Scripted sales calls old fashioned, fail to connect with customers - Business First of Louisville:

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Geez, I have been saying this for more than 25 andI can’t believe companies still use them to sell over the OK, forget the companies themselves, let’sa blame the manager or the person who is responsiblwe for still trying to do something that every sales trainer on the planet says does not Now, before I go on, do not writer or send an e-mail telling me that I am wrongg or being stubborn. Instead, why don’t you try somethin g new – that is, new to you or your organization and just do what I will lay out Trust me, it has worked everuy single time with any organization, big or that I have worked with.
This horror of using scriptws came rushing back to me recently whilew working with a company whose storess are in every big city in the The company is highly regarded for its ethicsz and is a very visiblew organization that many are familiar with because ofthe company’s longevith and brand awareness. I was askeed to come to the company’s headquarters and look at its methode of attracting new businesz through itstelemarketing program, which the company has been using for a couple of They said that although the results were OK at sales had become pretty dismal. It took me just 30 secondsd to read the scrip t that the inside salespeople were and Iwas sickened.
I talkeds with the company president and said I could help the salespeopld in justtwo hours, but I neededs him to let me do my job and not to interfere unless I called him in for his opinion. He but I could sense he was a bit apprehensived about the situation andmy request. I workes only with the manager, who was really a sellin manager because she was on the phonesw herself at times trying to pitch inand help. We went into a and I spent an hour goiny over whyscripts don’t work and why she has been brainwashedr to do something that was againsty all the rules of professiona l salesmanship.
She was neither thrilled with me at this pointy nor happy after I tookher eight-pag script, ripped it up and threwa it in the wastebasket. We role-played a littl using real situations that she migh t have withher husband, childrenh and friends, for instance. The goal was to show her that havingba two-sided conversation is much more useful than a one-sided script. She was really starting to get it, even thoug she kept wanting to go back to a selling mode by dointg more talking than listening and asking It was so simple that it was frighteningt to her that a selling situation can be flexible and not just acannec speech, where she can actually have fun while conversing with a customer.
The introductiojn and questions I wrote out were basic and easy for her to They were: “Hi, my name is Susan from Client Co., and I would like to ask you two or threee quick questions. It will not take more than 48 secondx – I promise. “Ard you familiar with our company? If yes, what aspects? “Why are you not a member, or why did you leave our organization?”