Basics Of Sales 9: Scripts

Earlier in this series I talked about the importance of core messaging as something that lies behind everything you do in both sales and marketing. Nowhere is that more evident than in scripts, primarily these are employed in cold calling but also product demos and the like.

Don’t Write Scripts

It seems odd to write an article about sales scripts and start off by saying I don’t think they work, but here we go. My advice would be not to write out a sales script. I don’t think that they really work, instead I think they make people sound like robots and more often than not when someone has said the same thing 1000 times you can tell on the phone. Instead, I would recommend having an FAQ.

Write out anything people might ask with a few bullet points. If you are selling something technical and someone non-technical picks up the phone it’s useful to have some notes that would explain it in laymen’s terms. If they ask who you currently work for, have an example to hand that you can tell them about. This is much less invasive than an out and out script, it’s more of a cheat sheet that would enable a new member of staff to quickly understand the sorts of questions they are likely to encounter.

Start From New

In terms of building up a framework, you’d be surprised how many companies really do miss the mark when it comes to that core messaging I talked about earlier. They think people buy from X but really they buy because of Y. Although you may be a one man band a useful exercise that I would recommend is trying to teach someone new how to sell your business. This is a great way to realise where exactly your skillset sits and also the sorts of seemingly obvious questions you might be overlooking.

Always Be Closing?

‘ABC’ made famous by the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, essentially means that everything you do and every conversation you have should serve the purpose of getting you closer to the actual sale. Now I agree with this to a point but feel it has been a bit mistranslated by others.

ABC does NOT mean you push the prospect as much as possible to try and get the business at all costs, potentially rushing a customer who isn’t ready for your own gain. I’ve said throughout this series that in no way is that good, sustainable business practice. You do however have to ask for the sale. Unless your product is earth shatteringly amazing (like a Pound Bakery Sausage Roll) no matter how many benefits you may have people will hardly be queuing up to buy them.

As such you actually have to put some pressure on that person to buy. Not a lot of pressure, but some. (You could always bribe them with lunch from pound bakery)

Relationships

There are a million and one reasons why someone might not want to buy from you that you probably can’t control. (why should I pay 90p for your sausage rolls when I can get 2 for £1 at Pound Bakery) This is not to say they may not been your future customer down the line. Sales is as much building a relationship and keeping in front of people as it is anything else.