Use AI to do cold call script prep in 15 seconds

Watch this play, walked through by Luke Simpson, Senior Enterprise SDR here at Cognism. 👇

Many SDR teams are still relying on time-heavy manual research to prepare cold call scripts:

• Scanning LinkedIn profiles and company pages for background context.
• Checking job boards to spot hiring trends and possible buying signals.
• Searching news articles or CEO interviews for strategic insights.
• Juggling between multiple tools, Google, LinkedIn, Perplexity, etc, to pull everything together.

This multi-tool routine is slow and inconsistent, not to mention it’s also prone to dropping the ball. Sales reps spend hours manually researching prospects and building lists, which naturally results in missed opportunities and low-quality outreach

Hidden drag on results

• Time gone by: SDRs can spend 5-15+ minutes per prospect before getting on a call, seriously limiting capacity.
• Uneven performance: The depth of research varies wildly across reps, leading to varying call quality.
• Lost momentum: If a prospect calls unexpectedly, reps often lack context and confidence, damaging credibility.

In short, manual prep clogs up selling time and leaves reps underprepared. The result? Generic cold opens and patchy engagement, all before the conversation even begins.

Relying on inflexible, templated scripts is becoming increasingly ineffective and even counterproductive. 

Here’s why scripts alone fall flat:

• They’re predictable: Lines like “I speak to sales leaders who...” no longer stand out. When the language feels rehearsed, prospects mentally check out before the rep can make their point.
• They block real conversations: Reading from a pre-written script leaves little room for human connection. The best cold calls don’t follow a rigid path, they adapt in real-time, based on what the prospect says. Scripts can get in the way of that.
• They suppress curiosity: Cold calling should be about learning, not just pitching. Reps need the freedom to explore what’s happening in a prospect’s world. That’s hard to do if they’re glued to a word-for-word script.

They ignore the ‘why now’: Cold opens that don’t reflect current hiring activity, tech stack changes, or company goals miss the mark. Relevance is everything, and a static script rarely captures what’s actually going on inside the account.

Top reps start with insight: something meaningful about the account that proves they’ve done their homework.

Examples include:

• “Saw you’re hiring SDRs across EMEA, how’s ramping going?”
• “Looks like you’re using [competitor] in your tech stack. Curious how that’s working for your team?”

This level of detail creates immediate relevance and helps the call stand out from dozens of generic ones.

Flashcard-style microscripts for triggers

Instead of rigid monologues, reps are equipped with short, punchy responses for predictable moments, objections, competitor mentions, or common questions.

This helps them stay on track without sounding robotic, all while keeping confidence high, especially for newer team members.

Curiosity-driven discovery

Once the hook’s been nailed, top reps ask smart and open-ended questions to understand the prospect’s reality ahead of shaping the conversation around it.

Instead of pushing a product, they explore priorities & blockers/challenges. The goal isn’t only to pitch, it’s to uncover a need worth solving.

The blended approach we’re discussing, insight-led openings, prepared but flexible responses, and real-time curiosity are what set top cold calls apart. However, it still depends on having access to timely, relevant research upfront.

And that’s exactly where Research by Cortex AI, within Sales Companion steps in. Keep reading to find out how Cortex AI will solve this in seconds.

See Cognism's Research by Cortex AI in action with the interactive demo below. 👇

Even with the absolute best frameworks in place, one thing continues to slow SDRs down: the time it takes to prepare.

15 minutes per call, gone

Reps routinely spend 10–15 minutes researching each account before a call. They toggle between LinkedIn, job boards, Google News, company sites, and so on to gather enough context to sound relevant.

That’s time that could be spent actually selling.

Missed moments lead to lost opportunities

If a prospect calls back unexpectedly, the rep often doesn’t have their notes to hand. Without instant insight, even the best-intentioned reps fall back on generic openers and the opportunity is lost.

Inconsistent execution across your SDR team

Manual research leads to a huge variation in quality across the team. Some reps are thorough, some rush, and others forget to log anything at all. It creates gaps in messaging, coaching, and performance.

The research burden is real. It eats into productivity, slows ramp time for new hires, and adds unnecessary pressure to every call.

Next: How Cortex AI creates a cold call script for you in seconds.

Research by Cortex AI, embedded within Cognism’s Sales Companion, removes the manual effort and guesswork from cold call prep. Reps are never caught off guard, even when the call comes out of the blue.

Here’s how it transforms the way your team builds cold call scripts and talk tracks:

One-click research

Research by Cortex AI instantly pulls together the insight reps would normally dig for:

• Hiring trends.
• Tech stack intel.
• Funding news.
• Key decision-makers.
• Strategic signals like market expansion or job role shifts.

All summarised and surfaced directly within their workflow, no prompts, no tab-switching.

Smart summaries, tailored to talk tracks

Instead of patchy LinkedIn notes or second-hand intel, reps get clean, contextual summaries designed for outbound use. Get the business model, strategy, revenue drivers, and competitors for your target accounts with just one click. It’s not just accurate, it’s usable.

Whether a rep is prepping for a scheduled call or reacting to an unexpected one, they can go in informed.

Built into where reps work

Research by Cortex AI lives inside Sales Companion and works across key platforms: LinkedIn, company websites, CRM records. There’s no need for another standalone tool, it fits seamlessly into existing workflows.

What this unlocks

• Call prep drops from 15 minutes to 15 seconds.
• Outreach becomes instantly more relevant.
• Ramp time shortens.
• Confidence and consistency go up across the team.

In short, using AI for your cold call scripts gives your SDRs the one thing they always need: time to sell.

FAQs

What is Research by Cortex AI and how does it help cold calling?

Cortex AI is an extremely useful research tool embedded within Cognism’s Sales Companion. It provides reps with instant company insights including hiring trends, funding, tech stack, and key decision-makers, so they can build stronger call openers without having to dig through multiple tabs.

Why do cold call scripts fail?

Because they’re just too rigid. Scripts often sound robotic, lack personal relevance, and don’t allow reps to adapt in real-time. Calls that follow a flexible framework, built around context and curiosity, perform better and feel more human.

How does Research by Cortex AI support better conversations?

It removes the research burden. Reps no longer need to spend 10–15 minutes prepping before every call. Instead, they can access tailored insights with one click, making it easier to personalise their approach and lead with relevance.

Do SDRs still need to do manual research?

Only if they want to go deeper, Research by Cortex AI handles the core research, job posts, tech stack, funding, leadership changes, so reps are already ahead before they start. Any extra research is optional, not a necessity.

How do I get my team to use Research by Cortex AI?

Start by enabling it through Cognism Sales Companion, then you can walk reps through common use cases (e.g. hiring triggers, competitor tech). Measure the impact on prep time and call quality, and share wins across the team to drive adoption.

Find more GTM Plays for Sales in the hub. 👇