NO MORE SCRIPTS, JUST CONVERSATIONS… here’s a blinding flash of the obvious for you… Salespeople don’t like to use scripts! A quick analysis:
The Downside to Scripts – “they don’t sound like me, they’re not natural, I don’t like memorizing, etc.“
The Upside to Scripts – “they keep me on track, they shorten my appointment length, they get me to where I want to go“
So what should you do? How to solve this dilemma? Simple… don’t memorize a script, create a conversation
Here is your ACTION STEP… longtime Coaching Client, Jenet Levy is a very successful Salesperson with Halstead Property, LLC in Manhattan, NYC. Jenet shares this excellent metaphor as it relates to scripts. She said, “Bruce, I think of a script like a Subway Train. It starts from a certain point and moves forward. It has a final destination in mind and follows a specific track that is laid out in advance. Periodically it will stop and deal with slight interruptions and then it starts again, always moving forward. More interruptions, more stops… but always starting up again, always moving forward. The main thing is it knows its’ exact destination and eventually always gets there.” Jenet is correct, a good script is exactly like a subway train. So how do you take a script and make it into a conversation? Follow this approach:
CONVERSATIONS NOT SCRIPTS
1. Learn the basis (the “Core”) of your message
2. Don’t memorize… just understand what you want to communicate. Check out “All the Right Words” here.
3. Use this foundation to keep you on track, never lose sight of your final destination
4. Practice it out loud so that the words come naturally and you are not always “thinking about what to say next“
5. Rejoice in the fact that you never have to memorize again!
Many Salespeople (me included) were brought up on the premise that “to be a great Salesperson you have to memorize dozens of scripts said exactly the same way every time“. This approach is old-fashioned! It is also wrong. Every time you hear the word script, insert the word conversation. That’s how you will be much more compelling and more convincing with your prospects. Know what you want to say, practice it a few times, and have a conversation. That way it will not only sound more like you but you will feel better in your delivery. Most importantly… it will get you to where you want to go. Do what Jenet says, be like the Subway Driver in New York City-stay on track and always get there. NO Excuses.
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