Fringe Benefits

I was lucky enough to spend 5 days at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and whilst being thoroughly entertained by a wide range of shows, I was particularly interested in the sales scripts of the street artists, i.e. what they each said at the end of the act to persuade people to part with their money. After all this is a relatively unusual and interesting sales scenario, with no price agreed up front, an audience that can choose to pay (or not) at the end of the act having already consumed the service, and with nothing to stop them walking away apart from their judgment and conscience. And of course there are two decisions – firstly whether to pay or not, and secondly how much to pay. And finally whether to present your payment so that the artist can see how much you have paid!

Streetwise

What emerged seemed to be three different themes:

  • the humorous with implicit message: “I welcome any feedback, please write it on your donation, fold it up and place in the hat” or, “my family will be very grateful for your contribution, I live in London and I have 200 children”
  • the serious appeal: “This is my one and only source of income, if you have enjoyed the last 45 minutes, please reflect that in your contribution and I am sure you agree that £10 is reasonable fee”
  • the comparison with ticketed shows: “The average price for a ticket at the Fringe is £11.50 and I am sure that many of have been to shows and emerged disappointed. If this has been worth as much as the last show that you went to see, then please donate the same as you paid for the tickets”.

What I came to realise was that, whilst the entertainment benefit was clearly a factor in one’s choice of donation, so was the quality, impact and influence of the sales script, which varied significantly across different acts. And of course it was not just what they said, but the way that it was expressed.

Do you use scales scripts with your front line staff and sales people in your business? Do you know the conversion rates for each of your sales team (i.e. the percentage of leads that are converted to customers)?

Finding the right sales scripts can have a huge impact on your business.

Hints and Tips:

  1. Have a script prepared for every situation
  2. Ensure every team member has a copy
  3. Write the scripts so that they are easy to say, and include key questions
  4. Test, measure, and refine to improve the scripts and understand the differences in conversion rates across your team

And if you need some inspiration, go to next year’s Fringe…