To Script or Not to Script

Think of a time when you were home – the phone rings, you say hello, there is a delay, then a voice comes on and says, “can I speak to….”

What are you thinking at that very moment? Why are you thinking that way?

Apprehension, annoyance, ready to play the game…

The rep turns on their happy voice to try and engage you and eventually asks “how are you today”….What goes through your mind at that moment? What’s your state of mind? “Let’s move this along”, “why do you care”, You’re likely feeling oppositional and beginning to conjure up strategies to end this call sooner than later

The rep proceeds to explain the reason for their call and asks some well-placed questions in order to get you responding in a particular way.
“Hi Jim, the reason for my call today is we’re calling all of our Rewards customers to let them know about a special offer extended only to members. Are you planning a vacation in the next year?”

A yes response initiates an immediate reaction, even before you can add “but”, about how great it is and the rep immediately dives in to explaining the offer to show you how your vacation needs can be satisfied through their offer – and it will save you money, and be at a location that aligns with where you intend to go anyway.

A no response prompts the rep to explain how they can get you on a vacation with little cost and effort.

By the way, this will have been the 10th time they’ve called your home in the past month because you hadn’t picked up the prior 9 times.

What do you think their success rate is? Likely very, very small. But for this kind of sale, it’s a numbers game, and sticking to the script ensures that the numbers are hit.

Sales scripts are widely available and easily developed. They are a means to ensure a newer salesperson develops a feel for a sales organization’s language, value proposition and process. In a direct sales (salesperson to end customer) environment, they are an effective means of getting the right words in a sales person’s mouth and helping them focus on the science of sales.

Scripts can be useful, but they also have a downside. Over reliance on scripts takes away from the art of sales – the part where sales people use the right behaviors to adapt to a clients needs and style. They limit the benefits that can be gleamed from having a conversation about the salesperson’s solution and the client’s needs. Sometimes, like in the example above scripts can have a dampening effect on the prospect’s demeanor. So if you plan to use a script, it is imperative that a few dress rehearsals are done to make the interaction as conversational as possible.

Certainly they have no place in a relationship based sale or a more strategic sale where there are multiple decision makers. These types of sales are “un-scriptable”. As well, face to face sales do not lend themselves well to scripting for obvious reasons.