Adapting your script to a parallel dialer: the first three seconds
The person you called said hello before you were on the line. The whole classic script is built on the opposite assumption, and that is what produces the awkward first three seconds.
A parallel dialer does not make your pitch any better: it simply puts you in front of far more people. Your meetings go up because your conversations go up, but if your script is weak you mostly collect more noes, and faster. There is still a reason why a script that worked when dialling by hand loses some of its edge here. It comes down to three seconds.
What parallel dialling changes
When you dial by hand you follow the call from start to finish: you know when it goes out, you wait for the answer, and you speak first. The conversation begins with you.
With parallel dialling, several numbers are called at the same time, up to four. You are only put on the line at the moment somebody picks up. Put another way: the person you called has already spoken by the time you arrive.
| Dialling by hand | Parallel dialling | |
|---|---|---|
| Who speaks first | You | Them, they have already said hello |
| What you follow | The whole call, from dialling to answer | The conversation, once it is live |
| Preparation time | A few seconds of ringing | None |
| Voicemails | Sat through to the beep | Screened out automatically |
20 to 25
calls an hour when you dial by hand
150 to 200
with a four-line parallel dialer
95%
accuracy on voicemail screening
The false assumption in the classic script
Every prospecting script, including CROC, assumes that you open the conversation. The Contact step is written for someone who speaks first.
Applied as it stands on a parallel dialer, that script produces a collision: the person says “Hello?”, waits, says “Hello, is anyone there?”, and you start your opener over the top of them. They have filed the call before your third word.
Classic script, in the wrong place
“Hello?”
“Hello, is anyone there?”
“Good morning, my name is Tom Harding, I am calling from Skipcall, am I
right in thinking you run...”
Adapted script
“Hello?”
“Hello, is that Sarah Whitfield?”
The opening line that absorbs the shift
Three properties define it, and all three follow from the same fact: you are stepping into a conversation that is already open.
- It gives back the greeting you were just given. A British phone is answered with a hello, and returning that hello turns your arrival into a reply rather than an interruption. Starting instead with your own name and your own company announces a call that, as far as the other person is concerned, has already started.
- It is short. Five to seven words. The person needs a second to adjust their listening; a long sentence passes through that second without being heard.
- It names them, then you. The name holds their attention and confirms that the call is meant for them, which they doubt for the whole of the first second. “Is that Sarah Whitfield?” does that job in four words, and it asks a question they can only answer.
The rule of the first three words
“Hello, is that Sarah Whitfield?” rather than “Good morning, my name is Tom Harding from Skipcall.” The difference is who the first three words are about. In the second version you are opening a call; in the first you are carrying on a conversation.
The adapted script
Only the first block changes. The five other blocks of the call plan stay exactly as they are.
Hello, is that Sarah Whitfield?
Tom Harding, from Skipcall.
One minute of your time, then you can tell me whether this is relevant to you.
Three short beats, separated by a breath, instead of one long sentence. Each breath leaves room for a “yes” that confirms the line is properly live.
A full call
Hello?
Hello, is that Sarah Whitfield?
You give back the greeting you were just given, and you name her. The asymmetry disappears at the first word.
Speaking.
Tom Harding, from Skipcall. One minute of your time, then you can tell me whether this is relevant to you.
Go on.
I saw that you are hiring three SDRs this quarter. On teams growing at that pace, the time spent dialling numbers and landing on voicemail becomes the single biggest loss. That is what I am calling you about.
From here on, the script goes back to being the one you would use on any outbound call.
What changes with a power dialer
Nothing, and that is worth knowing. A power dialer dials one number at a time: you follow the call from start to finish and you speak first, exactly as when you dial by hand. The classic script applies with no adaptation at all.
The distinction matters when you are equipping a team. Moving from dialling by hand to a power dialer calls for no script rewrite; moving to parallel dialling calls for one, however short.
Three mistakes when starting out
- Keeping the manual script. This is the mistake behind the drop in meeting rate that shows up over the first few days. It is fixed in one line.
- Setting four lines on a list that answers a lot. The higher the answer rate, the more likely it is that two people pick up at once. The surplus lines are dropped before the person is put through, but it is better to reduce the number of lines than to rely on that.
- Running calls back to back. The dialer can hand you the next answered call straight away. A rep who has not logged the outcome of the last one loses in three hours what they gained in volume.
The right order
Settle on a script that converts across twenty calls a day first, then raise the volume. Multiplying an average script by six only burns through your list faster.
What the law requires
Automatic dialling does not change the obligations that apply to prospecting. Between businesses they remain the same: a documented lawful basis, the people you call informed, the right to object honoured, numbers screened against the Telephone Preference Service and, for business subscribers, the Corporate TPS, and notice given before a call is recorded. PECR and the UK GDPR set the frame, and the ICO enforces it.
One point does separate parallel dialling from predictive dialling. A dialer that only places a call when a rep is already available never leaves someone answering to nobody: the lines it does not need are dropped before the person is put through. A predictive dialer, calibrated on statistical forecasts, produces abandoned calls by construction, and Ofcom treats a sustained rate of abandoned calls as persistent misuse of a network.
For the rest of the script, see the CROC method, and to keep the adapted opening in front of you during a session, the one-page call plan.
Frequently asked questions
What changes in a script when you use a parallel dialer?
The start of the conversation. The person you are calling has picked up and said hello before you were on the line. Your opening line therefore has to pick up a conversation that is already under way, instead of starting one.
Do you need a different script for a power dialer?
No. A power dialer dials one number at a time: you follow the call from start to finish and you speak first, exactly as when you dial by hand. The classic script applies unchanged.
How many lines should you dial at once?
Up to four with Skipcall. The right setting depends on how often your list answers: the higher the answer rate, the greater the chance that two people pick up at the same time. The surplus lines are then dropped before the person is put through, but you may as well avoid the situation by reducing the number of lines.
Can the prospect tell they were dialled automatically?
They hear no silence: the connection is instant. What changes is not technical but conversational, because they are the one who spoke first. That is what makes the opening line decisive.