A universal challenge that business owners in every industry face in their day-to-day is how to make more sales. The modern-day consumer is constantly changing and evolving and they have practically unlimited access to information at their fingertips. With the rise of a more educated and savvy consumer, it’s up to you to give them a memorable buying experience. But how do you do that?
First, let me tell you a cold, hard truth – standard sales scripts are not going to work.
Don’t get me wrong; a sales script can be a solid starting point. But now more than ever, it’s important that the models and scripts you use are so flexible enough that you not only allow the personality of your sales professionals to shine through, but you're able to take your prospects through a selling pathway that's customised to their specific needs, wants and challenges.
This day and age is all about listening rather than us talking. So, how do you even go about writing a systemised process for that? Let us show you how.
No magic sales scripts available
Here’s a hard pill to swallow: magic sales scripts don’t exist. If they did, we’d all be writing these golden scripts and selling them to the highest bidder. Any good sales professional knows that’s just not how the real world works.
What you need are flexible and adaptable sales processes that allow you to get creative. You need models that give you the ability to tailor conversations for every type of customer so you can present a more real and authentic buying experience, and actually help solve their problems.
So, if you don't have a magic sales script, what should you do instead?
To fluff or not to fluff?
As said above, the problem with scripted selling is that once you’ve heard one sales professional make a pitch, you feel like you’ve heard them all. And with so many consumers becoming smarter and more aware of when businesses are selling to them with many scripts carbon copies of others, many sales professionals, unfortunately, end up sounding like robots and failing in their objectives.
What will set your business up for success instead?
You need to firstly, start by understanding your prospect. Remember, every person is different. You might say one sentence to someone and it'll mean a completely different thing to another person. That's why you need to start by understanding how your prospect interprets and processes things, as well as how they like to receive information. For example, one helpful tool would be to understand DISC personality types.
This will help you figure out if you should start by building rapport, or just getting straight to the point. Some customers prefer that you go directly to the point and not fluff about on your way to the sale. They want to know what’s in it for them because they’re time-conscious, head-driven, and love bottom-line figures.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have customers who are completely put off by fast-paced conversations. They want the fluff – to talk about themselves, their experience, and what you have to offer. The more they know about you and your business, and the more you find out about exactly what makes them tick and how you can help, the more comfortable they are to share their problems and open themselves up for you to make that sale.
Working on tailoring your sales calls and pitches so you don’t sound like a used car salesman? We have a FREE Sales Script Template on how to sell less like a 'script' and more like a 'process'. If you need some tips on how to move your prospects into paying customers quickly, check out what The Entourage has to offer.
A quick lesson in building rapport
Next, once you know how your prospect thinks and processes information, you build rapport in the way they like to receive it. As mentioned, it could either be a longer conversation, getting to know them first, or it could be directly asking questions about their problems first and getting straight to the point.
However, there are is a rapport-building model you can utilise to get your prospects to feel comfortable and open up. Think ALF.
What is ALF?
ALF is a rapport-building model where your customer leads the conversation and it’s up to you to continue the conversation going.
What exactly does it stand for?
Ask: Ask the first question. You just need a starting point.
Listen: Listen to the answer. This may seem like a no-brainer but there are salespeople who tune out because they’re already thinking of the next question instead of digesting what the prospect says.
Formulate: Formulate your next question based on their answer.
In summary, you’re asking questions on people’s answers. This means that you’ll be discussing things that your prospect is happy to talk about.
What makes ALF powerful is that you can create a common ground between you and your customer without the rigor of having to say your script, and if that doesn’t work, ask where to next. ALF gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with your customers.
This should be the basis of your entire sales process - asking, listening, formulating because who else better knows what your prospect wants to hear in order for them to buy other than your prospect themselves?
So what’s next?
Sometimes the best sales script is having no script at all. Free yourself of the inflexible questions and structure, and come up with a prompt that allows you to focus on learning about your prospects. Create models that give you flexibility and allow your personality to shine, which is exactly what the modern consumer is looking for – a connection.
If you want to learn more about how The Entourage can help you and your business improve sales strategies that guarantee revenue growth, get in contact with us today to see how we can help.
Don't forget to check out our podcast episode of The Make It Happen Show featuring our team's Head of Entrepreneurial Development, Stev Lackovic, on how you can improve your sales immediately increase business growth below.
