GLOSSARY · COLD CALLING
Cold calling glossary
The key terms from cold calling and phone sales, explained in short: from the gatekeeper and objection handling to the CRM. Each term has its own anchor for linking.
Appointment setter
An appointment setter books meetings for the sales team by phone. They call potential customers, create interest and schedule a conversation with an adviser or account executive. Someone else usually closes the deal. Appointment setters make many calls a day and often repeat the same lines. ROYVIRA is made for cold callers and appointment setters with a Mac and their own script.
B2B
B2B stands for business to business, meaning trade between companies. In B2B sales you call companies, not private individuals. Decisions are often made by a team and take longer. Rules for sales calls differ by country. In Germany, for example, calls to businesses need presumed consent and calls to consumers need express consent. ROYVIRA is made for B2B calls on a Mac.
BANT
BANT is a model for qualifying leads. The letters stand for Budget, Authority, Need and Timeline. During the call you check whether the other person has money for a solution, can decide alone, has a real problem and when they want to act. BANT is a guide, not a rigid checklist. Many teams adapt it to their own sales process.
BDR (Business Development Representative)
BDR stands for Business Development Representative. A BDR actively looks for new customers, usually through outbound work such as cold calls, emails or social networks. The goal is a qualified meeting for an account executive, who then leads the sales conversation. Many teams treat SDR and BDR as almost the same role. Each company decides what exactly the titles mean.
BlackHole 2ch
BlackHole 2ch is a virtual audio driver for macOS. It passes sound from one app to another. ROYVIRA uses BlackHole 2ch for call mode: your live voice and your clips go together into your calling app. There you select BlackHole 2ch as the microphone. The original installer is included in the app download, and the setup guide shows you each step.
Brush-off
A brush-off is a reason the other person gives to end the call without stating their real concerns. Examples are “Just send me an email” or “Not interested” right after the opener. Unlike a real objection, a brush-off often has nothing to do with your offer. A calm question back helps you tell a brush-off from a real objection and keep the conversation open.
Callback
A callback is an agreed second call at a fixed time. It often happens when the other person has no time right now or the decision maker is not available. A reliable callback has a date, a time and a reason. Enter it in your CRM straight away. Call on time, because reliability builds trust even before the first real conversation.
Clip
In ROYVIRA, a clip is a short recording of one line in your own voice, for example part of your pitch or your answer to a common objection. Each clip sits on a tile in the soundboard and is stored locally on your Mac. You start every clip yourself. To begin, ROYVIRA recommends four to six clips with lines you say every day.
Closing question
The closing question leads the conversation to a clear decision. In cold calling it is usually about the next step, such as a meeting, not an immediate purchase. Good closing questions are concrete, for example with two meeting times to choose from. Ask it when need and interest are clear. Then listen and give the other person time to answer.
Cold calling
Cold calling means contacting a potential customer who does not know you yet and has not asked to be contacted. In B2B sales this often happens by phone. The goal is usually not an immediate sale but a meeting or another next step. Each country has its own rules for sales calls, for example § 7 UWG in Germany. You are responsible for following the rules that apply to you.
Connect rate
The connect rate is the share of your calls in which you actually speak to the person you want to reach. Busy lines, voicemail and gatekeepers do not count. The connect rate depends on the target group, the time of day, the weekday and the quality of the phone numbers. It helps you plan when calls are worth making and how many attempts you need.
CRM
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. A CRM system stores contacts, companies, call notes, meetings and sales opportunities in one place. In phone sales you log every call there and plan callbacks and follow-ups. That way your team also knows what was discussed. ROYVIRA is not a CRM. It plays your own lines during the call, each one triggered by you.
Decision maker
The decision maker is the person in a company who decides on a purchase or approves it. This can be the managing director, a head of department or purchasing. In B2B sales several people are often involved. In cold calling, an important goal is to reach the decision maker directly or to be put through by the gatekeeper. Ask early who else is part of the decision.
Dial rate
The dial rate describes how many calls you start in a given period, for example per hour or per day. It is an activity metric in phone sales. A high dial rate alone says nothing about success. It also matters how many conversations happen and how many of them lead to a meeting. ROYVIRA does not dial numbers. You start every call yourself in your calling app.
Discovery
Discovery is the part of the call in which you find out what the other person really needs. You ask open questions about goals, problems and how they work today, and you listen carefully. Only then do you adapt your pitch. In German this step is called Bedarfsanalyse. Good discovery helps you relate your offer to the other person’s situation.
Follow-up
A follow-up is the next contact after an earlier one. It can be a call, an email or a message, for example after a first conversation, an offer or a missed connection. A good follow-up refers to the last conversation and names a clear next step. Record the date and content in your CRM so that no contact gets lost.
Gatekeeper
A gatekeeper is the person who answers a call before it reaches the decision maker. This is often reception, the switchboard or an assistant. The gatekeeper decides whether to put you through, take a message or turn you away. A clear reason for your call and a short, friendly approach help. The use cases page shows this situation with ROYVIRA.
Headset
A headset combines headphones and a microphone in one device. In phone sales it keeps both hands free for notes, the CRM and the keyboard. A good headset reduces background noise and makes your voice clear. With ROYVIRA you select BlackHole 2ch as the microphone in your calling app and your headphones as its output. You keep hearing the other person through your headphones.
Hotkey
A hotkey is a key or key combination that triggers an action at once, without the mouse. In ROYVIRA you can give each clip a keyboard shortcut and start it even while another app is in front. For this, ROYVIRA needs the macOS permission Accessibility. Shortcuts are an extra option: you can also start clips with the mouse on their tiles.
Lead
A lead is a contact who could become a customer. It can be a person or a company you have first details about, such as name, company and phone number. A lead is not yet a prospect with a confirmed need. Only qualification shows whether another conversation is worth it. You should know where a lead comes from and on what legal basis you may contact them.
Objection
An objection is a statement in which the other person raises doubts about your offer or the next step. Typical topics are time, price, no current need or an existing supplier. A real objection shows what the other person is unsure about. That makes it a chance to ask a question and understand more. Many objections come up again and again, so it pays to prepare good answers.
Objection handling
Objection handling is how you deal with objections during a call. It means listening, understanding and giving a fitting answer. A question back before you answer often helps. You can prepare and practise answers to recurring objections. With ROYVIRA you record these answers once in your own voice and play them yourself when they fit. You keep leading the conversation.
Opener
The opener is the first line after your greeting. It says who you are and why you are calling. In the first seconds, the other person decides whether to keep listening. A good opener is short, concrete and relevant to the situation of the person you call. With ROYVIRA you always say the greeting live yourself, and you decide what follows.
Pipeline
The pipeline, or sales pipeline, shows all open sales opportunities and the stage each one is in. Typical stages are first contact, meeting, offer, negotiation and close. The pipeline helps you and your team see where contacts get stuck and how much work is still open. It is usually kept in the CRM and reviewed regularly as a team.
Pitch
The pitch is the short presentation of your offer during the call. It explains which problem you solve and why it matters to the other person. A good pitch fits the target group and leaves room for questions. Many salespeople say it many times a day in almost the same words. With ROYVIRA you record your pitch once in your own voice and play it during the call with a tile or a shortcut.
Qualification
Qualification means checking during the call whether a lead fits your offer. You clarify need, budget, responsibility and timing. Well-known models for this are BANT and similar question lists. Good qualification saves time on both sides because only suitable contacts get a meeting. Record the result in your CRM so that your team can build on it.
Script
A script, also called a call guide, describes the flow of a sales call. It contains the opener, discovery questions, the pitch, answers to common objections and the closing question. A script is not a text to read out word for word but a guide. With ROYVIRA you record single lines from your own script. You do not need a new script to start.
SDR (Sales Development Representative)
SDR stands for Sales Development Representative. An SDR qualifies inbound leads, meaning prospects who contacted the company themselves, for example through a form. In the call, the SDR checks whether need and budget fit and hands suitable contacts to the sales team. In some companies, SDRs also make cold calls. The line between SDR and BDR is not the same everywhere.
Softphone
A softphone is a program that lets you make phone calls on your computer instead of a desk phone. It runs as an app or in the browser and uses the computer’s microphone and headphones. ROYVIRA works alongside your calling app: through BlackHole 2ch, your live voice and your clips go into the call. The setup guide uses Zadarma in Chrome as its example. A confirmed compatibility list is still pending.
Soundboard
A soundboard is an interface with buttons or tiles that each play a sound or a recording. In phone sales, a soundboard plays recorded lines during a live call. ROYVIRA is a free soundboard for cold calls on Mac. You record lines from your script in your own voice and play them with a tile or a keyboard shortcut. You always say the greeting live yourself.
Voicemail
Voicemail is the answering service of a phone line. It records messages when nobody picks up. In phone sales you often reach voicemail when the other person is busy or away. Plan a new call at a different time. ROYVIRA is made for the live conversation: no dialer, no automation, no voicemail messages. You stay in the whole call and can speak yourself at any time.
Warm calling
Warm calling means contacting people or companies who already know you or have shown interest. These can be existing customers, earlier prospects or contacts from a trade fair. Unlike cold calling, there is already a connection you can refer to. The call therefore usually starts with a reference to the last contact and a clear reason for calling now.