1. ©TheNaturalTrainingCompanyLtd2015
Natural Training’s cold calling cheat sheet
HOW TO SECURE NEW BUSINESS REVENUE FROM PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW
1) OPEN YOUR CALL STRONGLY: THE FIRST 15 SECONDS
It is crucial to get the opening to your call right. If you do, you increase your chance of success by 50%.
Every second counts, so ensure each word is carefully chosen. Here are the components to your opening:
1. Name
2. Where you’re calling from – and some context if that helps to build familiarity
3. Purpose of the call
4. First (open) question
“John, good morning, it’s Matt from Hampshire Financial. John I’m calling with a specific purpose in mind –
and that is to find out whether it is in both of our interests to meet up in the next few weeks. Firstly John, can
I please understand your priorities for your clients at the moment?”
Make it yours: __________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE STRUCTURE
Selling thrives in structure! Lay the foundations to a successful cold call by first mapping out the key
milestones. Here is a structure that covers most cold calling types. You might like to amend this over time as
you develop your own natural style:
1. Open
•Every second
counts - use a
professional,
engaging
opening
2. Qualify
•Questioning
and listening to
determine NEED
3. Propose
•An offer for a
meeting or
pitch about
your company
or product
4. Close
•Close the call
with a strong
question and
clear next steps
BRING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TO YOUR COLD CALLING!
First of all, you need to adopt the right cold calling attitude. You need to distance yourself from the robots in
all the big cold calling operations out there. They are cold, impersonal, hard-selling and one-sided (more
speaking than listening). So, be the opposite. Be NATURAL - warm in tone of voice, make it personally
relevant for the listener, be consultative and most of all engaging. Don’t be embarrassed, or rushed. You
have something to offer, so make your calls proudly.
THREE PSYCHOLOGICALLY BRILLIANT WORDS THAT DEFINE ME AS A COLD CALLER:
_____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
The tonality you use is so important. People will be able to tell if you are unsure, nervous or inexperienced.
Practice the tone of your voice with a friend until you get it right – to match the words above!
EAT THAT FROG!
Cold calling pays consistent efforts over time. Rather than do it for 2 hours and give up for two months, set
yourself a task of doing ___ cold calls a day, forever. If it’s something that you dread, then do it first thing! An
old saying is "If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the
satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long."
If your "frog" is cold calling, do it from 8:30 – 9:30 in the morning and enjoy the rest of your day!

2. ©TheNaturalTrainingCompanyLtd2015
Natural Training’s cold calling cheat sheet
HOW TO SECURE NEW BUSINESS REVENUE FROM PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW
3) PROPOSE: Your company, offer, product or next step.
Typically there will come a time in the conversation when you are proposing, or pitching, something. Maybe it’s
the benefits of doing business with you, or an offer of some kind, such as a meeting, or invitation to a conference.
The key is to have those proposals planned before you pick up the call. Here’s a great way to propose:
• Challenge: What is the common challenge that your product or service solves? (The aim is to get their heads
nodding in recognition).
• Solution: What is your solution to this challenge? Why are you different to other suppliers of this solution?
• Results: What results have you received when supplying this solution to other clients? Think
proof/numbers/benefits!
2) QUALIFY! USE QUESTIONS THAT SELL
Your time is valuable, so you need to qualify whether this particular customer is right for you. Spend some
time on the phone qualifying them. As few as three carefully crafted questions will be able to get you close
to working out whether it’s a relationship worth having.
Big, open questions: “John, what are your top 3 priorities at the moment?”
Trigger questions: “Daphne, I noticed that you are going through a restructure. What’s the
impact of this on your department?” (the trigger is the event that may cause a change).
Probing questions: “How do you mean exactly?” “Could I have an example of that please?”
“What is the implication of this development on your time?”
Sweeper questions: “Is there anything else?” “Have we covered everything off?”
MAKE THEM YOURS! (Adapt these to suit your own natural style!)
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
4) CLOSE: Drive towards a naturally beneficial outcome.
• Just suppose we were able to include that small piece of customisation in the final price, would you
proceed with us on that basis? (The words “just suppose” don’t promise the client, but they do sweep away
final objections).
• The trial close: Jane, now that we have demonstrated our expertise to you, would you like to give us a try?
(Clients are less resistant to trying, rather than buying – even though it effectively means the same thing).
• Calendar Close – do you have your calendar handy?
• B.A.N.T: It will be harder to close if you don’t the BANT 4 in place: Budget, Authority, Need, Timescale
Psychologically, it can be off-putting for a client to be pressurised too early. The idea is that you work on your
questioning skills, and your proposal, so that the client is really motivated to want what you have, making the
process so much easer.
SELL THE BENEFITS of having a meeting – why should they agree to spend an hour of their time with you?