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Telemarketing Scripts - Read or Memorize?

by Just Curious
13 replies
Hello All,


I've just put together a telemarketing script and would like to get going making calls in the next 2-3 days and I'm up in the air on reading vs memorizing it. I've heard that it helps if you practice by continuously reading the script for 30 minutes before the calling session. I've also heard that memorization is the only way to go to NOT sound like you're reading a script.



I'd like to get started this week but I'm also looking for the best route that would make me sound the most polished and confident on the phone.


Any suggestions?
#memorize #read #scripts #telemarketing
  • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
    Originally Posted by Just Curious View Post

    Hello All,


    I’ve just put together a telemarketing script and would like to get going making calls in the next 2-3 days and I’m up in the air on reading vs memorizing it. I’ve heard that it helps if you practice by continuously reading the script for 30 minutes before the calling session. I’ve also heard that memorization is the only way to go to NOT sound like you’re reading a script.



    I’d like to get started this week but I’m also looking for the best route that would make me sound the most polished and confident on the phone.


    Any suggestions?
    Memorize it.

    Read it out loud for practice as much as you can, then get on the phone and read it
    until you memorize it.

    The only way to get "polished" is by doing it. Don't bother trying to be perfect
    before you start - you will never get started that way. Also, memorizing it
    and using it are two different things, because of inflection and real world pausing.
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  • Profile picture of the author deepCode
    And dont stick to the script 100%, improvise if the situation allows it.
    That makes it sound less .. well, memorized haha
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  • Profile picture of the author umc
    Memorize it, but you need to let it flow when the calls start. A good call to me is a conversation, which you can't script entirely.
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  • Profile picture of the author animal44
    Memorise, but have the scripts pinned to the wall in front of you...
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Actors memorize scripts word for word and then enact them as if it's real.

    With telephone scripts, it's kind of like that... except you also have to have the presence of mind to pay attention to what's being said and the ability to dance on your feet. The script simply gives you time tested words and phrases that get the best results, and makes sure you said everything you're supposed to say.

    In a way,more like an actor improvising, you could say.
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    • Profile picture of the author qu4rk
      Originally Posted by misterme View Post

      In a way,more like an actor improvising, you could say.
      Great analogy. I never thought of it that way until you just said that. But I agree. You're the actor with memorized scripts until someone presents something that you've never encountered before. Then, you improv to get them back into the script. Similar to The Straight Line System...bringing them back on the line.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Brian Dennehy was a stock broker before he made it as an actor.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Dennehy
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  • Profile picture of the author Kate Luella
    I think it would be hard to memorize a script, because the other caller will respond differently each time. Just be aware of what you are trying to achieve, and work towards your goal, be it appointment making or a conversation about your services.

    Practice makes perfect. Just persist, it will pay off...

    Good Luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author quadagon
      Originally Posted by Kate Luella View Post

      I think it would be hard to memorize a script, because the other caller will respond differently each time. Just be aware of what you are trying to achieve, and work towards your goal, be it appointment making or a conversation about your services.

      Practice makes perfect. Just persist, it will pay off...

      Good Luck!
      As well as memorising the script with time you will develop a series of stock answers that you will use.

      It's a case of improvising at first and repeating what works.

      The real trick is to make the thing you are saying for the 120th time that day sound like it's the first time you've ever said it.
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  • Profile picture of the author vdmonline
    Do both:
    Know it by heart, but still have it in front of you when making the call. That gives you more certainty and you can focus more on the prosbect, your tone of voice and so on.
    The art of course is to sound as natural as possible. We normally speak very differently than we write. So if you write something down and read from it, it will always sound like you're reading from a script. So practice reading out loud and make changes to it.
    Jordan Belfort the Wolf of Wall Street (played by Leonardo Di Caprio in the movie with the same title is said to have always used a script when making calls.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iG9LN0Wfk
    I highly recommend you watch this Movie. Also in boiler Room with Ben Affleck they use similar techniques.
    Jordan Belfort teaches his techniques to large companys like investment bankers. You might wanna check out his website: Straight Line Persuasion from the Wolf of Wall Street | Jordan Belfort - not an affiliate link.
    I hope that helps.
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    P.S. What will you be selling?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      A movie is not reality. Don't mistake what you see on the screen for what is actually going to happen. People do not fall into line and respond in Pavlovian fashion to "I do this; therefore, you do that" scripts.

      For newbies, yes, memorize your script because that's all you have.

      You do not yet have the understanding of what is going on and why it works.

      But...

      ...a lot of scripts are garbage.

      Of far greater value in the long run is KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE in the sales process.

      Run a consistent sales process and you'll know why you get some orders and not others. Where the sale died (and should have). Why you won.

      I was a decade into my career before I realized I had no idea why I got some orders and not others. And that realization lead me to a true study of selling.

      Eventually you will realize there are no magic words that will cause prospects to fall on their butts and drop their wallets at your feet.

      It's the consistent process, not fancy words and phrases, that make the sale happen.

      Another huge factor people don't know about is that there are several approaches to selling.

      All of them work.

      Some of them will cause you, the individual, undue stress...wear and tear on your soul.

      For me, traditional features-and-benefits-based selling is one of those things. Objections and rebuttals memorization...not for me.

      Yet this style of selling may work best for you. It's certainly the one people are most aware of...to the point of believing no other approach exists.

      Here's the problem with scripts and an approach purely based on memorization:

      What happens when the prospect does something unexpected?

      What do you do then?

      A consistent sales process would help you far more at this point, wouldn't it. Then the precise words wouldn't matter. Getting to the next step would.

      What I recommend newbies do is buy three books, each on a different approach to selling (say a Hopkins, Rackham, and perhaps a Whitacre which is a blend of the two). See which speaks to you the strongest, and adopt that.

      Do not mix and match. It won't work. Pick one approach--they all work--and stick with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author ncleads2016
    I 100% agree with that last post. I'm new to this forum but I've been a telemarketer for 15 years. You should pretty much know the script but have it in front of you for reference. Just remember to talk to the people and not at them.
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  • Profile picture of the author klutzon
    Oh my god I love this thread.

    I remember watching the "Wolf of Wall Street" a couple years ago, but it never really sank in what the movie was about or how he amassed this wealth. Looking at it now, from a much more educated marketing perspective, watching him close a $4000 deal in 60 seconds over a cold call left me just as slack-jawed as the rest of the telemarketers in that scene.

    It's REALLY driven the point home that people are much more likely to trust you and buy from you if you talk about helping THEM achieve THEIR dreams rather than the features of the product that'll help you achieve yours. (I think that's fair to say. )

    I'm going to rewatch "Wolf of Wall Street" tonight, and I'm ALSO going to watch "Boiler Room", because it seems that's another really powerful movie on the subject of marketing, and I CAN'T WAIT to see what I can learn from it.
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