All The Tricks To Build A Call Your Representative Script

Why do you need a ‘call your representative’ script?

Imagine this. 

You have a strong supporter eager to get in touch with your representative. You have reached that supporter and patched them through to your representative. But now, they don’t know what exactly to say. 

The time and effort you and your supporters put in could have been used much more effectively if they knew how to initiate the conversation and put forth their ask or argument.

That is where having a script tailored to specifically call a representative helps. 

In this article, we have covered multiple scripts for the same. Let’s start with understanding some basics of addressing a representative.

How do you address a representative?

Start with personalization and respect.

We recommend that you ensure your supporters know who they are talking to and start the conversation accordingly- for instance, addressing the individual with a Mr./Ms./Mrs/Dr. followed by their last name.

In the middle of the call, it’s also okay to address the representative by their position- for example, senator, congresswoman, congressman.

Let’s explore some varieties of call your representative script in the next section.

Sample script for calling your representative

Let’s look at some ‘call your representative’ scripts you can share with your supporters to talk to their representatives. In all these scripts, we have followed a format that’s known to be effective. 

Here’s how it goes:

1. Self-introduction, i.e., the supporter who is calling your representative.
2. Professional expertise of the supporter to establish credibility.
3. The issue and the impact.
4. Expected action from the representative.
5. Thanking the representative with a persuasive ending note.

Let’s get to it.

Note: We have arrived at this format keeping in mind that since the representatives receive hundreds of calls in a day, your call should be brief and on point, while making it compelling. 

Call your representative script: Scripts for calling your senator

Here are scripts for calling your senator for some common scenarios:

• Support for education programs for adults
• Funding package to stop the government shutdown
• Cosponsor a bill
• Protecting retirement and health benefits
• Passing an act.

Let’s see each of them in detail.

Support for education programs for adults

Hello, [representative’s name]! My name is [your name], and I’m a constituent from [state name]. I’m a [designation] at [organization name]. I’m calling because I’d like to request your support for retaining the education program for adults nationwide. 

The [party in power]’s proposed budget eliminates a certain share of the budget allocated for this program. This would lead to the lack of resources such as training personnel, training materials, and more. 

I’m sure you agree with me when I say these adult education programs, especially those focused on basic skills, help improve the employability and earnings of the people of America. This, in turn, boosts our economic well-being as a nation. 

The fact that educating our people and empowering them for employment helps us combat poverty and develop the workforce is a solid reason to implement this program.  

I request you vote ‘No’ on cutting the funds for the adult education program. Thank you for your time, [representative’s name]. I hope you will make the right call.

Tip: Mentioning the professional expertise of your supporter if it’s aligned with the issue you are focusing on helps build credibility.

Read Also: Effective Cold Calling Scripts: A Script to Address Every Scenario

Funding package to stop the government shutdown

Hello, [representative’s name]! My name is [your name], and I’m a constituent from [state name]. My family and I are concerned about the government shutdown we have been reading about in the news. 

Although strategists say the chances are slim, I request you to encourage a funding package to resolve the matter altogether. Since this is also a time-sensitive issue, we would highly appreciate it if you could take immediate action within the limits of your power. 

Thank you for your hard work, [representative’s name]!

Important reminder: Always let the representative know that you are from the same constituency. The elected officials are the most interested in hearing you if they know you are their constituent. 

Read Also: Guide Call Center Agents to the Right Questions with Branching Scripts on CallHub

Cosponsor a bill

Hello, [representative’s name]! My name is [name], and I live in [city name]. I strongly support the International Violence Against Women Act and would like your support by cosponsoring it and helping it pass. 

The research my team at [organization name] conducted shows that at least one out of every three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, with the abuser usually someone known to her. 

Passing this bill would result in implementing best practices to prevent violence, victim protection, and prosecuting offenders. 

Please help us pass this act, [representative’s name]. We are counting on your support.

Tip: Make the call as personal as possible. Your individual stories and how the issue impacts you on a personal level make for a compelling ask.

Protecting retirement and health benefits

Hello, [representative’s name]! My name is [name], and I’m a retired [designation] and a member of [organization]. I’m a constituent from [state name], and I’m calling on behalf of thousands of retired employees of the state. 

We understand that there is a budget crisis at hand, but cutting down the funds allocated to government servants’ retirement and health benefits seems unfair. I request you to strongly oppose this and protect the benefits we deserve as a community. 

Thank you for listening, [representative’s name]. We expect to receive a response regarding this matter.

Passing an act

Hello, [representative’s name]! My name is [your name], and I’m a constituent from [state name]. I’m calling today with the hope that you’re planning to support passing the [name of the act]. 

I hope you will do everything in your capacity to achieve this. Your support would increase our chances of success, and nothing would make us, [people concerned with the act], happier. I hope you agree on how critical this is to fix the [issue].

Important reminder: Always know the basic facts of the issue before getting on the call.

Call your representative script: Scripts for calling the national office

Standing against cutting funds for healthcare

Hello, [representative’s name]! My name is [your name], and I’m a constituent from [state name]. I manage [designation] at [organization name]. I’m calling to ask you to support us in opposing the proposal for reducing the funds allotted for healthcare in [state].

I request you to consider the hard times we faced when we lost our loved ones to COVID and the chaos a poor health system would cause in case of another pandemic. Even without a global health emergency, we must respect the phenomenal and priceless job our healthcare workers do.

Please vote ‘No’ on cutting the funds for healthcare. Thank you for your time and hard work, [representative’s name]. 

Call your representative script: Scripts for calling your legislator

Support or oppose a bill

Hello, [representative’s name]! I’m a constituent from [state name]. I want to take two minutes of your time to put forth the concern regarding [bill name/issue]. Please know that I represent the people in [locality/community]. 

I urge you to support H.R. 6575. By doing so, you would be helping prevent gun violence and harbor a better and safer living environment. The research and investigation on the lost and stolen guns would be a great start to ending this act of crime. 

Please support us in this journey of victim assistance. We believe in you, [representative’s name]. Thank you for your time.

Call your representative script: Scripts for calling your congressperson

Elimination of sales tax on food

Hello, [representative’s name]! My name is [name], and I live in [city name]. I’m calling you to express my concern about the newly proposed tax on the direct sale of food items. 

As the leader of [community/organization name], we, the residents of [city name] with a low-income bracket, have struggled to meet ends. We want to be able to afford basic healthy food, and I’m counting on you to vote ‘No’ for the implementation of a high sales tax on food.

Thank you for your time, [representative’s name].

Call your representative script: Script for calling your supporters

Now that we have different scripts for calling your representative, let us help you with a script to talk to your supporters before you patch them through.  

There you go.

What next?

These scripts can be personalized and customized for different scenarios. We also have a quick guide on setting up patch-through calls for advocacy. 

On that note, here are some features to look out for in a patch-through calling software when you are calling your representative:

• Adding scripts for your volunteers to refer to on the dashboard.
• Ability to set up transfers using multiple digits.
• Live phone call monitoring, i.e., your agents stay on the call on mute while your supporters talk to the representatives.
• Unlimited volunteer seats.
• Notes to collect information while on the call.
• Integration with CRMs to sync all the collected information with your database.
• The ability to make calls from multiple devices.
• Grouping of volunteers into teams so you can have a representative for each.
• Survey tools to take digital responses and use for future communication strategy.

CallHub’s patch-through calling software has all these features and more that align with your use cases. 

Try it for free today; you don’t need to add your credit card details 😊

Featured image: ​​Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels