The Value of a Script – PI Sales Academy Blog/Quiz #7
Scripts are an often maligned item, and when constructed incorrectly rightfully so. Many scripts are hastily written and lack the “5 Steps to Successful Selling” lens to build them with and view them through. Since this course is built on the chronological organization of sales thoughts and topics, it will be no surprise to you that different scripts are applicable to different sections of the sales process. it is only right that we begin our examination of the power of a script with Step #1 Credibility.
Credibility in your introduction script is the key to getting a prospect to take you seriously from the “get go.” Here is an A-B comparison between a “credibility injected” phone answering script and a typical one.
“Thank you for calling Prestige Pianos, this is Jack”.
or
“Thank you for calling Prestige Pianos, home of the world’s finest pianos in every price range. This is specialist Dave, at your service.”
Here are the sales psychology fundamentals infused in the second salutation:
“Thank you for calling Prestige Pianos, home of the world’s finest pianos (credibility/quality) in every price range (affordability). This is specialist (positioning/credibility) Dave, at your service (a servant’s heart/positioning).”
Allow me, since I’ve heard most all of them, to address the standard objections to a script:
Objection #1
“People like to get down to business, its too long”
Setting the tone with a strong, standardized statement that positions a concierge properly in less than ten seconds is not invasive. Most sales associates that object to a well thought out salutation have not reached a comfort level for lack of practice and use of a script, so it feels awkward. After it becomes second nature and natural sounding, it is a much more informative and friendly way to greet someone. If you do NOT use a credibility infused first communication, now that you’ve been officially exposed to one, you are choosing to pass up on the opportunity to establish yourself in the best possible light, and choosing to treat the person who is often getting their first impression of you and your company as “just another call”… nothing or no one special. Intro scripts establish a baseline and quality of communications that normal, uninspired salutations don’t.
Objection #2
“Scripts sound contrived and abnormal. I’d rather just be pleasant and brief”
If your delivery of a script sounds and feels disingenuous, it’s because you haven’t bought into the power of controlling the sales process from the first rattle out of the box. You haven’t yet realized that people (80/20 rule invoked) buy on an emotion and back it up with logic. Apathy is NOT your best foot forward… it’s un-assumptive in a negative way. It smacks of apathy and not a passion to serve and serve the company image and reputation. The non-infused salutation says, “Let’s see what you’ve got and I’ll determine how important getting to know you may be.” The assumptive, proactive and properly delivered salutation will outperform the first impression of the first one/example shown above every time.
Objection #3
“It’s just not me, I’ll never make it fit my personality.”
Dear sales professional, please check your ego at the front door. Selling well, in the end benefits you and your family, but to sell well you must make it about the prospect and how to win their confidence. There should be nothing untrue in your salutation but to be as effective as possible there must be some servant-hearted bragging going on. There is no crime in taking 7-8 seconds of a person’s time to set the stage properly. The secret is to form your attitude and personality to the task at hand and not be so self-absorbed that you are inflexible and unwilling to try to take your communication skills to their highest possible level. In short – get over yourself. Selling is about serving, not dollar bills. The money you make, and how much of it, is a by-product of quality activity. If you don’t believe that you can improve your skills through self examination, then you haven’t properly checked your attitude at the door and entered with the goal of achieving the best version of your sales self.
There are other less frequent objections but most stem from the fact that many sales professionals grow some habits and asking them to get outside of their comfort zone is not something they like having forced on them. Instead of seeing editable scripts as another tool in the tool box, they get psychologically defensive. Being challenged to be the best version of your sales self is actually a good thing that can open your mind to new communication possibilities and ideas on how better to perform your sales duties.
The purpose of this chapter is to convince you that being open to and experimenting with different scripts to get you off on a right, well thought out path during different segments of the 5 Steps process is a good idea. Scripts are a tool that are meant to be massaged and turned into muscle memory… not a mill stone but an intelligent starting point to be outgrown.
Each time we, at Prospects International, come up with a new product, hours, days and weeks are invested in figuring out how to take it to market. Part of the vetting out process is figuring out what the approach to potential prospects will look and sound like… that’s right, how will it be scripted? Why? Because the approach is the first step in figuring out how to tell the story and sell the benefits of said new product.Great sales people tell stories and the first step along the way to having a good story to tell is to script it in a fundamentally sound way.
Every step of the sales process deserves the respect of being well communicated and thought out so that the recipient of the story understands the power of it as well as possible.
Here is one more example of a script that supports the “5 Steps to Selling Success method.” For the sake of context, the prospect has been receptive to your credibility statements and you have forged a business relationship that makes you feel like they trust you. Then, the prospect, understanding that the journey to purchase is feeling like it is progressing, decides to go “bottomline price fishing” before they have narrowed their choices down to “the” piano or pianos (plural) that they should be seriously considering. You need to get control of the sales process back so it doesn’t turn into a wandering, random, convoluted quote session. It is best as a sales person or staff to spend time addressing this common occurrence, therefore your best friend can be a script constructed similar to this:
“Mrs. ________, I certainly understand that price is always an important consideration, especially when you are making a decision on a new potential family member, which is essentially what you’re doing. May I have permission to share with you how I believe the best way to get a price on the right pianos should be done/approached?”.
This is a closed end question which is meant to be a yes/no question. Very seldom if you ask permission to share with someone your suggestion on how best to purchase a piano will they object. This allows you to state that instead of considering the best prices on random instruments that you would like to ask some questions that would help you determine the best pianos to talk to them about. This is obviously a good segue into a fact finding session BUT if you have not rehearsed the above with a colleague, with yourself in the mirror and importantly practiced in a role play situation you will be practicing on a live prospect which is not the best case scenario. Best case, be rehearsed and prepared before it could cost you money in the real world. You can advance your smoothness immensely by practicing different scenarios.
Here is the above script with the psychological sales benefits mentioned… it is important to the the “why” to the “what”:
“Mrs. ________, I certainly understand (compassion/a servant’s heart positioning) that price is always an important consideration (affordability), especially when you are making a decision on a new potential family member (reinforcing the benefits and emotional value), which is essentially what you’re doing. May I have permission (servant’s heart positioning) to share (a soft, positioning word) with you how I believe the best way to get a price on the right pianos should be done/approached?” (taking back control of the sales process by employing question based selling)
I will leave you with a real world example of the power of a script –
A dear friend of mine was, because of his exemplary sales and management performance in the industry, named “Managing Director” of a Steinway Hall in a huge European city. Upon arriving and observing his sales staff for a while it was obvious that they had no standardized way of greeting or working floor traffic. He was looked at with skepticism and a diplomatic form of content when he mentioned that he was going to provide a script for them to work from. The predictable, “that doesn’t work here”, and “people don’t like things that are scripted.” To which he accurately replied,”Ah, yes therein lies the secret, it should never feel scripted to you or the recipient, or you’re not delivering it right!”
Here is the reality folks, when you are selling, you are on stage. This is why some of the best piano sales pros used to be, or still are, entertainers. They have summoned the positive energy, regardless of their personal circumstances and challenges, to deliver their best, most entertaining and caring version of themselves. Many of them scripted their approaches and ways to overcome objections, and practiced and performed them long enough that they have become sincere and natural sounding. This is where one needs to get to, to enjoy the full benefits of well crafted scripts.
Business and Executive Coach Dave Shoenbeck provides these 4 huge benefits of having a sales script:
- Sales scripts allow you to maintain consistency in your message.
- Sales scripts inspire improved lead generation.
- Sales scripts overcome common objections early.
- Sales scripts are easy to revise and update.
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Jack is a thirty year marketing and sales veteran with an insatiable appetite for contributing to the sales success of others. After leaving Cox communications in the late eighties Jack has serviced clients such as: Goodyear, Allstate, Verizon Wireless, Steinway & Sons, and numerous independent businesses. His knack for creating targeted strategies has endeared him to clients who he has been privileged to service in many instances for over two decades.
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