I go through this horse manure 3x per year -- any suggestions?...

Every word of every movie you see is scripted... and yet...

The best movies have portions that were spontaneous changes that made the movie more real and believable to the audience. Jimmy Stewart was a master of improvisation when filming. Ask my husband...he used to play in westerns.

If you enjoy chatting with robots, and your customers do, too, then follow your scripts to the letter and see what happens. Odds are they won't like it...as your experience should prove to you. Scripts are for LEARNING THE FACTS so you can present the information, and sell, based on your customer's reactions and interests in a spontaneous, friendly, non-threatening manner...period.

Here endeth my input on this. No sense wasting my time on folks who aren't willing to learn from those who've been there, done that. I think you have real potential, TW, but you really need to get rid of your prejudices first.

Sandi Bowman

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by -TW

Every word of every movie you see is scripted... and yet...

Hi TW,

I think what Sandi is getting at is that people can "sense" when someone is speaking strictly from a script.

As you know, I'm sure, sales is in part about creating rapport with the customer. In order to do that, you have to have freedom to change what you say - to empathize with them when you need to, and to make light-hearted jokes when you need to. (Each person would do it differently, depending on their personality.)

So good salespeople make it "natural" - they "customize" what they say to fit the person on the other end of the phone line.

You can use a script as a guideline, of course. But I'd use it as a starting point. The goal is not to follow a script, the goal is to make the sale - and sometimes to make the sale, you have to deviate from the script.

I'm pretty sure that's probably what Sandi is getting at. (I have some selling experience too, though not as much as many of the sales experts here!)

By the way, the script you wrote initially sounds to me to be a bit too confrontational. In my opinion, being too confrontational doesn't usually work on the phone, since it makes people uncomfortable and they will just hang up.

In contrast, Glenn's script questions are non-threatening and non-confrontational, and in my opinion that type of approach would probably get a better response.

The only way to know for sure if it will work is to test it!

Best wishes,

Dien

[Ankesh]

Thanks TW.

I second Dien's recommendation of Glenn. He can be cryptic sometimes (which I think he uses as a barrier to get rid of boring folks), but his stuff is awesome. And his phrases help sell better.

Do take him up on his offer to help.

Don Alm's submarine technique of forming questions that help you close prospects is also good. You could ask him about it too (he has a report on it - but not sure if he still sells it or not. I think that Steve Shulenski has resale rights to it though...)

At the risk of seeming like my teacup is too full (I know, I know -- too late)...

Some of you are missing the point (or I am).

I'm not looking for sales techniques (although I, of course, want to end p with more sales). I'm merely looking for ways to ensure that I get respected. I don't really mind if it seems a wee bit confrontational. I want to make them see it's a two way street. If my process for doing so scares some of them away, so be it -- at least I won't have to spend so much on therapy. I'd rather starve to death than continue to relinquish my own dignity + sanity. There must be some way to get my point across to them.

Think of the oft-told tale of the Australian dentist, etc. etc. He found a way to plow under the jokers + time-wasters, etc. And everyone was better off for it.

There must be some way to accomplish that, politely, in this case! I will be a disrespected doormat no more.

Again, please keep in mind this is only about the INTERESTED prospects and the overjoyed previous customers. I must train them to RSVP at all costs! I must find a way to make them retain at least 2% of the initiative. Just enough to keep me sane.

-- TW