In sales, it’s not just about what you “ask” prospects; it’s about when you ask them.
This is where many sales development reps get it wrong.
Intuitively, fast, upfront, and to the point seems 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 post, we’ll break down a call script used for voicemails in a lead nurturing experiment to better understand 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.
In control for this experiment, the voicemail call guide could be divided into four sections:
- An introduction
- The company identifier
- The follow-up from the previous touchpoint
- The “ask”
Know when to flip (and rip up) the script
The MECLABS research team hypothesized that the follow-up section, or part 3 in the control, was buried too deep in the script and should be moved up in the treatment.
The team also included a new sentence that further justified the call. The copy changes were hypothesized to deliver a prospect-level appeal of letting us “work with your consultant” instead of “doing the work yourself.”
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 that 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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Lead Nurturing Tested [See the full Web clinic replay for more on this experiment, plus insights on lead nurturing tactics]
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Email Marketing: Do you test your legacy marketing? [More from the blogs]
How to Use Conversational Marketing to Get More Leads
New Research: Customer Empathy and How to Solve Buying Problems
The Lament of Sales Development Reps: Data Everywhere, but Who’s Ready to Buy?
How optimization increased sales development rep leads by 304%
No hype. No noise. Clarity your team can actually use.