Structure of a Sales Message

There are a few structures which you can use to construct a winning sales communication; this is one of them. This outline is based on the AIDA formula, Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

The adaptation is the concept of Removing Doubt, in terms of how the prospect cannot lose out by being your customer/client.

Outline of an ad e-mail or sales letter.

Target the right prospect (Fundamental).

1. A compelling headline or in the case of e-mail a compelling message (Attention)
2. Graphics (Attention)
3. A proposition leading to an offer (Interest)
4. How will they benefit from your proposition and offer (Desire)
5. How they cannot lose by taking you up on your offer (Remove Doubt)
6. How others have benefited – Optional (Remove Doubt)
7. A call to action (Action)

Regards


Mark Wheatley

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved

The Power of Sales Scripts

When I talk about scripts I don’t mean like a badly trained telesales person who sound like they are reading. I mean well rehearsed natural sounding scripts very much like the way a good actor can deliver lines.

So when someone says to you I want to think about it You could say……….

You: Well that's quite understandable it can be a little daunting dealing with a new supplier or buying this particular product ...............What particular aspect of what I've covered with you; do you need to think about, is it the service we offer, the discount structure that we have put together or is it the actual products?

Good Scripts can increase your closing ratio Enable you to sell more and obtain more referrals

The script book

The purpose of the scripts is to assist you in making more effective and professional face-to-face sales presentations and to help you handle telephone sales situations as well.

Your scripts can be written up and recorded in a script book.

The objective of a script book is to make both you and the company a lot more money.

We all have good days and bad days, even the best salespeople. Sometimes you say something that's really good and convincing and on other occasions, you'll struggle to find the right words and lose a sale.

A script book will help you perform at a more consistent level.

We are all unique individuals and we don't all feel comfortable using exactly the same styles phrases etc. Yet we know that some salespeople that the right phrases that have more ammunition which they are able to draw upon it.

When you develop a script book you will create your own arsenal of useful phrases that suit your personal style.

Clearly you won't have the script book with you when you meet a customer or client you can of course have it by your side, if you're making telephone calls. You need to keep referring back to the book to learn your lines.

How the scripts are controlled is individual to each company.

My recommendation is that a central script book is maintained and you and your salespeople contribute to it being updated, with your managers working together to continually improve the different phrases that you develop.

There will be certain scripts that you will have to learn verbatim such as how you integrate the Unique Selling Proposition, key selling points and cross selling phrases, or up selling phrases.

The Voice

When delivering scripts is also important to work on your voice, your tone your speed of speech. For example if you talk too fast you sound too much like a salesperson.

The way you use the voice of course, has a massive impact on the words that use, is important to match people for pace and volume, when they're talking, fast talking people should slow the pace down to match the pace of slow speaking people.

A loud booming voice shouldn't be used on a soft-spoken person.

How the words sound more important as the words you use.

Below are a few advantages of a good script book:

• You will close a lot more sales and make more money
• You will be able to handle all objections and put off’s such as; ‘Send me something in the post” You will sell more to each new client/customer
• You will get peoples attention
• You will build better rapport and relationships
• You won't forget what to say or say it in the wrong order
• You will be able to make more sales calls
• You will reduce the number of bad days If you're new to the company your training will be a lot faster You will up sell, cross sell more and gain referrals and testimonials
• You will be able to get the message across consistently and including the distinct advantages you offer and why they should choose your company
• A sales script ensures all aspects of what you are trying to sell is covered
• You will have all the right questions to gather the right information to close the sale
• You will sound sincere and professional
• If your best salesperson left all of his/her superior sales conversations would not be lost

Changing what you say impacts the bottom line without any extra effort, once you’ve developed them and learned your lines. So change what you say and change your results.

Good Luck and Good Selling

Regards


Mark Wheatley 

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved

Sir John Harvey Jones

I was looking through some quotes the other day and found this one by the late Sir John Harvey Jones.

'Basically I try to jolly things along. After all, the problems can only be solved by the people who have them. You have to try and coax them and love them into seeing ways in which they can help themselves'

It's a great example of collaborative consulting which is the method that I prefer to use.

I met Sir John at a networking event some years ago, if you ever get a chance to read his books or see some of his old programmes such as the 'Trouble Shooter' T.V. series, his approach and methods are still very relevant today.

Regards,

Mark Wheatley

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved

Time Management

I was asked the other day about what stops some small business owners growing their business, why don’t they market themselves well?

There is no simple answer to that question, but if you asked me what is the thing that I see the most, that stops some small business owners marketing and growing their business. Its managing themselves and others.

If you cannot free up some time, how can you develop the business?

An improvement in time management skills plus some general people management skills can make a significant difference to your success, if this is a problem.

Michael Gerber coined the phase ‘working on the business instead of working in the business.’

I would regard developing the marketing and sales strategies/tactics as being on of those working on the business tasks.

It’s very difficult to allocate time to do this if you haven’t mastered skills like how to use your time effectively, skills such as delegation, setting high quality goals, or being too accessible or simply saying yes too often.

The worse one is ‘reverse delegation,’ when your staff give you back the job and you end up working even longer hours.

Let me know if you have some issues with time management, tell me what they are and I’ll give you a few pointers. Also if you have any tips of your own lets hear them.

Regards,

Mark Wheatley

Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2009 All Rights Reserved