What you'll get
- 5 copy-ready blocks
- 6 min read
- Part 1: The opener
- Part 2: The yes branch ("go on, then")
- Part 3: The not-now branch
- Part 4: The no branch
How to use it
- Step 1: Research first: one true fact about the account, and the right person's name. Calling blind wastes the one answer you get.
- Step 2: Say the opener in Part 1 as written, including the permission question.
- Step 3: Follow the branch that matches the answer: Parts 2, 3 and 4.
- Step 4: Log what the call taught against the account, whichever branch it took.
Opening lines by seniority are in cold call opening lines for senior buyers; the front desk is the gatekeeper call guide; where calls sit in the wider motion is the lesson Cold Calls and Voicemail. More under cold outreach.
An outbound sales script fails at the branch, not the opener. Most reps have an opening line; few know word for word what to say when the answer is "yes, tell me more", "not right now" or "no". This script is built backwards from those three answers, so no branch catches you improvising.
Part 1: The opener
"[First name]? This is [full name] from [company]. It is a cold call,
about [problem, one plain phrase]. Have you got half a minute, or is
this a bad time?"Saying "it is a cold call" sounds like surrender and works like disarmament: the guessing stops and the honesty registers. The permission question hands over control, which is why the thirty seconds you get back are actually listened to.
If it is a bad time: "Understood. Is Thursday morning better, or should I stick to email?" Take the answer literally and do it.
Part 2: The yes branch ("go on, then")
Resist pitching. Earn the meeting with two questions.
The reason: "Thanks. The reason it is you: [researched fact about the
account]. Companies in that spot usually hit [problem].
How is that landing at [company]?"
They answer: Listen. Then one follow-up question about what they said,
not a segue to your deck.
The close: "That is exactly the conversation worth having properly.
I will not do it justice in a cold call. 20 minutes
[day] or [day], and I will bring how [peer company]
handled it?"Two questions, then the ask. A booked meeting from a two-minute call outlasts a pitch crammed into ten.
Part 3: The not-now branch
Not now is a timing answer, so trade for the timing.
"Fair enough. One question so I do not pester you: is that because
[problem] is handled, or just a bad quarter to look at it?"
If handled: "Good to know, genuinely. Who should I check with in six
months, you or someone else?"
If timing: "Then I will come back in [month they hint at]. Anything
change before that, say [trigger], worth calling sooner?"Log the month and the trigger, park the account with a date and keep the promise. A parked account with a real revisit date is a future pipeline; a not-now chased weekly is a burned number.
Part 4: The no branch
No is information. Collect it and leave well.
"Understood, and thanks for being straight. Last thing, then I am gone:
is [problem] just not a priority, or is someone else the right person
for it?"
Wrong person: "Who should I talk to? I will say you pointed me, unless
you would rather I did not."
Not priority: "Clear enough. I will leave you alone. If it changes,
I am easy to find."Then stop. The exit line is remembered longer than the pitch, and on a named account you will meet this person again.
The three objections that cover most calls
"Send me an email."
"Will do. So it is not a generic one: is it [problem A] or [problem B]
that is closer to home right now?"
"We already have a vendor for this."
"That makes sense. Most people we work with did too. When the contract
next comes up, is a comparison useful, or is it locked for years?"
"How did you get my number?"
Tell the truth, plainly. Then: "If you would rather I did not call
again, say so and I will not."None of these argue. Each answers, then asks one small question that either restarts the conversation or ends it cleanly.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Sam Carter calls the IT manager at Pellow and Rook, a Tier 2 account, after the gatekeeper route produced a name and a Tuesday. Opener as written; the answer is "not right now". Part 3 trades for timing: the real answer is a systems migration finishing in February. Sam logs the month and the trigger, parks the account to March and sends nothing in between. In March the callback opens with the migration, and the meeting books on the first ask. One call, no pitch, an account mapped and a meeting three months later that a pushier script would never have reached. All names are invented.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Hiding that it is a cold call. The listener knows. Naming it buys the only honest thirty seconds in the trade.
- Pitching into the yes. The yes branch is two questions and a close, not a monologue. The meeting is the pitch's home.
- Hearing not-now as no, or as yes-later-this-week. It is a timing answer. Get the month, park with a date, keep the promise.
- Arguing with no. The no branch collects a name or a reason and leaves. The exit is what gets remembered.
- Hanging up without logging. Every branch ends with something: a meeting, a month, a name, a reason. The script only compounds if it lands in the account notes.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
What should an outbound sales script include?
An honest opener with a permission question, then a prepared branch for each of the three answers: interested, not now and no. Add replies for the three standard objections and a logging habit so every call ends with the account better mapped. The branches matter more than the opener.
Should you say it is a cold call?
Yes. The listener has already worked it out, so naming it trades no information and buys credibility. Paired with a permission question, it turns an interruption into a choice, and people who choose to listen actually do.
What do you say when a prospect says not now?
Ask one question to learn whether it is handled or just mistimed. If mistimed, get the month and any trigger, park the account with a real date and call back exactly then, opening with what they told you. Not-now handled honestly becomes next quarter's warmest call.
More from the Academy
Cold Call Opening Lines for Senior Buyers
For anyone who has to ring a director or C-level buyer in a large company.
You leave with a pre-call card, 10 opening lines, the 20 seconds that follow, two voicemails, a call log and one call written out.
Gatekeeper Call Guide
For SDRs and appointment setters who meet a gatekeeper before the buyer.
You leave with word-for-word openers, answers to the four standard questions, two voicemail lines and a rule for leaving every call with something.
Appointment Setting Script for Enterprise Accounts
For SDRs, founders and account executives calling into large companies.
You leave with a pre-call card, a call script, replies to seven responses and scripts for the second and third conversation.
Want this in your inbox?
Optional. We use your email only to send you this, nothing else.