Have you ever decided to just dial and “wing-it” when cold calling for your cleaning business? How did it do? Not so well I guess.

When making sales calls for your business, you only have 10 seconds to grab your prospects’ attention. So you really need to have a strong first impression. Having a prepared script is an important part of your cold calling success.

To sound really natural, it is important to practice your script. Have you ever got a call from a telemarketer that sounded like he or she was reading from a script? Well that is not the kind of script you should use here. You can practice with friends and family and have them play the role of the prospect. You need to have enough flexibility in your script so that when the conversation changes, you can easily go with the flow.

In creating your script, make sure that you write the way you talk and to get to the point quickly. Don’t waste any time with blurbs like “how are you today?” This would give them the chance to end the call even before it start. Simply greet your prospect by name and then say: “My name is (John), and I’m with (company)”

Then you need a simple yet strong statement that will explain what you do. For example: I work with building managers and owners having cleaning issues that they haven’t been able to resolve.” You have to be creative, don’t say similar things everybody has been saying. Use phrases to establish you as an expert, like “we specialize in…” or “we’re known for…”

Take advantage of your niche market to the fullest. If your contacting a bank, inform them that you are also working with other banks in the area. This would let your prospect know that you are established with their kind of business. Also, it will be likely that they know other banks around so you can name drop, this is the best time to do it.

Then you need to describe your service benefits, not the features. At this time, your prospect won’t care if you are bonded or insured. But they could be interested on how you specialize in marble floor care if they have a beautiful new marble floor. Their interest also lies on how you can save them money so think of certain ways you’re able to save them money.

Your call should aim to make an appointment with your prospect, not make a sale yet. So end the call by setting up a time to meet, maybe a 10-15 minutes of their and give them a couple of choices. End the call by saying something like: “would next Wednesday at 10 a.m. be the best time to meet?”

Once you have scheduled your meeting, be sure to confirm your prospect name, title, address and phone numbers. And make sure to provide them with your contact information as well.

For more: How to start a cleaning business