When my Mother passed away, I called AOL to cancel her email account.
“Oh, I am so sorry for your loss. Are you sure we can’t convince you to keep the account?”
“No, she won’t need it. She passed away.”
“I’m so sorry. There are a lot of great features. Maybe we can offer a discount?”
“No, she’s dead!”
Hell Script vs Hell of a Script
This went on for several ridiculous rounds. The lady from the AOL Call Center stuck to her script and I could certainly tell it was a script. She wasn’t listening and comprehending what I was saying and her responses were not consistent to the information that I was giving her. Her goal? To retain business. “Do you understand? DEAD!”
In Real Estate, a script is a valuable tool. It can offer a blueprint for effective conversation. It can bolster confidence to make calls. Knowing and practicing scripts can give you an edge on your responses to objections.
In training, scripts are learned verbatim, but outside of the class, it doesn’t need to be kept that way! Don’t be afraid to rewrite a script in your own voice. How many calls do FSBOs get that are exactly the same as the prior call? Be smart, be genuine, be YOU!
To me, scripts are the verbal equivalent of a metal clothes rack. Rather than clothes, you are hanging words on this rack. Without the structure of the rack, the clothes are lying on the floor. The script offers the framework to keep what you say to customers from being a mess. But the words like clothes should reflect your personality and warmth and maybe put some space in between the words so that you can actually listen to what your client is saying.
Use a script to provide the direction of the conversation, but use your brain too! A script without regard for what the client is saying is damaging and offensive. The woman at the AOL Call Center could have been helpful but Mom’s account was inactivated with a struggle. I was left with negative feelings about AOL, and a story that’s been told and embellished over the years about their horrible service. Not the outcome AOL would have desired. Lose a deceased customer versus lose that customer AND have AOL dragged up evermore as an example of bad customer relations
I guess the purpose of the AOL script was to retain all customers living and dead. They may need to rethink that customer base. Actually, you don’t hear much about AOL anymore. I think the customer base rethought them! Remember that people will not remember every word that you say, but they will remember how you made them feel. USE, don’t MISUSE scripts.
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