Cold calling is bad enough, but doing it with a script is even worse! Find out why cold calling scripts are a horrible idea, and how you can make cold calls effectively if your boss says you have to.
1. A presentation by
Frank Rumbauskas
New York Times Best-Selling Author
Cold Calling Scripts
Are a Really Bad Idea
Copyright 2012 by FJR Advisors, Inc.
2. Two things
always happen when a
new sales rep is hired:
1. They're told to start
making cold calls
2. They're advised to
use cold calling
scripts in doing so
3. Problems Using a Script are Severe
• No personal connection with the
prospect.
• Not tailored to the needs and wants of
the specific prospect.
Removes the ability to connect on
a personal level, and instead they
are under the impression that
they're listening to a commercial
4. By knowing
something about the
prospect, the
company's
challenges, and the
individual personally,
you can make that
call a lot more
effective. Few cold
callers are going to
ring up and know
about the person's
favorite sports team,
or where they went to
school, or a recent
promotion -
knowledge that is all
readily available with
5. If you're saying the
same thing to each and
every prospect:
then you're not
cold calling
effectively.
6. If You are Forced to Cold Call,
Don’t Use a Script
Scripts:
• Create a barrier
between the salesperson
and the prospect
• Hurt your chances of
getting an
appointment and a
sale
7. Be human instead, learn
a bit about the
prospect before picking
up the phone and you'll be
miles ahead of the game.
Two things always happen when a new sales rep is hired:\n1. They're told to start making cold calls\n2. They're advised to use cold calling scripts in doing so\n
The problems with using a script are pretty severe. For starters, you have no personal connection with the prospect. Using a call script removes the ability to connect on a personal level, and instead they are under the impression that they're listening to a commercial (which they actually are).\nSecond, a script is not only impersonal, but is not tailored to the needs and wants of the specific prospect. If you absolutely must do it - if your boss requires you to make cold calls - then before you begin, you need to research the people on your list. (If you have no list then start compiling a list of prospects who are likely to buy - calling people at random is never a good idea.)\n
\nBy knowing something about the prospect, the company's challenges, and the individual personally, you can make that call a lot more effective. Few cold callers are going to ring up and know about the person's favorite sports team, or where they went to school, or a recent promotion - knowledge that is all readily available with social media like Facebook and LinkedIn.\n
\nIf you're saying the same thing to each and every prospect, then you're not cold calling effectively. Now don't get me wrong - I'm clearly against cold calling - but as time goes on, I meet more and more salespeople who can't use the information in my books because they work for an idiot who requires 25 or 50 cold calls a day, complete with a call log to prove it, or a stack of business cards picked up while out canvassing.\n
\nIf you're stuck working for an idiot - if you are forced to make those calls - then don't use a script. Cold calling scripts create a barrier between the salesperson and the prospect, and really hurt your chances of getting an appointment and a sale. Be human instead, learn a bit about the prospect before picking up the phone (or sending an InMail on LinkedIn) and you'll be miles ahead of the game. \n
Be human instead, learn a bit about the prospect before picking up the phone (or sending an InMail on LinkedIn) and you'll be miles ahead of the game. \n
