Phone Prospecting: How to Make Your Calls Work, From List to Script

What is phone prospecting?#

Phone prospecting (or telemarketing) means contacting prospects by phone to present an offer and schedule a follow-up meeting, either by video or in person. You don't sell over the phone: you open a conversation.

This is called cold calling: a call to someone who is not expecting to hear from you. In B2B prospecting (selling business to business), you call business contacts, whom the law does not protect the way it protects consumers. The phone often prepares the visit: our guide to field sales prospecting shows how the call fits into the route.

How to succeed at phone prospecting in five steps#

To succeed at phone prospecting, set the goal of the call before you dial the first number: getting a meeting, offering a demo, or checking that the prospect fits your offer (qualification). Then prepare your list and call script around that goal.

1. Target and build the list. You decide who to call, and you check that each contact fits the target.
2. Check your right to call. The rule differs depending on whether you are calling a consumer or a business contact.
3. Prepare the opener and the script. Three beats are enough: who you are, why you're calling, one question.
4. Call, handle objections, propose a meeting. End the call by agreeing on a specific date, rather than just saying "I'll call you back."
5. Log, follow up, measure. Record every call in the CRM (the software or spreadsheet where you track your contacts).

This prospecting plan also applies when a call center makes the calls for you. Prepare the list before your calling session and log the next step after each conversation: you'll know whom to call, and when to follow up.

Phone prospecting campaign: who to call and what number to use#

A good opener does not make up for a bad list. A phone prospecting campaign starts with a written target: the type of business you're after, the area, the criteria for a good prospect.

Think in terms of individual business locations, not companies: make sure you are calling the location you're targeting, at the right address, rather than the headquarters. A company is a legal entity, identified by a SIREN number (the nine-digit French company ID).

A location is a specific place of business: an auto repair shop, a restaurant, a bakery. You call that specific location, so it must be open, reachable, and a fit for your target criteria.

In a Scalon test on 2,420 companies seen on Google (October 14, 2026), the location we were looking for was not the headquarters for more than 1 company in 6. Finding a location's SIRET number (the French ID of a business location) explains this test in detail. It covers picking the right location: it measures neither wrong numbers nor meetings booked. Before you call, check the address and phone number of the location you are targeting.

To find prospects, a sales rep often starts from a public database or an online map. They then sort by hand: listing by listing, website by website, review by review. This sorting takes time and often gets left until the rep is about to call, even though the prospect list should already have been cleaned up.

A short prospect profile is enough for each line:

• what the location does, and why it fits the target;
• the right phone number, and where it came from;
• a verifiable detail to open the call.

Made-up example: a restaurant in Lyon; takeout seen on its website; the location's number taken from that same site; detail to open the call: how it handles takeout orders.

Always note where the number came from. It matters for the rule on business contacts, detailed below.

Scalon does this sorting line by line for field sales reps and SDRs (the sales reps in charge of landing the first meetings). For each location, Scalon tells you whether it fits your target and explains why, which also works as an opener. To put a number on what off-target calls cost, the prospect quality calculator does the math.

Calling a business contact: what the CNIL requires#

For a business contact, the rule is more flexible than for a consumer. According to the CNIL, prospecting a business contact "can be based on the organization's legitimate interest when the purpose of the solicitation relates to the profession of the person contacted." You must inform the person and give them "a simple, free way to opt out." In practice, your offer must relate to the professional activity of the person you call.

The CNIL gives the example of a call that pitches software to a company's IT director. Likewise, calling an auto repair shop owner to offer a shop tool fits this framework. Offering them personal insurance, much less so.

The phone number matters too. When you already have it or it comes from a third party, the CNIL asks you to "make sure that the person concerned has been informed that their phone number may be used for prospecting and is able to object." During each call, you must also give the person a simple way to say they do not want any further sales calls.

A list gives you the number, not an exemption from informing people. If it comes from a vendor, ask how the contacts were informed about prospecting and how they can object. If the person you're calling asks not to be called again, remove them from the list and note it in the CRM.

Cold call script: opener, reason, question#

A good first contact has three beats, and a phone prospecting script follows the same order. You introduce yourself, say why you're calling, then ask a question that opens the conversation.

Everything is decided in the first few seconds. An opening line that grabs attention starts from a verifiable fact about the location, not a general question. Two examples:

• "Hello, Camille here, from [company]. I see your auto repair shop also does bodywork. That's why I'm calling."
• "Hello, I work with restaurants in the neighborhood for [company]. You serve lunch and dinner: who handles your orders?"

Next, state your value proposition in one sentence: how your offer will help them. The full sales pitch waits for the meeting. On the phone, it smothers the conversation.

A full call, for a restaurant supply wholesaler (made-up example). Before the call, you saw on the restaurant's website that it does takeout, and the number you dial is that restaurant's own.

• You: "Hello, I'm Martine, and I work for a restaurant supply wholesaler. I saw on your website that you do takeout. Are you the one who chooses the packaging?"
• The restaurant owner: "Yes, but we already have a supplier."
• You: "I understand. Is there anything you'd like to improve about your current purchasing process?"
• The restaurant owner: "Delivery times."
• You: "I suggest we look at your needs and our delivery times together. Could I come by Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon?"
• The restaurant owner: "Thursday afternoon."
• You: "Great, Thursday afternoon at your restaurant. What time works, and what email address can I send the confirmation to?"

Speak calmly and allow pauses. People can tell right away when you are reciting a memorized script, and it undermines trust. Even a well-written opener will lead to a poor call if you use it with a bad prospect list.

How to handle objections and get a meeting#

Objections come fast, and they are often the same ones. A short answer is enough, then you go back to your question.

• "I don't have time." Offer to call back at a specific time, rather than running through your pitch: "I understand. When can I call you back: tomorrow morning or later this week?"
• "Send me an email." Agree, then ask what interests them so the email is useful: "Of course. To make the email useful, which interests you more: [topic A] or [topic B]?"
• "We already have a supplier." Ask whether anything is missing from their current supplier's service: "Is there anything you'd like to improve with your current supplier?" Their answer tells you whether there is room for you.

When the front desk picks up, ask for the right person by role: "Who handles the shop's purchasing?" Once your contact is on the line, a qualifying question checks that they fit the target. More objections, and a full call, are in our cold calling script.

To book the meeting, offer two time slots rather than asking an open-ended question. Then restate the date, time and format, and confirm in writing.

After the call: tracking, follow-ups and CRM#

Log each call in the CRM right after you hang up: the contact's name, the outcome, the next action and its date. Distinguish at least four outcomes: wrong number, no answer, conversation without a meeting, and meeting booked. Without this record, two reps end up calling the same location. The fields to keep up to date are laid out in our prospect profile template.

Set the follow-up for a specific date, not "in a few weeks." Then count the calls made, the conversations with the right person and the meetings booked. If you rarely reach the right person, check the numbers and the times you call. If you talk to them without getting a meeting, rework your question and how you present your offer. Compare these results across lists: a low rate may stem from the list rather than the script.

Phone solicitation: the rule for consumers since August 11, 2026#

Calling consumers? Open the block below: it covers the rules specific to them.

The rule for consumers: consent, Bloctel, calling hours

This rule covers the consumer, not the business contact. Since August 11, 2026, article L223-1 of the Code de la consommation (France's Consumer Code) prohibits phone solicitation of a consumer who has not given prior consent.

That consent must be "freely given, specific, informed, unambiguous, and revocable," in the words of the law. The business must be able to prove it. A company that benefits from an illegal call, even one made by a third party on its behalf, is presumed liable.

Bloctel, the French telemarketing opt-out register, ceased to exist on August 11, 2026, according to Service-Public (the French government's official information site). One exception remains for calls concerning an existing contract and relating to its subject matter.

Calling hours for consumers remain regulated. Calls are allowed Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. These hours are set by Decree No. 2022-1313, and Service-Public restates them in 2026.

Method#

The headquarters figure comes from the test Scalon published on October 14, 2026 in how to find a company's SIRET number: 2,420 companies in France seen on Google, whose correct SIRET number we already knew. For 18% of them, the location on the Google listing was not the headquarters.

Sources#

• Prospection commerciale par téléphone (hors automate d'appel) : quelles sont les règles ?, CNIL
• Article L223-1 du Code de la consommation, Légifrance
• Démarchage téléphonique interdit : quelles sont les nouvelles règles ?, Service Public
• How to find a company's SIRET number from its name, Scalon