Using Sales Scripts

When talking to business owners about using scripts in their businesses, this first question to answer usually revolves around the meaning of the word “script”.

As consumers, we have all been subjected to the bad sales script, remember that telemarketer reading their lines to you word-for-word that made you feel like hanging up just to make it stop?

Or, consider the most overused and ineffective script of all time: what is the first thing you usually hear when you walk into a retail store? That’s right, “May I help you?” And, like many potential customers how do most prospects answer? “No thanks, I’m just looking.” Although it’s a bad one, the “May I help you” line is still a script, a plan of the language you choose to communicate and sell to your prospect.

So, stop using the weak, ineffective scripts and start using ones that work

Language is powerful on many levels, especially in a sales situation, so it’s worthwhile to take a look at the scripts you are using in your business right now. Building and refining the most effective script can push up your conversion rate significantly.

Consider the experience of a plumbing business that depends heavily on yellow pages advertising. Traditionally, they had responded to customer calls regarding the price of their services by quoting from a set menu. After we revised the script and stopped quoting even “ballpark” estimates and simply asked for an appointment instead, the conversion rate jumped from 42% to over 60% in one month. That’s about a 50% increase in customers without spending an extra dime on advertising. Could your business handle that?

The reasons why it worked so well apply to your plan to script the key interactions with your customers.

Consistency – As we’ve already discussed, consistency is vitally important.

Word choice – I recently witnessed a coffee shop employee respond to a customers’ request for milk in her coffee. In this particular shop, the server didn’t have the milk behind the counter – the customer had to add the milk themselves at a separate bar. So how to turn this “lemon” into “lemonade”, especially when the customer values speed and convenience? When asked for the milk in the coffee, the server replied, “Sure, I’ll make a space at the top of your cup and the milk is right over there!” Even the fine distinction of “make a space” as opposed to saying “I’ll pour it a little short” makes a difference here.

Good questions – For example, the closed-ended question, “May I help you?” gives the customer an opportunity to say only “yes” or “no”. Try another approach with questions that engage, i.e. “Have you been here before?” A “yes” response is rewarded with, “Welcome back!” and a “no” response leads into, “We’ve just got some new stock in for Mother’s Day right over here.”

Flexibility to ask for the sale – It frustrates me when I am ready to buy, but I have to wait for the sales presentation to end. You might be different and need a lot of questions answered before making a commitment. Training your team on reading your customers communication styles will empower them to know how and when to ask for the sale. Even if you just train them to ask, you will get increased results.

Measurement – None of this can work for you unless and until you know where you are starting from and where you want to go. What is your conversion rate today?

Become a student – Much of what it takes to make an effective system of scripts for your business in simply gaining some knowledge and applying it diligently, you don’t have to break your marketing budget to get great improvements in your results!