The success of your cold calling hinges on your ability to communicate clearly.
You could have researched your prospects thoroughly and had a winning pitch ready to launch, but even then, it could all fall flat on its face.
Why? All because of you saying a wrong thing during the call that comes off as inappropriate, inconsiderate, or just plain awkward.
Saying the right thing at the right time is half the game in cold calling. In other words, a wrongly used phrase or word could be the difference between a won deal and a lost opportunity.
To help you cautiously tread the minefield of cold calling conversations, you need the right cold calling phrases in all stages and must also be aware of what not to say during your cold call.
And to give you a cheat sheet, we bring you over 25 cold calling phrases for different situations to help you navigate through your calls like a pro.
Keep reading to see what these phrases and sentences are and why they work.
Best Cold Calling Phrases To Use in Your Openers
Sam Holeman, a seasoned SDR, says, “People will stay on the phone with someone who's very confident.” According to him, delivering the opener with the right amount of confidence is key, as only then will your prospect continue talking to you.
To help you start your cold calls with just the right pizzazz, here are some cold calling phrases to use as cold call openers:
1. “Could You Help Me With Something?”
Asking your prospect to help you with something feeds their self-esteem. Heidi Grant, social psychologist and author of Reinforcements: How to Get People to Help You, says,
“Human beings are basically wired to want to give help. It’s one of the richest sources of self-esteem, and it has the potential to be a real win-win.”
By appealing to this side of your prospect, you’ve got their attention, and they’re more likely to hear what you have to say.
2. “We’ve Never Spoken Before.”
Being honest right off the bat can be like a breath of fresh air for your prospect. Chances are they’ve encountered their share of sales tricks and are ready to slam the phone down the second they hear one.
But when you start off on the right foot by acknowledging and confirming their thoughts, you’re one step closer to building a trusting relationship.
3. “Is Now a Good Time To Talk?”
The reason this is one of the best phrases to use in cold calling is because it addresses the fact that you’re disturbing your prospect’s schedule. Not only that, but by giving them an opening to shut the call, you display the confidence of knowing your product has the potential to add value to them, and you can always call back.
Lastly, you make them feel in control of the call. The call is no longer happening to them, but they’re letting the call happen. And this helps them feel more comfortable going ahead with the conversation.
4. “The Reason for My Call Is…”
Your prospect is picking up a call from an unknown number. So, they’re naturally curious about why you’re contacting them. By stating the reason for your call, you help foster a sense of trust and reliability. In fact, a study shows how using this phrase can increase your success rate by 2.1x.
You’re not going to waste their time and have them ask you straight up. You’re instead answering this obvious question right at the onset to help them understand you’re not going to take them for a ride and waste their precious time.
5. “Can I Take Only 30 Seconds To Tell You Why I Called?”
Building on the previous point, using this cold call phrase in your opener helps you demonstrate respect for the prospect’s time and reduces the perceived risk of a lengthy sales pitch. People are naturally more willing to engage when they know the call won’t run long.
Further, you appeal to the prospect to spare 30 seconds of their time, also communicating the fact that after the timer is up, they get to decide whether the call continues. And so, the prospect feels they’re in control of the call.
Cold Call Phrases To Use in Your Pitch
Once you’re done with your cold call opener, you come to the meat of the matter: the sales pitch. It is this part of the cold calls that gets your heart pumping and finally gets you to put your research to the test.
Here are some of the best phrases to use for cold call sales pitches:
6. “We’ve Helped Companies Like Yours…”
What makes this one of the best phrases to use for cold calling sales pitches is that it offers your prospect social proof of your solution’s success. It lets them understand that your offering is already doing wonders for their competitors and that they’re not taking much of a gamble on your offering.
For your prospect, knowing other people are benefiting from your product means a lot. In fact, 95% of consumers say they read online reviews when making a purchase. By stating that you have achieved positive results with a similar company, you do something akin to this.
By helping companies that are similar to your prospect’s organization, you also convince them that you can truly add value to their operations. You assure the prospect that your solution is worth checking out.
7. “We Can Do Something Similar or Better for You.”
This is a step up from the last phrase in so far as it communicates that you will personalize your services for your prospect. And so this phrase does the job of mentioning social proof while also letting the prospect know that the offering can be customized to their specific preferences.
8. “Does It Sound Like That Might Help [Prospect’s Pain Point]?”
You might know that your solution’s feature will definitely address your prospect’s pain point, but checking in with them allows you to maintain a conversation rather than a monologue.
Further, it also allows you to make space for information that you might not have found during research. For instance, is the pain point a by-product of another core operation? Or have they solved the pain point between the time you researched their company and the cold call?
9. “I’m Curious What You Think About This.”
This is another phrase to use for cold calling that doesn’t just allow you to check how your prospect is receiving the pitch but also helps you gain targeted information that you can use to tweak your sales pitch.
Giving your prospect an opening to share their views also helps keep the focus on them and doesn’t seem like you’re too swept in your own solution’s capabilities.
Phrases To Use in Cold Calling While Handling Objections
Sales objections are as certain as the sunrise. A sales rep who dials a cold call without being prepared for sales objections is either new to the job or looking for trouble.
That said, here are some cold calling phrases to help address common cold call objections:
10. “I Don’t Want You To Be Late. When Can I Call You Back?”
You can incorporate this cold calling phrase when the prospective customer says, “This is not the right time.”
It’s a great response as it acknowledges your prospect’s paucity of time instead of pushing through (It’ll only take me a minute) and ensures you get your prospect to share a time that works for them.
This helps show the prospect that you’re confident in your offering, value their time, understand that the sales call will require time and attention, and are ready to work on their schedule.
11. “Do You Think Your Priorities Would Change Later?”
A seasoned SDR will probably not be able to count how many times they’ve heard the objection “I’m not interested” on both their hands.
When faced with this objection, asking this question gets your prospect to think deeply and nudges them subtly to give you an alternative time to get in touch with them. It also helps them understand that you’re not after the sale and genuinely believe that your offering brings value to the table.
12. “How Important Is [Feature] to You?”
This phrase works well when your prospect raises an objection saying they’re already using a competitor’s tool. Countering this with this cold-calling phrase helps you understand your prospect’s priorities.
And if the feature in question is something that your solution excels at, it can help you overcome the objection by walking them through how it improves over the one in their tech stack.
13. “What Would You Like Me To Include in the Email?”
Use this cold calling phrase when prospects ask you to send them an email about your solution. Prospects might not have time to have a sales conversation over the phone, but are curious enough to know more about your offering. In such a case, it's always a good idea to ask what made the prospect curious.
This makes them think about the answer, giving you insight into their way of thinking and priorities. With this, you can craft a personalized email and send it to their email address.
14. “Can You Please Point Me Towards the Right Person?”
This cold calling phrase helps you tackle the common objection of “I’m not the right person” by politely asking them for information.
Most people would prefer to help you out in this situation. Also, you can gain more information from them on the person they’re referring you to, which can help you to pitch your solution better.
Cold Calling Phrases To Build Urgency in the Prospect’s Mind
Building urgency in your prospect’s mind can help you nudge them down the sales funnel. But this has to be done tactfully. You don’t want to come off as pushy or too salesy. If your prospect gets a whiff of this, you best believe they’ll dig their heels for the rest of the call or might even take a step back altogether.
To help you strike the perfect balance, here are some cold calling phrases that have the perfect recipe:
15. “How Would You Like To Take This Forward?”
Asking your prospect this question helps you politely communicate that you’ve said what you came to say.Everything that needed to be discussed for this particular stage is covered. It’s time to move to the next step.
Further, it also allows them to decide how to take things forward. Would they like to book a meeting? Ask you to share some case studies that they could go over? Or maybe schedule another call? Giving the illusion of control to prospects is crucial because, as sales expert Pat Helmers puts it best, “The more you give your prospects control, the more you control the sale.”
16. “Can We Set up a No-Commitment Demo?”
This is another phrase that you can use to coax your prospective customer ahead. It works great because it helps them move forward without feeling pressured. It lets them know that you’re confident that the demo will put their doubts to rest, and if not, you can always have further discussions.
17. “Seems Like We’re a Good Fit for You. What Do You Think?”
You’ve made your pitch, but it seems your prospect is still deciding. It's not a yes or a no—perhaps it's a maybe. In such a case, this cold calling phrase can help you get a clear answer from them. And encourage them to share their thoughts either way.
Once you know which way they’re leaning, you’re more informed in steering the conversation towards a meeting.
18. “Let’s Set Up a Time To Talk When It’s Convenient for You?”
Another way to build a sense of urgency is to ask them to suggest a time to reconnect. It helps you communicate that it is important things move forward and that you’re willing to discuss further at your prospect’s leisure.
Not to forget, it also doesn’t sound too pushy but gets the job done.
Phrases You Must Avoid in Your Cold Calls
We’ve explored cold calling phrases that should make it to your cold calling scripts. But what about the ones you should steer clear of? After all, there is balance in the world, and if there are phrases that make a deal, there are definitely ones that break it, too.
Here are some cold calling phrases that you should avoid during your sales calls:
19. “Does That Make Sense?”
This doesn’t work because it's lazy. Further, if your prospect says no, they’re admitting they might be too dim to understand what you’re saying. Lastly, it also makes you sound underconfident and hungry for validation.
After all, if you’re unsure of whether it makes sense, you should’ve prepared and worded it better.
20. “I’d Love To…”
Your prospect couldn’t care about what you’d love to do. So, leave this out of your sales cold calls and instead go with a more confident and direct phrasing instead.
For instance, if you were going to say “I’d love to book a meeting with you,” or “I’d love to walk you through our solution’s features,” rework them to “Let’s schedule a meeting this week,” or “I can book a product demo for you whenever you’d like.”
This way, you sound more professional and keep the call’s focus on your prospect.
21. “Are You the Decision Maker?”
Imagine picking up the call and hearing this. You’re cutting the call faster than you can say Mississippi. This phrase is rude and brash and lets the light shine on the fact that you’ve not done your research.
Granted, it might be tough to learn all the decision makers in the mix, but wording your curiosity like that can jeopardize your chances of taking the conversation forward.
Instead, use a phrase like, “Who do you think might feel left out if we don’t include them in this discussion?”
22. “I’m Sure You’re Busy.”
This might give your prospect the impression that something more important has come up, and you’re trying to close the call. Not only that, but it can also come off as passive-aggressive or worse- sarcastic and frustrate your prospect.
Instead, say, “I appreciate your time,” and ask them if they would like to discuss something more. This helps communicate that you value their time and are grateful they took your call.
23. “Let’s Jump on a Call.”
The aim of a cold call might be to book a meeting, but that shouldn’t be the driving force. Chances are your prospect is a busy executive who can’t spare the time for a meeting right away, and so pushing for a call can seem offensive and disrespectful.
Focus on having a productive conversation, highlighting how your solution factors into your prospect’s operations, and leaving space for their follow-up questions.
24. “Sorry To Bother You.”
Admitting that your call is a bother and you’re apologizing for it conveys two things:
- You don’t see any value in the conversation and view it as something irritating.
- You acknowledge the above but are still hell-bent on going forward and wasting your prospect’s time.
Don’t apologize, and instead, get straight to the reason you dialed their number.
25. “What if I Said You Could…”
Here are some variations of this cold calling phrase that you should avoid:
- “What if I said you could get you onboarded within a day?”
- “What if I said you could get a discount of 20% for the first year?”
- “What if I said you could discontinue instantly within the first 3 months, no questions asked?”
This sounds more like an infomercial than a sales pitch. Further, it comes off as if you’re testing the waters when it comes to what it will take for your prospect to make the purchase. Instead, be direct and clear throughout your cold call.
26. “The Competitor’s Terrible.”
You might be better than your competitor, but trash-talking them to your prospect makes you look like a toddler who was refused dessert. Avoid criticizing your competitor and annoying your prospect with cold calling phrases like:
- “I see you’re using {competitor}. What made you swallow that price tag?”
- “Are the rumors true? Does {competitor’s specific feature} have a lot of glitches?”
- “We’ve actually just onboarded a previous client of theirs. Let me just say: They were not happy with {competitor}.”
It does little to make you come off as the better choice and bucket load to make you look desperate to make a sale. If your competitor initiates it, acknowledge it and use it to gain intel into your prospect’s priorities, but don’t add to it.
27. “I’m Not Sure if You…”
Stay away from diffident phrases in your sales cold calls like how cats avoid water. Focus on the positives and keep your tone and wording upbeat and optimistic.
Instead of phrases such as “I’m not sure if you find this feature helpful,” go with: “Let me tell you how this feature can improve your operations.”
6 Best Practices for Cold Calling Success That Lasts
Now that we’ve discussed what you should and shouldn’t say during your cold calls and given you a concise cheat sheet with all the best cold calling phrases, it's time to get down to how to get the maximum out of these.
You see, while the above cold calling phrases will get your foot in the door, it’s the following best practices that will help you cross the door and sit down for a cup of coffee.
Here are 6 cold calling best practices for you to keep in mind:
- Practice Active Listening
Listening actively during cold calls allows you to gain unparalleled insight into your prospect. Whether it’s a straight-out objection, a grunt, or a pause, staying alert at how your prospect is receiving the call is essential.
- Never Ask Uninformed Questions
Doing this is a one-way ticket to losing the deal. Your prospect must be convinced you’ve done your homework and are well-informed to make the sales pitch. Your cold calling questions must reflect the research.
Example: “I see your company has recently expanded to {specific region}, is your current solution able to match up with your growth?”
- Avoid Pushy Sales Tactics
Hard selling right off the bat can leave a bad taste in the mouth, not only jeopardizing the chances of booking a meeting but possibly the entire deal. And there’s no coming back from it to salvage your rapport-building efforts.
Our advice: Check your pace and start slow. Convince your prospect that you’re looking to solve their problem, not make a sale in record time.
- Ask Open-Ended Questions
Avoid yes/no questions. You’re not reciting a questionnaire. Instead, opt for cold call questions that make your prospect sit back and think.
These help you learn more than just the answer and can help you steer the conversation to touch base with your prospect’s unique pain points and priorities. Example: “How important is {specific feature} to you? Because we’ve received great feedback on it from our current clients.”
- Deliver Openers with Confidence
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: first impressions matter. These set the tone for the rest of your relationship, so make sure you put your best foot forward when delivering openers. Confidence is key here. If you yourself are shaky contacting the prospect, why should they spare a second talking to you?
- Use The Right Cold Calling Tool
When you’re trying to scale your cold calling efforts, you’ll end up wasting time on manually dialing calls, balancing notetaking with listening and steering the conversation, recording voicemails, and more.
Without the right cold calling tool to do all these, you’re not just opening the floodgates to errors but also slowing yourself down, ending up with not hitting your numbers.
In such a case, what you need is Klenty’s Sales Dialer to make your cold calling effective. Its key features include:
- Parallel Dialer: Call up to 5 prospects simultaneously. And if 2 pick up together, one will be placed in the queue to help you get to them instantly after finishing a call.
- Voicemail Drop: Drive your connect rates with outbound and inbound voicemails.
- AI-Powered Notes: Leave notetaking to AI. Klenty’s conversation intelligence bot records calls, takes notes, and logs them into your CRM so that you can concentrate on your prospect.
Not only that, but with Klenty’s Sales Engagement Platform (SEP), you can take a multichannel approach by leveraging 5+ outreach channels including email, LinkedIn, SMS and WhatsApp and boost your call pickup rates.
Integrating Klenty into your sales process can help you drive the success of your cold calling like never before. To witness this powerful tool in action, book a demo now!
