Salespeople will tell you that making a cold sales call is one of the hardest things to do when sourcing clients. They rarely convert, yet you are required to drive sales and close deals frequently.
Even so, where there is a will, there is a way and increasing your sales call conversion rates starts by having the right sales call script.
A sales call script is a roadmap you use when executing your sales call so that you can reach your intended destination with a prospect. It has a series of questions you would ask, lines to say, how to overcome objections and then the best phrases to use to close the sale.
Writing a sales call script requires doing your homework to avoid missing out on any details that would make you lose customers. It would help if you structured your script correctly. Ideally, your script will have three parts:
- The introduction, which has your name and the company you are calling from.
- A middle section, where you have a series of questions to ask, the benefits of your product/service and the ways it will help solve a prospect's problems.
- The final section is where you try to close the deal by scheduling a meeting to discuss with the prospective client in more detail.
Why is a sales call script important?
- It helps you feel organised and remain calm.
- It enables you to sound professional and knowledgeable in order to build new relationships.
- It reminds you to be persuasive, overcome objections and know when to pull back.
- It enables you to stay on track and ensure your conversation doesn't become irrelevant.
Writing a sales call script
Research the prospect and the product or service
There is no way you can fulfill your sales call goals if you have no information about your user persona. Researching your prospect will help you identify any buying signals, find the correct information on the person you're approaching, their value proposition and the characteristics that will make you know their pain points.
Your research also helps you know what products or services to propose to them, especially if you are in a company where you offer a range of products/services and need to tailor this to their requirements.
Make the pitch about them
When engaging in a sales call, salespeople most often talk about the features that a product has, the changes made, and eventually tell the customers how the product will help them towards the end of the conversation. This should not be the case.
Your pitch should always be about your prospect and how your product or service will help them. This way, they will stay hooked, easily warm up to you, and be more inclined to buy.
Focus on the prospect's pain points
Only 61% of salespeople consider themselves experts in identifying customer pain points. Clearly, identifying customers' problems is not easy. Rarely will a prospect tell you the type of pain they are experiencing unless you ask or do proper research.
Salespeople are required to be ready with a series of common questions or pain points that a prospect might experience in their sales script. This is the best way to capture their attention or pique their interest.
For example, if you sell customer onboarding software, some questions you may ask could include: How long their system takes to onboard customers? How do they feel about the delays? Do they feel like their internal process needs to be reviewed?
Convince the prospect with social proof
Social proof is a powerful way to get a reluctant customer to trust you. This is where you demonstrate examples and case studies of when your products/services benefitted other customers. Include facts and data, for example, 'Our service increased customer satisfaction by 40% for the following client'. Use this information to let the client know the value your product or service would bring to their business.
Avoid being pushy
In your script, make note of how many times you would make a case for your product and when to call it quits. Also, decide how many times to do a follow-up before putting the lead to bed.
Customers these days can be emotional, sophisticated, enlightened, and connected with others via social media and web apps. If you come across as a typical salesperson, other customers will know and might not engage with you. In your script, write when and how to hang up if the prospect is not interested.
Listen more and talk less
You may be tempted to tell the prospect all the pleasant features you have added to your product and make yourself or your company the center of attention, but this is not how to go about a sales call. Hence, map how to give the prospect time to share what they have and only ask questions in between the conversation to keep it going.
Ask the right questions
Without a sales script, the possibility of going off track is extremely high. In order to not come across as irrelevant, make sure you have all of your questions written down on your script in the appropriate order. Find the right questions by doing proper research on your prospect and identifying their pain points.
Find the right timing and events
Timing is everything in sales. The wrong timing can make you lose out on an important sale. In your script, note the time to reach your prospect.
Are they launching a new branch or hiring new employees? If you are not sure of the timing, you can ask prospects if they have time for a quick chat or whether they are in the middle of something important. Make sure to catch them when they're free from stress or deadlines as you'll have a better opportunity of getting their full attention.
Prepare for rejections
Not every client you reach out to will accept your proposal. Therefore, plan how to handle rejections. Are you going to ask if they need an alternative? Ensure that you have in your script how you will gather data about your prospect to improve on your next sales call.
Focus on your goal
The primary goal of a sales call is to get the prospect to the next stage of the selling process, which is a meeting or appointment before moving towards the actual purchase. However, without noting these details, you may be tempted to sell immediately to the prospect, which is not always the best decision. Laying down your goals helps you stick to the script and not go off track.
Over to you
Every salesperson may have his or her own way of creating a sales call script because of their company's objectives, business plan and also the changing environment. Nonetheless, these ten tips should help you fill any missing blanks in your sales call script or make it better.
While doing so, aim to ensure the prospect understands what your product/service delivers, the benefits of going with you and why your option is better than all the other options out there.
by Adela Balin