MEMBERSHIP SELLING AND
SALES MANAGEMENT INSIGHTS

Use Message Maps To Make A Better Impression On Prospects

Many chamber sales reps contend that message maps make them sound amateurish. Certainly, anyone who has ever taken a call from a robotic sounding telemarketer, reading a “canned” message, understands why. Nothing is worse than listening to a script read verbatim over the phone. You cannot build rapport that way, and it diminishes any chance of creating natural conversational flow.

But a lack of call structure can lead to doubt, which can keep some reps from picking up the phone.

Other reps may think that they can just wing-it and figure out what to say on the fly. We don’t recommend that approach. The risk of coming across as unprepared or, even worse, unprofessional is too high.

Making calls without the benefit of a well-crafted and practiced plan leads to “I’m not interested.” And you only get one chance to make a first impression.

That’s why we believe that, done correctly, message maps can be a valuable tool to help chamber sales reps manage conversations with prospects and renewing members. They represent one element of a successful membership sales process, providing structure for each and every call, and they can help ensure that all sales reps are delivering a consistent message to prospects and renewing members.

MESSAGE MAPS ARE NOT SCRIPTS

We understand concerns and anxiety about sounding canned or robotic. You should be very aware and conscientious of how you sound.

Message maps are a powerful way to manage your message; however, they are NOT scripts, and you shouldn’t deliver them verbatim. The key is to adapt each message to fit your conversational style.

When we provide message maps for the chambers we work with, we format them with bullet points as opposed to paragraphs of information. The bulleted format makes it easier to fine-tune and adjust the messages to the rep’s natural style – while also ensuring that he or she consistently delivers the vital information.

You can find some examples of our message maps within the free playbooks we provided during our COVID-19 & Membership Sales webinar series.

Like anything new, message maps may feel awkward at first; however, you must resist the temptation to give up.

We have found that chamber membership sales reps experience an immediate improvement in the impression they make with a practiced, natural message.

Start making “live calls” when you’re comfortable enough to convey the messages without stumbling over the words and sentences. Those “live calls” will help you learn what works for you, and you will improve naturally with each call.

We encourage you to try this technique and let us know how it goes. We’re easy to talk to, and we want to help. Feel free to reach out with questions you have about this technique or other membership sales issues.

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