5 Tips for Developing an Effective Inside Sales Call Scripts

For an inside sales rep, your first sales conversation with a prospective customer is not only your most challenging, it is easily your most important.

Having an effective inside sales call script is the first step in converting your conversations into revenue.

So no pressure. Here are 5 tips to help you develop an effective inside sales call script:

Tip #1: First impressions count

You only have one chance to make your first impression on the phone. Social media and email correspondence can warm up your leads, but it isn't until you actually speak to your prospect on the phone, that you will be able to introduce yourself and move your prospect to the next step in the sales process. Just as important, it is also your chance to qualify or disqualify your prospect.

Tip #2: Go Slow

Early in my career I always tended to rush the call. I'm not sure why, but I wanted to get all the information I wanted to convey into the first 30 seconds of the conversation. Through experience, I learned it was much better to go slow. Slowing down allows the customer to understand and listen to your message.

Tip #3: Keep goal of sales calls in mind

Sales is a series of discrete steps. Keep the goal of your call in mind. For instance, if this is your first call (cold call), your goal may be to simply establish contact and determine if you are speaking to the right person. Your next step may be a demo or discovery call where you spend more time qualifying your prospect and understanding their needs. The third might be a demo. Don't try to do it all at once in the first call.

Tip #4: Simplify

Another rookie mistake is to try to recite the ENTIRE script you learned in training... word-by-word... in one breath... without giving the prospect a chance to answer...

Instead, get to the point quickly, but don't read your script. Keep it short, concise, and to the point. Identify the purpose of the call and work towards your goal.

Tip #5: Be Prepared

When manually cold calling you may go through a lot of dials before getting a connect. You can lose focus with the tedium of dialing, leaving messages, and dealing with gatekeepers. You can certainly daydream and then be "surprised" when someone answers the phone.

If you're using a high-speed sales dialing solution, like ConnectLeader Team Dialer, the connections come fast and furiously. You need to be ready to jump right into that call in less than a second. You need to be prepared to greet the customer and accomplish your goal (See Tip #2). A few ways to improve your calling skills is to conduct a "self-audit". Are you using a lot of non-verbal fillers (i.e. ahhh, umm, so)? Are you "speaking over" the customer? Preparation helps you project confidence. Even if you are a new inside sales rep, being prepared helps you get up to speed faster.

Your sales manager or coach can help you by listening in on the calls and providing feedback during the call. Role-playing can help too.