You will be able to open a cold call with who you are, a request for permission, a reason and a question.
People decide within the first few seconds whether to stay on a cold call, so the opening is the part of the call most worth preparing. A good opening has four parts: who you are, a request for permission, a reason for calling and a question, and all four fit inside thirty seconds.
Think about how it feels to be on the other end. An unknown number calls you at work. The caller opens with "Hello, sir, how are you today?" and you can tell they're reading it out. Before they've said what they want, you're already thinking of an excuse to end the call, and after that nothing they go on to say about who they are or why they rang can work.
Before you dial, check one thing. Calling a Singapore number to promote something falls under the Do Not Call rules covered in module 5, unless the person has given you their clear and unambiguous consent in written or other accessible form. Telemarketing calls of a commercial nature that target other businesses are excluded from these rules. Read lesson 5.1, "What the Do Not Call Registry covers and how to check it", before you call anyone from a new list.
The opener is part one. In one breath, give your name and your company, then say the buyer's name as a light question. Mei runs a bookkeeping practice for cafe groups, so she might say "Hi, it's Mei, I run a bookkeeping practice for cafe groups. Am I speaking to Jason?", which lets Jason answer with a simple "Yes, speaking."
The order matters. Your name comes first because it tells the buyer a real person is calling. Saying their name as a question does three jobs: it confirms you have the right person, it shows this isn't a recording being read out to thousands of people, and it gives them an easy reply. Don't ask "How are you today?" when the person doesn't know you. On paper it looks polite, but on the phone it sounds like the start of a sales routine and makes the buyer brace for a pitch.
Part two is permission. Admit the call is out of the blue and ask for a short, fixed amount of time, such as thirty seconds, so that the buyer decides whether the call continues. For example: "I know this call is out of the blue. Could I have thirty seconds to explain why I'm calling, and then you can decide if it's worth carrying on?"
Many new callers think this is backwards, because naming it as a cold call seems to make it easier to hang up. In practice, naming it tends to keep people on the line. The buyer already knows it's a cold call. If you pretend it isn't, you sound like every other caller trying to get past their guard. Saying it plainly and giving them control lowers their guard more than a clever line does.
Most people answer yes or "Okay, go on." Keep the promise you made: if you asked for thirty seconds, take thirty seconds and no more. If the answer is "I'm busy", turn to lesson 3.3, "The first brush-off and what to say next."
Part three is the reason: one sentence on why you're calling this person in particular. The reason is about them. It's either a trigger, from lesson 1.3, or a problem that people in their position commonly have. In the bookkeeping example, the reason might be: "I understand you're opening a fourth outlet next month, and that's often when month-end starts taking whole weekends".
The reason is never a description of your product. A sentence that lists your bookkeeping, payroll and GST filing services is about you, and the buyer has no reason to care about it yet. Use one reason only. Lesson 3.2, "A reason for calling that is about them", goes deeper into writing reasons that land.
Part four is one open question about their situation, and it should be easy to answer. An easy question is about something the buyer already knows without having to think, so they can reply straight away. Asking about their strategic finance priorities for the year makes them work, while asking who does their month-end now is something they can answer on the spot.
An open question usually starts with how, what or who. A yes-or-no question, such as whether they'd be interested in bookkeeping help, invites a no and ends the call. In the same scenario, a good question is: "How are you handling the books across the three outlets at the moment?"
Once the buyer is talking about their own situation, the call has become a conversation. After you ask the question, stop talking, listen, and let the silence sit for as long as it takes them to fill it.
Darren is a financial adviser. A mutual friend, Siti, introduced him to Nadia, and Nadia agreed to take his call. Siti also told him that Nadia's first baby has just arrived. His opening is:
"Hi, it's Darren, I'm a financial adviser. Is that Nadia? Siti said it would be okay to call. Can I take thirty seconds to explain, and you tell me if it's useful? Siti mentioned your first baby just arrived, and new parents often say they haven't had time to check their cover. How have you been thinking about that?"
That's about sixty words, and it fits inside thirty seconds at an unhurried pace. All four parts are there. He gives his name and his work, checks he's speaking to Nadia, mentions Siti, asks for thirty seconds and lets Nadia judge whether it's useful. Then he gives a reason about her and ends on an open question. The introduction through Siti makes this a warmer call than a true cold call, but the same four-part structure works either way.
Your first version will be too long, as most are. Read it aloud with a timer, cut every word that's about you rather than the buyer, and read it aloud again. The activity below asks you to do exactly that for one of your personas.
Write a four-part opener for one persona. Read it aloud against a timer until it takes less than thirty seconds.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).