May 15

Inside Sales: Why good call guides are built on storytelling

Inside Sales

1  comments

Inside sales, it’s not just about what you “ask” prospects; it’s about when you ask them.

This is where a lot of sales development reps get it wrong.

Intuitively, fast, upfront and to-the-point seem like a sound approach, and I’m a big fan of brevity.

But, I also believe in timing and sequence, as both can make or break conversion.

In this B2B Lead Roundtable Blog post, we’ll break down a call script used for voicemails from a lead nurturing experiment to understand better how positioning your “ask” at the right time can aid your lead nurturing efforts.

Breaking down your call guide into sections can help you diagnose problems.

control-call-script

In control for this experiment, the voicemail call guide could be divided into four sections:

  1. An introduction
  2. The company identifier
  3. The follow-up from the previous touchpoint
  4. The “ask”

Know when to flip (and rip up) the script

follow-up-in-call-script

The MECLABS research team hypothesized the follow-up section, or part 3 in control, was buried too deep in the script and should be moved up in the treatment.

new-copy-call-script

The team also included a new sentence that further justified the reason for calling. The copy changes were hypothesized to deliver a prospect-level appeal of letting us “work with your consultant” instead of “doing the work yourself.”

call-script-results

The new treatment call guide aligned every sentence into a carefully crafted argument that increased conversion by 31%.

Build call guides and scripts to tell prospects your story

Ultimately, the big takeaway here is people arrange their thoughts in story format.

Consequently, how you arrange the story in your marketing efforts will make the difference between delivering information of true value or just another frustrating sales pitch prospects don’t want to hear.

Value craves sequence, for a sequence is the mother of perfect timing.

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About the author 

Brian Carroll

Brian Carroll is the CEO and founder of markempa, helping companies to convert more customers with empathy-based marketing.

He is the author of the bestseller, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale and founded B2B Lead Roundtable LinkedIn Group with 20,301+ members.

  1. This is a great article. I love the writing you guys do on lead nurturing. The storytelling angle is a perfect example of why I follow this site religiously. Thanks, keep up the good work.

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