Getting Sales: To Script or not to script?

There are those that say the best sales professionals were born that way and others who say that the best sales people approach sales scientifically and methodically. Which is correct?

I am not sure that it is an either or answer. There is a whole group of people who believe that hard work is key to success; there is another group of people who believe in raw talent as the foundation for overachievement. There is a new group that is looking at the concepts of deliberate practice and repetition being the foundation for outstanding break-though performances. What type of repetition makes sense for sales people? More importantly, what type of repetition does not make sense?

I agree that hard work and practice are critical for the success and mastery of any skill set. We can experience that in all walks of life from sports and recreation to business.

We know that experienced sales people can typically leverage that experience to greater success, FASTER, than other inexperienced sales reps. That includes experience in skill sets, industries, and customer intimacy.

If experience is key – then does experience and consistency in sales messaging make sense? I am asking specifically about scripts and scripted sales calls.

Last week, I had the opportunity to observe a group of sales professionals learning how to execute the ValueSelling Framework®. The class participants were working hard to internalize the principles, apply the tools, and figure out how to internalize the sales process to improve their sales results.

At the end of the first day, a student came up to me with the following comment: “Most of this all makes sense, but you are trying to turn me into a Robot and read a script! I don’t like that.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth!” was my response. “We aren’t trying to turn anyone into a robot, rather we are teaching the skills and the framework to conduct more effective sales conversations, nothing we do is script based.”

She was pleasantly surprised by my response. I went on to explain.

Scripts don’t work to help sales people engage in better sales conversations. There is no way they can.

A script, by definition, can’t enable better sales communication and execution as it address only half the conversation and can’t be adaptive enough for accommodating any and every response that may come from your prospect.

So what is wrong with scripts and using them to execute sales calls:

1. Scripts are focused on what the sales person is going to say. What the sales person says during a sales call is SIGNIFICANTLY less important than what the prospect or customer says during the sales call. The best sales people are curious and want to understand the customer’s thought process and biases. You can’t learn that if you are talking, or even worse, reading.
   


2. When sales people are using a script – they are reading or reciting NOT listening. Have you ever had a conversation with someone who is not listening and responding? It is not only frustrating for the person on the receiving end, it can even be rude and inconsiderate. Who would ever want to do business with someone they think is rude and doesn’t give them an opportunity to speak?
   


3. There is absolutely no way to contextually change a script to accommodate a prospect who won’t follow along. The pitch is not engaging and is often perceived as annoying. I have actually been on the phone with someone clearly reading a script counting the seconds until they take a breath and I can give feedback – mostly to cut them off and end the call.
   
   
4. Bottom line, they don’t drive effective customer centric conversations. They can’t!
   

Effective communication is bi-lateral. It is a conversation. It is engaging. And most important, it isn’t scripted since only one party to the communication is privy to the script.

Sales people need to manage the conversation, not control it. They need the skills to discover relevant information from the customer’s perspective and make sure they can contextually create messages based on that information. They need to open conversations and probe for depth, not perfect the pitch. There is a time for a presentation, but it is not the first part of the sales cycle, it is later.

There is a place for scripts but it is not in the sales call. It is in the classroom and practice sessions. Scripts can be used to make sure everyone has the right messaging and can be a fantastic teaching tool. They can be certification tools. Mastery of knowledge can be determined. But a script should never be an execution tool with your customer or prospect.

Templates, tools, notes, preparation and clear objectives for each interaction and call will serve sales professionals better than any script.

No, we don’t want sales people to be robotic in their execution or style. Yes, we do want sales people to be deliberate in their engagement and purposeful in executing their sales calls. There is a huge difference!