How to Create Meaningful, Easy-on-the-Ear On-Hold Scripts

By:  Renae E. Gregoire
©2004

Receptionist:  “Good morning, XYZ Associates.  How may I direct your call?”

Caller:  “Yes, this is Ms. Prospect.  Please connect me to Mr. Big Shot.”

Receptionist:  “One moment please.”

(Hummed to the tune of Lullaby and Goodnight:  La la la, la la la, la la la la la la la, la de dah dah, la de dah, la de dah dah dah dah da.  La de de, la de da, la la la la la la, la de de, la de da, la de de de da…)

Secretary:  “Mr. Big Shot’s office.”

Caller:  “Yes, Mr. Big Shot please.  This is Ms. Prospect.”

Secretary:  “One moment please, Ms. Prospect.  I’ll let him know you’re on the line.

(boringelevatormusic boringelevatormusic, boringelevatormusic, boringelevatormusic, boringelevatormusic, boringelev….)

Is this a familiar scenario in your office?  Clients or prospects call, wait on hold listening to either nothing or muzak of your choice?

Perhaps you’d like to consider using that empty (or meaningless space) to market your business further by creating an on-hold telephone script.

Here’s how to do it in two easy steps.

Step 1:  Decide on your message.

First things first.  Ask yourself, “What do my clients or prospects want to or need to know?”  Not “What do I want to say.”  There’s a difference. 

For instance, I just wrote a script for a CPA firm here in St. Petersburg .  In discussing the script, my client went on and on about how she wanted to tell clients and prospects how wonderful her staff was—how much money they spent on training—how they “hug” their clients.  That’s all well and good, I told her, but why TELL your clients that when it would mean so much more if you SHOWED it?  Think about it.  You can say anything you want about your firm, but what’s really going to matter is how your employees treat customers on a day to day basis.

So what do people calling a CPA office at tax time want to know?  If they’re already clients, they might like to know about your extended office hours.  They might also like to know about your convenient tax pickup and delivery service.  They might be calling to find out what the IRS mileage deduction is for 2004, or how much the child tax credit is this year.  Why not give them that information instead of blathering on about how wonderful you are?

I also asked my client, “What services do you want to grow?”  She mentioned her firm’s new virtual accounting service, life insurance and retirement planning.  Instead of just saying, “By the way, we offer virtual accounting services.”  Or, “Are you thinking about retirement?” here are the segments I wrote (the entire script consisted of 4 separate messages, less than 100 words each, that rotate as a caller is on hold, as well as the standard, “We’ll be with you in a moment” pauses.):

Financial planning’s never fun, so we at XYZ Accounting make it as painless for you as possible.  Do you have a retirement plan, or perhaps a few different plans from past employers?  Is your life insurance up to par?  Please, don’t wait until it’s too late to try to take control of your financial destiny.  Ask our financial planning experts how you can buy an affordable life insurance policy that will protect your loved ones long after you’re gone.  Or, how you can contribute and deduct from your taxable income up to four thousand 401-K dollars this year. 

XYZ Accounting is pleased to introduce our virtual accounting services.  What’s that mean?  It means that if you use DSL and Windows XP, we’re able to virtually interface with your accounting program, access its records, and then prepare your financials.  It’s completely secure, and you’ll never have to prepare and mail us a bulky package again.  Even better, if you have a software problem—bingo!  We’ll fix it virtually, securely and quickly.  Ask us about this latest high tech trend in accounting—we know you’ll love it!

What’s important about these scripts?  They focus on solving common pains she knows her clients experience.  People love to put off retirement planning.  The goal is to get them over the hump and get started.  And people don’t like mailing bulky packages to their accountants each month.  Bingo!  Virtual accounting takes care of that—and gives you other benefits too!

Focus on the benefits your clients or prospects will get, or the problems that will be solved, when they choose your additional services.  Tell them what THEY want to hear.  Not what you want to say.

Step 2:  Write your message for the ear.

First of all, keep your message brief.  100 words max.  People’s attention spans on hold aren’t much longer than that.  Second, you must write your messages for the ear.  If you’re not a writer, you can either hire one (like me), or try this.  Get a tape recorder, sit at your desk, and pretend a client is sitting in front of you.  You are going to tell this client exactly what you want to say to them, just as if he or she were sitting right there in front of you.  Don’t write your message down in advance.  You may make a few notes to make sure you include everything you want to say, but don’t write down a script.

Turn on the tape recorder, and speak your message to your imaginary client.  Don’t try to impress them with fancy-schmancy words or phrases.  Just tell them straight out what they need to know in order to take the next step in the buying process.

When you’re done, stop the tape.  Now rewind it, and type your text exactly as you’ve recorded it.  This will give you a good start for developing a script that’s good for the ear.  You need to go through the typed script now, cutting it down to 100 words. 

When you’re done, read it aloud.  Do you stumble at any particular word or phrase?  Then rewrite it.  Does something sound not-quite-right?  Rewrite it.  Read it to your neighbor or business associate.  Incorporate their feedback, if any.  And if you really get stuck, feel free to send it to me for further editing.  If you’ve done this much work, I can probably edit for you in record time.

Step 3:  Select a messaging production firm.

I know, I know.  I said in two simple steps, right?  Well those steps help you create your messages.  You still need to get it produced.  Some companies have copywriters on staff or hire freelancers who will create your scripts for you.  If you do select a firm that will write the script for you, ask to see (and hear!) script samples before signing on the dotted line.  If sample scripts don't live up to your expectations, you may want to select a copywriter of your choice and hire a firm that lets you supply your own script.

"Thank you for reading this article.  I hope you found it informative and helpful.  If you'd like a pleasing on-hold script for your business, please click here now.  Or, call Renae at 727-302-0232.  Thank you!"