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Cold calling is what separates good outbound reps from great ones.

The challenge is most reps are never properly trained on how to make calls.

Which leads to low confidence, vanity metrics and underwhelming results.

A solution I use for developing reps and scaling best practices across team’s - cold call scorecards.

It starts by identifying what good looks like (WGLL).

Then creates a repeatable process for evaluating calls, providing clear feedback and improving conversion rates.

Here’s a framework I use for my own team and when consulting startups…

Cold Call Intro:

Every expert has a take on the best way to start a cold call. Remember, how you talk is 100x more important than what you say.

1. Hits the correct tone: I like the “lost in the city” tone. Curious, yet confident. The spacing and pacing of how you talk also matters.

2. Identifies themselves before being asked: clearly say who you are and where you’re calling from. You’ll probably have to repeat yourself 2x.

3. Uses research to build credibility: signals like growth, hiring, common connections etc. work here - or you can just reference their website.

4. Empower the no: giving prospects an out can help get you further into the convo. People like to feel like they’re in control.

Cold Call Discovery:

The middle of the call is about building credibility, then bridging the gap between the current state and desired state.

5. Delivers bucket question relevant to persona: the purpose of the bucket question is to build credibility by sharing common problems.

6. Understands current state: what systems, processes and people are they using to solve problems today?

7. Uses “gap questions”: transition from current state to desire state. “How are you ________, so that  ___________ doesn’t happen?”

Cold Call Close:

Be the guide, not the guru. Remember, most cold calls should be less than 5 minutes. Sell the meeting, not the entire solution.

8. Summarize what’s learned: use their words to help guide nexts steps. “Sounds like you’re struggling with X, you can’t do Y, which is causing Z”

9. Pitch is relevant to person & problem: tell a story. “We’re helping other VPs avoid [problem] so they can [achieve desired state].”

10. Offer recommendation on next steps: you are the expert on your product and process. “Can I make a suggestion… I think it might make sense…”

Looking to create your own cold call scorecard?

Here’s what I’d recommend:

1. Review 20-30 calls from top performers

2. Diagnose the key stages and criteria of “good” calls

3. Define how you want reps to navigate each stage

4. Develop reps by scoring 2-3 calls each week

5. Have reps score score their own calls

Sales intelligence tools like Gong and Outreach have started to create standardize templates you can for scoring calls and development.

If you’re looking for help getting started, feel free to ping me.

Until next Thursday,

TSG

P.S. I reply to all emails.