Scorecard template
Cold call scorecard template
Outbound phone calls by SDRs and inside sales reps, where the goal is a booked meeting or a clear answer within a few minutes.
The scorecard
Score each criterion from 0 to 3. Multiply by its weight, add it up, and a call lands between 0 and 100.
| Criterion | Weight | What the scorer asks | 0 Not touched | 1 Mentioned | 2 Explored | 3 Confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permission-based opener | 15 | Did the rep introduce themselves clearly and ask for a moment of the prospect's time instead of launching into a pitch? | Pitch started immediately; no introduction or permission asked. | Rep introduced themselves, then went straight into the pitch. | Clear introduction and permission asked before the reason. | Prospect explicitly agreed to continue after a clear, honest opener. |
| Relevant reason for calling | 25 | Did the rep give a reason for the call that is specific to this prospect's role, company or situation? | No reason given, or a generic product pitch. | Reason given but generic; it could apply to anyone. | Reason tied to the prospect's role or company and tested with a question. | Specific reason the prospect confirmed is relevant to them. |
| One sharp discovery question | 20 | Did the rep ask at least one open question that got the prospect talking about their own situation? | No questions; the rep did all the talking. | Only closed or leading questions asked. | An open question asked and the answer followed up. | Prospect described a real problem and the rep played it back. |
| Objection handled | 20 | When the prospect pushed back, did the rep acknowledge it and ask a question instead of arguing or giving up? | Rep gave up or argued at the first objection. | Objection acknowledged, then the rep repeated the pitch. | Objection acknowledged and explored with a question. | Objection resolved; the conversation moved on with the prospect's agreement. |
| Meeting booked or clear outcome | 20 | Did the call end with a booked meeting, or a clear agreed outcome such as a callback date or a firm no? | Call ended with no outcome. | Vague promise to send information or call back sometime. | Meeting or callback proposed, time not confirmed. | Meeting booked with date and time confirmed, or a clear no. |
What to listen for, criterion by criterion
15/100
Permission-based opener
Listen for
- name and company in the first sentence
- an honest acknowledgement that this is a cold call
- a question asking for thirty seconds
What good sounds like Good morning, you do not know me, so I will be honest: this is a cold call. Can I take thirty seconds to tell you why I am calling, and you decide if we keep talking?
25/100
Relevant reason for calling
Listen for
- a trigger such as a new hire, an expansion or a new tool
- a problem common to the prospect's role
- no generic product description
What good sounds like I saw you are hiring six account executives this quarter. Sales leaders in that position often tell me ramping new reps eats their week. Is that true for you?
20/100
One sharp discovery question
Listen for
- an open question about how they work today
- the prospect speaking for more than a sentence or two
- a follow-up on the answer
What good sounds like How do you get new reps up to speed today, and how long before they run a call on their own?
20/100
Objection handled
Listen for
- the objection acknowledged, not argued with
- a question to understand it
- a second, lighter ask for the meeting
What good sounds like Fair enough, you probably have something in place already. Out of curiosity, how happy are you with the way your team reviews calls today?
20/100
Meeting booked or clear outcome
Listen for
- a date and time for a meeting
- the calendar invite confirmed on the call
- a clear no or an agreed callback date
What good sounds like Shall I send an invite for Tuesday at eleven, twenty minutes? I will put the two questions we discussed in it, so you can bring your sales ops lead.
A call scored against this template
Drummer scores every call against the template you choose. Each criterion gets its reasoning and the moment in the call that proves it, so a manager checks the evidence in seconds instead of listening to the whole call.
Scored against Cold call
Call with Maes Industrial Supplies
05:00
77/100Call score
- Permission-based opener3 / 300:31
- Relevant reason for calling1 / 301:28
- One sharp discovery question3 / 302:24
- Objection handled2 / 303:21
- Meeting booked or clear outcome3 / 304:18
One sharp discovery question is well evidenced. Relevant reason for calling only came up in passing: ask about it before the next call.
About this template
A cold call scorecard rates the few minutes an SDR has on the phone with someone who did not expect the call. It scores five moments, from the first sentence to the outcome, weighted toward the one that keeps a prospect listening: a reason for calling that is about them.
When should you use a cold call scorecard?
Use it on outbound calls by SDRs and inside sales teams, whether the goal is a booked meeting or a qualified no. It is deliberately short: a cold call has no room for a full qualification framework. The meeting it books is scored with the discovery call template.
How does Drummer score cold calls?
Drummer picks up calls from the dialer your team already uses (Aircall, Ringover, Dialpad or RingCentral), scores every call against this scorecard with reasoning and a timestamp per criterion, and lets a manager comment on the exact moment: the opener, the objection, the ask. It works on Dutch, French and German calls as well as English. Cold calls have their own benchmarks for the conversation metrics, so a rep’s talk-to-listen ratio is judged against other cold calls, not against discovery. More in coaching.
Questions about this template
What is a cold call scorecard?
A cold call scorecard is a short set of criteria to rate outbound phone calls the same way every time: the opener, the reason for calling, a discovery question, how an objection was handled and the outcome. It gives SDR managers a way to coach on the few minutes that decide whether a meeting gets booked.
Why does the reason for calling weigh more than the opener?
A polite opener buys a few seconds; a relevant reason is what keeps the prospect on the line. So the reason gets 25 points and the opener 15. The outcome gets 20, and a clear no counts as a good outcome: it cleans the list and frees the rep for the next call.
Can Drummer score our calls against our own version?
Yes. Adapt the criteria to your playbook, then Drummer picks up calls recorded in Aircall, Ringover, Dialpad or RingCentral and scores each one against your version of this scorecard, with reasoning and a timestamp per criterion. Managers listen to the moment that matters instead of the whole call, and scoring works on Dutch, French and German calls too.
More scorecard templates
Scorecard templatesDiscovery call
The first real conversation with a qualified prospect, where the goal is to understand the problem before showing anything.
Demo call
Product demos after discovery, where the rep should show only what solves the problems the customer already named.
MEDDIC
Discovery and qualification calls in complex B2B deals with several stakeholders, a budget approval and a cycle of weeks or months.
Score your calls with this
Bring a few recordings to a 30-minute demo and see them scored against Cold call, with the moment that proves each criterion.