Phone Scripts That Work for Sales

Phone Scripts That Work for SalesPhone Scripts That Work for SalesWhen you answer the phone and a telemarketer on the other end starts obviously and robotically readingfrom a script, the urge to say no thanks and hang up the phone is almost irresistible. Few things will turn off a prospect faster than hearing a salesperson recite blandly from a phone script. But that doesnt mean that using a script equates to poor cold calling. Here are some tips for calling scripts that can work. Phone Scripts That Sound Natural Work Best Think back to the last really good movie you saw. The actors seemed to speak and react spontaneously. Everything they said and did sprang naturally from what was happening around them. And yet those actors were certainly using a script The difference is that their scripts were written using language that sounded natural, and the actors were delivering those carefully chosen words while conveying the appropriate emotions. Your own acting skills may leid be on a levelwith Hollywoods best, but you do have one benefit that they dont share. You can write your own scripts using words and phrases that come naturally to you Theres no need to act if you have a well-written phone script because the words on the page are the same words youd be likely to say spontaneously. But by writing those words down ahead of time, you wont have to worry about losing your train of thought or fumbling your pitch. Most Phone Scripts Fail Because They Are Written like Sales Literature Those smooth, polished, convincing phrases work in a brochure or even an email, but spoken out loud they will stilted and artificial or worse, slick and sales-y. Phone scripts should sound just like you do when you talk casually. As you write the script, stick to words you use every day in normal conversation, including pauses, sentence fragments and even the occasional uh. If you have trouble writing a script in this style, tape yourself while you ad-lib a cold call, and then pla y back the tape and write down what you said exactly as you said it. Then use this core content as the basis for a script that will sound like you do on your very best cold calls. If youre new to sales and an experienced colleague is kind enough to share her phone script with you, be wary of making substantial changes. A script thats highly successful for your fellow salesperson is packed with useful sales techniques and persuasive language. Youre better off practicing with that script until it sounds natural instead of adopting your own wording. Once youve had some experience with cold calling and know what works, you can give yourself a little more leeway to change existing scripts. Good Phone Scripts Should Include Every Part of the Call A good phone script should include every parte of the call, from Hello to Goodbye. As you encounter common cold call objections, you can draft your favorite responses and include them at the bottom of the script. Always keep a pen handy when you call so that you can jot down any new objections you encounter along with your response. Even the best phone script will get stale eventually. Youll come up with new and more effective ways to grab the prospects interest and get that appointment. Or a colleague might lend you her cold calling script, with some powerful language that you want to use yourself. And as your company launches new products and changes existing ones, youll need to modify your benefits phrases to match the new product details. The best way to decide which changes to keep and which to discard is to try them out. When you have a significant change youre considering for your script, use the new wording on 25 cold calls... then switch to the old script and make 25 more calls. If the new version gets you more appointments than the old version during this test, you should keep the change.