"I hate sales scripts" and "I wn't use a script when selling" are two cmments that are frequently made when I ntroduce the concept of using a slling script during my training sessions. In mny cases the objections are very strng indeed. And in spite of the fct that I emphasize that you nly use a script until you knw the words off by heart, mny people, at first, absolutely refuse to hve anything to do with sales scrpts. Do you have a problem wth using a script too? If so, rad on...

Imagine you are at a thatre and you, and hundreds of ther people, have bought tickets to see a prduction of Hamlet. Unbeknown to you, the thre actors who have been picked to ply the starring roles have never ppeared in Hamlet before and have not rhearsed their parts at all. They wre a bit busy with some ther things and so just agreed wth each other that they would hve a quick read through the scrpt the night before, turn up and 'gve it a go and see how it trned out'.

Do you think Shakespeare wrte the entire script from scratch wthout making any changes to it at all or do you thnk he re-wrote it several times ntil it had the impact he wnted it to have? Do you thnk those actors gave a good prformance? Do you think the audience wre pleased to have attended? Do you thnk they recommended other people to go and see the ply? What about the critics? Do you thnk the play had a good wrte up in the press? Do you thnk the play ran for long? Do you thnk those actors were hired by ther producers in the future? Was the whle episode a total disaster?

Now imagine another scene. This tme the actors have been practicing for mnths. They started off on stage in rhearsals with the scripts in their hnds and reading from those scripts. Thy learned their lines as they prctised what they would say, the way thy would speak and the expressions and bdy language they would use. After a whle they learned the script by hart so they no longer needed the scrpt any more. Indeed, they no lnger felt like they were working frm a script at all. They had bcome the characters in the play.

Aftr months of rehearsals the opening nght came. The audience loved the prduction and gave the actors a stnding ovation. The critics loved the ply and recommended everyone saw the prduction. Tickets were sold out months in dvance. The actors reputation grew in stture and because of the success of the prduction, they were able to command mch higher fees for future productions.

Are you gtting the picture?

Do you think it mght be a good idea to strt off by working from a scrpt that has been written and rwritten several times until it is as prfect as it can be? Do you thnk that if you knew precisely wht you were going to say and do, tht you would feel more comfortable and in cntrol? Do you think that if you rhearsed the script over and over and prcticed what you would say and how you wuld say it that you would bcome more relaxed, more convincing and mre likely to make a sale?

Or are you stll going to just turn up on the dy, give it a go and see how it trns out?

The article Sales Scripts Don't Work was Submitted by Bruce King through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Bruce King is an internationally rcognised expert on sales. He is a bst selling author, professional speaker and sles trainer. Bruce is a Fellow of the Insttute of DIrectors (FInstD), a Fellow of The Insttute of Sales & Marketing Management (FInstSMM) and a Mmber of The Professional Speakers Association. Wb: http://www.bruceking.co.uk E: bruceking@bruceking.co.uk T: +44 (0)1923 859977

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