There is a great cold calling scripts debate in the sales community. One group argues scripts make callers sound canned. The other side says if you don’t know where you are going you are likely to get there and your script is the roadmap.
The anti-scripts camp does not want to sound like the telemarketer who calls during dinner, garbles your name, identifies him or herself with a rush of words that makes you go, huh?
The script-camp does not want to sound like a telemarketer either. Truth be known even telemarketers do not want to sound like they do. However, advocates of cold calling scripts argue if you fail to plan then in essence you are planning to fail.
What is a cold caller to do?
Know that a good script is vital to getting in to see prospects face-to-face. Why are cold calling scripts important? Because, successful cold calls come from successful habits. Find a pattern of presentation that works. Use that pattern for more success. When you do not feel like being on the phone, count on your script to bring success again and again.
Sure, a newbie may enjoy a short stint of beginner’s luck. Excitement fueled by adrenaline associated with tackling a new tactic could transfer across the phone and get you invited in for a sales call. But, living on adrenaline can kill you. Do not count on that for the long haul. Do craft a few great scripts.
If you are worried about sounding more like a telemarketer than a sales professional calling about a valuable service know this, even the best script on the planet can be made to sound lousy. Do not knock the script. Odds are the problem is in your delivery. Do practice your delivery.
Did you know that the funniest comedians are tightly, tightly scripted? When on stage, a comedian may appear to be spontaneously shining the head of a bald guy and cracking a joke that keeps the audience in stitches. The joke appears to be effortless. But, that appearance is far from the truth. Behind the scenes that professional has spent hours and hours fine tuning the scripting and rehearsing his delivery so he sounds spontaneous. Before he goes live before a television audience, even Jay Leno, practices his script and delivery in front of a small live audience.
Successful cold callers do the same work as successful comedians. Craft every word and rehearse delivery. Do you realize at one time or another all cold callers make calls that fail? From that pool the callers who succeed work on scripting and delivering. They know the trick is to fail less often. Those who continue to fail do so only because they continue to use the scripts and delivery that bring failure.
At first the work required to develop and deliver scripts will feel awkward and difficult. That is normal. Expect it. Adult learning feels strange until you figure out the words that bring. Yes, count on fumbling around at first. Then, count on continued fine-tuning of your script and practice of your delivery to make your cold calling success appear effortless.
Leslie Buterin shares more cold calling scripts and more information on effective cold calling techniques on her site at Cold-Calling-Top-Dogs.com