Telesales scripts: how to write a telesales script that sounds natural

Why use a telesales script at all?

Many salespeople resist scripts because they are afraid of sounding like a robot. In practice the opposite happens. When you know exactly what you will say in the first 15 seconds and which question comes next, your mind is free to listen, and listening is what makes you sound natural.

A good script also gives a team consistency. Every caller leads with the same tested benefit, asks the questions that qualify a prospect and handles the common objections in the same proven way. New starters get on the phone sooner, and managers can coach against a shared standard instead of personal opinion.

What is the structure of a good telesales script?

Jenny's scripts follow the same eight steps she teaches for every professional sales call. Write each step as a heading on your page, then fill in the words underneath.

1. 1

   Greeting and name

   Greet the person by name and give your name and company. Leave out “How are you today?” and never ask whether it is a good time.

2. 2

   Rapport hook

   One line that shows you have done your homework: a referral, a news item or something you know about their business.

3. 3

   Interest-grabbing statement

   One sentence with one major benefit to the prospect. This is the line to write word for word.

4. 4

   Three questions

   No more than three open or direct questions that uncover their situation and qualify them.

5. 5

   Listen and summarise

   Leave space to repeat back what they said, in their words, before you present anything.

6. 6

   Short presentation

   Two or three benefits matched to their answers, a testimonial, the value in dollars and a reason to act now.

7. 7

   Trial close and objections

   A check-in question, then your prepared replies to the five objections you hear most.

8. 8

   Close and next step

   Ask for the appointment or order, then confirm the day, the time and what happens next.

Fit the whole structure on one page, with the opening written out in full and everything else as short prompts. Prospects never follow your order exactly, so clear headings help you find your place again after a question or a detour.

How do you write the opening line of a script?

The interest-grabbing statement carries more weight than any other line in your script. Jenny's four step formula for writing it:

1. Interview a few of your best customers and ask why they buy from you.
2. Write down five benefits of your product or service.
3. Choose the one benefit that applies to most of the people you call.
4. Begin with “We help you”, “We show you” or “We have an idea that will”, then add that benefit.

Another of her formulas suits almost any business: “We specialise in working with [type of client] in helping them to [goal] so that they can [result they want].” Her article on cold call openings that grab interest has more versions to test.

Cold calling script template you can adapt

This illustrative template is written for a B2B appointment-setting call. Replace the bracketed parts, read it aloud, and cut any word you would not say in a real conversation.

Notice that the questions come straight after the interest grabber. Jenny's rule is to build rapport through questions, not to flood the prospect with product information. If a concern comes up, switch to your objection replies, then come back to the close. Ready-made replies are in how to handle objections, and how to make an appointment covers the booking step in more detail.

Which scripts does a business need?

Scripts are not only for outbound callers. Jenny points out that first impressions of a company form in the first 15 seconds of the phone being answered. Your best salesperson can win interest, then lose the order when the prospect calls back and the front desk mishandles it. When she reviewed one service business, she listed nine scripts it needed:

• Message bank greeting for after hours and weekends
• Message bank greeting for tradespeople and managers
• Reception script for taking orders, with upsell questions
• After-hours call back script, with upsell
• Appointment-setting script
• Complaint-handling script
• Reply for price shoppers
• Overdue account collection script
• Quote follow-up script

Start with the two or three calls that bring in the most revenue, usually the cold call, the appointment call and the follow-up call, then work outwards. Scripts alone are not enough, though. Frontline staff need coaching and practice before the words sound like their own.

How do you test and improve a script?

Treat every script as a draft until the phone proves it. These checks will tell you what to keep:

• Read it aloud. If you stumble or run out of breath, the sentence is too long.
• Role play it with a colleague who plays a busy, slightly impatient prospect.
• Listen back to recorded calls, where your phone system and the law allow it, and note where prospects go quiet, push back or end the call.
• Ask your best performer to mark up the script with the phrases they actually say on calls.
• Change one line at a time, so you know which change made the difference.
• Keep a printed copy by the phone and glance over it before each session.

Can someone write a telesales script for you?

If you would rather hand the job to a specialist, Jenny's telesales script writing service builds a script around your product, your customers and the objections your team actually hears. Quotes start at around A$600, a script can usually be created within 3 days, and changes after delivery cost nothing extra. Your team starts the week with words they trust, and you stop hearing a different pitch from every desk.

Prefer to learn the method yourself? Jenny's free eBook, How to Make a Professional Telephone Sales Call, takes you through a professional sales call in 9 steps, with a video for every step, for cold calling and appointment-setting calls.