Cold Calling Script: 7 Scripts for Agencies to Copy

A cold calling script is a written plan for a call to a business that is not expecting you. It says who you are, why you picked this business and the one thing you are asking for. For an agency, the strongest reason to call is a problem on the owner's own website. Here is a script you can copy now.

You: Hi [first name], this is [your name] from [agency] in [town]. I'm calling because I looked at [company]'s website this morning and noticed [one finding].

[What that costs them, in one sentence.]

I build websites for [trade] businesses around [town]. Could I show you the fix in 15 minutes this week?

Six more follow. They cover the letter you sent first, the front desk, voicemail and three replies owners give.

What makes a cold call script work?

A cold call script works when it gives a true reason for calling this one business and asks for one small thing. The owner should know within 15 seconds why the phone rang.

Most cold calling scripts online are written for software sales teams. They open with a value proposition and a list of customers. A roofer who picks up the office phone between two jobs has no use for either. He wants to know why you called him.

A script for an agency has four parts.

The times are our estimate, and nobody timed them. Together they come to under half a minute.

Learn the first two parts by heart. Keep the page in front of you for the finding and the ask, because those change with every call.

Which cold call opening lines work best?

Lines that say why you are calling. Gong, a company that sells software for analyzing sales calls, studied 90,380 cold calls and found that stating the reason for the call raised the success rate 2.1 times (Gong).

The same analysis measured set phrases against a baseline success rate of 1.5%.

Read those figures with three cautions. Gong published them in 2018. The page never defines success, though the context is a booked meeting. It also does not say what kinds of businesses were called, so for a call to a local owner the figures show a direction and no more.

Our view is that a letter gives you the best reason of all. "I posted you a letter last week about your website" is true, specific and easy for the owner to check. We have no call data of our own to prove it, so test it against your current opening and count the meetings. We set out the thinking in why the letter goes first.

The scripts

Each script uses square brackets for the parts you change. The business in the examples, Ridgeline Roofing at ridgelineroofing.example, is made up. So are the agency, the people and the phone number.

1. The letter follow-up

For a business that received your letter a few days ago.

You: Hi [first name], this is [your name] from [agency] in [town]. I posted you a letter last week about [company]'s website. Did it reach you?

If yes: Good. The short version is that [one finding from the letter]. I'd like 15 minutes to show you what I'd change. Does [day] at [time] work?

If no: No problem, here is the short version. [One finding.] I can post it again, or show you in 15 minutes on [day]. Which is easier?

Filled in.

You: Hi Luis, this is Dana Cole from Maple Street Web here in Tulsa. I posted you a letter last week about Ridgeline Roofing's website. Did it reach you?

If yes: Good. The short version is that your quote form shows an error when I send it from a phone. I'd like 15 minutes to show you what I'd change. Does Thursday at 10 work?

Why it is built this way. "Did it reach you?" takes one word to answer, and either answer leads to the finding. The letter also shows you made an effort before you rang.

2. The finding, with no letter

For a first contact by phone, when no letter went out. The opening names what you saw, says what it costs the owner and asks for 15 minutes.

Filled in.

You: Hi Luis, this is Dana Cole from Maple Street Web in Tulsa. I'm calling because I looked at Ridgeline Roofing's website this morning and noticed that your phone number is a picture, so nobody can tap it to call you.

Anyone who finds you on a phone has to write the number down first.

I build websites for roofing companies around Tulsa. Could I show you the fix in 15 minutes this week?

Why it is built this way. The owner can check the finding on his own phone while you are still talking. That turns a pitch into a tip.

3. The front desk

When someone other than the owner answers.

You: Hi, this is [your name] from [agency] in [town]. I sent [owner's name] a letter about the company website and I'm following up. Is [owner's name] the right person for the website, or does someone else look after it?

If the owner is out: Thanks. When is a good time to reach [him or her]? And who should I say I spoke with?

Why it is built this way. It tells the truth and asks for help. A person at the front desk can tell a trick from a plain request, and a plain request is easier to pass on.

4. The voicemail

When nobody picks up. Keep it under 20 seconds.

Hi [first name], this is [your name] from [agency] in [town]. I sent you a letter about [company]'s website. In short, [one finding]. My number is [number]. I'll email you the details today as well. Again, that's [your name] on [number].

Filled in.

Hi Luis, this is Dana Cole from Maple Street Web in Tulsa. I sent you a letter about Ridgeline Roofing's website. In short, the quote form fails on a phone. My number is 555-0142. I'll email you the details today as well. Again, that's Dana Cole on 555-0142.

Why it is built this way. The message names the finding, so the owner knows what your email is about before it arrives. Send that email the same day.

5. "Just send me an email"

Sometimes the owner means it. Sometimes it is a polite goodbye.

Owner: Just send me an email.

You: Happy to. So I send the right thing, which matters more to you right now, more calls from the website or a higher spot on Google?

You, after the answer: Understood. I'll send two screenshots and one paragraph on that today. May I call on [day] to hear what you think?

Why it is built this way. One easy question tells you which kind of "send me an email" you heard. It also makes your email worth opening.

6. "We already have someone for the website"

Often a relative or a friend built the site.

Owner: My nephew looks after our website.

You: Good, then this one is for him. [One finding.] It's a small fix for whoever maintains the site. Shall I email the details to you or to him?

You, to close: If he ever wants a hand with the bigger jobs, my number is in the email.

Why it is built this way. You give the finding away and leave the relationship alone. An owner who gets free, useful help from a stranger has a reason to keep your number.

7. "Not interested"

A clear no. Take it as one.

Owner: We're not interested.

You: Understood, and thank you for saying so. I'll take you off my list. The one thing I'd fix, whoever does it, is [one finding]. Have a good week.

Why it is built this way. A no ends the calls. Leaving one useful fact costs you five seconds and keeps the door open if the owner rings you later. Our guide to sales objections covers the replies that deserve an answer.

What should you change before you call?

The finding. Every script above rests on one true, specific observation about that business, and the call is only as good as that sentence.

A good finding passes three tests. The owner can check it in ten seconds. It costs them customers. You can say it without jargon.

The findings in the table are made up. For load time you can quote Google's own mark, which counts a page load as good when the main content appears within 2.5 seconds (web.dev).

Finding one real problem per website by hand takes a few minutes a site. Leadodo's AI, Twip, scores every website in a search out of 100 across 10 domains, and its findings become the opening line of each letter and email. The same finding is your reason for the call. See how Twip scores a site.

Change the ask as well. A roofer may be on a roof at 10 in the morning, and a dentist may be with a patient. Offer two times that fit the trade.

When should you make the call?

A few days after your letter has landed. By then the call has a subject, and the owner may already know your name.

Your Outbound Machine in Leadodo runs six steps over 19 working days. A posted letter arrives on day 1, emails follow on days 4, 7 and 11, and LinkedIn steps come on days 15 and 19. None of the six steps is a phone call, so the call is a step you add yourself. Leadodo has cold calling as a tool of its own.

Day 5 or 6 is our suggestion. We have not tested it against other days. The sequence stops for a business the moment it replies, and your calls should stop then too. Our guide to the 19-day sales cadence walks through each step.

What should you never say on a cold call?

Anything untrue, and anything that argues with a no.

• A fake reason. "I'm returning your call" gets you past the front desk and ends the conversation when the owner finds out.
• The whole audit. One finding earns a meeting. Nine findings from a stranger sound like criticism.
• A promise. "We'll double your leads" is a claim you cannot back on a first call.
• A rebuttal to a clear no. Thank the owner, take the business off your list and move on.

Once the owner agrees to 15 minutes, your job changes from talking to asking. Our list of discovery call questions covers that meeting.

Questions

How long should a cold calling script be?

Short enough to say in under 30 seconds before the owner speaks. The filled-in opening in script 2 is about 70 words. Add your finding, two questions and the ask, and the whole script fits on an index card.

Should you read a cold call script word for word?

No. Learn the first two sentences until you can say them without the page. Read only the finding and the ask, because those change with every business. For the nerves and the routine around the call, see our cold calling tips.

What do you say in the first 10 seconds of a cold call?

Your name, your agency, your town and the reason for the call. In the 2018 analysis of 90,380 calls by Gong, stating the reason raised the success rate 2.1 times. For an agency the reason is the letter you sent or one finding from the owner's website.

Is it legal to cold call a business in the US?

The FTC states that most phone calls to a business, made to solicit sales from that business, are exempt from the Do Not Call provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (FTC). That page covers one federal rule. Your state may add its own, so check before you call, and stop calling any owner who asks you to. This is not legal advice.

How many times should you call the same business?

We suggest two attempts and one voicemail. After that, let the letter, the emails and LinkedIn do the rest. That limit is our own rule of thumb, and no study stands behind it. A clear no ends the calls at once.

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Next step. Give every call a reason. Your Outbound Machine sends the letter and the emails, and you make the call that follows. See the sequence.