Use a script if you want to be helpful to anyone....even yourself.

A few years ago my phone rang and the phone number was from Louisiana.

I live in Washington state which is a long way from the gulf.

The woman on the other end told me that she needed some shirts for the fencing company that she worked for.  She told me that they were local and she wanted to come by.

I had recently been to New Orleans.  It was such a fantastic cultural experience for my wife and I.

When she came in I asked her about her phone number because she didn’t have any trace of an accent.  Why did she have a Luisiana phone number?

“Oh, I am from there.  I was raised there.  When I was a kid I had a speech impediment and went to speech therapy.  My therapist was from Southern California and taught me to talk like a Californian.”

I thought that that was such a fun story I filed it away to tell at some time.

You talk in a certain way.  It makes sense for the circumstances that you learned them in.  Rarely is anyone raised to do sales.  They learn it; it’s a skill.

You will find people who believe that they have the “gift of gab” but they never ask if it’s a gift anyone wants from them.  Usually they are just friendly, chatty people that think that they are entertaining and can fill any silence.

The professional salesman is trying to help people get what they want.

First off you must find out what the customer wants and usually they tell you stuff that they think that you need to know.

We want shirts.

Unless someone shows up without a shirt they don’t actually need a shirt.  They are after something else.

The person who wants a family reunion shirt is looking for a great memory at an event to come.

The business owner wants their employees to take their job seriously and customers to feel like they are working with professionals.

The team mom is shooting for team spirit and a sense of unity.

If you don’t know what they are after then you are just selling ink and fabric. This makes you a commodity and super super easy to replace.  A pro is serious about the craft of sales.

Professionals are curious and know how to ask questions.

“Tell me about the project” is my starting point.  It may not sound like a script but it is.  It’s not my natural tongue and nobody ever says that to me when I am buying.

I have found that customers get a little distance from the project and are more objective when they are asked about a project.  They talk about the outcome more and the feeling they are targeting.  They also tend to give up the challenges earlier (price and due dates are most common).

If it’s anything it’s not a “job”.  Nobody wants to have a job.  Jobs are everywhere and nobody cares about a job.  I can accept that getting tires on my car is a job but not my clothing.
From time to time people will hold information and sometimes I can feel it but not quite put my finger on it.  I will pull out another script for this.  It’s much longer but you can learn this and they open right up.

When I teach a class on the business of screen printing I pick someone in the first row and look them in the eye and say this:
“I just realized that I forgot to tell you my script.  I have said this a thousand times and it’s important that I say it.” I pause for a second and then say: “My job is to be your expert advisor and to give you all of the information that you need so that you can make decisions that are in line with your priorities.”

Suddenly you have gone from sitting across the table from a customer to sitting next to them and looking at the project together.  You have become a partner in getting them what they want.
There are two ways to get your scripts dialed in.  You can read books about scripts (I highly suggest Power Phone Scripts by Mike Brooks) and you can design your own.
I think the most effective way is doing both.  Listen to Jeb Blount talk about sales. Find Youtube videos from Zig Zigglar, Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy and keep going until you find the one that you vibe with.  They all do it differently and they should.  One of them will connect with you and you will suddenly realize that with a few well chosen words you can help people get what they want.

After each sale or nonsale you should fill out a form that is appropriate.  If you are selling large complex jobs you need to get feedback that is different from selling one off jobs at the mall.

They are different but that does not make one unimportant.  There are good reasons for why one salesman is helpful while another isn’t.  The one that is intentional will catch and bury the natural when the natural does not review.  Improvement comes from caring and observation.  If you never observe yourself then you will not improve at near the rate you would if you did.

Athletes watch game video and spot things as observers.

Did you use your scripts?

Were you curious?

What did they want as an outcome (if you cannot answer this then you have a giant red flag).

Where do they work, do business?  What was the organization?  This can yield up intent.

Rate your level of curiosity on a scale of 1-10.

Lazy salesmen have skinny kids and I want yours to have great meals and vacations.

Zig used to say that “Sales is the best paying hard work or the worst paying easy work”.

You need to decide if you are a pro or not.  I have just given you a ticket to the game.

Adam Funderburg

Highcalibercoaching.org