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I have been speaking to different people and they give me conflicting advice about whether I should use a script or not and how to write a telemarketing script. What do you think?

Bill, London

David says:

Bill this is an excellent question and your right there is a difference in opinion over this. Some consider that a highly scripted conversation is inflexible and comes across as being read, stunted and misrepresents their brand because the prospect receiving the call immediately devalues the content due to the impression it makes. Others feel that a telemarketing or telesales script ensures that the marketing message is delivered consistently and at its most effective every single call.

Here are my thoughts, I have always used and trained to use a telemarketing script, but not in the traditional sense, but first, let me explain why I’m not a fan of sales teams not using a script. Allowing telesales and telemarketing teams to completely adlib their conversations results in a complete range of effectiveness and conversations. There is no consideration given to the marketing message and a tendency to lose focus of the true objective (arranging a meeting). Unfortunately, when left to their own devices like this those that are weak at telemarketing outnumber those that are strong and the majority will fail dismally. The end result being loads of conversations leading to no particular outcome. However, for me the worst effect is that it is impossible to measure the effectiveness of the message being delivered in an inconsistent form call to call, and employee to employee, which means there is no constant to provide reliable analysis of the marketing message.

With this in mind here is how to write a telemarketing or telesales script for a client and ensure that it is as effective as possible. To do this I create them all the same and they focus on the vital bits of information that you have to communicate to the prospect so that you can close and ask for the sales appointment or sale and have a reasonable chance of them saying yes. All my telemarketing scripts follow the same format and never in any more than 300 – 350 words. The key components are:

• Intro – I’m ……… calling from ………
• Concept – No more than 10 words to sum up the product that you are going to speak about
• References – Who else I have worked with similar to the prospect I am calling
• Business Pains – I show empathy with the business pains and challenges that I expect the prospect or his industry to be facing
• Product Benefits – The specific benefits that we can deliver against these business pains
• Case Studies – Specific examples of savings or benefits past clients have achieved with the product
• Close and back to references – I reiterate who we have worked with and close for the meeting for the first time

When you sit down to write a telemarketing or telesales script based on this you will discover there is no time for waffle, there is not a lot of room in 300 – 350 word, so be ruthless. Do not use any words or phrases that are not necessary and keep to the mission and formula.

Having got a basic telesales script, I can now turn it into something which I can actually use. Any script will sound like it’s being read, if you have used formal English prose, then read it out aloud. Think about it, there is a big difference between the words we use in written English and our natural spoken vocabulary, plus our vocabulary is different. So ultimately even using the same formula everyone should end up with a unique script to them.

The way I customise each script is to read the first written draft out aloud, rehearsing as if I was talking to someone in front of me. If fact I am really acting it out as if I was on a stage to an audience. I must convince my audience that this is my natural speech pattern and I’m saying it for the first time, but like all plays it’s a script and the same every night. Each time I rehearse my script, I note when I use different words to the script and make changes. I keep going through this until I have a script in front of me containing my spoken language and it feels 100% natural. By now I have spoken through this script 50 – 100 times. I am getting really familiar with it and should now be able to repeat it without having to directly read the script. But each script will never leave my side however long I am using it. It acts as my aide memoire or bench mark to ensure every call is consistent be it my 1^st or 3,000^th pitch. If I ever make a change to the script I document it and keep the old version so I can map how it evolves and be able to take a step back if changes affect my performance.

However, a scripted opening is only the initial part of the conversation. Having pitched to the prospect and given my initial “test close” the prospect is bound to give at least one objection. In fact I expect every prospect to give objections and I prepare for them too in a similar way, but one that gives me more freedom to answer my prospect specific objection, but thats for another post on another day.

I am regularly asked for my top tip. So instead of me just putting yet another list of top 6 telemarketing tips I set about asking and surveying other telemarketing professionals what their top tip was instead and here’s the answer. Perhaps the combined knowledge of over 100 seasoned telemarketing professionals is better than just me. However, I have chosen my top tip of all time and put it at the bottom.

Telemarketing Tip 1 – Do not get distracted into any other task when you are calling. Protect your time like a lioness with her cubs. Do not let people disturb you, do not take any incoming calls from colleagues and get to your next call as soon as you can. This means you will speak to as many prospects as possible

Telemarketing Tip 2 – Prepare for your calls. Make sure you have everything you are going to need beside you. Scripts (or supporting material), who you are going to call, pens, paper and a drink. Then do not move from that seat for the next 2 hours. Then grab a 15 minute break and repeat.

Telemarketing Tip 3 –  Make sure that you have good data that is “fit for purpose”. Make sure it represents the type of companies you want to do business with and identifies the correct decision makers in each company. If you need to spend some time data cleansing. Remember the meetings you make will be a direct reflection of the data they come from.

Telemarketing Tip 4 – Make sure you make enough calls, so that you have a good chance of speaking to enough people, to give you a chance of making a meeting. Do not be surprised that you have not made a meeting after just 10 calls, you simply have not made enough calls to statistically get one yet.

Telemarketing Tip 5 – Keep a positive attitude for every call you make. If you think that you are not going to get a sales meeting or sale, then it is the mostly likely thing that will happen.

Telemarketing Tip 6 – Do not use any negative phrases or apologise about calling. Be proud of the message that you are carrying and believe it is the most valuable thing the prospect will hear all day.

Telemarketing Tip 7 – Never, never, never give up and then make an excuse not to make the next call.

Telemarketing Tip 8 – Remember that you may need to call a prospect 10 times, 40 times perhaps 100’s of times before you get through. So be persistent and professional with everyone you speak to each time you call.

Telemarketing Tip 9 – Your prospects and gatekeepers respond to the speed that you speak and the tone of your voice. Always speak in a calm steady fashion, preferably slower that the prospect or gatekeeper. You will be amazed at how they mimic and respond to your tone of voice.

Telemarketing Tip 10 – Treat the gatekeepers with respect and kindness, but be clear and ask for the person that you want to speak to by name not “I’m looking to speak with the person responsible for …….”

Telemarketing Tip 11 – Never pitch the PA or Gatekeeper, let them know in 5 – 10 words what the calls concerning. They may need this to professionally introduce your call. However, you are just wasting your time telling more or “pitching” with someone that can only say “NO”. Keep your powder dry and wait till you speak to the prospect.

Telemarketing Tip 12 – Think about the first few sentences you intend to say when you actually speak to a prospect, you only have 20 – 30 seconds to grab their attention. In that time they will decide whether they are fundamentally interested or not. If they are interested, you have a further 2 minutes to provide as many reasons as possible for them to say yes and ask for the meeting. After that the prospects mind is going to start wandering  back to their task when you rang.

Telemarketing Tip 13 – Don’t waste the prospects time on the phone with irrelevant information. Make sure you have plenty of relevant benefits in your pitch and answers to their no objections.

Telemarketing Tip 14 – Remember more prospects will say “NO” than “YES”, so be persistent and keep your moral high.

Telemarketing Tip 15 – Do not stop at the first “NO”, in fact expect to get objections on every call that you make and do not give up on the first. It usually takes 2 or 3 objections before the prospects will agree to the meeting.

Telemarketing Tip 16 – Build relationships with everyone you speak with and DO NOT burn your bridges. Prospects will say “NO”, but that is only a “NO” right now. In the future that may change and you do not want to be remembered for the wrong reasons when you call next time.

David absolutely top telemarketing tip of all time and the best single bit of advice I ever give is …….

Top Telemarketing Tip Ever – Always, Always, always ask for the meeting. Never leave a call without asking for a meeting at least once, preferable several times ….. If you do not ask you will never get one.