B2B telemarketing script samples, written to the Telemarketing Sales Rule

This page is for inside sales managers, SDR team leads, founders and outsourced calling teams who need a full script for calls to businesses: appointment setting, qualification, inbound callbacks, event invitations and renewals. It puts the US rules next to the script lines they affect. For openers by situation and answers to common brush-offs, see the outbound call scripts; this page doesn't repeat them.

Which rules apply to your calls

This is general information, not legal advice. Have counsel review your scripts and dialing setup before you scale a program.

Two points surprise most teams. First, the Telemarketing Sales Rule's business exemption no longer covers misleading claims: since March 2024, the rule's misrepresentation prohibitions apply to business-to-business telemarketing. Second, the FCC's rules follow the phone number, not the buyer. A "direct dial" from a data provider is often someone's mobile, and the consent rules for autodialers and prerecorded voices apply to it whether the person is a consumer or a VP.

The parts of a B2B telemarketing script

Telemarketing script samples

Each script is a full call. Learn the structure and say it in your own words; reading word for word is audible.

Hi, is this [first name]? This is [your name] calling from [company]. I'm calling because we help [type of company] with [problem], and I saw [one fact about their business].

Have I caught you at a bad time, or can I take 30 seconds to explain why I called?

(If yes): [Problem hypothesis in one sentence.] How are you handling [area] at the moment?
(If now is bad): No problem. When's a better time? (Note it, and call then.)

OPEN: Hi [first name], [your name] from [company]. I'm calling to set up a short meeting between you and [AE name], who looks after [region or industry] for us. The reason I'm calling is [fact]. Is now a bad time?

BRIDGE: Most [role]s I speak to are dealing with either [problem A] or [problem B]. Which is closer to your situation?

QUALIFY:
1. How are you handling that today?
2. Who else gets involved when you change [area]?
3. Is this something for this quarter, or later in the year?

ASK: [AE name] can show you how [similar company] handled it in 20 minutes. Would [day] at [time] or [day] at [time] work better?

CONFIRM: I'll send an invite to [email] for [day and time] with [AE name]. Should anyone else join?

Thanks for taking a few minutes. Some quick questions, so I don't waste your time:

1. NEED: What prompted you to look at [area]? How do you handle it today?
2. TIMING: Is there a date driving this, like a renewal, a launch or a new site?
3. PEOPLE: Who else would be involved in choosing a supplier?
4. BUDGET: Is there budget set aside, or would this need a business case?
5. SIZE: Roughly how many [sites / users / terabytes] are we talking about?

PASS TO SALES IF: [your criteria, e.g. need confirmed, decision within six months, 50+ users].

IF IT'S A PASS: The right next step is a call with [AE name]. [Offer two times.]
IF NOT NOW: It sounds like [month] is the time to talk. Mind if I call back then?

Hi [first name], [your name] from [company]. You [filled in our quote form / downloaded our guide to X] on [day], and I wanted to make sure you got what you needed. Is now an OK time for two minutes?

You mentioned [what they wrote]. Can I ask what prompted that?

(Listen, then ask two qualifying questions.)

From what you've said, the next step would be [a quote / a demo / a sample]. Can I [send / book] that for [day]?

Hi [first name], [your name] from [company]. I'm calling because we're running [a 45-minute webinar / a breakfast briefing in city] on [date] about [topic], for [role]s at [type of company].

It's free, and to be upfront, it's our event: we'll show how [product] handles [problem], and [a customer / an outside speaker] will cover [non-sales topic].

Would that be useful? (If yes): What's the best email for the invitation?

Hi [first name], it's [your name] from [company]. Your [contract / standing order] for [product] renews on [date], so I'm calling ahead of that.

Before I send the renewal, has anything changed: [users / volumes / sites]?

The renewal price is [price], which [is unchanged / reflects (the specific change)]. Should I send it to you, or does someone else handle renewals now?

PROSPECT: "Take me off your list." / "Don't call me again."

REP: Understood. I'll remove [this number / you] from our call list today. Sorry to have bothered you.

(Don't pitch, argue or ask why.)

AFTER THE CALL: Add the name and number to the internal do-not-call list, mark the contact "do not call" in the CRM and the dialer, and tell any outside calling team or vendor.

RECORDING (before anything else): Before we start, this call is recorded for training. Is that OK?
(If no): No problem, I've stopped the recording. (Then stop it.)

"HOW DID YOU GET MY NUMBER?": Fair question. It came from [the source: your company's website / a business directory / a data provider]. If you'd rather I didn't call this number, I'll remove it now.

The qualification script follows a BANT shape; the BANT questions give a fuller bank for each letter. For calls that reach voicemail, use the sales voicemail scripts, which are written for a person speaking live rather than a prerecorded drop.

The rules in more detail

Federal Trade Commission: the Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR Part 310)

• The business exemption. Calls "between a telemarketer and any business to induce the purchase of goods or services" by the business are exempt from most of the rule. The exemption doesn't apply to calls selling nondurable office or cleaning supplies, and the FTC's guide says calls asking employees to buy for themselves aren't business-to-business calls at all.
• What still applies to B2B calls. The bans on misrepresenting material information (including total costs, material restrictions, a product's performance or central characteristics, and any affiliation with or endorsement by another organization or government body) and on making false or misleading statements to get someone to pay.
• The disclosures, on calls the rule covers. The seller's identity, that the purpose of the call is to sell goods or services, and the nature of what's being sold, promptly and clearly. The standard opener above includes all three, so it works for both kinds of call.

Federal Communications Commission: rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 CFR 64.1200)

• Autodialers, prerecorded and artificial voices. Telemarketing calls to mobile numbers using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice need the called party's prior express written consent. In February 2024, the FCC ruled that AI-generated voices are "artificial" under the TCPA, so an AI calling agent with a synthetic voice falls under the same consent rule. The AI cold calling guide covers what that means for AI tools.
• Do-not-call. The FCC's do-not-call rules apply to wireless numbers as well as home phones. Where they apply, a do-not-call request must be honored within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days.
• The cost of getting it wrong. The TCPA lets people sue for $500 per violation, and a court may award up to three times that for willful or knowing violations.

States add their own telemarketing laws and registration requirements, and some go further than the federal rules. Check the states you call into.

Worked example: an appointment-setting week

Illustrative example. The companies, figures and results are fictional, to show the method.

The client: Stonebridge Backup (stonebridgebackup.example), a cloud backup provider. The calling team: two callers booking meetings for Stonebridge's account executives. The target: accounting firms with 20 to 200 employees, ahead of tax season, when a lost file server costs the most.

Before dialing, the team prepared the list:

They dialed manually with click-to-call, left voicemails live and used no prerecorded messages. Every caller used the appointment-setting script with the identity line first. In five days the two callers made 600 dials:

Three people asked not to be called again. Each went onto the internal list the same day, which removed them from the next campaign too. The opener's fact did most of the work: firms that had opened a second office or merged in the last year booked at roughly twice the rate of the rest. Finding those facts across 600 accounts is the slow part; Bebop researches each account in a list and writes a playbook with what's happening at the company and who to talk to.

Mistakes to avoid

• Hiding the purpose. "I'm doing a quick survey" on a sales call is a misrepresentation risk and burns trust.
• Inflated claims. "We're the official partner of..." or a result you can't document is exactly what the B2B misrepresentation ban covers.
• Assuming "B2B" means no rules. The number type and the dialing method matter as much as who you're selling to.
• Prerecorded or AI-voice calls to mobiles without written consent. That's the TCPA's most litigated risk.
• A do-not-call list that lives in one rep's notes. Requests must reach every list, dialer and vendor.
• Reading the script. Learn it, rehearse it in pairs and listen back to recorded calls each week.

Checklist before your team dials

• Every script opens with the caller's name, company and purpose.
• Every claim about price, results or partners has evidence on file.
• Mobile numbers are flagged and checked against the National Do Not Call Registry.
• No autodialed, prerecorded or AI-voice calls go to mobiles without prior express written consent.
• The internal do-not-call list is shared by the CRM, the dialer and any outside team.
• Caller ID shows a number people can call back.
• Recording, if used, is announced at the start of the call.
• Counsel has reviewed the scripts and the dialing setup.

Next step: once the rules are covered, sharpen the opening 20 seconds with the outbound call scripts, which give openers by situation and branches for every common answer.