Why Stick-to-the-Script Syndrome Could Kill Your Business

linkedin chat

Back in March, when the pandemic was a fresh, new misadventure for all of us, I wrote this email asking why the local traffic reporter needed to do her thing every morning — even though no one was driving to work.  

I concluded that she and her station kept doing their thing because thatā€™s what they do. No deviation. No adjustment to respond to shifting customer needs.  

(Sigh!) 

I told that story because Stick-to-the-Script Syndrome afflicts so many people and damages so many businesses. 

Case in point:   

I got a GREAT email the other day from Ted Prodromou — my favorite LinkedIn marketing expert and an all-around good guy — who bumped into one of those no-deviation, no adjustment sales people recently.  

Tedā€™s email tells the story. With his permission, I share the email now: 

Subject Line: Take My Money Please

Hey Tom, 

The other day a sales rep invited me to connect on LinkedIn. 

I took a look at her profile and I was interested in their SaaS product. 

I accepted her invitation to connect and she replied: 

“Appreciate you connecting with me! Would love to learn more about your business and if you have time to chat?” 

I replied “Iā€™d like to learn more about your product. Hereā€™s a link to my calendar so we can set up a short chat” 

She replied “Absolutely Ted. I was wondering if we could continue chatting on LinkedIn first! Would like to hear more about what you do!” 

After reviewing their website Iā€™m almost ready to sign up for the SaaS product but she wants to continue chatting through LinkedIn messages. 

A 5 minute conversation would easily turn me into their latest customer. 
But she wants to continue chatting on LinkedIn. She didnā€™t send me a link to a demo.

She didnā€™t provide any additional information in the LinkedIn chat. 

She wants to continue chatting with me on LinkedIn while Iā€™m standing in front of her waving my credit card. 

Iā€™m saying “Take my money please!” but she wants continue our “get to know each other” chat on LinkedIn. 

Should I continue chatting with her or walk away? 

I decided to walk away and she lost a very easy sale. 

Ted

Ohhh. That poor sales rep.  She has her routineā€¦ 

…all mapped outā€¦ 

…tried and true (she thought)… 

…and nothing — and I mean nothing — was going to knock her off courseā€¦ 

…Not even a hungry buyer asking for a demo.  

So many lessons here.  

Focus on these two:  

1. Learn how to read buying signals (countless great resources on this topic).

2. Your routine is a framework, not a hard-and-fast, stick-to-it or die script. You have to adjust with the circumstances. You have to meet prospects where they are. If you canā€™t do that, prospects (as in prospective buyers who have their credit card ready) will tune out and move on.

p.s. If you believe LinkedIn can help you grow your business, but youā€™re struggling to make it work, I HIGHLY recommend that you check out what Ted has to offer.

SeeĀ TedProdromou.comĀ andĀ linkedin.com/in/tedprodromou

He has literally writtenĀ THE book: ā€œUltimate Guide to LinkedIn for Businessā€ (and he wrote one about Twitter, too). If you’re struggling to get traction on LinkedIn, Ted can help. He is a 20+ year business coach, social media strategist and online lead generation expert.Ā Ā 

Don't go away yet..

p.s. Coaches, authors, and consultants hire me to power-up their creative content and storytelling to captivate prospects, stand-out and book more business.

Whenever you're ready, here are several ways I can help you become a storytelling stand-out so you'll land more clients without pitching and prodding:

1) Get theĀ Story Power Profit PackĀ -- 52 Strategies, Tips, and Tactics Ā to Transform Your Content from Ignored to Adored.

2) Watch theĀ free, 7-minute Micro-Training: ā€œThe 3 Most Important Storytelling Keys to Captivate Prospects and Inspire Them to Act -- Without Pitching and Prodding.ā€

3) Become a Story Power VIP: Master how to discover, assemble, and deliver business-building stories. Twice-monthly live masterclasses. Members-only content. One-on-one feedback and consulting sessions. And moreā€¦ If you'd like to learn more about our VIP program, just reply to this email and put "Story Power VIP" in the subject line. Iā€™ll contact you with more details.

4) Work with me one-on-one: If youā€™re interested in working directly with me -- to discover, assemble, and deliver powerful, business-building stories -- simply reply to this email and change the subject line to "Private Client." Tell me a little about yourself, your business, and what you'd like to accomplish, and I'll reply to discuss options.

5) Invite me to speak at an event: I can tailor a presentation that meets the specific needs of your organization. Informative. Entertaining. Virtual or live. Potential for continuing education credits when applicable for your group. If interested, reply to this email and change the subject line to ā€œSpeaking Engagement.ā€ Iā€™ll circle back to discuss the possibilities.

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Tom Ruwitch

Tom Ruwitch is the founder and CEO of Story Power Marketing. For more than 30 years, he has helped businesses grow by delivering powerful stories using a variety of different media.