How to Cold Call for Sales in 12 Steps (+ Free Script)

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A cold call is a sales prospecting call to a lead who has never directly communicated with anyone from your company. The goal of the call is to make the lead curious enough about your product or service to accept another call or meeting during which you’ll qualify them further. To cold call effectively, it’s best to create a list of leads who fit your target audience, research each lead, and place personalized cold calls.

Cold Call Structure & Script Template

A cold call script outlines the words you’ll say on each cold call while leaving some space to allow for personalization for each lead. It helps you create a repeatable cold call process that you can test, tweak, and optimize. We created a free cold call script template for you, which you can download for free and get seven niche-specific examples to help create your own.

Our script template follows a standard cold calling structure that's outlined in our article on how to write a cold call script. The standard cold call format includes a cold opener that states the reason for calling, a quick elevator pitch, a brief needs assessment, and then any objection handling and proposition of next steps like a longer sales call, discovery call, or product demo.

How to Successfully Cold Call in 12 Steps

The full step-by-step process for cold calling, from drafting your script to tracking your results, is below. Let's take a look at an overview of the cold calling steps before diving into each step in detail:

1. Create Your Cold Call Script

A cold call script will streamline the cold call process and allow you to to call more leads in less time and have more productive calls. Typically, the script will have an opener, your reason for calling, your unique selling proposition, rebuttals to common objections, needs assessment questions, and a call-to-action. Of course, you’ll adapt your script to fit each lead, but if you can’t find much info on a certain lead, this will still work well.

Create your own cold call script by following these steps:

1. Learn About Your Target Audience: Figure out your leads' needs and pain points so you use language that relates to and interests them.
2. Pick Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Explain how your product or service satisfies the lead’s needs.
3. Write Out the Components of the Script: Write out your opener, reason for calling, USP, objection rebuttals, needs-related questions, and call-to-action (CTA).
4. Practice: Get comfortable with your script. Repeat it to yourself and rehearse it with colleagues, having them act as a cold lead.

In our article on how to write a cold call script, we go over each of these steps more in depth while also providing some examples of effective scripts for various cold calling scenarios.

2. Find Leads & Their Phone Numbers

Create a list of leads that fit your ideal customer profile, have decision-making power, and likely have the pain point you solve. Include their name, phone number, company name, title, and any other details you feel are important to know for the call. While researching the leads in the following step, you can add newfound information to it.

Assembling this list is also an act of qualification. Only let leads onto your list who fit certain criteria so you can spend your time calling people that are likely to buy your solution.

To acquire these high-potential leads, there are several methods you can use:

• Lead Database: Databases like ZoomInfo sell you access to their databases of leads, and they give you filtering options to narrow down their available leads to ones that fit your ideal customer profile.
• Phone Number Tool: Downloadable software that you can use as a Chrome extension, like RevDriver, pulls a lead’s contact information from their website or LinkedIn page. These tools also provide emails and other data like job titles.
• Manual Research: Take the old-fashioned route and use Google, LinkedIn, and other platforms to manually find leads. You can utilize the company’s website to search for a lead’s phone number or search through their social media pages.

A list of leads should last you at least a week. So if you make 40 cold calls a day, form a list of 240. The extra 40 leads will serve as a buffer — sometimes phone numbers are inaccurate, and sometimes during the research step, you’ll disqualify leads because they don’t fit the above criteria. If you’re looking to switch up how you find phone numbers to cold call, check out our article, 11 ways to find business phone numbers, for insight on leveraging different lookup tools and social media.

3. Research Your Leads

A personalized cold call is more effective because it makes the lead feel like your call is meant specifically for them. So, research your leads and look for information about the lead to use in your opener to build rapport (e.g., a shared hobby) and any hints about the pain points they might be having — you’ll mention these pain points after the opener of your call. Lastly, you want context, like their job title, responsibilities, or company description.

To research a lead, check the following sources: 

• Lead’s LinkedIn Profile: Find their title, job responsibilities, interests, and even hobbies and groups they belong to. This is a good place to find material for your opener. 
• Lead’s Company’s Website: Search for clues about their pain points. Check the team page to learn about their job responsibilities. 
• Lead’s Recent Web Activity: Your marketing software might tell you what content the lead has been consuming, revealing what they’re interested in and perhaps their pain points.
• Reverse Phone Lookup: If you have leads’ phone numbers but no other information, use a reverse phone lookup tool to type in their number and see details about them.

Research the leads on your list in bulk to avoid losing momentum by stopping after every call to research the next person on the list. Add your findings next to the lead’s name for easy reference so you can personalize each call. Along the way, discard the leads that just aren’t a good enough fit for you to call. Disqualifying during the research phase is especially useful when you have access to 10,000 leads, but only enough time, and sanity, in each day to call about 50.

4. Determine the Best Time to Call

Now that you have a list of leads and information about them, pick the best days and times for your cold calling block(s). Typically, the times you're most likely to connect with the lead are Wednesday and Thursday at 9am local time. But your optimal time depends on your target audience’s preferences and schedule. A good way to find that is through testing.

Run a simple test to figure out the best cold calling time by following this process:

1. Step Into Your Lead’s Shoes: Think about their schedule. For example, building managers might spend their afternoons checking properties. So you’d be best calling in the morning while they’re at their desk. Pick a time that makes sense for your leads.
2. Pick Your First Time Block: For a week, try calling every day from your chosen timeframe, perhaps 9–11 am. Track your results. What percentage of leads answered?
3. Pick a Second Time Block: In the following week, call daily during another timeframe, maybe 1–3 pm. What percentage of leads answered?
4. Compare the Results: The time block with the higher answer rate is ideal. From here, you can continue testing other time blocks or stick with this one.

This test is an effective way to choose your benchmark cold calling time. But, a true optimal time will only become evident after you’ve collected a lot of data about connection rates with leads at certain times over the long term. In a future step, we’ll talk about tracking your cold calling success.

5. Get in the Right Mindset

Cold calling can be scary. Reps often worry about interrupting people and coming across as a nuisance. Taking proactive measures to get in the right mindset will lead to a more enjoyable and productive cold call block. And viewing yourself as a valuable problem solver keeps you motivated throughout the rejection that comes with cold calling.

To do so, think of yourself as a problem solver, and therefore a value-add to any lead on your list. Remember, you’re providing them with important intel, opening their eyes to a problem that they’re likely unaware of that’s hurting their business and life. Plus, you have the solution to it. Your leads are lucky to be receiving a call from you, and if they blow you off, that’s okay — you were simply trying to help them.

Here are some other ways to form the right mindset before a cold call block:

• Practice the Superman Pose: Stand tall with your chest out, legs wide, chin up, fists on your hips, and smile on your face for 3-5 minutes. This will boost your confidence.
• Watch Something Funny: Watch your favorite comedian or YouTuber. Laughter can loosen you up and release endorphins that relieve stress.
• Listen to Pump-up Music: Jam out to your favorite music to get into the zone.

For more information on supercharging your mindset so you're in the right frame for making cold calls, check out our guide on overcoming call reluctance. There, you'll find the reasons for call reluctance and a repeatable strategy for getting over it.

6. Begin the Cold Call With an Opener

Now it’s time to actually make a cold call, which you’ll begin with an opening line. Typically, your opener will answer the first of the two main questions on every lead’s mind: who is calling me, and why are they calling me? To do this, immediately state “Hi {lead’s name}, this is {your name} from {company name}.” Then, say something that’ll get them talking and kick off the conversation or get their permission to talk with them.

Here is our filled-out script segment on how to open a cold call:

From there, you might experience some small talk or an exchange of niceties, but the lead is still going to be hesitant to talk with you. They’re still likely skeptical of your intentions. They’re wondering “Why is this person calling me specifically?” So, in the next step, you’ll tell them.

7. State Your Reason for Calling

While stating why you’re calling, you want to do three things: give the reason for your call, show the lead that your call is meant for them specifically, and come across as a knowledgeable and confident problem solver. To do all of this in one phrase, mention pain points someone in their role or industry likely suffers, including a specific pain point pertinent to this person or their company that you found during your research.

Use this completed script example to state your reason for calling:

The reason for mentioning three pain points is because if you have a good understanding of the pains of your target market from your pre-call research, at least one of the pain points you mentioned will have a good chance of striking a nerve with the lead. Sometimes the lead will speak up and validate that they do in fact suffer one of these pain points, saying something like: “Yep, {pain point A} kills me.”

Other times, the lead will stay silent. In those cases, simply ask: Do any of those issues ring a bell?” Now, the sad truth is that most of your leads will just say no in an effort to end the call. That’s okay, though; if you can book a meeting with even just 1/50 of the people you call, you’re doing solid work. If your lead says yes and names a specific pain point, ask whether they want to hear how to fix it, then pitch your solution.

8. Deliver Your USP & Elevator Pitch

Next, communicate your unique selling proposition (USP) in the form of a quick elevator pitch. It should be short and succinct and clearly articulate what your product or service is and how it eliminates the specific pain point your lead is feeling. It should also name 2–3 key benefits that the lead will receive if they buy your solution. This all serves to paint your offer as valuable. The pitch should be under 30 seconds long and focus on the benefits.

Here is an example of a complete USP pitch from our cold call script:

From here, your lead might ask questions that you’ll answer. Or they might just say that sounds interesting. Whatever happens, now that you’ve made your pitch, you need to overcome any objections and ask some questions to verify the lead’s fit.

9. Overcome Any Objections

You’re likely to receive objections throughout the entire cold call. However, they most commonly occur either after your pitch (refutations of your claims) or after you ask for a follow-up meeting or call. To handle objections, ask questions about their objection to gain a full understanding of why the lead isn’t interested. Once you comprehend their reasoning, show them that you hear what they’re saying, and make a rebuttal to address their concern.

Responding to an objection about limited time can be as easy as this:

The above response shows the lead you listened to their objection and are respectful of their time. It also shows that in the next meeting you’re going to see if it’s a good fit, not force the product on them. This lowers the stakes. It’s vital that you ask three times for the meeting before calling it quits. Any more and it might be overkill. Any less and you’re hurting your chances, because people tend to object two times on impulse.

If you’d like to learn more to prepare for objections, check out our article on objection handling. There, you’ll find a script for responding to leads’ common concerns, plus additional strategies and tips to help you rebut them.

10. Perform an Initial Needs Assessment

By now, it should be somewhat evident whether or not the lead wants to learn more. If they engaged in a conversation about your product after you gave your pitch, they’re likely curious. Now, before you ask for the meeting, conduct a short live needs assessment to ensure they’re qualified enough for a call. Simply ask 2–3 questions to see if they actually need your solution.

Specifically, ask any of the following example questions from our cold call script:

Having this information on hand will enable you to initially qualify the lead and plan a better second call with them, assuming they accept your CTA. For more information on how to execute a live needs assessment on your cold call, check out our article on how to conduct a needs assessment. There, you'll find three strategies with steps on doing it correctly.

11. End With a Strong Call-to-Action

Your CTA refers to what you want your lead to do next. You’re making a request for them to move forward in the sales process. Typically, this will be to have a meeting with you or a higher-level rep for an in-depth discovery call where you'll qualify them as a good fit. As a rule of thumb, state this CTA when you sense the lead could be interested. Perhaps they’re asking questions, engaging in conversation about the product, or just not objecting.

One of the best ways to ask for this meeting is with the following from our filled-out script is:

If your lead said yes and you found a time that works, consider using the end of the call to build some more rapport. Drop something you learned about them in research: “Before you go, I’ve got to mention that I saw you were in the marines. I myself served in the air force for four years. What inspired you to join?” Forming a connection will increase the odds they show up at your meeting.

12. Track & Improve Your Cold Calling Results

Be sure to plug the outcome and each cold call into your CRM so that you can track certain metrics to see if you’re improving over time. It’ll also give you the data necessary to determine if new approaches you try are actually making a positive difference.

Specific cold calling metrics you can track include:

• Calls Made: How many numbers you dialed, whether or not the lead answered.
• Calls Answered: How many leads actually answered your call.
• Converted Calls: How many leads you spoke with agreed to a follow-up call.
• Conversion Rate: The number of conversions divided by the calls answered.
• Average Call Time: How long you spoke with leads before hanging up, regardless of who initiated the end of the call.

Tracking cold call results also forces you to confront your shortcomings and think of ways to grow. After each call, jot down notes about each call. Write any critical turning points, such as an objection you failed to overcome or a pain point you mentioned that inspired interest. After your calling block, reflect on each call by reviewing the notes. Think about those turning points, why they happened, and how you can change or replicate your actions next time.

3 Best Practices for Cold Calling

Regardless of whom you’re cold calling, there are some best practices you can follow to optimize the limited amount of time you have to impress your lead. Some of the most effective habits to implement are below:

At the end of the day, the only way you’ll get better and more comfortable at cold calling is actually picking up the phone and doing it. These tried and true tips and following our step-by-step guide will set you up for success. You’ve got this!

For more of these tips and tactics, check out our article on the top cold calling tips, each of which is backed by professional salespeople and business experts.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Bottom Line: How to Cold Call for Sales

Cold calling is an effective lead generation strategy to find new business. It’s the fastest way to make a personal connection with a decision maker. If you follow the above steps, you’ll turn one of the most difficult elements of sales into one of your most valuable skills. Not only will this bring you success in sales, but it will also afford you success in life, where getting something you want often boils down to getting someone’s attention and making the ask.