Cold calling still plays an important role with an outbound sales effort.  At VA Partners cold calling plays a big part in our success booking discovery calls. We find that many organizations have an over reliance on automated emails. It is definitely easier to just send a sequence of emails.  We do think that cold emails are part of the sales cadence, but we find that results work best when paired with cold calling.

Main components

Just like we believe in creating cold email templates, organizations should also have a cold call script. There are a few main components that we believe make good cold calling scripts.

• Keep in concise.
• Use some personalization for the customer, but also use your and the company name.
• We like to refer to the cold email we sent as an opening statement.
• Give the prospect some time to talk soon and often through the call
• Ask questions.
• Close for the next step, which is likely a discovery call. I would also suggest trying to book something in the calendar while still on the call.

Handling Objections

Create a list of your top objections and also how you would handle them. Creating a written response ensures that you are putting your best foot forward. This also allows for the entire team to be on the same page.  Handling objections can be one of the most difficult aspects of the cold calling process.  You can add new objections to the list as they come-up with our cold calling efforts,

Role Play

Being in sales is fairly unique as you are dealing with a person live and in real time.  The salesperson needs to be comfortable with the cold calling script and handling objections. To get ready we suggest role playing the call.  One team member is the prospect and the other is the salesperson making the call. You can mix in the objections and even make it harder as you go.

Sales Cadence

The VA Partners team likes to create a sales cadence for each client. It is a mix of emails, calls, and sometimes LinkedIn messages. We like to send an email first and then refer to the email at the start of the cold call.  If a prospect is engaging with the email through clicks and opens we may put more focus on those contacts.

Logging Your Calls

All calls should be logged in your CRM.  This includes notes on calls where you connected as well as no answers. It is important to log all cold calls as it helps stay on track with your sales cadence. You should also be creating a task for your future planned calls.If you would like to talk about your cold calls and sales cadence please connect with me.