Can you turn a decent sales script into copy ?

You appear to be approaching writing copy from a magic formula perspective, which is understandable, it is how it is taught by many entities.

Swipe files, successful sales scripts, workED, mainly because they were originally TARGETED toward a person in a niche.

They addressed a problem, a want or a need. They were written for a particular person within a group, few, very few universal sales mechanisms exist.

A better way to learn to write effective copy is by NOT trying to write copy. Write to help a person with a problem, a want or a need, or to awaken that want/need in them.

You write to a person, albeit, they might be in a niche of thousands of people.

You address THAT person, not with a formula, or a gimmick headline which may have worked back in the day, and even then, THAT will only grant you some quick attention.

Once you do have that attention, now you must make it about them, not about your great copy or your words, or your cleverness or your knowledge of swipes.

Your copy works because it addresses a want, need or desire (known or hidden) that the reader harbors.

If it doesn't work, then you take it apart piece by peice and figure out why, or you try a different way.

Continue on in the direction you are going, with your copywriting learning, and you can expect many months, even years of failure to make any money doing it,

OR

change from wanting to learn swipes, gimmicks and tricks and focus on how you can really HELP people get what they want, even if, at this point they don't know what that is.

GordonJ

Gotta ask always ... what is a script?

If'n you super stuck for stuff to say ... it is stuff to say.

In which case ... is it the right kinda stuff?

If'n it IS the right kinda stuff ... what it the chance things gonna stay this way forever?

Way I see it, evry script coalesces momentarily around a sweet spot, pullin' on smarts perfect for the moment but not guaranteed to be durable.

Times & people change -- which shows narrative is always in flux.

This means scripts gotta change also to accommodate what is gowin' on.

Often this starts out with simple word & phrase switches, but later, structure & tone gotta morph also.

Thanks to the internets, script may take on an entire noo form.

Deal always is how the script sits sweet on the listener's ear -- which means we talkin' a flooid kinda dialog gowin' on.

tbh, I would start out rewritin' your script to suit a whole buncha diffrent people.

Dunno your product or market, but tryin' for 3 broad age ranges oughta getchya thinkin' 'bout how to pitch stuff.

So try Teens, Millennials with 3yos & The Nearly Dead.

Whatever you got, audience will shape your pitch.

Then mebbe you can get real frickin' weirdsy.

Try unicorn, paranoid lady wrestler, an' The Antichrist.

Gotta hopeya gonna be strugglin' to find the exact words here, but whatchya may uncover is a better understandin' 'bout what your product offers on an intrinsic level.

Sumplace between what the product DOES an' a whole buncha people for whom it might DO sumthin' is a narrative arc that nails the story at evry stage.

Write it out, it is a script, an' it may work again for sumthin' else -- but only with customization.

Where stuff goes wrong is teleportin' scripts verbatim into situations for which they ain't ever gonna be no perfect fit.

Most successful copywriters have a proven outline in mind before they start writing a sales letter or video script. Many of those outlines have been codified and published on the internet.

No doubt parts of your script would fit nicely into a given outline, but there would be gaps. You'd have to write copy to fill in those gaps... not an easy thing to do if you have no copywriting training.

Alex

It is possible if you incorporate the questions the potential buyer asks and
answer those questions in the letter. Just involve the interlocutor and
follow through with the same structure.


-Ray Edwards

I'm not a copywriter...but I am a salesperson. And I know something about advertising.

You can use quite a lot from the actual sales script.

Maybe the biggest difference is that the ad/sales copy has a headline, and the first paragraph or two is grabbing attention and making a big promise.

And the ending...asking for the order will be different. Maybe the copy will give a no risk guarantee when your sales script wouldn't. And of course, your call to action will be different than a verbal close.

And although you can still ask questions in sales copy, you better already know their answer.

Anyway, it's a start.

I'm very much against sales scripts and here's a short version why...

They are impersonal and do not show your own personality.

Sales and copy are both the same... It's salesmanship (just one is through writing) so here's the deal.

Copywriter John Carlton stated in a podcast I recently listened to that the #1 aspect ALL copywriters should focus on the most is this..

Be yourself.

He unlocked a brand new world once he let his curtains down (as he stated) and it allowed him to take off even faster.

So look -

4 main aspects you need to keep in mind while being yourself and letting your own personality shine through..

- Shut up and listen. You can learn a whole lot by listening to the prospect or customer.

- ASK the right questions. If you don't know what to ask, than how will you even KNOW your prospect or uncover their pain to provide the solution?

- Get to know your market and your avatar intimately (realllyyyyyy get to know this person as if you knew them forever.) This will also build trust and credibility fast.

Side note to this: This will help you kill objections fast before they even come up when speaking with them and it will help you express and focus on the benefits (not the features).

- Always ask for the sale. You need to lead them to the point where you produce that call to action.

Scripts aren't going to really help you develop your own natural techniques and it sure as hell won't exemplify your personality.

Hope this helps.

P.S. If you want to utilize the scripts, pick them apart and understand how much of it is not needed, what is lacking (from a natural conversation pov), and make them better to fit how you would want to be presented to if you were the customer.

Use them as a learning tool to uncover everything wrong with them.

This was really a great information. And very useful too. Learned many new things here.

Get your attention using your name. Begin by saying "Hi, ____", in a warm and welcoming tone, then continue directly with Step 2. Note that I did not say "Hi, ____, how are you today?" because it gives your prospect the opportunity to jump and interrupt its flow. Cold calls have to do with taking control at the beginning.
Identify yourself. "My name is Brandon with PersistIQ." This is quite simple: you must tell them who you are.
Tell them why you are calling. "The reason I'm calling is to have some time on your calendar." Diving to the right shows that you are a professional. Save the small talk for your follow-up calls once you have built the relationship.
Build a bridge This statement connects the reason you call with why you should care. "I just noticed on your site that you're hiring 10 new sales representatives this quarter." Several companies in [the prospects industry] are already using PersistIQ to help their current sales development team start more conversations and reserve meetings, able to reduce the time of the spare parts ramp by half. "
Ask what you want and be quiet. "I thought the best place to start is to schedule a meeting to meet your outgoing sales challenges and goals. Do you have time on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon around 10 a.m.?" Ultimately, our goal is to establish meetings with potential clients because we are convening a more specific list. However, if you call a less qualified list, then your question may be for information that qualifies the candidate.

i thinki you can

Yes you have the option to change the sales script into copy. There are few process available to do that.

Having written phone scripts for a record breaker
sales guy in b2b...

and written ads for a London ad agency
that snuck me in the back door
to save their ass...

here's what I know.

Each situation is like going into a hostile environment.

We are asking people to either give us money
or move a step closer to doing it.

This means we are up against defence forces.

This means going in we have to understand what they are.

Cold calling.
Gotta get them to agree to listen to you with an open mind.

An ad.
Gotta get the reader to move past the first line.

Then the second and so on.

Same with a phone script.

We mustn't spook them or trick them
to later get caught with the deception.

Whether you use parts of the phone script in your ad
is dependent on having a line that helps or hinders the cause.

That is the real guide.

Best,
Ewen