The trick to generating a sales lead is to follow a script but never let your prospect know that you’re doing so. In very effective appointment setting programs, the prospect needs to believe that the caller – who is actually employed by a prospecting service or outsourced lead generation firm – is in fact a seasoned member of the client’s company. Especially in a B2B call center, he or she must sound professional, credible and natural. That might sound as though the caller should not rely on a script.
But, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. All successful centers rely on strong scripts. They just internalize them and don’t read scripts word for word. The script keeps the staff on track and focused on the key objectives. It provides key phrases that communicate the benefits and features of the product or service, giving the prospect a compelling reason to agree to an appointment. Most importantly, it steers the caller to ask for the “close” which is often a face to face appointment, a webinar or a telephone appointment. The appointment setting process can be tedious. Sometimes callers can to wander off-script just to avoid the monotony. But, the best scripts work, and going off-script jeopardizes the ability to produce results.
At VSA, our account managers are responsible for developing the scripts. They understand the client’s objectives. They learn the benefits of the product or service. They know what sets our client apart from the competition, and what response to provide to likely objections. But, the account managers also listen to the callers. If one caller is particularly good at setting appointments, the account manager will listen to his/her feedback and incorporate key points used by that caller into the script. Our organization’s scripts are living, breathing documents. They are never stagnant because we are always incorporating information learned by our calling team.
Sales opportunities often need to be qualified, to ensure they meet criteria requested by the client. The script lists the qualifying criteria, which might include number of employees, who the prospect is currently using and the time remaining on the contract.
It is a proven fact that call centers who develop and follow solid scripts have greater success setting appointments and identifying qualified leads. It’s a discipline that not all prospecting services develop, but one that is a key to consistent success.