Did your favorite actor sound like she was reading a script? Probably not. If you’re like most moviegoers, you were caught up in the emotion of the story and wondering what was going to happen next. But somewhere at the beginning of the movie-making process, that actor who just made you laugh out loud and even cry, was handed a script and told by the director, “These are your lines. This is what we want you to say when we film you.”
So how come it sounded so real?

Jump-cut to the world of Direct Response call centers. You’re a marketer. You just spent thousands developing a product, creating a TV/Radio/Internet campaign, and purchasing more thousands of dollars worth of media. Now, the outcome of this huge investment of time, energy and money is in the hands of $12 per hour call center agents who are greeting every one of your eager callers with…you guessed it…a SCRIPT! Often, a poorly written script.
If you don’t believe it, ask the agents.

That call center script (and the way it’s delivered) can make a difference of 2 % to 20% in additional conversions. Those additional percentage points in conversion can increase your revenue (or your client’s revenue) by thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Call center scripts tend to be written by marketers or call center staff (often, not trained script writers). The tendency is to give too much information and leave little space for the agent to interact with the caller. Long on features and short on benefits, the majority of call center scripts are ‘cookie-cutter’ boiler-room copy, dripping with corny buzz words and ‘snake-oil’ phrases that are off-putting at best and offensive at worst. Many soft offer scripts simply start out by asking for a credit card. That may work on a price add, but it will net you only the lay-downs on soft offers. And who can prosper on lay-down business in this economy?

Equipping call center agents with well crafted scripts that encourage interaction with the caller is essential for the survival of the Direct Response ‘Soft Offer’ Industry. So, what are the elements of a powerful money-making call center script that maximizes agent performance, conversions, and dollars per call? In my experience, here are five key ingredients in a powerful, money-making call center script:

1. Keep the script conversational (write call center scripts in plain English). In the same way that a good screenplay produces a good film because the dialogue sounds ‘real’, a strong, conversational call center script maximizes sales. Eliminate ‘canned’ words and phrases and replace with plain English.
   
   A great revenue generating script requires a lot of listening to calls, role-playing, and frequent edits to the script during the initial stages of a campaign. Listen not only to the agent, but to how the caller is responding to the script.
   
   ‘Double loop’ feedback to and from sales agents is a must to create a script that will maximize sales and dollars per call.
   
   
2. Add probing questions. There’s no way to know what’s going to motivate a caller to buy today without asking. Add open-ended probing questions that will help identify the caller’s emotional ‘Hot Button’. What is most important to the caller about this product/service? What was it about the media message that made the caller pick up the phone? What value-building benefits is the caller going to respond to that will overcome any hesitancy the caller may have about purchasing today?
   
   
3. After probing questions, include a brief presentation or promise (no more than 3 sentences) and a bullet-pointed selection of 4 or 5 additional value statements (emotional benefits) that can be tailored to the caller’s specific interests. Too much information raises doubts and kills desire. Irrelevant benefits, though they may seem stupendous to the person who wrote the script, can easily become objections to the caller who couldn’t care less. Benefits are like arrows in a quiver. When the target comes into view (the callers emotional ‘Hot Button’) through open-ended probing, the skilled sales agent draws ONE arrow from the quiver and skillfully guides it to its target. If the arrow hits the bulls-eye (the ‘Hot Button’), the caller will respond with increased desire to make a buying decision today. One or two more well-guided arrows (benefits) to the undecided caller’s ‘Hot Button’, and you’ve maximized your chances of getting the order.
   
   
4. Write a strong, assumptive call-to-action. Don’t leave the call-to-action to chance. Write it out. 50% of non-buyers report that the reason they didn’t buy is because they weren’t asked. The “Do you want to try it?” close is not assuming the sale. A strong assumptive close is “Let’s go ahead and get that out to you, Suzie. What’s your shipping address?” Scripts that don’t include a strong assumptive close send a mixed message to the agents and to the callers. “Do you want to try it?” is an open invitation to the caller to think of reasons not to try it!
   
   
5. Write your FAQs in a sales format. Let’s face it. Most FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) give WAY too much information. If the caller wasn’t confused enough when she asked the question, she’s sure to be hopelessly confounded when she hears the ‘answer’. Most sales are lost during the question-answer portion of the call because the caller gets confused and confused callers don’t make buying decisions. So, what’s the solution? Write out all your FAQs in the Answer-Benefit-Close format. State the simplest ANSWER to the caller’s question in 2 sentences or less. Then add one or two BENEFIT statements (build more value in the product/Service). Then CLOSE. Assume the sale and ask for the order. This ingredient alone, if practiced consistently, will increase your conversions.
   

Great script editing is cheap compared to media testing to increase sales. A good script edit can often bump conversions at a fraction of the cost of testing a new offer, spot, infomercial, or call center. So, why not focus on increasing sales on the call center side by testing new scripts, before spending (and possibly wasting) tens of thousands of dollars on testing media and multiple call centers? What’s in a script? Often, a LOT of hidden revenue!