We wanted to find out if sales people were still using scripts while prospecting by phone. We polled our customers and were surprised by how many of our users were on the fence about using them. We wanted to get to the bottom of why sales people often hesitate to use scripts while prospecting and who better to ask then the man who wrote the book on cold calling, Dirk Zeller. Enjoy!
In the last 10 years I have spoke to hundreds of thousands of sales people on 5 different continents. There are many differences but there seems to be one truth for most salespeople, they don’t like scripts. When faced with the question why, the answers are not different…
“They sound canned”
“Unprofessional”
“They are not me”
I am sure you might have a few of your own you could insert. The list is longer for the people who are against scripts, than it is for those that are for them. The fascinating thing about salespeople is that it is not the case for other high paying professional careers. Most professional careers have some form of scripts they use to perform. My older brother for example, is a professional musician. He has a vast array of instruments he plays but his main instrument is his voice. His script is the vocal score that he is performing. He would never consider performing without having a script or musical score. He would always practice extensively that script or musical score, so much that he would internalize and memorize each note, tone, delivery, pace, volume and nuance of the performance.
How much practice have you done on your performance scripts? Your initial call scripts, ad call, sign call, website call, floor call, lead follow-up call, calling around listings and sales, referral call, expired calls, FSBO calls, qualifying calls. What about your listing presentation, price reduction, offer presentation, repair negotiation, buyer consultation, showing property presentation, contract writing, buyers remorse discussion, want to think it over or stall? I have just highlighted a few that happen with regularity to most real estate sales people if they are engaged in the business. I ask you again how much time do you invest in your performance scripts?
Professionals in all walks of life who are successful use and follow scripts to do their job with excellence. If a professional football team runs a play to get a touch down, the play is merely a script that they have practiced to win hundreds of times. The attorney, who crafts her arguments in advance before she goes to court, then delivers those arguments to win the case, that’s a script. The pilot that runs through their safety checklist before take off to ensure the plane is safe for all passengers is following a script to guarantee safety.
A sales person who either follows someone else’s proven scripted process of success to create sales or takes the time to craft, practice, test adjust, and perfect their own is truly a champion in the field of sales.
Next time that someone says the word script I would hope that rather than your body having the negative reaction that it has had in the past, this time it has the response that scripts are my friend! Sales scripts are the glue that a professional salesperson uses to hold onto a prospect, to make a sale.
Dirk Zeller- Real Estate veteran, coach and best selling author of ‘Telephone Sales for Dummies’
For more information about Dirk Zeller and how his company, Real Estate Champions, can make a dramatic impact on your business, please visit their website today www.realestatechampions.com
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