Phone Calling Playbook



Before the Call

1. Check all the previous activities with this lead in Copper;
2. Check if there are any other leads or contacts with the same domain (if there are leads with the same domain - make sure you schedule a demo with the same sales rep that owns those leads);
3. Check lead’s time zone to make a call during the business hours;
4. Check lead’s website to understand his potential needs.
5. Check lead’s account to ask relevant questions or use the details as a reason to have a demo.

Look up how to pronounce their name. Nothing makes people more annoyed and less likely to listen than hearing their name butchered by some fast-talking rep!

You can try  PronounceNames.com . If it still does not help, you can simply ask the following question: "I want to be sure I'm saying your name right. How do you pronounce it?"

During the Call

Mind your tonality.
It’s not what to say, it’s how you say it. Talk to your cold callers like you are talking to a friend and not like you’re reading from a script. And most importantly, don’t be intimidated when you talk to C-suite people. Be relaxed, sound confident and make a conversation, not a sales pitch.


Adopt the Selector Mindset.
Think of yourself as a doctor running tests for a unique treatment with amazing benefits. You can only accept patients (clients) that meet certain conditions. Your goal throughout the call is simply to determine whether the prospects meet these conditions. If they do, you award them the privilege of moving down your pipeline by seeing a product demo. This is probably the hardest tip to follow as it can be counterintuitive to the buyer-is-the-selector mindset.


Frame the Conversation.
Briefly outline why you are both on this call. Though this may be obvious (they responded to your outbound effort/are your inbound lead, etc), doing this establishes you as the leader in the conversation and creates a favorable context.


Ask Smart Questions.
One or two very smart open-ended questions is all you need to get their mouths moving for a while. This one tends to do the job: “So, I’d love to hear more about your needs and how you envision a tool like ours helping your team” Bonus: The latter question not only tends to get your prospect talking, but sets them up to speak in future tense about how they envision using a tool like yours. What’s better than having a prospect sell themselves on using your product a couple of minutes into the call?


Neutralize the Know-it-All/Free Trial Requestor.
If your prospect tells you how they already know everything about your tool, have demoed with your competitors, and just want a free trial and pricing, try something along these lines: “Happy to hear that you did your research, we might be able to arrange a trial and can definitely cover pricing, but first I have to determine if you meet our criteria, as not everyone is a good fit for our solution. So, I need to understand how YOU envision a tool like ours fitting into your current process.


Do NOT Start Selling.
If the prospect asks detailed product questions (that you know can be answered during the demo) do not go into detailed answers. Doing this on an initial call risks diminishing their desire to see the demo later. Keep your responses to simple yes and no, followed by some variation of “that’s something we cover in our product demos.


Do NOT Offer Too Many Scheduling Options.
Keep it simple with up to 2-3 choices. Example: “Klara, you have you calendar in front of you? Great, we have some availability this Wednesday at 1pm EST and Thursday around the same time. Works?” "How about tomorrow afternoon?"


Put Something on the Calendar NOW.
If they want a demo, try to not let them leave the call without scheduling something. Even if it’s just a placeholder while they sync with their colleagues on a definite date/time. Just having a placeholder is always better then leaving the call with a mere verbal agreement to send over time slots later.