Wimpy Sales Scripts

Walking into my local Wimpy in Sandton for breakfast the other day, the manager asks me, �Smoking or non-smoking?�

Hey, I�m all for choice. However, I have 3-year-old Margaret and 7-month-old Rebecca with me. I�m not sure if it�s wise to give me a choice of this nature (particularly, since the two babies can�t speak for themselves). If I were more militant, I�d say it was bordering on criminal. Of course, you may be thinking that it�s criminal to take your kids to a fast food outlet anyway. And, I�d probably agree with you ;-)

Every time I go to this particular Wimpy with the kids, I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day � �Smoking or non-smoking?� And, after some investigation into �Babies Having Fun In The Smoking Section� I feel like a right-wing militant in liberal parallel universe called Holland. Why? Because some parents don�t think there�s anything wrong with it. I suppose they�re the same parents who smoked and drank whilst the wife was pregnant and think it�s OK to drive with their baby on their laps without a seat belt?

Maybe a slight curbing of freedom of choice wouldn�t be such a bad thing � even it�s only to protect them from themselves? I know we don�t like to follow anything that Australia does � but even they have �Stupid Laws� to protect people from themselves. Like the divers that swam around a dead whale in a bay whilst hungry sharks were in a feeding frenzy. It�s almost as bad as someone diving off Seal Island in Cape Town. Talk about stacking the odds against yourself.

When Simon� was heavily pregnant we went to a Fiat dealership to upgrade my Palio to something more baby-friendly (like four doors for starters). The salesman, barely out of nappies himself, shows us a Panda if I remember correctly. He states that it is ideal for our needs. I open the boot only to discover that it can barely take a briefcase, let alone a pram. I still drive the Palio.

Have you ever stuck a piece of food in your mouth at a restaurant and the waiter asks you if everything is ok? I�m sure they�re trained to do this so that you can really look like a cow chewing cud, taking forever to answer. The tip goes down by 5% just for starters.

Sticking to a sales script can be your undoing

So, what�s the common denominator in these three examples? Each person is working to a script. Come hell or high water or children, they�ll stick to the script even if at times it�s inappropriate. It reminds me of

The bad news is that many sales professionals don�t have the common sense to read a situation, adapt to it and act accordingly. And worse, common sense can�t be taught on any sales training course.

In the speaking game we have a saying:

There�s the speech you prepared.

There�s the speech you gave.

And, then there�s the speech you wish you gave.

If you want to give a great speech (pitch) every time you�re in front of a prospect, my take on it is that you have to become a student of human nature rather than a student of sales.

The only way to do this is to start exposing yourself to different situations where every aspect of human nature is brought out.  Only once you get into the belly of the beast and climb into the psychological DNA of what it is to be human, will you really get the plot.

Of course, if this is too hard-core (I'm not exactly expecting you to go on Survivor or be interviewed on the Ricky Lake show), then just read and learn from others who have trodden this path before you.

Here�s some suggested reading to start with.

For Discipline, Purpose, Values and Vision

Atlas Shrugged � Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead � Ayn Rand

A Message to Garcia � Elbert Hubbard (Click here to download your own copy)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory � Roald Dahl

What it takes to be human

Mans Search For Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl

Anything by Carl Jung

How to develop a rapier wit

Speeches and quotes by Winston Churchill

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Copyright 2005 by Jacques de Villiers 

This article may be copied or republished with the following credit:

"By Jacques de Villiers, Inspirational Speaker, Johannesburg, South Africa.
+27 (0) 82 906 3693   www.jacquesdevilliers.com "