Here are six tips for your telephone script.
1. Try not to sound like a salesperson.
One of the most important things we want you to start thinking about is that your prospects get many calls from salespeople trying to sell them something. Not only is it not fun for your prospect when they get one of these calls, but it also puts them in a defensive mode when they answer a call from someone they don’t know.
If you agree with that assumption, you can use this to your advantage by modifying your approach so that you don’t give off the impression in your telephone script that you are a salesperson trying to sell something.
2. Don’t ask “How are you doing?”
One small change you can make to avoid sounding like a salesperson is to avoid asking the prospect how they are doing right at the beginning of the call. Many salespeople do this to be courteous and to build rapport.
3. Don’t talk too much about your product.
Another way to avoid sounding like a salesperson in your telephone script is to avoid mentioning your products in your introduction or as you open the call. Most salespeople start a call by explaining or stating what they sell.
If doing this makes you sound like a salesperson, then doing something different might alter the impression you give.
4. Share some sort of value proposition.
Instead of talking about the product that you sell at the beginning of your call, share a value proposition statement. This is a one to two-sentence statement that explains the value that your products offer.
This is not a mention of what your products are or what they do. Moreover, this is a statement that simply highlights the main benefit your products help deliver.
5. Do a small takeaway.
One very small yet powerful tactic for your telephone script is to perform a small takeaway. A sales takeaway is a tactic where you take away what you are trying to sell the prospect.
If you do a very soft version of this at the beginning of the call, it can be very helpful in decreasing the prospect’s guard. The way to do this is to simply say something like this right after you share your value proposition:
I don’t know if you are a good fit for what we provide.
6. Ask probing sales questions.
At the core of your script should be a set of good questions you can ask your prospect. Asking questions on a call can not only help get the prospect talking but, if designed correctly, help extract valuable information.
We hope these tips help you to improve your telephone script.
