Cold Calling Strategy - Sample Script

Everything works...if you work it!

Cold calling is challenging as it takes courage, patience, persistency and typically high volume to find success.

The goal is find or create a 'Trigger Event' that results in setting up a follow up.

A Trigger Event is something that has occurred that has convinced an Employer to take a look at their benefits. Taking a look could mean getting quotes, doing an evaluation or just taking a meeting with another advisor.

If we consider that we need more time with a prospect than just the initial cold phone call to win their business then we need the phone call to create a follow up event, typically a meeting (virtual or physical).

If a trigger event doesn't already exist (like a bad renewal or poor service) then the advisor's best bet is to create one. In order to create the trigger event for a follow up we need to decrease the risk of an employer spending their time with the advisor and increase the perceived value they may receive. To accomplish this you'll need to demonstrate value straight away, developing curiosity or uncertainty that you can then deliver on in the follow up.

The below script will give you a sample template you can use to create a trigger event, offer immediate value, de-risk the engagement and create opportunity for follow up. It will however require you to do a few minutes of research or sorting your list to determine industry, province and group size. You can vary this approach to be more or less specific, going more generic will allow you to hit a higher volume with less pre-work, going more specific will allow you to achieve a higher conversion on a targetted approach.

Here's a sample call script:

Advisor: "Hello, my name is _____ and I'm calling from ___. Did I call at a bad time?"

(Many people will respond intuitively, with 'No' and give you permission to continue. If they say 'Yes', perhaps they are going into a meeting, then ask when is a good time to call them back. Most will not be comfortable saying 'Never' and so you'll have your follow up.)

Advisor: "I'm calling because we recently produced a benchmarking report, comparing and ranking Employee Benefit plan for Construction employers under 50 employees in Ontario. We'd like to offer you a free copy of this report which will show you what other employers are offering their employees."

Possible Objections: "What's the catch?" --> There's no catch, there's no fee or obligation. If you have questions or want a more detailed report then we can help you further. OR "What's in it for you?" --> We share these reports with employers because many are not getting this type of information from their current advisor and if you like our advice and service then you can hire us as your advisors.

Advisor: "What is your email?" We will send you this sample report after our call.

Employer: "My email is _____"

Advisor: Thank you, we will send the email now and follow up to see if you have any questions or we can offer you more detailed reports. Take Care!

(Alternative Idea - If the employer doesn't want to share their email then you can offer a landing page on your website where they can enter their email and download the report later).

Initial Email

- Thank you for your time today, as promised I've attached a copy of this intro benchmarking report. We look forward to your feedback.

I'll follow up in a week or so to see if you have questions.

As a bonus I'm also going to offer you access to the Solution Marketplace Search Engine. If you are curious about any options out there, use this free search tool to find solutions without having to do alot of research or meet with other sales people first.

If you'd like to meet to discuss the report with me, my calendar is________.

Follow Up Email

I hope you've had an opportunity to review the benchmarking report we shared with you or have tried searching the Solution Marketplace.

Several similar employers had questions about other employers, plan details, costs, industries, provinces or group sizes. 

We can provide you a customized comprehensive report if you share a copy of your Employee Benefits booklet. Simply drag and drop a PDF of your plan to the "Upload Documents" section on platform.

If you have questions or would like to meet to discuss the report with me, my calendar is________.