What an AI sales call sounds like
The whole sample call from the landing page, line by line, with a note on why each line is there. Then the three calls owners worry about most: the lead says no, the lead asks for a person, and the lead says do not call again.
By the Outsell teamPublished 7-minute read
The call
A commercial cleaning company in Auckland is ringing the practice manager of a medical practice. The company, Harbourline, and the people on the call are fictional and used in our testing; the lines are what the agent says from a playbook the owner approved.
Recorded outcome: qualified, site visit booked for Thursday at two. Decision maker, yes. Renewal, March. Objections, has a cleaner and price. Next action, the owner attends the site visit. The transcript, the recording and the cost of the call sit under it.
- 0:00Agent
Hi, is that Sarah? I'm an AI assistant calling on behalf of Harbourline Commercial Cleaning in Auckland. This call may be recorded. Have you got two minutes?
Discloses that it is an AI and that the call may be recorded. First sentence, every call.
- 0:09Sarah
Go on then.
- 0:11Agent
Harbourline cleans offices and medical practices, same vetted cleaners every visit. Who looks after the cleaning contract at your practice?
Opens with the proof points the owner asked for, then a qualifying question from the playbook.
- 0:20Sarah
That's me. We've already got a cleaner though.
- 0:25Agent
Most of Harbourline's clients did. When is your current contract up for renewal?
The owner's own answer to the objection they hear most.
- 0:31Sarah
March, I think. You'll be more expensive.
- 0:36Agent
Fair question. Quotes usually land within ten percent, and there's a free trial clean of one area so you can compare before anything changes.
Answers from the playbook. The never-say list stops it from saying cheapest or giving a price before a site visit.
- 0:49Sarah
Alright, what's involved?
- 0:52Agent
A twenty-minute site visit with Mere, the owner, so she can do a written quote. Would Tuesday at ten or Thursday at two suit?
Books the next step the owner defined. It does not quote or close.
- 1:03Sarah
Thursday.
Why the first sentence is the way it is
The agent says what it is and who it is calling for before anything else, and that the call may be recorded. A person who stays on the line after that knows exactly who they are talking to, which is the point: in a market the size of New Zealand, a caller that hides what it is ends more conversations than one that says so.
It also protects you. Nobody can later say they were misled about who called, and the recording announcement is on the record of every call. You cannot switch either of them off, and no prompt can.
When the lead says no
Most calls end here, and how the agent ends them is what your name sounds like to the rest of that lead's week.
- 0:00Agent
Hi, is that Sarah? I'm an AI assistant calling on behalf of Harbourline Commercial Cleaning in Auckland. This call may be recorded. Have you got two minutes?
Discloses that it is an AI and that the call may be recorded. First sentence, every call.
- 0:08Sarah
Not interested, thanks.
- 0:10Agent
No problem at all. Can I ask one thing so I don't bother you again: is cleaning sorted for now, or would you rather not hear from Harbourline at all?
One question, so the record says why, then it stops. It does not push past a no.
- 0:18Sarah
It's sorted. We're happy with who we've got.
- 0:21Agent
Understood. I'll note that and leave you be. Thanks for your time.
Ends the call. The outcome is recorded as not now, with the reason in the lead's words, and no retry is scheduled unless you decide otherwise.
When the lead asks for a person
A request for a person is a good sign, and the agent treats it as the end of its job, not as an objection to handle.
- 0:40Sarah
Look, can I just talk to someone there?
- 0:42Agent
Of course. Mere, the owner, will call you back herself. Is this the best number, and is there a time in the next day or two that suits?
The handoff rule: a request for a person ends the agent's part. It confirms the number and a time, and nothing else.
- 0:50Sarah
This number's fine. Tomorrow morning.
- 0:52Agent
Tomorrow morning it is. Mere will have what we talked about in front of her. Thanks, Sarah.
You get the lead, the transcript and a three-line summary. The lead is told who calls back and when.
When the lead says do not call again
The shortest call of the three, and the one with the strictest rule behind it.
- 0:12Sarah
Take us off your list. Don't call again.
- 0:14Agent
Done. Your number is on Harbourline's do-not-call list as of now, and you won't hear from us again. Sorry to have bothered you.
The number goes on your do-not-call list during the call, before it ends. No retry, no email, and no prompt can undo it.
What to listen for when you judge a call
Read your first five transcripts with this list beside you. If a line fails one of these, change the playbook; the next call uses the new version.
- The disclosure comes first, every time, in plain words.
- The proof points are yours, not a generic pitch.
- The never-say list held: no cheapest, no price before the visit, nothing you would not say yourself.
- The next step is the one you defined, offered into your times, not a close.
- A no is accepted cleanly, with one question at most.
- A request for a person ends the agent's part, with a confirmed number and a time.
- The record is complete: transcript, recording, outcome, next action, cost.
Hear one yourself
The fastest way to judge it is to be the lead. Leave your mobile on the landing page and the agent rings you back, the way it would ring a lead. Then read the transcript it writes about you.