👨💻 Write better sales scripts by thinking like a UX designer
A cold call is like a product no one asked for.
You need to sell the call itself before you can even get to the thing you’re actually selling.
Designing a great call script is like designing a great product.
That’s why you should think like a user experience (UX) designer when crafting your pitch.
When a UX designer designs a product, they’re thinking about the customer journey from beginning to end—anticipating points of friction and smoothing them out.
A great UX designer isn’t designing the product in a way that’s most convenient for them to build. They’re designing the product in a way that’s best for the user.
Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and design a script that creates the best caller experience.
Close CEO Steli Efti learned this when he founded his startup in 2011. Here’s the exact cold call script he used to prospect his ideal customers in the early days:
Opening:
Hi, my name is _____. I’m calling some startups in the area to find out if they are a good fit for our beta program.
What we do in a sentence is we provide companies with a sales team on demand.
Does this sound generally interesting to you?
Qualifying:
➡️ What is your current sales process?
➡️ Who are your customers? How do you get leads?
➡️ What’s the customer lifetime value?
Closing (test your CTAs):
1️⃣ We want to start in 4 weeks—does this work for you?
2️⃣ The beta program is heavily discounted. It’s going to be $X/day per salesperson.
3️⃣ What is the decision making process in your company? How quickly can we make a decision?
Why It Works
Each sentence is intentional and intended to answer the questions anyone might have, in the order they’d have them.
They’re wondering who I am—here’s who I am.
They’re wondering why the hell I’m calling—here’s why I’m calling.
They’re wondering what I do—here’s what I do in a sentence.
Get to the point. Clear, concise, direct. Valuing their time = thinking of the user first.
Design your questions in a way that lets them tell the story of their business, not you pitching your product. Don’t sell—help them with their business.
This cold call script helped Steli land several paying customers before he even had the business up and running.
It’s time to value call experience design as much as user experience design.
⚡️Get Dialed-In:
Use Steli’s OG call script template on 10 calls this week. Track your success rate against your existing call scripts.
Let’s have great conversations this week. 💪
