Cold Calling Script for Sales
Appointment calls
Motivate Prospects to Answer Your Questions by Adding This One Line
Add this one line to your cold calling script for Sales Appointments to prevent objections and motivate prospects to move forward and answer your sales questions.
Slide from the Making Sales Appointments training courseYou know that awkward moment on a sales appointment cold call that happens as you try to move forward from the Introduction Stage and start asking questions to qualify the prospect as someone you want to meet.
It's where the prospect realises if they answer your first question they are committing to taking part in the call and having a conversation with you. This is where you often get objections, hesitation, and excuses stopping you moving forward.
By adding a Motivator to your cold calling script between the Introduction and Questioning stages, you will give prospects a reason to move forward and answer your questions. The Motivator can prevent objections and obstacles and incentivise the prospect to answer. You will gain agreement to more sales appointments by adding the Motivator.
I developed this cold calling technique and added it to the appointment setting scripts of the teams I managed and trained. It worked for them and it will do the same for you.
Create a Motivating Line for Your Cold Calling Script
Select a benefit to use
To create your Motivator for your cold calling script for appointments, you first need to select a benefit the prospect can gain if they answer your qualifying questions in the next stage of the call. You have already used a benefit in your Reason for Calling in the Introduction Stage, you might want to use the same one here. Think about what the prospect may gain from meeting with you.
The benefit you select for the Motivator could be the end result of buying your product. It could also be something they gain from the actual sales appointment such as, information you give them that allows them to make a decision, a full quote, the result of a survey, or a check on their current situation.
You are going to say to the prospect, in your own words: So that I can see if you could gain this benefit let me ask you some questions.
Your questions in the next stage may be brief, perhaps 1 or 2 pieces of information that you need to make a decision on whether to make an appointment with a prospect. Without being allowed to ask the questions you have no way of qualifying the prospect as a potential customer and the call can't move forward. The Motivator is a connecting line linking the Introduction Stage to the Questioning Stage and giving the prospect momentum and a smooth pathway.
Use the Techniques on all Types of Calls
The training focuses on creating a cold calling script because they're the most difficult calls to make.
The techniques are just as effective on all other types of appointment calls, including: Information follow up calls, repeat customers, and responding to warm leads and incoming enquiries.
Form the question
Once you have decided which benefit you will use in your Motivator you can form the question for your cold calling script around it.
Start with what you will do with the information you gain from your questions. In most cases you will use it to make a decision on whether you can provide the prospect with the benefits of your products or services. It could be that you will create a quote or some other information for them.
Here’s an example from the Direct Sales market place used by a company I worked with. They design, sell, and fit new kitchens and their tele-appointment team use cold calling scripts:
To see if I can give you a free survey and a design drawing of your ideal kitchen, which you can use whether you decide to become a customer with us or not, let me ask you...
The sales appointment setter then goes straight into their first question of the qualifying questions stage and asks about their current kitchen, size, layout, and what they would like in a new design.
What you are saying to the prospect is: So I can give you, or discover if I can give you, ...insert the benefit... I need to ask you some questions. Now create your question with a benefit and a reason to ask questions.
Why The Motivator Technique Works
The reason this appointment setting technique works so well and should be added to your cold calling script is, without this line the prospect doesn’t really know why you are starting to ask them questions. You haven’t given them a reason. When you move from your Introduction straight to asking questions they often feel this is the start of the selling process and they’re not ready for that yet.
When you add the Motivating line to your cold calling script you are giving them a reason why you want to ask questions and motivate them to answer. Unless they have a real objection they will move with you to the Questioning Stage.
More Examples of Motivators for Appointment Setting
An example used by sales people I trained selling consumable products to businesses:
If, like me, you like to use ethical sales practices you will like these next examples. 2 Examples of being honest with the prospect when using a Motivator:
- I don’t want to waste your time, so to quickly find out if our services could be of benefit to you I can ask you a couple of questions and we will both know whether or not it’s worth our while meeting.
- Our products are not suitable for everyone, let me ask you a few brief questions and then I can tell you if it’s worthwhile you continuing the call.
Adapt the Words and Phrases for Your Calls
I do not suggest that you just copy the examples on this page word for word into your sales appointment cold calling scripts. Take into account how formal or friendly you want to sound, the position and type of buyers you are speaking with, the value of your products, and your own personality. Then reword and adapt the examples and use the ones that are appropriate for you and your audience.
The 4 Stages of an Appointment Setting Call
The Motivator is stage 2 of the appointment setting process. you can see the other stages at:
Move to one of the other stages of the sales appointment call process or view the main page of the section at: Appointment Setting
The Professional Sales Appointment Course
You can use the sales appointment training on the website pages to create a good call script that will have structure, be written in your own words, and will give you good results.
If you're serious about wanting to achieve high numbers of appointments with qualified prospects, converting more of your calls and maximising your sales time, see what the professional course Making Sales Appointments by Telephone will give you.
Step by step training on creating a fully customised sales appointment script. The course will show you what to say at every point of the call. use the course developed and proven by working appointment setters on real calls. Making Sales Appointments
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