My strength when it comes to business is this: I like simplicity.
And I was staring at something that was the OPPOSITE of that: a 20-page document written on how to run a sales call.
In the midst of it was what I had written almost 3 years ago, a very straightforward script and key objections to handle.
But they were buried under bullet points and bullet points. Email template after email template.
And the effects were obvious: my new sales reps weren’t understanding their scripts.
In fact, they rarely looked at the scripts while they were calling (and because of this were often let go).
I figured out how to make it simple and effective.
I trimmed and hacked and I was left with 2 documents:
One was four pages (on Google Docs) and the other was eight pages.
I could have made them one document, but it would have been a bit long.
(Btw, here’s an article on 10 lessons I’ve learned about hiring remote sales reps over the last 16 years)
There are FOUR essential parts to a sales script, and here they are:
But first..Quick Intro: I scaled my service business from $1.3M to $10.2M in 19 months, and it takes me half a day per week to manage. Now, I help service founders hire and onboard remote sales reps to generate $20k+ per month without them sorting resumes or building SOPs. Book a call to learn more at www.winwinwitheric.com
Part 1: The Cold Call to the Gatekeeper
A remote sales rep has to generate “First Time Appointments” and that happens by cold calling.
My company targets schools and districts, so we’d launch a campaign to talk to thousands of prospects.
The sales rep has a very simple script that I break down into the:
“Quick Greeting,” “Quick Ask,” “Information Gathering”
In that remote sales script, every word has been edited for maximum efficiency.
For example, we don’t start with “Hi, how are you?”
We say “Hi, this is (xyz) from LIFT Enrichment and we (quick pitch). Could I speak to (the person in charge of after-school programs)?”
It’s designed to get us to where we need to be…which is with the decision maker.
Part 2: First Contact with the Decision Maker
The decision maker, whether it’s a CEO, director, or Vice President, is not happy to be on the phone.
It’s an interrupt of his or her day and now the sales rep must capture the interest, set a meeting and build rapport…without seeming “salesy,” “pushy” or “too nice.”
It’s a middle ground and we have that conversation down quickly.
The biggest issue I see with new sales reps is a lack of confidence. They’re too excited, or grateful, to have made it to the decision maker that they start ad-libbing and not going through the script.
The script resolves every objection that typically comes our way. “How much do you cost?” “Why should we work with you versus a competitor?” etc.
And my best sales reps push forward to close the meeting time and date.
Part 3: The First Time Appointment (aka sales presentation)
In Part 3, this is where we separate the pros from the amateurs.
In my SOP, we divide this into two parts: the PowerPoint presentation (which is about 20ish slides) that explains what we do, establishes our expertise and answers common objections before they come.
It’s visual, which is helpful because we sell an in-person cooking class experience.
The second part is called the “Logistics Sheet” and goes over a Google Sheet explaining the exact number of workshops we’ll be presenting in the proposal.
Then there are some back-and-forth questions and then we end with a follow-up meeting.
Part 4: The Follow-Up and Close
After the proposal is sent, there are typically a lot of follow-ups until we get a Yes or No, because we work with government entities. If you’re working with entrepreneurs, there’s a lot less because decisions can be made faster.
These follow-ups are often short and sweet, using phone and email strategically.
We have good notes on the CRM we use and I can look at any deal and know where it is in the pipeline.
Each of these parts has a lot of finer details, but I keep those for my clients who want to build a remote sales team with a strong SOP and effective training.
I geek out over a good SOP (after all, I’m a writer!) and if you need help hiring and training a remote sales rep to earn $20k+ per month, let’s meet for a quick call at www.winwinwitheric.com