If your telemarketing sales script isn’t written properly you will be viewed only as a self serving annoying pest. You might be alarmed to discover that one of the main reasons that people don’t like to talk with salespeople is so obvious that it can easily be missed. The unfortunate fact is that you are often viewed as a selfish, self serving sales rep and not someone that is concerned with your prospect’s needs. This is especially common when cold calling.

To drive this point home many sales training classes have their attendees play a word association game. The trainer says he is going to shout out a word and will ask that, without hesitating, the class shout back the first thing that comes to mind. The Sales Trainer might yell out something like "tree" and he would inevitably get responses like forest, leaf and branches. Later, after throwing out several words the trainer would eventually shout out "salesman" and in nearly every case the class will give similar responses with words like commission, money, close, sleazy, exaggerator and even liar. As you can see salespeople are naturally viewed in a negative way. Think about it, have you ever had a salesperson come knocking on your front door and you didn’t answer? You had idea what they were selling and as far as you knew it may have been something you really needed. Has the caller I.D on your phone ever led you to believe that it was a sales call and you just let the answering machine pick up? This is an instinctive behavior because you assume that salesman just want to sell you something that has no value to you. Of course many salespeople are hard working honest people and sell products that offer great value to their clients. The challenge you face is that you need people to view you as a consultant and a human, not a salesperson.

The negative impression exists because no one likes to be sold, even if they need what you are selling. Humans have a natural desire to want to feel in control and want to feel like they buy what they need and not what they are told they need. A good salesman/consultant with will ask his or her prospects questions that will guide their prospect through a sales process that helps them recognize their needs and ultimately ask you for the sale.

In 2008 a large retail store once hired a consulting firm to help increase their sales. The consulting firm advised the retailer that their salespeople were pushing customers away because when they met with customers as they entered the store they were using sales lines that continually got a negative response. Does this conversation seem familiar?

Clerk: "Hi. Can I help you find something?"

Customer: "No, thank you. I’m just looking."

That line is used by nearly every employee in the retail world and it always gets the same negative response, "No, thank you, I’m just looking". The same retailer asked their salespeople to try something different and to greet their customers by saying,

"welcome to ___ Store. Today we are offering a buy one get one free off of select lines of men’s and woman’s clothing. Those sales are located at the back of the store. Let me know if you need any assistance".

As a result, customers felt that they were in control while the salesman successfully led them through the entire store.

You do have a choice. You don’t have to be a salesperson blatantly pushing a product. Instead, you can be seen as a human being that is there to meet the needs of your prospect. You just have to show that you have their best interest in mind, not your own. Yes, you’re still selling, but you don’t have to be so obvious about it.

If you sell by telephone and you use telemarketing sales scripts then the concern exists. You must ask yourself if your pitch lets the prospect know that you are interested in their needs – and not just yours? Are you asking questions that uncover their needs? If you find that your presentation mostly talks about your product, your experience, your company and you then you can bet that’s what they think you care about, YOU. Nobody want anything from a salesman unless they can see how it benefits them. This is most easily accomplished by spending less time talking about you and more time learning about them.