Are Your Sales Scripts Working For or Against You?

Copyright 2006 Joel Sussman

Sales scripts are a double edged sword. On one hand, they can help you present your selling points and sales rebuttals in an organized, strategic way. Used incorrectly, however, they can undermine your sales effectiveness and actually cause you to lose sales. Here’s a caveat worth considering: Although sales scripts may contain tried and proven tactics for converting sales prospects into customers, a surefire way to drive a wedge between you and your prospective clients is to sound like you’re reading a script or regurgitating memorized lines. Bridging the gap between salesperson and sales prospect often requires a conversational, informal delivery that won’t come across if you’re reciting a script.

All the World’s a Stage

One thing we often forget about in the world of business and in the business of life is to ‘lighten up’! Being too intensely serious and rigid can not only impair your ‘likeability factor’, but it can also cancel out a lot of the enjoyment you might derive from your business or career. Developing the ability to inject your presentations with a dose of personality, humor, and spontaneity can help you avoid sounding rehearsed and pushy. A certain amount of experimentation may be necessary to find out what works best for you, but that’s all part of the process.

Getting on the Same Wavelength

Flexibility is vitally important in developing rapport with a prospect and winning their confidence. If you’re adhering to a rigid script, then you’re not being responsive to their needs, concerns, and questions. Granted, listening and being empathetic is more of a challenge for some people than others, but if your success hinges on the ability to persuade and influence (and whose doesn’t?), then it’s a skill well worth cultivating. Very often the most fascinating, likeable, and persuasive people are the ones who have perfected the art of active listening.

Focus on Bullet Points

Rather than memorizing a sales script word for word, consider writing up an outline or a set of bullet points that you can impress on your mind. You may need to review the original sales script, every couple weeks, to make sure you’re ad-libbing effectively and accurately; but don’t lose sight of the way you’re communicating nonverbally, because that’s what your sales prospects are paying the most attention to.

It’s How You Say It

A lot of sales and marketing people tend to talk too fast, either because they’re so excited about what they’re selling or they’ve had one cup of coffee too many. Some may feel the need to talk fast if they have a lot of information to impart in a short period of time. Every situation is different, but in most cases, talking fast is major tactical error. First of all, it may make it difficult for your prospects to absorb the information you’re giving them (and if they’re confused, they’re not going to commit); and secondly… well, you know what they say about ‘fast talking salesmen’. One way to get a reality check, once or twice a year, is to videotape and critique mock sales presentations involving you a few of your associates. Getting their feedback and seeing yourself as others see you can be an effective way to iron out some of the wrinkles that may be thwarting your sales performance and limiting your income.

Against All Odds -Tips On How To Protect Your Assets

With so many bad things happening in our society today, it is important to obtain safety measure needed to protect our lives, our business, or simply the things we own. That is why a lot of people are finding asset protection as vital in one’s economic growth and stability.

- Asset protection shields your assets
- Protect your possessions against credit claims
- Easily dismiss complaints
- Crucial in company security

1. A Good Investment

For example, when an individual opt to buy some insurance for his or her car or house that is already one good illustration of asset protection. In this case, finding some means to protect your property because you value most the things that you own and the money, time, effort, and hardships that you have employed just to acquire the items is decent and practical. Hence, people who insist that getting asset protection is an immoral thing does not know anything about asset protection in one way or another. Nevertheless, for people who deem it more necessary than just buying some properties without insurance, there are some tips that you may find useful when getting asset protection.

2. Consider the different types of asset protection

Basically, there are three categories of asset protection: wealth-segregation asset protection, insurance-type, and the liability-limitation asset protection. Each category has its own function and description.

3. When using wealth-segregation asset protection

Today, there are many ways and laws made to segregate one’s wealth through asset protection method. In this method, you get to protect your assets that your creditors are aiming to get or your complainants who wish to obtain your assets. Good examples of asset protection are those that are stated in bankruptcy law. By filing bankruptcy, you get to protect your assets from imminent claims of your creditors. With bankruptcy proceedings, the court will usually issue a written order curbing your creditors from any claims against you or from continuous harassments. It is, however, still important to carefully consider such options before jumping into conclusions. Asset protection methods such as bankruptcy cases may have adverse effects on your credit history and may do more harm than good. So, when trying to utilize wealth-segregation type of asset protection, it is best to choose those that can safely shield your properties from any imminent danger without having to employ additional risk.

4. Insurance protection

This is one of the most common and well-known type of asset protection. Here, you pay certain amount of money in exchange of insurance policy that you will use in case something gets out of hand like accidents. The insurance company will be the one who will cover the cost of expenses incurred therein. In this way, you get to protect your asset against any claims of your complainants in lieu of the incident that had happened. When choosing insurance-type of asset protection, it is best to always shop around before deciding to get one. Keep in mind that not all asset protections are made equal and may vary from one company to another. That is why, it really pays to shop around and compare prices first so that you will get to choose the best asset protection for your property.

5. If you want the liability-limitation asset protection…

This type of asset protection entails the coverage for the assets incurred or invested by the company. This means that when things get out of hand, the company is bound to lose only the things that were invested by the company. It will not include the owner’s personal properties and other assets outside the company’s jurisdiction. Whereas, if a company does not have any asset protection, chances are, the owner will lose not only the things he or she had invested but all the other things outside the company as well, including cars and everything. Whatever protection it can give you, it is best to consider the rates and charges that it will cost you. There are instances that this type of asset protection usually charges big especially when the people behind the company who provides these asset protections know that they are dealing with a big business.