It’s the second full week of 2014 and our client implementations are in full effect as we kick off the New Year. As you can imagine, one of the biggest components to ramping up these implementations is script development. The creation of scripts is key to making any teleprospecting campaign successful and is the first thing we look at when it comes to ramping projects. There are a ton of questions that arise throughout the scripting process, so I thought it would make sense to address some of those concerns.
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions that come up about creating new scripts on a consistent basis:
1. How do you create a script without having your team sound like robots?
The key is to create a simple script that acts as more of a guideline, without too much fluff. You should have a one-line introduction that is followed by a crisp, open-ended transition question designed to get the prospect talking about their environment. Your team should not be doing the majority of the talking! I’ve found that scripts that follow any kind of mapping where inside sales reps have to follow “if prospect says yes” or “if prospects says no” just confuses them and they can’t focus on probing challenges that the prospect has because they are too busy worrying about what they are supposed to say next. The best action to take is to provide a list of probing questions instead. Role playing is a great way to practice steering away from sounding like a robot and getting lost within a script as well.
2. How do you answer tech questions from prospects when your reps are working through their qualification questions?
The key here is not to let your inside sales reps say too much, and to have them be very honest and explain to them that they are on the front end side of the sales team. They should continue to explain that in order to get their prospects the most useful information, they need to connect them with their colleague who is an expert in the area. Before the prospect has the chance to say, “Then I am not interested,” have your sales reps quickly follow up with something like, “Before I connect you with him/her, can you please reiterate your specific technical questions so I can share them with my colleague and make the best use of your time during our next conversation?”
3. Why shouldn’t you start your introduction with a description of your product or service?
If you start product dumping immediately, you are going to lose your prospect. Sure, the end goal is to close the deal, but why would they want to hear all about you when they really care about how their challenges can be fixed at the end of the day? Like I said earlier, start with an open-ended question to get them talking versus telling them all about you. If they ask what you do, give them a quick 2-3 sentence synopsis and then turn the conversation back on them to talk about their challenges and their environment. Think about when you get that cold call at dinner time and the person on the other end just keeps rambling without you saying a word within the first two minutes. Same rules apply for cold calling. Don’t make it all about you, make it about them and how you will make their life easier.
4. How should you close out the initial call when a prospect is interested?
Do not let your team hang up with an interested prospect without a follow up step. Some make the mistake of ending a call with “Great, I will give you a call next week.” Your team will be chasing this person for days if they leave the prospect with those words. Instead, the best thing to do is discuss a specific call to action. For example, your reps should say something like, “Thank you for your time today. In order to make the best use of our next phone call, I’d like to send you a calendar invite for next Tuesday at 4 p.m. so we can lock down a time to follow up. How does that day and time work for you?” It’s crucial to not leave the next step unclear. Aim to put something on the calendar.
5. Why should you ask about timeframe, budget and decision making process?
When it comes to scripts for inside sales teams, it is crucial to ask high level timeframe, budget and decision making questions. The main reason is to avoid wasted time. Make sure that the appropriate people who need to be on the next step are available and present and that their budget and timeframe are also a match. For example, if your inside sales rep talks to someone and passes them to their outside sales rep for a follow-up call without painting a clear picture regarding this information, they won’t be spending their time wisely selling if the timeframe is three years out. You want your inside sales reps sending the outside sales reps leads to get excited about, not ones that aren’t qualified and have no budget in sight. If they ask the timeframe, budget and decision making questions and their gut tells them this isn’t the best opportunity, then your team should nurture the prospect if it’s too early and put them in their pipeline bucket.
Whether you are creating scripts for your existing inside team or you are a manager of a newly developed team that’s investigating scripts, the above are some key areas you should be thinking about when it comes to creating them. Are there any other details that you would add?
Laney Dowling is the Director of Customer Success at AG Salesworks. Laney's responsibilities include managing daily client engagements, inside sales team oversight, reporting, training, and ongoing contact list development and refinement. To read more of Laney's articles, click here.
