If you’re not prepared, making a cold call can leave you feeling like a deer in headlights.
Having an effective cold call sales pitch, or elevator pitch can take away that “deer-in-the-headlights” feeling and help you turn an awkward conversation into a fruitful one. Instead of having to figure out what you want to say, you’ll always have the right language at hand to help you advance the conversation—and the sale.
Preparing a cold call sales pitch ahead of time can help you feel more prepared when on a call, and can significantly improve your conversion rate to booked meetings. Don’t worry, you don’t have to work at it alone. We’re here to help set you on the path to success with four steps to build an effective cold call sales pitch examples.
Building the Perfect Cold Call Sales Pitch
Cold calling is one of the more infamous sales processes. It can be intimidating to pick up the phone and address a prospect who hasn’t yet indicated they’re interested in starting a conversation. A script is an excellent way to build confidence and ensure you and your reps always have the right language to advance the sale.
Some sales professionals don’t like the idea of working from a script. This distaste is due to some common misconceptions about sales scripts.
The first misconception about scripts is that being scripted will harm the salesperson's results or prevent an organic conversation. The mistake salespeople make is believing they will sound scripted. Most salespeople use the same language on every call, so they are already using a script… it just might not be a proven, effective script. Neither of these is true.
RELATED READ: The Best Sales Pitch Script to Sell Virtually Anything
The other misconception many sales reps have is that they don't need to trade value to book a meeting. As a result, reps will ask for a meeting in a way that makes it easy for the client to say “no,” feeling worried the rep is just wasting their time.
Use this guide to start building your ideal cold call sales pitch examples. Remember to measure your pitch’s success and make adjustments to your sales script as needed over time to craft the perfect pitch.
1. Introduce Yourself and Build Rapport
The best way to start your cold call sales pitch is the same as the best way to start any conversation with a new person—introduce yourself.
The most important part of this piece of your script is to introduce yourself and your organization. Don’t try to beat around the bush—it will only make you seem untrustworthy. Instead, be clear, direct, and concise.
You’ll also want to take time to set expectations for the conversation and establish what value you’ll provide to the prospect. Don’t lead with your sales pitch. Instead, make an effort to build a connection and establish rapport.
Some opening lines you might consider using are:
“Hello [PROSPECT], this is Anthony Iannarino with The Sales Blog. I’m calling to see if your team is tired of [PAIN POINT]? My solution [SOLUTION] might be able to help your team by [SOLUTION SPECIFICS]. Can we discuss?”
“Good morning [PROSPECT]. This is Anthony Iannarino with The Sales Blog. I am calling you today to ask you for a twenty-minute meeting where I can share with you an executive briefing about four trends that will have the most significant impact on manufacturers in the next eighteen to twenty-four months.”
2. Address Pain Points and Challenges
Once you’ve opened the call with an introduction, your next step is demonstrating that you understand your prospect’s pain points and challenges. To succeed in this step, you’ll need to do your research. Research your prospect’s industry, company, current solutions, and more.
You should also ensure you understand the role and responsibilities of your contact. The better you can articulate their specific day-to-day struggles, the more likely they will see you as a trusted advisor and believe you can solve their problems.
Take this opportunity to ask specific questions where you need more clarity and get confirmation on any points of uncertainty. Be careful not to lean on your prospect for all the critical information you need, however. You should be bringing insights to the conversation, not just questions.
3. Demonstrate Your Value
The secret to successful sales calls is to follow the trading value rule. Essentially, this rule boils down to the idea that your contact’s time is a gift, and you need to provide value to the client any time you ask for that gift.
You should focus on creating value at every stage of the sales conversation in the form of insights, suggestions, and more—not just your solution.
However, you should also be prepared to position your product or service as the solution to their pain points. Use storytelling to create a bridge between where the customer is and where they could be with your solution in place.
4. Focus on Outcomes (Not Features)
Do you have the most incredible feature list of all time? I have some rough news for you: Your prospects don’t care.
All your prospect wants to know is whether or not you can help them reach their goals. Regardless of all the bells and whistles you offer, the customer just wants to know what results they can get if they partner with you.
So, if you’re not focusing on features, what should you focus on?
Consider highlighting results like:
- Time saved
- Increased efficiency
- Improved conversions
Whatever results you highlight, ensure it’s something relatable to the prospect and important to the success of their business. The first three steps of your cold call sales pitch have teed you up for this moment. You’ve addressed their pains and shown them what kind of value you can offer them.
Now it’s time to show them what life could be like with your help.
Crush Your Cold Calls with a Cold Call Sales Pitch
Using this four-step formula should make your cold call sales pitch more effective. It can be challenging to get the right prospects on the phone. As a result, when you get in front of the right people, you need to ensure you have the best language possible at your fingertips.
Remember that your sales pitch script shouldn’t be robotic or set in stone. Measure the results of your calls and be sure to tailor your pitch to each prospect. Don’t be afraid to recalibrate and make adjustments to your pitch as needed to get optimum results from your cold calling efforts.
If you want to level-up your team’s cold calling efforts, having the right pitch is just the tip of the iceberg. To truly crush your cold calls, you need to become a cold calling master. Check out my free resource, the Cold Calling Mastery eBook, for more information on how you can use cold calling to build a solid pipeline of opportunities for your organization.
