Every business relies heavily on the success of its sales department and all successful sales teams will vouch for strong sales scripts as their go-to for a good pitch.
Now that more businesses are being done online and more sales are being made digitally, sales calls continue to be incredibly important. And, sales scripts more so.
What are Sales Scripts?
When speaking to prospects, sales representatives use sales scripts to predetermine talking points, queries, and conversational networks.
Scripts shouldn’t be considered rigid, repeatable, word-for-word checklists that must be followed every time – instead, they should be considered guides and not formulas. Improvisation plays an integral part in every successful sales conversation.
It can, however, be extremely valuable to have a sales script when engaging with prospects to help guide the conversation.
In sales conversations, being blind – that is, not having a clear idea of what you should say or where the conversation should go – can leave you looking unprepared, uninterested, or unprofessional.
How Do Sales Scripts Benefit?
Reps know that consumers aren’t all the same. Each person requires a different sales approach; sales reps must be able to switch gears quickly.
Reps are required to communicate company and product information with accuracy and consistency in every interaction. Well-written scripts assist in this.
With an effective sales script, sales reps can:
- Reduce the stress
- Increase sales efficiency
- Improve their relationship with the lead
- Consistently communicate company messages
A bad sales script can cause more damage to your business than not having one. The first step to writing a successful script is knowing how to write one.
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How to Write your Sales Scripts
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Determine what product or service you will focus on
Identify the product or service you want to eventually sell to the lead. Focus on that. You appear unfocused and impersonal when you jump from solution to solution, saying, “Well, maybe this will work for you too,” over and over again.
Focus on the product or service that will best meet your lead’s needs – show confidence in your product or service, and display an understanding of your potential customer’s needs.
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Align sales scripts to audiences
It’s impossible to write a script without knowing your audience. Scripts can’t be written for conversions, at the very least.
If you have a generic sales script that works for every kind of prospect, that’s okay. Scripts that target specific buyer personas, however, are most effective.
You may be tempted to believe one prospect is the same as the next, for example. Based on examples from the insurance industry, here are three reasons why this is a problematic idea.
A prospect may be purchasing their first policy, whereas another may be adding to their existing coverage. Another prospect may be young and healthy while another may have pre-existing conditions.
Another prospect might be looking for term or universal life insurance, while another may be interested in comprehensive life insurance.
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Hold on to your advantages
Promoting advantages is more effective than selling choices. In addition to highlighting the full range of the bells and whistles that come with your product or service, your sales script must also simplistically tout the larger-than-life results it can even produce.
Is your solution able to improve productivity? Is it cost-effective? Is it able to ease the workers’ daily rigidities? Try and come up with a minimum of three key advantages, and include them in your sales script.
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Relate the benefits to pain points in your sales scripts
First of all, why does your prospect talk to you? It is obvious that they need a solution like yours to solve some pressing issues – otherwise, they wouldn’t be interested.
Through the research, you have conducted and the benefits you have framed in the previous steps, you should be able to glean some of your prospects’ key pain points.
Make a list of those concerns and problems, and link them to the advantages you have outlined. Any perk you can mention is related to a prospect’s pain point. Include them in your pitch.
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Know the dangers
A great salesperson is capable of posing thoughtful, probing, insightful questions. If you ask questions like that, you show valid interest, indicate that you have done your research, and also prove that you are sincerely convinced that your solution is the most conceivable one to suit your prospect’s needs and desires.
Establish your questions in a clear, thorough manner, and consider all the possible factors you may have also identified. Please come up with not less than one or two specific questions for every concern that you have made up your mind to refer to.
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Avoid talking too much
You are doing it wrong if you are talking more than listening. There should be a time in a script for the prospect to ask questions, make comments, and otherwise be heard.
Get a friend or colleague to record you giving your pitch. In your pitch, if you speak more than half the time, rethink your approach, edit your script, and include more opportunities for your prospect to ask questions.
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End with a call to action
Always remember your call to action (CTA) no matter how you perceive the interaction to be progressing. Remember your goal – if you would like the prospect to schedule an appointment, now is a good time.
It is unlikely that your prospect will take the initiative to move forward on their own unless they are near the end of the sales pipeline. The problem isn’t that they don’t care-they’re just too busy. Taking control of a process is best accomplished by providing them with a clear next step.
Final Thoughts
Sales scripts are an extremely valuable resource for your sales team. Following the above guidelines will allow you to easily compose a convincing sales script.
To be effective, the sales script should contain a few elements: an introduction, an explanation of why you are calling, a few qualifying questions, a list of the common problems your target market faces, information on your product/service, a statement of credibility, a call to action, and a conclusion.
Furthermore, remember that a phone call will rarely proceed according to the script, so don’t feel pressured to make sure everything goes according to plan. It is important to understand that the purpose of the sales script is to serve as a guide to ensure that the important points will not be forgotten during the conversation.
