Improve Call Effectiveness Without Scripts Call scripts have been a classic tool in telemarketing and sales, but executives and business people have become much more tuned to canned questions. We use two simple but much more effective tools to plan and execute calls: AAA Call Planning and Call Flows. AAA Call Planning Even if a salesperson takes just five minutes, they can quickly generate a list of objectives for their call: What Answers do you want to learn in the call? What Attitudes do you wish the prospect to feel? What Actions should occur after the call? Call Flows The order of questions (how the conversation flows) makes a dramatic difference in the ease and productivity of calls. First, we reverse the classic cold call method that teaches salespeople to use the first 30 seconds to bark out an elevator pitch to spark a prospect's interest… because remember, we have already conversed via email or have a referral before we call. So while the salesperson does want to begin with explaining why they are calling, and who they and their company are, it’s not a cheesy “cold call pitch.” Salespeople should use a nonthreatening, research-oriented approach that uses the first half of the call to learn about the prospect's business and needs. The salesperson positions their service and value at the end of the call, after they've uncovered what the prospect actually wants. This means they position the solution to the specific needs of the prospect without lots of distracting, irrelevant information and features the prospect doesn’t care about. Below is a typical "flow" for a qualification call: