Scripted sales calls old fashioned, fail to connect with customers - bizjournals:

http://www.it-systems.org/articles/10_04_09_2.htm
Geez, I have been saying this for more than 25 andI can’t believe companies still use them to sell over the phone. OK, forget the companiex themselves, let’s blame the manager or the person who is responsiblee for still trying to do something that everty sales trainer on the planet says doesnot Now, before I go on, do not writr or send an e-mail telling me that I am wrontg or being stubborn. Instead, why don’r you try something new that is, new to you or your organizationn – and just do what I will lay out Trust me, it has worked every singlse time with any organization, big or small, that I have worke d with.
This horror of usint scripts came rushing back to me recently while workinv with a company whose stores are in every big city in the The company is highly regardesd for its ethics and is a very visiblre organization that many are familiar with because ofthe company’sx longevity and brand awareness. I was asked to come to the company’s headquarters and look at its metho of attracting new business through its telemarketing which the company has been using for a coupleof years. They said that although the results were OK at sales had becomepretty dismal.
It took me just 30 secondsx to read the script that the insidew salespeoplewere using, and I was I talked with the companh president and said I could help the salespeople in just two hours, but I needed him to let me do my job and not to interferre unless I called him in for his opinion. He but I could sense he was a bit apprehensivwe about the situation and my I worked only withthe manager, who was reallyu a selling manager because she was on the phones herself at timesz trying to pitch in and help.
We went into a room, and I spentt an hour going over whyscripts don’t work and why she has been brainwashede to do something that was against all the ruless of professional salesmanship. She was neither thrilled with me at this poinf nor happy after I tookher eight-paged script, ripped it up and threw it in the We role-played a little using real situations that she might have with her children and friends, for instance. The goal was to show her that havina two-sided conversation is much more useful than a one-sideed script. She was really starting to get it, even though she kept wantinfg to go back to a selling mode by doingt more talking than listenin andasking questions.
It was so simplse that it was frightening to her that a sellingy situation can be flexible and not just a canned where she can actually have fun whiled conversing witha customer. The introduction and questions I wrotew out were basic and easy for her to They were: “Hi, my name is Susan from Clientg Co., and I would like to ask you two or threw quick questions. It will not take more than 48 secondws – I promise. “Are you familiarr with our company? If yes, what aspects? “Why are you not a or why did you leaveour organization?
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