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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
Start closing sales like top producers! Have you ever found yourself at a loss for what to say when the gatekeeper asks you what your call is about? Have your palms ever sweated when the decision maker shuts you down with: "I wouldn't be interested"? Has your heart taken a fast dive into your stomach when, at the start of your presentation, your prospect tells you that they've thought about it and are just going to pass? If you're in sales, then the question isn't "Have you ever felt this way?", but rather, "How often do you feel this way? Are you finally ready to learn how to confidently and effectively overcome these objections, stalls, and blow-offs? If so, Power Phone Scripts was written for you! Unlike other books on sales that tell you what you should do (like build value - hard to do when the prospect is hanging up on you!), Power Phone Scripts provides word-for-word scripts, phrases, questions, and comebacks that you can use on your very next call. Learn to overcome resistance, get through to the decision maker, and then, once you have him or her on the phone, make an instant connection and earn the right to have a meaningful conversation. You'll be equipped with proven questions, conversation starters, and techniques to learn whether or not they are even right for your product or service, and, if they aren't, who else in their company or another department might be. Power Phone Scripts is the sales manual you've been looking for: over 500 proven, current, and non-salesy phrases, rebuttals, questions, and conversation openers that will instantly make you sound more confident - just like the top producing sales pros do right now. Gone will be your call reluctance; gone will be your fear of calling prospects back for presentations and demos; gone will be the fear of asking for the sale at the end of your pitch! This practical guide is filled with effective scripts for prospecting, emailing, voice mails, closes, and tons of rebuttals to recurring objections you get like: * "It costs too much" * "We already have a vendor for that" * "I'm going to need to think about it" * "I need to talk to the boss or committee" and so many others... More than just phone scripts, this book provides practical, comprehensive guidance that every inside sales rep needs. Conquer concerns, provide answers, motivate action, and be the conduit between your prospect's problems and your solution. Actionable, fun, and designed to work within the current sales environment, this invaluable guide is your ticket to the top of the leader board. With Power Phone Scripts, you will never be at a loss of what to say to a prospect or client. Communication is everything in sales, and being on top of your game is no longer enough when top producers are playing a different game altogether. You cannot achieve winning stats if you're not even on the field. If you're ready to join the big league, Power Phone Scripts is the playbook you need to win at inside sales.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Foreword
Introduction
Why You Need Phone Scripts
How to Get the Most from This Book
Part I: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR SUCCESS
Chapter 1: What It Takes to Be a Top Producer
Top Characteristic #1: Make a Commitment
Top Characteristic #2: Be Prepared for Recurring Selling Situations
Top Characteristic #3: Record & Critique Your Calls For 90 Days
Top Characteristic #4: Thoroughly Qualify Each Prospect
Top Characteristic #5: Re‐qualify Prospects at the Beginning of your Close
Top Characteristic #6: Build Rapport Before, during, and After a Sale
Top Characteristic #7: Ask for the Sales Multiple Times
Top Characteristic #8: Treat Gatekeepers with Courtesy and Respect
Top Characteristic #9: Resign from the Company Club
Top Characteristic #10: Invest Daily in Your Attitude
Part II: PROSPECTING TECHNIQUES AND SCRIPTS
Chapter 2: Better, Smarter Prospecting Techniques
A Fresh Prospecting Approach for You
A Better Approach Than “How Are You Today?”
Don't Say That, Say This!
How to Develop an Effective Elevator Pitch
Four Ways to Get Past the Gatekeeper
Why Asking for Help Is a Great Way to Get Information
Stop Pitching the Gatekeeper—and What to Do Instead
What to Do if the Prospect Takes Only Emails
Chapter 3: Dealing with Resistance When Prospecting
Eighteen New Ways to Handle “I'm Not Interested”
Five New Ways to Handle “Just Email Me Something”
Five (Nine, Really!) New Ways to Handle “I'm Too Busy”
Five New Ways to Handle “We're Currently Working with Someone”
Ten New Ways to Handle “We're All Set”
How to Overcome “We Handle That in House”
How to Handle the “We're happy with Status Quo” Objection
Chapter 4: You Can't Sell an Unqualified Lead
Fifteen Ways to Handle the Competition Objection
How to Question for Budget
How to Qualify for Interest
How to Qualify an Influencer
The Only Qualifying Question You May Need
How to Requalify Existing Prospects and Clients
The Two Most Important Qualifiers (and How to Ask for Them)
How to Qualify Prospects without Interrogating Them
Chapter 5: Other Prospecting Situations—and How to Handle Them
The Proper Way to Handle a Call‐In Lead
Features and Benefits versus Knowing How to Sell
How to Build Instant Rapport with C‐Level Executives
Chapter 6: Voice Mail and Email Strategies
Voice Mail: Five Proven Techniques That Get Your Calls Returned
The Touch‐Point Plan: How to Turn Cold Leads into Warm Leads
Conclusion to Prospecting Techniques and Scripts
Part III: CLOSING TECHNIQUES AND SCRIPTS
Chapter 7: How to Close the Sale
Opening a Closing Call
Five Ways to Get Better at Handling Objections
How to Use Assumptive Statements
The Importance of Confirming Your Answers
Seven Things to Say When Prospects Don't Have the Time for Your Presentation
How to Stay Organized (and Efficient!)
How to Get Your Prospect Talking
Softening Statements That Keep Prospects Talking
Positive Statements That Help You Sell
Handling Objections When Requalifying
Always Have This Close Handy
The Three Times to Handle an Objection
Chapter 8: How to Deal with Specific Objections
How to Handle “I Haven't Looked at the Information Yet”
Eleven New Ways to Handle “The Price Is Too High”
Six New Ways to Handle: “I Need to Talk to My Boss”
Ten New Ways to Handle the “I Need to Think About It” Objection
“I Want to Think About It”—Another 10 New Ways to Handle It!
How to Deal Effectively with the Influencer
Closing Questions to Isolate the Objection
How to Overcome the “We Tried It Before and It Didn't Work” Objection
How to Handle “I'll Have to Speak with. . . .”
How to Handle the References Stall
How to Handle “My Supplier Is My Friend”
How to Overcome the “You Expect Me to Make a Decision Now?” and “I Need to Do More Research” Objections
How to Overcome the “Market/Industry/Economy Is Bad” Objection
How to Overcome the “My Relative Handles That for Me” Objection and the “I Have a Longstanding Relationship with My Vendor” Objection
Chapter 9: Winning Closing Techniques
How to Use Tie‐Downs to Build Momentum
Too Many Options? Narrow It Down to Get the Sale Now
Boost Your Sales by Using This One Word
Ten Ways to Soften the Price Objection and Keep Pitching
In Sales, the Most Important Thing to Say Is. . . .
Ask for the Sale Five Times—at Least!
Chapter 10: Follow‐Up Strategies
The Proper Way to Set a Call Back
How to Follow Up with Prospects and Win Business
Staying Top of Mind Across a Longer Time Frame
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Connect with Mike Brooks
Call Me
Other Resources that Will Help You
About the Author
Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales
Index
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
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“The telephone still remains the most powerful sales tool ever created. Let Dr. Inside Sales, aka Mike Brooks, provide you with the winning words to engage, connect, and sell more prospects. Power Phone Scripts is the perfect sales preSCRIPTion. Get yours today!”
—Jeffrey Gitomer, author of the Sales Bibleand the Little Red Book of Selling
“This book shows you how to get more appointments and make more sales by phone than you ever thought possible.”
—Brian Tracy, author of Ultimate Sales Success
“In Power Phone Scripts, you'll discover a plethora of ways to develop interest, identify buyers, deal with common objections, and much more. To achieve success, practice these scripts, internalize them and finally, make them your own. If you do, you will soon be selling more, with a lot less resistance.”
—Jill Konrath, author of More Sales, Less Timeand SNAP Selling
“Too few people are talking about the most important part of inside sales—improving the core selling skills of front line salespeople. Sales is all about conversations. Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, has produced an outstanding book of real‐world talking points that is a required on‐hand reference for any inside sales professional. Salespeople need to know what to say in a variety of selling scenarios that happen every day. Mike fills the void with a book that is a must read.”
—Steve Richard, chief revenue officer, www.ExecVision.io
“All the questions a salesperson can potentially ask organized in a format that follows the sales process. What else can one ask for in a book of phone scripts? Great resource!”
—Trish Bertuzzi, author of The SalesDevelopment Playbook
“Your one‐source guide to understanding how to handle any situation on the telephone. Mike's first book of phone scripts is excellent and this one is simply beyond excellent. You'll appreciate the way he walks through every situation sharing the proven scripts to make any call successful. I highly recommend every salesperson buy the book and keep it next to the phone, you'll use it and you'll love it!”
—Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter
“Regardless of your profession, if you ever talk to a customer or prospect on the phone, you must read this book.”
—Jeffrey J. Fox, author of the international bestsellerHow to Become a Rainmaker
“What a difference meeting Mike Brooks and reading his two books, The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts and Power Phone Scripts, have made in my agency's productivity. We have experienced double‐digit sales increases in a short period of time! Power Phone Scripts expands on the concepts developed in the first book, The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts. It provides an in‐depth collection of all the scripts and phone techniques necessary to turn your sales results around. Thank you, Mike, for writing these invaluable books, which are a must read for my team and the focus of many of our meetings. You have challenged me to live by your mantra: ‘If they can do it, I can do it better.’”
—Bruce Adorian, State Farm agent
“If you use the phone to make your sales calls, this book is a must‐have! Mike offers his secrets to better calling to help you make more money—faster!”
—Michael Krause author of SMART ProspectingThat Works Every Time
“A sign of wisdom is the ability to learn from your mistakes and successes, and also to learn from the mistakes and successes of others. Mike Brooks is no sales theorist. He's been in the trenches and has risen from struggling salesperson to one of the top salespeople and sales trainers in the world today. His success is evidence of the fact that when you're committed to studying the fundamentals of something and applying what you've learned on a consistent basis, your success is inevitable. Mike's Power Phone Scripts provides a road map to your sales success. Success is the result of small activities repeated over time. Don't read this book: study it. Apply what you learn, and you too will be able to chart your own sales success regardless of industry, product, or service. Thanks for your sales wisdom, Mike!”
—Kevin Knebl, CMEC, social selling and relationshipmarketing specialist and CEO of KneblCommunications, LLC
“Preparation is the key to success in sales. Stop winging it! Prepare yourself to excel with Mike Brooks's proven, practical scripts and make more sales.”
—Tom Hopkins, author of How to Master the Art ofSelling and When Buyers Say No
“I have been reading and following Mike Brooks now for over a decade, and I can honestly say that he is the master of inside sales. When I reviewed Mike's new book, Power Phone Scripts, I was struck once again by how easy he makes it to handle any selling situation—no matter how complex. His scripts are simple, step‐by‐step responses that work. In this new volume of scripts, Mike goes even deeper by giving us the “Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers.” You will discover how, by following these principles, you can be and create top producers, too. If you need results from your inside sales team (or you are the team!), then get this book today!”
—Laura Posey, chief instigator, Simple Success Plans
“Ever lost on what to say or ask a buyer? If so, you need to be scripted—prepared! This book of real‐life, non‐sales‐y scripts will make the buyer more comfortable with you while you project yourself as trustworthy, professional, and successful. A must read and do!”
—Bob Urichuck, author and founder of theBuyer‐Focused Velocity Selling System
“Power Phone Scripts provides immediately usable and practical guidance that keeps our entire inside sales team focused on one consistent message. Using this resource has allowed us to reduce ad‐libbing, and enabled our company to measure our message effectiveness and make needed changes to improve results. We have embraced Mike's proven sales techniques and scripts, and I highly recommend Power Phone Scripts as a great resource to improve sales performance and revenue results.”
—Mark Dunn, CPA, CBM, CGMA, MBA, and CEO,Trojan Professional Services, Inc.
“Our team has found Power Phone Scripts to be invaluable to our success. These scripts have provided a road map to follow and consistency throughout our team. In fact, we were so impressed with the scripts' success, we incorporated all of Mike Brooks's materials, including weekly coaching sessions, into our inside sales team. Since then, our success and growth have accelerated to exceed our goals and budgets.”
—David W Coleman, senior vice president,network communications, INC
“I've known and trusted Mike Brooks for over a decade now, and as a result I've built my sales teams on many of the fundamentals that Mike Brooks teaches in his previous bestselling books. What I have always liked most about Mike's books is that they focus on the fundamentals of sales and don't get caught up in the latest hype or technology that can distract from the basics.
“Mike Brooks has done it again. He's created a whole new book of scripts with new content updated for today's salesperson, including email and multitouch plans you can use right now. His fresh and modern approach to the blocking and tackling of sales will surely make Power Phone Scripts another classic desk‐side reference manual for all salespeople.”
—Kevin Gaither, senior vice president of sales,ZipRecruiter
POWER PHONE SCRIPTS
500 WORD-FOR-WORD QUESTIONS, PHRASES, AND CONVERSATIONS TO OPEN AND CLOSE MORE SALES
MIKE BROOKS
MR. INSIDE SALES
Copyright © 2017 by Mike Brooks. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 646‐8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising here from.
For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762‐2974, outside the United States at (317) 572‐3993, or fax (317) 572‐4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e‐books or in print‐on‐demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data:
Names: Brooks, Mike, 1957- author.
Title: Power phone scripts : 500 word-for-word questions, phrases, and conversations to open and close more sales / Mike Brooks.
Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2017013703 (print) | LCCN 2017021433 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119417958 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119417972 (epub) | ISBN 9781119418078 (cloth)
Subjects: LCSH: Telephone selling.
Classification: LCC HF5438.3 (ebook) | LCC HF5438.3 .B75 2017 (print) | DDC 658.8/72—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017013703
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Pranch/Shutterstock
This book is dedicated to you, my fellow sales professional. I believe in you, and if you can believe in yourself, then I guarantee you can achieve an amazing life through learning how to sell more, with less resistance, using the scripts and strategies you will find in this book. You and your family deserve it.
Foreword
Let me be brutally honest. The telephone is, has always been, and will continue to be your most powerful sales tool. Not email. Not social media. The phone!
The brutal and undeniable truth is that inside sales reps who fail to master the phone fail, so it's time to stop looking at the phone like it's your enemy and see it for what it really is: a money‐making machine.
The telephone is more effective than email and social media because when you are actually speaking to another human being, there is a higher probability that you'll set appointments, gather qualifying information, and close deals.
Yet, many salespeople find it awkward to use the phone because they:
Don't know what to say or how to say it.
Wing it on every call and say stupid, embarrassing things that generate resistance and rejection.
Don't have easy‐to‐execute telephone scripts that allow them to focus on their prospect rather than what to say.
Don't have effective strategies for dealing with reflex responses, brush‐offs, and objections.
What I find across the board, though, is that most salespeople don't know how to use the phone for sales because they've never been taught.
This problem is exacerbated by the fact that at most companies, there is deficient to nonexistent telephone training. When companies do provide training, it is usually made up of complex, contrived methods developed by people who've never even successfully used the phone for sales. This approach never works in the real world with real prospects.
Sadly, most salespeople are making egregious mistakes on the phone. Through their words and approach, they turn prospects off, get shut down, and create resistance where it didn't exist.
In inside sales, you have mere seconds to get your prospect's attention. When you have a prospect on the phone, message matters. What you say and how you say it is often the difference between winning or losing the deal.
This is where Mike Brooks comes in. Mike isn't a theorist. He's a trench warrior. He's walked in your shoes. Made the same mistakes, lived through the same pain, and dealt with rejection.
He's also been phenomenally successful. Mike's formula for inside sales excellence was developed through trial and error—working with real prospects, in real time, in the real world. It was honed in the trenches, and it works!
In this book, Power Phone Scripts: 500 Word‐for‐Word Questions, Phrases, and Conversations to Open and Close More Sales, Mike teaches you exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. You'll learn the keys to getting past resistance, dealing with objections, and closing the deal. When you follow Mike's formula, you are guaranteed to improve your performance, boost your income, and attain the success you desire.
Jeb Blount, author of the number‐one bestsellerFanatical Prospecting and CEO of SalesGravy.com
Introduction
Dear Fellow Sales Professional:
I want this book to be the most important book you will ever read in your sales career.
Actually, I want you to look back at this and someday say that this was the most important book you've ever read in your life. I know that is a strong statement, but let me tell you why. Years ago, I was introduced to a sales philosophy and given a set of tools and techniques that changed all my sales results, and literally changed my life. I went from a struggling salesperson who hated his job, hated prospecting for business, and hated rejection, to a success. I went from driving a beat‐up Nissan hatchback to driving a new Mercedes Benz. I went from struggling to pay my credit cards each month to buying my first home and furnishing it just the way I wanted it. I went from dreading waking up every morning to waking up with an enthusiasm and confidence I had never known was possible. And it was all from learning and practicing the habits and techniques I am going to teach you in this book today.
Please don't think I'm bragging, because I am not. Instead, I like what Anthony Robbins said once: “I am not telling you these things to impress you, but rather to impress upon you.” What I'm trying to impress upon you today is that if I—a failing and resentful sales rep who thought that life should have dealt him a better card (I was too good to be cold calling as an inside sales rep! I should be doing something more interesting and prestigious with my college degree)—could turn my attitude, my results, and my life completely around to having the kind of freedom and success I never thought possible, that if I could do all that using the skills, philosophy, and scripts contained in this book, you can do it too.
In fact, I guarantee that if you will just follow the advice you will read in this book, you, too, can completely change your sales results. No matter how poorly (or how well) you are doing now, you can immediately begin doing better. You can begin prospecting with confidence and even get to a place where it becomes fun. Imagine that! By using the scripts and techniques in this book, you can also begin closing more sales and handling objections and stalls—that may frustrate you now—with ease. And as you learn these powerful and proven techniques, you will not only grow more confident, but you will begin to stand out in your company and in your industry. Soon, you will find yourself in the top elite of producers—the “Top 20 Percent,” as I like to call them.
As you begin to change your sales results, your life will change as well. Not only will you begin elevating your lifestyle, but your future will begin to change, also. You will begin thinking about things you may not be considering now, like perhaps moving into management or becoming a director of sales or VP of sales. Some of you will begin thinking of opening your own company and using the strategies you will learn here to build a highly successful inside sales team of your own. As you become more successful using these techniques, your world will open up for you, and the sky will become the limit.
As you do all this, you will be changing your family's lives as well. Suddenly you will be able to afford a better house, better cars, and all the stuff you may wish you had now.
Your kids will be able to go to better schools because you will have the resources to afford them. You and your spouse will begin vacationing in the spots and staying in the hotels you always dreamed of staying in, if that's important to you. You will begin saving more money for retirement, and putting money into other savings and investments. You will begin living with a sense of security that you may only dream of now, because you will no longer have financial insecurity. You will be able to sleep better at night because you will finally possess the key to selling well.
All these things and more are available to you once you read and make a commitment to learning and using the strategies, scripts, and techniques you'll find in this book. Again, I know this to be true because it happened for me. Not only that, but since I figured out the secret to selling easily and with less rejection, I have also taught it to hundreds of companies and thousands of sales reps. Have they all had the results I'm promising you here? Sadly, no. Unfortunately, many sales reps were too lazy to put in the relatively brief amount of time necessary (about 90 days of committed effort) to change the way they were doing things. Instead, they continued to ad‐lib their way through their sales calls, and simply relied on their old habits. As a result, as they say, “if nothing changes, nothing changes.” And nothing did for them.
However, there have been hundreds of sales professionals who were ready for a better life and were willing to make the commitment, put in the effort, and follow the advice detailed in this book. They, without fail, have achieved a higher level of success and the ease and comfort that come from mastering these proven sales strategies and techniques. And, yes, many of them have gone on to be in the Top 20 Percent, and even the Top 1 Percent of the sales professionals in their respective industries. And you can, too.
I developed a mantra when I was learning these techniques all those years ago, a mantra I used to say to myself to keep me practicing and to keep me committed to changing my results. I invite you to adopt it as well. As I sat at my desk in the sea of sales reps, I would look around at the top three producers at my company (out of 25 sales reps—many struggling like me), and I thought about the results they consistently produced. They were always on top of the revenue production each month, and they were the ones who drove the nice cars, wore the nice suits, and won all the bonuses. I remember thinking that they had the same amount of hours in a day as I did. They had access to the same scripts and leads. They were selling the same product I was. That is when I developed this mantra:
“If they can do it, I can do it better!”
I was convinced that if they could do it—heck, they were just as human as I was—then I could do it better. I burned with a desire to change my life. I was sick and tired of struggling, and I knew that if they could achieve the results I wanted, then I could and would dedicate myself to learning better techniques and to critiquing myself and my approach daily (through listening to my recordings), and I would invest the time, money, and energy needed to become a top producer.
I did. By relentlessly studying, learning, and applying the strategies (especially the “Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers”) you will read in this book, and by memorizing, drilling, rehearsing, and adapting the word‐for‐word scripts you will find here, within 90 days I became one of the top three producers in my company. I still remember the incredible feeling I had when I went up before all 25 reps to accept my award for being a top producer. I still remember my commitment to myself as I walked back to my chair: “And you just wait until next month,” I said under my breath as I took my seat.
Nine months later, by continuing to practice and improve, I was the top producer out of five branch offices in Southern California. That next year the company elevated me to the sales manager of the other 25 sales reps in our office. Within one year, I had doubled our office's production by carefully teaching and coaching adherence to the proven principles you'll read in this book. Most sales reps I worked with immediately increased their sales, and many even moved into the Top 20 Percent. Without fail, everyone I have worked with over the years since sees improvement in direct proportion to their commitment level and their adherence to the principles and scripts in this book.
Why You Need Phone Scripts
As far as “phone scripts” go, let's address the raging debate about whether inside sales reps should use scripts or not. Everyone has an opinion on this, and while some may be on the fence about it, most people are either very against using a scripted approach, while others advocate using scripts and spend a lot of time and effort creating them for their teams. Those who don't believe in using them cite many reasons, including:
Using scripts makes you sound like a telemarketer.
Following a script is too confining—you have to be able to “go with the flow” of a conversation.
You can't consult with a prospect if you're following a script.
Scripts all sound so “sales‐y” that it turns prospects off.
People can always tell that you're reading something, so you sound unprofessional.
You can't script out everything—sometimes you just need to be able to ad‐lib a little.
Scripts were okay in the beginning or as a guide, but now that you're a “pro,” you don't need them.
And so on. I bet you can think of a few reasons yourself why you'd never be caught dead following a script.
Then there are those who believe that you absolutely must follow a script. Having written several books on phone scripts, you can imagine I subscribe to this group. Some of the reasons I believe you should follow a script are:
Following a script actually makes you sound
more
professional.
Using a carefully constructed script allows you to follow best‐practice sales techniques that have been proven to work over time.
Following a script ensures that you ask all the right qualifying questions.
Scripts make your job easier because you know where you've been and where you're going.
Scripts allow you to truly
listen
to what your prospect is really saying.
Having a script to follow gives you confidence and control over the sales process.
Following a scripted sales approach allows you to practice perfection on every call.
Each of these reasons for following a scripted sales approach powerfully affects each stage of your sales process, and any one of them can make or break a sale. The real argument I present to those who insist on not using scripts is this: whether you know it or not, you already are following a script!
Think about it: If I were to record all your calls for a week and then transcribe them and hand that transcription back to you, isn't it true that what I would be giving you was your own “script”? Isn't it true that you are saying the same things, over and over again, each time you get a question, objection, or blow‐off? Sure you are!
You see, right now everyone is already using a script of some kind, but the problem with most of them is that they were developed in the heat of the sale, on the fly, while they were taking “incoming” from a prospect or client. Most of the responses sales reps use were thought up on the spot and in response to (and often in defense to) some type of difficult sales situation.
Just think about how you, or your sales team, habitually respond to blow‐offs like, “What is this call in regard to?” or “We wouldn't be interested,” or “Just email me something.” Chances are, you are using the same old ineffective responses that just cause you frustration and phone reluctance.
One of the biggest benefits to using professionally prepared scripts, however, is that you can design the most effective response in advance, and then deliver your lines like a professional. I often like to cite Marlon Perkins from the old TV show, “Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom,” when making this point.
As some of you may remember, his associate, Jim, was always out in the field “wrestling with the alligators,” while Marlon was reporting from the “safety and comfort of the Land Rover.” I always remember Marlon taking a sip of iced tea and thinking, “When I grow up, I want to be Marlon and not Jim.”
In sales, it's the same thing. If you are not following a prepared and effective approach, then each time your prospect answers, you are suddenly like Jim, “wrestling with the alligators.” If you take the time, however, in the safety and comfort of the conference room, to craft out the best responses, statements, and questions to the selling situations you run into day after day, then you can calmly and coolly deal with all those situations successfully. And even take a sip of iced tea in between responses!
Here is one of the most important things to remember about sales: 80 percent of the brush‐offs, the objections and the selling situations you get, day in and day out, are exactly the same. There is very little new in sales. Three thousand years ago in the open markets in Egypt, when a seller told a buyer the price of something, the buyer probably said, “The price is too high!” Sound familiar? Eighty percent of the selling situations you face today are the same ones you faced yesterday, last month, and they are the same ones you will get next week and next summer.
I cannot stress enough how important this concept is in sales. It gives you, the sales professional, a huge advantage if you take the time to capitalize on it. Unfortunately, the majority of sales reps and companies never leverage this fact, but the Top 20 Percent of sales producers do take advantage of this by taking the time to script out proven and effective responses to these objections so they are prepared in advance to succeed. Then, when they get the same old objections or stalls, they know exactly how to handle them. They understand the importance of taking the time to drill, practice, and rehearse effective responses so they can deliver their scripts in a natural and professional tone and at an optimal pace. That is why top producers sound so smooth and professional, and why they make sales seem easy. Because they have taken the time to internalize their best‐practice scripts, top performers deliver their responses naturally, and they automatically know exactly what to say and when to say it.
And just a word about practice. Did you notice I didn't say they “read their scripts”? Every professional—whether an actor, musician, dancer, or athlete—spends hours and hours learning their craft and practicing their techniques so that when it's time to perform, they do it automatically. All those concerts you see performed by large orchestras and dance routines that seem easy and effortless are all the results of hundreds of hours of careful practice. Don Shula, the Super Bowl–winning coach of the Miami Dolphins, talks about how his players practice every day until their assignments and techniques become automatic. He said, “Overlearning means that the players are so prepared for a game that they have the skill and confidence needed to make the big play.”
It is the same with any sales professional. If you need to think about how to respond to a question, a blow‐off, an objection, or a stall, then it's already too late. If you have scripted out the best approach or response and memorized it, however, then you will have the skill and confidence to handle those situations like a top producer. This is what empowers you to be successful, and it is what separates you from the other 80 percent who are struggling and making things up as they go along.
So, should you learn and use best‐practice, real‐world responses that give you the greatest chance to succeed in the selling situations you get into day after day? Or should you continue to make things up as you go along, hoping that what you say will occasionally work? The answer to that question will determine whether or not you choose to learn and use scripts, and how successful—or unsuccessful—you will be in your career.
Speaking of scripts, if you have not yet read, practiced, and perfected the core inside sales scripts in my original, bestselling book The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts, you will benefit even more from those essential scripts. In The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts, you will find over 200 scripts that give you and your sales team proven and effective ways to easily deal with gatekeepers, get through to more decision makers, overcome objections, and close more sales. The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts lays the groundwork for selling over the phone and provides the fundamental scripts you need to be successful. Combined with the advanced and additional scripts and strategies you will find here in Power Phone Scripts, you and your sales team will have all the scripts and phone techniques you will ever need to completely turn your sales results around and transform your career, your life, and your company. Get The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts here: http://mrinsidesales.com/ultimatescripts.htm.
One last word about investing in yourself, your company, and your success. If you are a business owner or sales manager and you want the quickest lift from an investment in your sales team, then do this: buy each member of your sales team a copy of both Ultimate Books, and task them with studying, adapting, and incorporating these proven scripts into their sales presentations. Have your sales manager conduct sales meetings to teach these proven scripts and concepts, and watch your sales and revenues begin to take off.
This is the most important thing you can do to improve the sales results in your company, because the number one reason the majority of all sales teams struggle is that not many managers are experienced or prepared enough to gives sales reps—the ones in the trenches—the word‐for‐word scripts and tools they need to succeed. Very few companies are effectively or consistently teaching sales reps what to say and do when they are faced with an objection or challenging sales situation. If you doubt this, then hold a sales meeting and go around the room asking each rep how they handle the standard sales stall of, “I need to ask my partner.” I will bet you right now that each rep will ad‐lib a different (and mostly ineffective) answer. This is why your sales team is struggling. The only way to fix that—and so fix your sales results—is to finally give them the exact scripts they need to deal effectively with this and the other selling objections and situations they run into day after day. If you don't do this, then your team will continue to struggle and produce inconsistent results—it's as simple as that. If you do address this glaring need, then your team will immediately begin producing more sales and you will finally have a way to scale a successful inside sales team—and company.
If you are a sales professional working at a company and you're struggling with the idea of investing another $39.95 in a book of phone scripts, ask yourself how much money you paid for all those college textbooks that you sold back to the student store for a quarter of their value? You know, the ones you can't remember anything about right now. Then compare all those hundreds of dollars you spent (and are still probably paying for through your outstanding student loans), to the under‐$100 total investment in these two books of Ultimate Phone Scripts and Power Phone Scripts that will make your every phone call better and which will dramatically improve your life for years to come. It is a no‐brainer when you look at it this way. If you put just 90 days into studying and applying the proven techniques and scripts you will find in these two books, you will transform your life. So go ahead, make the investment in yourself, and start changing your future today.
How to Get the Most from This Book
The book is broken down into three parts: Part One: Laying the Groundwork for Success; Part Two: Prospecting Techniques and Scripts; and Part Three: Closing Techniques and Scripts. I suggest you start with Part One, and the Ten Characteristics of Top Sales Producers, to see how many of these you are practicing now and how many you can begin incorporating into your sales life. Each of these core characteristics are practiced by top sales producers across all industries, and even incorporating just one a week can cause a huge shift in your perspective and in your sales results. One of my go‐to techniques, for example, is recording and critiquing yourself every day for 90 days.
You have probably heard of this suggestion of recording yourself, and your company may regularly record your calls now, but how often do you take it upon yourself to review your own calls? Just this one technique will have a dramatic and instant impact on how you sell, and I personally doubled my income in 90 days by applying this technique in my own career. Every other characteristic will also add to your success, so study and apply each characteristic starting today.
Next, in Part Two: Prospecting Techniques and Scripts, you will find current and proven scripts to help you cold‐call prospects and qualify better prospects. You'll find many current and proven rebuttals to the blow‐offs you may be encountering now (things like, “I'm not interested,” and “I'm too busy,” and so on). You'll also find ways to qualify in crucial, core areas like budget, interest, and competition. Remember that you can't close an unqualified lead, so learning how to carefully qualify a prospect (without interrogating them) will immediately take your sales skills—and closing results—to another level. As with all these scripts, make sure to invest the time to adapt them to your product, service, and personality. Make them your own and then commit to memorizing them and using them until they become automatic for you. This is how you will develop the habits of a Top 20 Percent producer.
In Part Three: Closing Techniques and Scripts, you will finally learn some advanced skills to help you handle a variety of situations that may frustrate you today. Among the techniques you will learn is how to use tie‐downs to build a yes momentum. This is important, because in today's sale, the game isn't about pitching and pitching and then ending with a grand close or prayer that someone buys. The game is, instead, about presenting your product or services gradually and getting buy‐in from your prospect so you know how the sale is going. As you successfully get that buy‐in, asking for the sale becomes a natural part of the overall sales process. By the time you do, you should have a good idea of what the result will be—and how to handle it.
There are also many word‐for‐word scripts to help you deal with the objections and stalls you may be struggling with now. You will find proven ways to handle things like, “I want to think about it,” and “The price is too high,” and “We're happy with who we're using now.” Once again, your task here is to carefully study these word‐for‐word scripts, adapt them to your product, service, and personality, and then practice, drill, and rehearse them until they become your new and improved way of automatically reacting and presenting. If you do this, you will begin closing more sales with less rejection.
You will also read about a way to stand out from your competition and position yourself to be the go‐to vendor or solution just when your prospect is in the market (page 248). It is called “Send Out Cards” (https://www.sendoutcards.com/mrinsidesales). This completely automated service allows you to send customized greeting cards (and even gifts) to prospects and customers with the click of a button. The real power, however, is your ability to set up an automatic drip campaign that will send any prospect in your pipeline cards at any interval you choose. This system has made me hundreds of thousands of dollars in business that seems to have appeared out of the air. In reality, people are just reaching out to me when they finally need help—motivated to do so by monthly cards they receive. In this way, I'm able to stay “top of mind,” and they remember to reach out to me when they suddenly decide to do something about their inside sales training needs. Using the link mentioned here, you learn more about this valuable service, and even can try it out by sending a free card to yourself—I encourage you to do this today.
Finally, a last note to you, my fellow sales producer. Remember, you can become a top producer if you are willing to put in the time to learn and then practice the techniques you will find in this book. I want to encourage you with all of my heart. I guarantee that you and your family will have an infinitely better life if you just commit yourself to the strategies, scripts, and techniques you'll read in this book. Look around at the top producers sitting next to you or in your industry and say to yourself: “If they can do it, I can do it better.”
And you can.
Part ILAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR SUCCESS
Chapter 1What It Takes to Be a Top ProducerTen Characteristics of Top Sales Producers
If you are reading this book right now, then I know you want to perform better in your sales career. If you are a business owner, then I know you want to help your sales team accomplish more. It shows that you are willing to take the time to search out strategies and learn the word‐for‐word scripts that will give you an edge over your competition. That's a good thing, but are you ready to really commit to doing the things that will catapult you into that rarified stratum of top sales producers?
You know the top producers I am talking about. They are the ones who are always at or near the top of the sales production list every month, who always win the sales contests, and who always seem to be in a good mood. They are positive and confident, and they have that feeling that no matter what happens to the leads or the economy or the company, they will find a way to succeed.
Years ago I heard a sales motivator say:
“If you are willing to do the things that most sales reps aren't willing to do, then soon you'll be able to do and have the things that most sales reps will never be able to do and have.”
When I heard that statement, I was a struggling sales rep, and I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was at a crossroads in my career (and my life), and I was either going to find a different way of making a living, or I was going to go back to school and get out of sales altogether.
What I did was commit to being one of the top producers.
I heard another motivator say that if the grass looks greener on the other side of the street, then you need to fertilize your lawn. He said that you don't have to change where you are in order to succeed, but rather that you can bloom where you are planted.
And as I mentioned before, I had many examples of that in the company where I worked. The top producers made it look easy. They never seemed to struggle. They instead seemed to intuitively know how to handle almost any sales situation. It was inspiring and intimidating at the same time. It wasn't until I finally made a commitment to be one of them that I saw how much time, discipline, and effort they put into being the best.
While it did take a lot of effort for me to get there from where I was as a struggling sales rep, with commitment, determination, and daily focus, it was all worth it. Once I became a top producer, I felt like I knew the secret of what it took to live a better life, to enjoy the job and profession that just 90 days before I hated. Suddenly, I understood how easy it was—once I was ready to do the things it took to be a top producer.
And you can do it, too.
The good news, as I have said, is that success leaves clues, and if you are willing to invest the time, money, and effort into completely changing your results and your life, then you can. You can bloom where you are planted, and you can start enjoying the things that top producers take for granted—the things that most sales reps will never get to enjoy.
You will find what I consider to be the top ten characteristics of top sales producers. These are not only the things I did to completely change my results and reach the top, but they are also the things I see in nearly every top producer, in every company, that I have coached and consulted with over the past 25 years.
As you read through the list, look at the top producers at your company (you may even be one of the top reps already), and ask yourself how many of them are doing these things. Look at your own behavior and ask yourself how many of these things you are doing, and how many of them you can begin practicing right now.
I guarantee that the more of these characteristics you adopt, the more successful you will be.
So if you're ready, then let's get started.
Top Characteristic #1: Make a Commitment
Let me ask you this: Are you willing to make an intensive, 90‐day commitment to transforming your sales career? Would you be willing if I told you that by diligently following the proven techniques and scripts you will learn in this book, you would make a dramatic improvement in how you prospect and qualify new business, how you conduct your sales presentation, and how you deal with objections and close business? If I told you that you could move into the Top 20 Percent of the producers in your company and even double your income in just 90 days, would you be willing to make the commitment to do what is necessary?
If your answer is yes, then get ready to radically change many of your habits, and get ready to put in the time it's going to take to completely change the way you sell over the phone. As you will continue to read in this section of 10 characteristics, there are many things you are going to be doing differently, but if you make the commitment now to adopting and incorporating these techniques into your selling career, then the results can and will be life changing. But it is all going to start with making that commitment.
