"Sales Scripts that Sizzle"



The hunt is on for sales scripts. Sales professionals search all over the internet, in books, and pick the brains of their colleagues all for the purpose of finding that one killer script that will open doors. Those same sellers are surprised when the script fails dismally.

Here is the problem with that approach. The seller is using words that are unfamiliar and seemingly have no purpose behind them. Sure every word has a purpose that is meaningful to the author of the script. The author chose every word through lessons learned in the school of hard knocks. Lessons that taught the seller what works and what doesn't.

When you don't mentally "own" sales scripts, it will be hard for the words of someone else's script to come out any way other than stilted or contrived. Unfortunately, that practice also builds resistance to you rather than relationship with your prospect.

What to do?

Pick up any script that you have handy and figure out what works, what doesn't work, and est of all what works for you.

For example:

Freebie script says, "Hello, my name is John and I am calling with a way to improve your business."

Your mind says, keep, "Hello, my name is .." and drop the rest.

My mind says, this will work for me, "My name is Leslie Buterin, like butterin' bread"

That one line makes my name memorable. When I do follow-up calls and announce myself as Leslie Buterin ... The prospect inevitably smiles and says, "... like butterin' bread."

Think through your entire script. Figure out what is not working for you and fix it. Don't take this step lightly. Most sellers do not begin to think about an opening line until they are dialing the phone. No wonder they fail to capture the interest of the prospect.

If you don't know how to pronounce your prospect's name for heaven's sake call Reception and ask for the correct pronunciation. Most Executive Assistants will send your call to voice mail jail if you mispronounce the Top Dog's name or ask for someone who is no longer with the company.

Review your script with a friend or colleague. Ask them to tell you straight up if/when your words sound disingenuous and uninteresting. The discomfort you feel during this exercise will pay off.

One more tip to get you on your way to a sales script that sizzles. Pay attention to telemarketers who call you. Think about what it is that makes you want to listen to them or hang up on them. Then, review your script again with this new knowledge in mind.

Yes, this seems like a lot of work time to spend on a script for a 30 to 90 second with a cold call prospect. But, taking the time to think through the words you use and their impact is the difference between wide open doors and doors that are soundly closed.


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