A newbie to cold calling said that an amazingly successful sales pro shared his cold calling script with her. Then, she asked a question that made me shudder from my head to my toes.

What is that question that newbies ask right out of the gate? What is the question that broadcasts to savvy sellers that the rookies are getting ready to unwittingly shoot themselves in the foot and make a big, big mess of a good thing? This is it, the very question that makes a seasoned sales pro go wobbly in the knees, "How can I make your successful cold calling script sound more like me?"

I said, "Whoa Nellie!" If a seasoned pro is willing to share a script that brings results do not change one single word. In fact do not even think about changing even one word until you have made 50 cold calls with that script. And then, closely examined the verbal exchanges you had with each of those prospects and scrutinize the results of those calls.

When you examine the verbal exchanges, pay particular attention to who asked the most questions, who made the most statements, what words lead you those questions and statements; were you lead down a rabbit trail where the prospect asked all of the questions that resulted in a, no or did you skip merrily down on straight and narrow path that lead you to an appointment with a high-level decision-maker?

As you scrutinize the results of those 50 calls, add up how many of your prospects said, no; how many of your prospects said, yes, to an appointment; how many voice mail messages you left, and how many callbacks you received from those voice mail messages.

Here’s why all of this is so dog gone important.

The successful cold calling script to the uneducated reader may just seem like a few words on paper. And it may seem logical to ask, "What’s the big deal if I change a few words here and there?" The fact that this question even comes to your mind is evidence that you should not be changing one single word of that script, at least not yet.

A cold calling script is an extremely sophisticated sales presentation that must be carefully crafted in a way that will open the door, build rapport, establish your right to proceed with the call, and get the desired outcome (an appointment) all in the span of 90-seconds (or less) of phone time that you have with your prospect.

Every single word that you speak either helps or hinders your results. There is no middle ground here. Seasoned pros know this. Do not even think about changing their scripts until you understand why every word is there in the first place.