28 August 2008
by Martin Aranovitch

In this article, we are going to look at using an outbound sales scripts tool to help you get better results when contacting potential prospects for your business.

Hopefully, by the time you reach the end of this page, you will understand why the systematic approach described here will give you far better long-term results than if you skip the planning and preparation phase and, instead, go for the usual "sloppy" method of making sales calls straight from the phone book, then taking notes on scraps of paper.

Let's start, then, by defining what an outbound scripts tool is, what it does, and where it belongs in your sales system.

An outbound sales scripts tool is a system that facilitates the process of initiating contact and interaction with other people, for the purpose of helping the tool user achieve a pre-defined outcome (e.g. a sales appointment).

It does this by guiding the tool user through a series of either known or unknown, expected or unexpected, and predictable or unpredictable communication pathways, using scripts, the results of which can be measured and continuously improved upon.

It is part of the first benchmark, or consumer decision point in your selling process - a phase known as the Appointment Presentation.

An outbound sales scripts tool is most effective and produces the best conversions of contacted calls into sales appointments, when used after you have already established the following about your business:

1) Targeted Marketing

Before you even approach someone to try and start selling them something, you need to know who you should be approaching. This means:

• You have clearly-defined, written vision and mission statements about your business.
• You have set your business strategic objectives.
• You have done sufficient market research (i.e. demographics, psychographics, etc ...) and have identified your target market.
• You have gone through the process of positioning and differentiating your business.
• You understand the impact your product will have on your target market.
• etc ...

2) Lead Generation

Once you know your target market, you need to build as big and as targeted a list of prospects as you possibly can. The reason for this, is that once you begin to use your sales scripts tool and gain momentum, you could be contacting between 15 and 20 prospects or more every hour. Ideally, you will have entered your list into a contact database that allows you to record the details of each call you make and track the results of your communications.

We are currently developing a comprehensive sales system development and training product called Sales System Pro that will show you 'step-by-step' how to set up the above for optimum results.

3) Flowcharting The Initial Sales Call Process

If all you want to do is get the opening call "right", then you don't need a sales scripts tool ... you only need one sales script (the "initial sales call" script).

This is what "average" sales people do. My goal for you, dear subscriber of this newsletter, is to help you NOT be an "average" sales person, or only get "average" sales results.

It's like the classic fable of the hare and the tortoise. Average sales people dash off like hares and eventually run out of steam, while "systems-driven" tortoises get their selling systems right first, then go on to win every race, because once their well-constructed system is up and running, it is an unstoppable and unbeatable sales machine that only gets better and better.

To achieve excellence in sales, therefore, I invite you to think like the tortoise and master your selling systems before you begin selling, instead of dashing off like the hare with little to no preparation.

The point I am trying to make here, then, is this:

When you call someone on the phone to try and make a sales appointment, are they always going to say "Yes" to you? Do you realistically believe that there is a single sales script out there that can guarantee you a "yes" result 100% of the time? If not, then could someone tell you "No" over the telephone?

If you know for a fact that some people will tell you "No" when you call them, no matter how good your sales script is, then why would you not plan for this expected response?

This requires another script.

And ... can "No" mean more than one thing?

Of course it can! Any experienced sales person can tell you that "No" can mean different things ... it can even mean "Yes"!

So why not plan for these outcomes as well?

This requires more scripts.

And what if the prospect says this or that after you have given them your "initial sales call" script?

Why not plan for these outcomes too beforehand, so that you or your sales team, or even the new sales person you are helping to train, are completely prepared for these events, and can navigate through the entire call process with confidence and professionalism, delivering the very best responses your organization would want them provide to your prospective new clients?

This is what an outbound sales scripts tool does. It anticipates prospect responses, guides your sales people through the communication process, redirects anyone who may have been thrown off during the interaction and puts them back on track, and focuses the caller to lead their prospect towards the pre-defined outcome, or purpose of the call.

To do this successfully, you have to flowchart the entire initial sales call process and examine all of the options (i.e. pathways) where the interaction could and might go when you or your sales people make that initial call.

4) Building Your Sales Scripts Tool

Once you have done all of the above, you then need to create scripted responses for each of the pathways identified in Step 3, then link each of these scripts in such a way that the person using the tool can access these scripts in "real time" by clicking on a button that corresponds to the path your prospect chooses to go during the conversation.

This is essentially what our Sales Scripts Pro product does. From my experience building sales scripts tools for clients that produce above-average results, I have identified and flowcharted over a dozen essential pathways that require scripted responses and incorporated these into a sales scripts tool template with all of the scripts already linked in their correct sequence, so all you have to do is follow the 'step-by-step' tutorials that teach you the function and purpose of each script, then adapt it to your own situation (the tutorials show you actual examples of my most successful scripts - you just model your scripts using my proven and tested responses!), and you are ready to start making calls.

5) Outbound Sales Scripts Tool - Additional Notes

A sales scripts tool saves you money. When you use a system like a sales scripts tool, you don't need to hire experienced salespeople. Anyone can be trained to make sales calls using the tool.

Also, just remember this ... you don't need to start out with perfect scripts. Start with what you think will work, then as you make actual calls, review your results at regular intervals, identify the areas that need improvement, make any necessary changes and repeat the process. Your results will definitely improve if you follow this approach.

If you are interested in using an outbound sales scripts tool to see if it can actually help you improve your sales calls results, then I invite you to try Sales Scripts Pro completely "risk free" for 8 weeks. For more details, go here: Sales Scripts Pro.

I hope you found this information interesting and informative. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about any of our products, please do not hesitate to contact me.

At Sales-Are-Up.com we are committed to helping small business owners sell more products and services through the development of effective and affordable sales systems, sales tools and sales training education materials.