Hot Calling in a Cold Hard World

Using a Script Properly
By Jeffrey Hansler, CSP

The telephone is the most powerful sales tool in the world – if it’s used properly. Here is the first of three principles that will make your telephone sales sizzle even during a sales climate cold as an Antarctic winter.

Principle #1: Create your script – then throw it away.

A script should be designed to accomplish three objectives. First, as a tool to guide your callers. Second, to capture and guide the attention of the prospect (client) to a sale. Third, as a multiplier effect for managers for training and coaching – giving callers a reference tool to improve their calls and enhance their learning.

First: The script is a tool to guide your callers.

A script is based on the law of commonality, which recognizes that communication patterns develop within cultures: Fads are an example. There are common patterns that you will discover as you sell your products and services (including tempo and crescendo areas) and uncover the needs and desires of your prospects. These patterns once recognized can be addressed in your scripts. The faster you recognize the patterns and train your sales staff to recognize them the more product /services you will sell. A script helps you accomplish this objective.

Second: The script should help the caller capture and guide the attention of the prospect to a sale.

In addressing the needs of the prospect, there will be a hierarchy of interest in information the prospect needs. There is a hierarchy of information that the caller needs to qualify the prospect. The script helps the caller find the hierarchy of each: qualifying the prospect and learning about the interests of the prospect. The script provides a map to a sale.

Third: The script should provide a multiplier effect for managers in terms of training and coaching – giving callers a reference tool to improve their calls and enhance their learning.

Managers can’t be everywhere at once. They have multiple responsibilities – only one of which is to provide training to sales staff. The script provides a reference tool for staff to learn the sales process, adjust to a different business climate, introduce a new product / service, reach a different market segment, and improve skills.

If a script is well designed, it also offers a tool to identify an ongoing problem of poor sales results.

A script offers all these benefits and the designing of the script sharpens everyone’s awareness of critical sales issues as an effective means to create behavior changes. And then….

...Throw the script away. A script is not something to be spilled out to keep a prospect on the line. The law of commonality ends with the individual human interaction. Each call is a dynamic process of flow and tempo, of give and take, of advance and withdrawal. I guarantee the number of sales gained by a mind-numbing script will not pay for the lost revenue and customer loyalty that can be gained by weaving key patterns and points into a partnership phone call.

Expecting solid sales results from even a dynamic electronic branching script would be the equivalent to expecting to win the Indy 500 by putting a racecar in a forced turn for the duration of the race without changing speed or course along the way.

The purpose of a script is to increase sales  - an increase that will only occur when the script is tossed in the trash. 

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Jeffrey Hansler is a professional speaker, author, and consultant. He is a frequent speaker at association events and is the author of Sell Little Red Hen! Sell! He can be reached at jhansler@oxfordco.com.

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© 2004 Jeffrey Hansler  All rights reserved