you find an honest commission-only TM that works; you really can't blame them because you're incentivizing results at any cost. Most won't have a long-term outlook, either.

    My father sold into Fortune 100 companies and ONLY sold the appointment -- he NEVER sold over the phone (you couldn't with what he was selling -- chemical cleaners to food processing companies).

    He was relentless -- if the DM refused to meet, he'd send him a personal letter thanking him for his time and asking for the appointment again. Then he'd call him again in 30 days.

    Sold his business for multi-millions and retired at 49. Guess selling unqualified appointments work in certain circumstances.
  • I've said it many times...but here we go again.

    An appointment setter is different than a TM. Anyone that tries to pay someone commission only or "per appointment" has no idea what they are doing. To be short and to the point about it...if you pay me $20-45 per appointment, you will get whatever it is I determine I need for the week to pay my bills, shop, whatever. Whatever it is I decide I want to work for, let's say that's $45 per appointment at 2 per day. You will get that many appointments...there is no guarantee you will sell those appointments (especially with this script that doesn't qualify, but that's another issue). Now, if you pay me my hourly rate with NO bonus/commission, that same $90 will get you 6-9 hours of calls. At the end of the day I will turn into you ALL appointments, ALL warm leads, ALL NI's that are qualified but just hardheaded and don't want to book (that you should follow up with anyways), and you will have numerous opportunities to sell yourself. If I work per appointment or commission...I'm keeping EVERY warm lead, and every lead or email or CB for myself to turn it into that appointment so you will pay me.

    So, there you have it, that's why we work salary/hourly and why as a professional appointment setter, I don't recommend you pay anyone commission or per appointment.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
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    • Great point. Of course, on top of that offering an hourly/salary rate + commission will offer an incentive for the appointment setter to work even harder.
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    • Of course there is no guarantee that i will sell those appointments.No script is perfect. If we had the perfect script, we would also use the same one, so it wouldn't be perfect.

      This is just my way of thinking.It doesn't mean it is absolutely right, on your or someone else's criteria or that it will do the same for you.

      I would love your addition though to this script, in order to qualify for getting better qualified leads.

      PS This is a very very generic script.It is mainly for those who are afraid of cold calling or for newbies who want a very general guide/script to get them started. I always add(mainly) or remove things from this script, depending to who i am talking to.

      Thanks for your useful posts, i will really consider them since i have little experience in cold calling and try to get better

      Dimitris
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  • This is the best gosh darn cold calling post I have ever seen on the forum. Im serious, you could make me cry it's so G%D*&MN Beautiful!

    I freakin love this post!

    If people follow the principles in this post they will get appointments easily, and smoothly.

    Yes, you will still hear alot of no's but you move forward with a happy heart to meet people, meaning them no harm, letting them go easily....and you get to the guys who like your easy going demeanor and who say "Yeah Im glad you called John, I was just thinking about this the other day...".

    Ps. They are "there", no need to beat yourself up on the way to discovering them. You can move efficiently and still have an easy going session.

    That being said, I wouldnt use the op's script as an appointment setter for someone elses campaign. I would use it for myself as an individual because I can feel out the person and I know instinctively who I want to go out and meet, or who I have a chance of selling.... I could set a solid appointment for MYSELF with this script because of intuition and "feel"... but if I were appointment setting for another company, I would qualify harder.
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    • I agree, which is why I didn't get into it, I wasn't really in the mood to talk about the script. I was aimed more at the "bonus/commission" deal. The script here is good for just making a general appointment, there's plenty I'd leave out though, and plenty that I'd have to add depending on what client I was calling for. Just depends on who wants what. Some people just want to get in front of anyone, and others know who their client is (which is sometimes annoying because prospective clients don't always know they are your prime candidate and refuse to book). Again, it all depends on who is calling and who they are calling.
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  • Well you arent spamming cuz I asked.

    I mean seriously, if appointments and salesman are even mediocre, 1 out of 4 will close.

    If you get a client worth four or five grand per year out of $200 worth of appointments or $250, then its wayyy worth it buying more.

    If your salesman cant close one out of five SUCKY appointments even, that arent no shows, then you have bigger problems than an appointment setter.
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    • @ Mwind076

      Do you know how to pre qualify? ... i mean REALLY pre qualify...

      and do you have the capability for LIVE transfers ?
      • [1] reply
  • Any thoughts on qualifying leads on the phone?
    Questions like "when you're planning to start"?

    Very interesting thread.
  • It's depends on who your target is.

    Setting appointments like the OP has decades of proof that it works.

    Even if you don't pre-qualify -- most business owners and executives are extremely busy, and the majority of the time, won't waste their time seeing you UNLESS they're interested in your offer.

    Like John said -- if you can close 20% to 25% of those UN-qualified appointments that stick, you're doing well as a salesperson.

    With all that said, it's obviously doable to one-call close products with a straight-forward solution, or at worst, pre-qualify to the point where you simply pick up the check when you see them.

    It just depends. Pre-qual and closing someone interested in web design services on the phone? Sure. Pre-qual and closing a huge food processing plant under contract 2 more years? Better set an appointment face-to-face, get KNOWN and TRUSTED, and strike later when the iron is HOT.

    PS: Anyone who's interested in calling with the goal of setting the appointment, I suggest reading anything by Schiffman. He's got some great tips on giving good phone to get your foot in the door.
  • Im not gonna lie im pretty scared of cold calling, not pretty scared but terrified probably like a lot of people, when it comes to the actual meeting I think I can close deals relatively easy as im good with numbers, stats and empathy but reading this has made me less scared, my business is not in a position to actually do this yet but when it is I am definitely going to try something like this. 100 calls a day and track results.

    Have you ever turned up to a meeting and there been no one there or they said you are not booked in or something? That would be another fear of mine.
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    • Your first step is to stop being scared...they are just people. People miss appointments for a variety of reasons, not just because they aren't interested.

      We take steps to ensure the appointment and convey the value before it happens. If you want to message me, I can give you a few pointers.

      There will always be people that blow you off, get sick, get busy, or just aren't interested. You have to present yourself, your time and your product as something that is worth them NOT being one of those people. Have some pride in yourself, speak and carry yourself so they know it's important...but not so that you sound like an A&$.
  • I've been blown off on a few meetings - it happens. You can call to confirm, but I don't want them to cancel.
  • Good script, but as soon as you can afford it, outsource cold calling for sure. Your time is too valuable and needs to be spent face-to-face with people. Leave the cold calling to someone else. There are some good phone rooms that can take your script and charge only on a results basis. I've talked to one that charges $25 per set appointment so I'll see how their quality is.
  • I came across this last night and had to share. If I made this cold call it would probably do me in forever! lol

    Making A Telemarketer Hang Up - YouTube
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    • Hahahaha that's just messed up.
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  • Really easy and actionable script that will help many. Thanks for sharing. How are you qualifying who you call if you would indulge me a bit longer
    • [1] reply
    • It depends what i am aiming to. If i want to sell SEO services, i have lists from companies that own a website, they advertise on Google Adwords but they have bad rankings for the keywords they are interested in.

      If i want to sell redesign, i am aiming companies who own a website but the design is pretty old.Usually before 2007.

      Hope this helps

      Dimitris
  • Regarding: DS : "Is this a GOOD time to talk, in order to explain why i called you specifically today?"

    Change to Is this a BAD time to talk?

    Why?

    It's never a good time to talk. Decision makers are busy. They are doing something else when you interupt them.

    Asking them if this is a bad time to talk, changes their pattern.

    If they are in the middle of something, ask them when you can call back. You then have an appointment to see if it makes sense to schedule an appointment.

    What I like about what you are doing is that you are not trying to sell.

    You are also clear on the outcome you want. You only want a meeting.
  • Mwinds answers are sharp, to the point where they sting a little. Thats a sign of a telemarketer.

    They dont really bend over backwards to sell themselves, because they arent looking for BS clients.

    To many of the questions that non telemarketers ask, and suggestions that you see made by people who havent made thousands of calls; a telemarketer will answer you like "What planet are you from man?" lol

    I love seeing a real telemarketer talk to non telemarketers, because there are so many myths...like its some big esoteric thing... Its just dialing man. Its just getting to the point. A few thousand calls, will make you that way.

    Many of the tips and things you see here are so clearly not from real life experience. Its refreshing to see real telemarketers talk about it.

    However , I still like the op's approach. Its a different operating system, more of a soft subtle sell. Thats how I do it, but I have worked with alot of others who do it differently, and their operating systems work too.

    This is what I mean. Non professionals will nit pic little things like this, but a true telemarketer knows that over a large body of numbers there are many different personalities who respond to many different approaches. They know this because they daily work with large bodies of numbers.

    You could almost say ANYTHING really, and there is a group of people who respond to that, as long as you MASTER whatever it is you are saying, and know how to turn your phrases properly.

    Its not the phrase as much as it is the way you "turn" it.

    Dont take that to extremes ...but thats a general principle.

    Most dont recommend asking if its a good time to talk, but if you say it sweetly enough there are a virtual TON of people who will listen just because you were so damn nice in asking.

    There are also a ton of people who dont respond to that. You have to master the way you say whatever you say, and there are people who respond to that.

    Its like saying "Chicks dig tattoos".

    Well in truth SOME do, but Some dont...some go crazy over tats, and some wouldnt touch a man with a tattoo.

    You have to be good at YOUR operating system. A true telemarketer knows that you cant be all things to all people, but if you will stick with your best approach and stay with it long enough to tweak your voice inflections and get it right, then you will find the people who respond to THAT.

    When you get really good you can swap approaches in and out all day, but you have to be really good, and have mastered several approaches. You have to understand the operating systems that various approaches work off of, and that comes with tens of thousands of dials.

    For example, if you want to take an authoritative approach, you have to know how to make your vocal tones and inflections work with that, you cant talk like Mike Tyson.

    If you cant SOUND authoritative, then an authoritative approach wont work for you, but you may do REALLY well, with a humbler approach...

    In the police fuindraising world, their pitches work like magic "For a guy who can sound like a cop". They work all day, but if you cant sound like that and be convincing they wont work for YOU, whereas a different type of charity might work great for you.

    You can also learn and develop these things.

    Even Mwind cant sell EVERYONE, she sells the people who respond to her direct style, and there are alot of them, and then some DONT...but who cares right? You are after those who respond to YOU.

    On another note, she may be able to swap styles too, but why?

    A true telemarketer doesnt waste their time trying to please everyone, they state their way, and they are looking for people who "get" that, they arent going to jump through hoops for people all day, because they are going to "get theirs", no matter what, so why wear yourself out trying to be all things to all people?

    That being said, over two years I can tell she is the real deal...and her advice is solid. Its really a matter of what operating system works best for you, either that or you can join a call center and they will force you to master theirs.

    In closing, there are alot of "sayings" that are worth a million dollars, but they arent worth two cents if you havent allowed yourself the disciplin to master how you say them. There is the phrase, and then there is the way you "turn" the phrase.

    The latter comes with experience.
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    • LOL, my husband calls this "forceful opinions" - I'm good at it. I enjoyed reading your assessment of me

      Look, you have it totally right, I am not here to baby or stroke egos. I know what I can do, I know that what I do isn't going to work for everyone, but if something works for you, then YAY!

      I do have some different styles...I have a great voice, and I have the ability to flirt shamelessly with those that need it on the phone (and that is lots of truckers). I also have a sweet southern accent when needed (that is natural since I'm a GA girl), but I was raised up north and can talk fast and with no accent when I need to...I have lots of styles and tricks, but since they are all mine...they make up what works for me!

      Those that are not 24/7 TM's do tend to pick on wording and shticks that may work when you are learning your style, but in general, just talk to people. If they want it, they will buy it, if they don't, there is someone that will.
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    • I think we should keep this, especially the first paragraph.You can't sell to everyone, even if you have the best script in the world.You should try and find what works for you.

      I should also say that i am really glad that known Warriors like John Durham,Mwind, Jason Kanigan and others(really sorry if i haven't mentioned one of you) have contributed to this thread with their precious knowledge, each one with their special way.

      Thanks again for your time and valuable information.

      Dimitris
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  • Come on dude don't give your secrets away!!!
  • Nice Info! thanks for sharing, will somehow implement this to my team as well
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    • Good stuff.

      I like the breakdown especially. It makes picking up the phone seem worthwhile when you look at it from your perspective.


      Daniel
  • Thanks for sharing..as mentioned above it can be tweaked to individual needs. Some my use it as you have to get a face to face and others may use it to pre-qualify someone to send info or media kit to.

    Thanks again
  • This has taken some jitters out of the thought of cold calling again. I used to do this for a major corporation and it all depends on who picks up that phone. Business people know and respect what you are doing and will be willing to listen to your pitches only because they know they will find a diamond in the rough sometimes. There are so many new technologies out there that companies don't have a choice but to listen to WF ideas. Thanks for all these posts.
  • This is a good script, I have made a few cold calls here and there but get so nervous and I know that comes across over the phone so I sound unprofessional. Maybe if I use this script and rehearse and rehearse I will build up the courage to start cold calling again. Because I know it is a very good source of leads.
  • This is a decent script! Thanks for sharing with the community..my scripts are personally a bit shorter than yours but the end results is the same...going for the appointment!
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    • When i first started cold calling people, i was really REALLY LOUSY at it!I had to find out what to do differently because i knew that cold calling WORKS!

      Practice a lot.Alone with your mirror.Or with someone else.Trust me you will get better at it.

      That's why i said "Feel free to change anything,add or remove something". The thing is that WORKS.It's not the best script around but it really WORKS.

      And this is what matters.

      Thanks for your kind words

      Dimitris
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  • Thanks for sharing this, for someone who looks at the phone like it is Kryptonite, this is a great way of breaking the ice with the people that make decisions!!!
  • This is awesome. Just what I needed. Thanks for posting.
  • Nice share here. More offliners shouldn't be afraid to pick up the phone and start reaching out to local businesses.
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  • Great tips. thank you for this. I have a similar "template" I use often. I did a lot of cold calling and I also sucked at the beginning, but by the time I got more self esteem when talking with potential clients.

    Folks, if you find this script simple, that is because it is. A lot of things in internet marketing are simple...but remember - just because they are simple, that's not mean they are easy to do.
    Try this, tweak it, try different angles and you will be successful.
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  • 92

    My EXACT script i use for Cold Calling

    Hello fellow Warriors. It's been more than 2 years now that i 've been a member of the Warrior Forum. I feel that i've gained more than A LOT from this forum and it's members. I have learned priceless information that has helped build my online business. I am not a millionaire yet but i have taken the highway to reach there