Writing outbound call scripts

A call script has two jobs. It carries the disclosures the law requires in the first moments of a call, and it gives the caller a path through the conversation that still sounds like a person talking. This Impact Dialing guide covers what an opening has to include, a structure that fits most outbound calls, the branches every script needs, and how to test one. The examples use bracketed fields for the details you'd fill in.

What the opening has to include

For sales calls, the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule requires the caller to disclose the seller's identity, that the purpose of the call is to sell something, and the nature of what's being sold (16 CFR 310.4(d)). The disclosures have to come promptly, which the FTC reads as before any sales pitch begins. A for-profit telemarketer asking for donations on a charity's behalf has to name the charity and say the purpose of the call is to ask for a contribution, before the request (310.4(e)). The FCC adds that telemarketing callers give their own name, the name of the person or entity they're calling for, and a phone number or address where that entity can be reached (47 CFR 64.1200(d)(4)).

Live calls from campaign volunteers or from a charity's own staff don't carry a federal disclosure requirement of that kind, but saying who you are and who you're calling for is the first thing a listener wants to know anyway. If calls are recorded, some states require consent from everyone on the call, so add a recording notice to the opening for calls into those states. Prerecorded messages have their own identification rules, covered in phone banking for political campaigns.

A structure that fits most calls

A structure that fits most outbound calls has five parts. The caller says who they are and why they're calling, confirms they're speaking with the right person, makes one point or asks one question, makes one clear ask, and records the result before hanging up. Holding to one point and one ask keeps the call short enough to hold attention, and it makes the outcome easy to code for the reports.

A turnout call for a campaign follows that shape closely.

A sales call puts the required disclosures into the first two sentences, before anything about the offer.

A telemarketer calling for a charity does the same with the charitable disclosures.

Branches for the answers you'll hear

A script needs a planned response for the answers that come up on almost every shift, so callers aren't improvising on the ones that matter.

• Wrong person or wrong number. Apologize, ask nothing further, and mark the number as wrong so it comes off the list.
• Not a good time. Offer a callback time and record it, without starting the pitch.
• Not interested. Thank them and end the call without pressing, and record the result so the same person isn't called with the same ask next week.
• A request not to be called again. Confirm you'll add them, record it on the do-not-call list right away, and end the call. Under the TSR you can't make them listen to a pitch first or hang up on them (310.4(b)(1)(ii)), and the request has to be honored within 10 business days, as calling hours and do-not-call lists explains.
• Questions the caller can't answer. Give callers a short list of approved answers and a way to take a message, so nobody guesses at a policy position or a price.
• Voicemail. Write a short message that repeats the identification. If the dialer drops a prerecorded message on voicemail, that's a prerecorded-voice call under the TCPA, with the consent and identification rules that come with it.

Testing and revising a script

Read a new script aloud and time it before anyone dials, since a script that reads well on paper can run long or sound stiff when spoken. Then run it on a small slice of the list, listen to a sample of calls, and compare conversion and average handle time against the previous version using the formulas in the call center metrics guide. Change one part at a time so you know which change moved the numbers, and remember that a longer script raises handle time, which a predictive dialer feeds straight into its pacing.

Keep every version. The TSR requires sellers and telemarketers to keep a copy of each substantially different script for five years after it's last used (16 CFR 310.5(a)(1)), and a dated archive of versions also makes it easier to explain later why a campaign's results changed.