14-Step Checklist for Cold Calling

Cold calling might be a traditionally old process, but it still serves as an essential method to generate interest among prospects. A study states that around 6-7 calls need to be made to win a sale. To make the follow-up calls leading to the win, the initial call must impress the prospect, allow you to gauge their interest, and highlight your value proposition.

Prior to sending an email, we always go through it ‘n’ number of times before hitting send. Similarly, we can follow the same process before making a cold call - by going over a list of tasks to complete before, during, or after the call to make it successful.

Here’s a quick cold calling checklist to follow before you pick up the phone to dial.

PRE-CALL

❑ Assess your leads and prioritize them 

Check if your company and your prospects match in terms of the business plan, industry, etc., and decide if both of you are a good fit for each other. Divide your leads based on the priority level by assigning them tags such as high/medium/low priority so that you know the order in which you have to make the call.

❑ Conduct your research 

Learn more about your prospects by researching them in order to strike a conversation and accurately position your product. Go through their social media profiles, website, and customer review sites to check their pain points. Do check if they’re the right person to reach out to or not.

❑ Reason for the call 

Know the reason for the call before diving into the meeting. Have a clear vision of what you’d like to achieve after the call so that you can work towards it while talking to them. Is it to set up the next meeting? Or have them simply test your product? It could be anything.

❑ Be ready with a script

Prepare a few voicemail scripts so that you don’t falter when you reach the prospect’s voicemail. Using the voicemail option, you can lead them to the next action, like asking them to check their email for further details. At the same time, always keep 2-3 scripts on you for different situations. You can refer to these during your call until you get comfortable. Soon, you'll be able to add your own spin to your scripts without referring to them. 

❑ Relax and rejuvenate

Take a deep breath before you go into the call and visualize how you’d like the entire call to pan out. Prepare for the call mentally so that you’re ready to deal with any situation during the call. Listen to popping music, munch on snacks, or do anything that’ll calm you down.

DURING THE CALL

❑ Permission-based opener 

Consent to pitch is very important before you begin. Your prospect might be too busy to take a sudden call and mostly in no mood to hear a random pitch. You must ask them if they’re free for a call during your opener. If they say no, ask them for a better time and set up a call for that time. Break the noise with something quirky, like the below example. ‍

E.g., “Hi Anna, this is Julie from Outplay, and I’m sure you hate getting cold calls just as much as I dread having to make them! Do you mind if I take a few minutes? I’ll tell you why I called.”

❑ Pitch in time

Deliver your opening pitch within 15-20 seconds. Keep it short and crisp - introduce yourself, highlight your reason for calling, the problem your company solves, etc. - all in those few seconds to hook the receiver.

E.g., "I’m sure you and your team would have faced the issue of falling behind on your targets. To help you with just that, I wanted to introduce Outplay to you - a sales engagement platform that’ll help you get more meetings booked every month.”

The reason for calling them needs to be clear, and you can highlight something that’ll be of use to them.

❑ Ask open-ended questions

Ask questions to hear more from them and understand them better. Build the conversation with the help of a few questions.

You can ask questions like “How much time do you spend while following up with leads?” or “How do you think changing this area could help you?”

You can also ask questions about your product. Questions that would allow you to talk about how your product would solve an issue. Like, “Do you think your SDRs spend too much time manually sending emails?”

This would allow you to pinpoint their problems.

❑ Quick overview

Give them a brief picture of your product - and touch upon specific features that you think might interest the prospect. Always keep these lines handy so that you are rightly conveying the meaning of your product in just a few lines without confusing the prospect.

❑ Are they interested

Ask if this (your product/service) interests them or if there’s something that they’d like to learn more about. Once they give a positive response, you have your chance to ask when they’d be free for a follow-up call. 

Something like -

"If you’re interested, we can conduct a demo session of our product. Would sometime this week work for you?"

Or something even more softer like, “Would you like to know more about this?”

SUGGESTED READING: 25+ Cold Calling Scripts

POST-CALL

❑ Provide more details

After the call, in an email, you can send them your name, contact number, calendar link, website link, case studies, or articles - anything that would help them learn more and see the value. Also, touch upon important pointers that were discussed in the call and include those in the mail as well.

❑ Listen, analyze, and repeat

Go through your call recording to review the call and analyze what could have been done differently. Jot down what lines you thought were impactful and use them for any future calls.

❑ Stay connected

Connect with them on social media like LinkedIn/Twitter so that you have another platform apart from phone or email where you can reach out to them. You can also use this to build a better rapport with them.

❑ Contact before your call

Touch base with them by email right before the next meeting in order to jog their memory. Highlight whatever was discussed previously and the agenda for the upcoming call.

Get access to sales sequences of 30 hypergrowth companies like Hubspot, Vidyard, etc., here.

Cold Call Like a Pro With Outplay Power Dialer

In the intricate realm of cold calling, mastering the art demands a systematic approach that resonates with both strategy and tools. This 14-step cold calling checklist serves as a guiding light, illuminating the path toward successful connections and conversions. However, in the fast-paced world of sales, it's not just about following steps; it's about leveraging tools that elevate these strategies.

One such is Outplay's power dialer. Seamlessly integrating with these steps, Outplay's power dialer amplifies efficiency and effectiveness, transforming outreach into meaningful engagements. 

By harmonizing Outplay's innovative technology with the strategies outlined in this checklist, you're not just making calls—you're crafting conversations that resonate, forging relationships, and achieving unprecedented success in your sales journey.