Simulator: your first cold call

How it works

Pick a prospect: each one has a personality, a context and their own objections. Some calls start at the front desk, so you have to get past the assistant first. Then, on every turn, the prospect speaks and you choose one of three replies. There is no single right answer, but some replies open the conversation and others close it. The mood gauge next to the replies tells you in real time whether you are winning them over or losing them.

The call ends one of five ways: a meeting booked, a call back accepted, an email promised with no next step, a prospect who hangs up, or a front desk that never puts you through. Every ending is a real prospecting outcome, and none is shameful: getting hung up on is part of the job. What matters is understanding on which turn the call tipped.

How you are scored

The score out of 100 is spread over the five criteria from the previous lessons: the opener (introducing yourself cleanly), permission (handing control back to the prospect), value (a reason tied to them, a promise without jargon), listening (asking a question, letting them talk, building on what they say rather than on your pitch) and the next step (asking for something specific and dated). The debrief shows you, criterion by criterion, the reply you chose, the best one, and why.

Your best score is kept in your browser. Replay as many times as you like, switch prospects, deliberately try the bad replies to see what they trigger: that is also how you learn to spot them for real.

Go further

• Call scripts To write your own lines after practising.
• Sales call scorecard Score your real calls with the same logic as the debrief.