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Read this before writing your next call script

 

We send out this newsletter every two weeks, talking about how organizations and individuals can better communicate with their audience. Read the past issues.

 

The story goes that the first successful telemarketing calls were made by a group of amateur bakers who saw an opportunity to sell cookies and make money. They tested out conversational techniques, tweaking their script as their wares changed, and as prospects responded.

 

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find a copy of the script they used to talk to their clients. I am a big fan of cookies though, so I’ll try my best to recreate some of the techniques they might have used.

 

Here are some general best practices that should be helpful no matter what kind of script you’re creating:

 

🍪 Tip no. 1:  Anticipate questions, prepare answers

 

It should be simple to predict the more common questions that a contact might ask. Picture yourself as someone who is being called about your product, service or request:

 

  • What would you ask if you were interested?

“Awesome! How do I pay for this?”

 

  • What if you needed a bit more convincing?

“Not a fan of chocolate chip (🤨). Do you have any other cookies?”

 

Note that these FAQs do not necessarily need to be in the script itself (don’t want to bloat it). A separate section, document, or web page that callers can refer to will work just fine.

 

🍪 Tip no. 2: Give room for flexibility

 

Since it’s pretty easy to figure out if someone is reading from a script on a call (and who wants to engage in that sort of conversation?), it becomes necessary to offer some flexibility in the script, letting callers know they can frame the message in their own way.

 

Another option that can save time, especially if you trust your calling agents with your message, is to give them a list of talking points.

 

An example:

 

1. Introduce the cookie enterprise (“Would you like to know more?”)

 

2. Talk about the benefits of the cookies

  • Great taste
  • Premium quality
  • Fast shipping

3. Talk about cookie options

  • Chewie
  • Brittle
  • Melt in your mouth

4. Etc.

Note: Consider recording your calls. This helps you make sure they sound natural by tweaking your script as you review past conversations.

🍪 Tip no. 3: Sugar & Spice (and being nice!)

 

Let’s take this as an extension of the previous point. Contacts want to talk to real people (who are preferably understanding and nice). There are some things you can do with your script to help with this, but a lot of it comes from the tone individual agents take when speaking on a call.  

 

If you’re going for a full fledged script, optimize it for good vibes. Positive phrases like “Great”, “Awesome”, “I understand”, “Gladly”, or “Delicious” can help.

 

If you’re going for more flexibility, with talking points, you may have to talk to your calling agents about why empathy and positivity are important for the success of your calling campaigns.

 

🍪 Tip no. 4: Don’t miss out on data

 

The data your agents collect on calls will help you run targeted campaigns in the future.

 

Add questions to your script that help you decide how to best communicate with your contacts. 

 

Ex. “Would you like us to reach out to you about our cookies in the future?”

 

On CallHub, you can sync the data your agents collect back to your CRM. Here’s an example of a survey question on the CallHub agent interface.

 

 

That should give you a good start to writing an effective calling script. Looking for more specific script tips? Check out:

See you next time,

Mukundan