Talk Track Template for Effortless Sales Conversations

A sales talk track is a written explanation of a complex concept, objection, or FAQ frequently arising in a sales conversation. 

It helps seasoned sales reps explain the concept in the most simplified way. Think of it as notes you prepare before a demo that helps you convey your product or services most effectively. 

Talk tracks are repeatable. Suppose you have talk tracks to explain some angles of your product, and your team has their own to explain other angles. 

You can bring all of them together through natural collaboration and use them to close deals better. 

Many might confuse it with a sales script. But talk tracks are different. 

Sales Talk Track vs. Script 

Sales talk track and sales script are equally important but are used differently. 

Sales scripts are best suited for onboarding new sales reps at scale who might not have the product knowledge like other seasoned agents on your team. They give a clear direction on what to say in sales conversations. 

Businesses with a short sales cycle likely use scripts. They double down on them based on what works. However, sales scripts are always at risk of being monotonous or predictable. Modern customers can take their whiff even in virtual meetings or phone calls. 

Unlike sales scripts, talk tracks are used by businesses with longer sales cycles. These businesses usually sell products or services that are tricky to understand or involve complicated concepts. Seasoned salespeople leverage these to explain complexities in the simplest way possible. 

Talk tracks let sales veterans maintain the originality in their conversations and add their voice to them. It doesn’t feel monotonous. These are like a cheatsheet kept in a salesperson’s back pocket that they can pull out whenever a concept, objection, or topic comes up. 

Talk Track Templates: How to Use Them

Below are a few talk track templates you can use in different situations. 

When Prospects Point Out a Missing Feature

Prospects might bring up features that your product doesn’t offer currently. You should converse intelligently in such situations. Otherwise, the prospect can perceive your product to offer lesser value. 

Use this talk track template to navigate the situation. 

Talk Track Template: Missing Feature

Acknowledge the missing feature and give them a reason why it’s not been launched yet. If it’s on the roadmap, give them a tentative timeline so they can expect the new feature. If it’s not on the roadmap, give them a reason and help them understand how the product drives value without it. 

Example

“Yes, the product can benefit from (feature name). But we want to do it right to help users drive maximum value. I can assure you it’s on the roadmap. We’ll confirm the timeline as soon as we plan our upcoming sprints.”

When Prospects Have Objections Related to Pricing

Pricing often comes up as an objection in sales conversations. However, it might not be the actual thing holding prospects back. In such cases, ask open-ended questions like, “Are there other reasons apart from pricing preventing you to take the final call?" "I have a feeling there’s something else. Is there something deeper that you want to share?”

The prospects will likely share more objections. When they do, work with them to address them and take the conversation forward. 

If pricing is the actual objection. Then, use this talk track template. 

Talk Track Template: Pricing

Ask questions to understand the price a buyer is ready to pay. When they confirm the price, ask them if they’ll buy the product right away based on the pricing they confirmed.

This will give you more insights into potential deal breakers, helping you steer potential buyers away from such red flags. 

Example

“At what price would you purchase the product? The prospect will give a number ($XYZ). Would we have a deal if I could offer you this product at $XYZ? Would you buy it right away?"

This technique is called doing a virtual close, and the CEO of Close CRM, Steli Efti, recommends it to handle objections related to pricing.

When Prospects Mention An Existing Solution

Handling “We have a solution in place” is tricky since you need to get prospects to take an interest in a solution that’s not a problem anymore. Use this talk track template to manage such objections. 

Talk Track Template: Existing Solution

Use a little humor for this objection. It’s unexpected and often gets the prospect's laugh. Then, convince the prospect you’re here to make their life easier and give the most suitable solution to their business problems. Ask prospects if they would hear you out for a set time. 

This makes prospects more comfortable and less defensive toward you trying to pitch them a product. 

Example:

The prospect mentions the existing solution…

“Are you married to that solution, or are you willing to date around?” Pause. Let them take their moment to smile or laugh.

“See, my job isn’t to make your transition. However, I can make your life much easier with our product. Would you hear me out?  I assure you it won't take more than 2 minutes.”

This is how Nikita at Deel and Sam Holeman from Momence handle prospects when they mention an existing solution.   

When Prospects Mention a Competitor

Such situations need extra care. Whenever your prospect mentions a competitor, don’t dismiss them straight away. This will annoy the prospects and undermine the research they did to find the right solution to address their pain point. 

Use this talk track to navigate situations where prospects mention a competitor’s product. 

Talk Track Template: Competitors Product

Acknowledge the competitor's product and appreciate the prospect for mentioning them. Convey how your product does a better job of addressing the prospect’s pain points. If you have case studies from customers who switched to a competitor's product to yours, make sure you mention them and share them with prospects to add credibility. 

Example:

“Yeah, I’m familiar with their product and glad you brought them up. They're good for small businesses. However, our present customers feel we offer more value when it comes to addressing (prospects’ pain points). (More on your product’s actual value.)” 

This is how Alastair from Zinc navigates the conversation when a prospect mentions a competitor’s product. 

How to Create Your Own Sales Talk Track

Consider these things when you’re building your own sales talk track for navigating a sales process that covers:

• Qualifying prospects. Create talk tracks that help your reps ask essential questions to qualify prospects correctly. Make sure to cover all points that help you determine if the prospect is your ICP and how close they are to making a purchasing decision. 
• Giving a demo: Note all features your sales reps show in a typical demo call. Brainstorm the best way to show and tell about the features. Make a list of one-liners that describe the feature in a perfect sense rather than nudging your creative side on every sales call. Storylane, an interactive demo platform, lets users add presenter notes they can refer to during the live sales demo, helping agents easily access their talk tracks.  
• Handling objections. Make a list of all objections your sales reps encounter daily. Involve the whole team to discuss talk tracks for these objections and finalize the most effective ones. Document these talk tracks to make it shareable and repeating within your team.
• Answering FAQs. Examine what questions your reps frequently answer in sales conversations. Discuss them together as a team to find the best way to answer them clearly and concisely. You can research social media and other forums to identify such questions. 

5 Best Practices For Creating and Using Sales Talk Tracks

The above sales talk track templates will set you up for success when you navigate similar situations in sales conversations. However, the complexities of your sales conversations are unique to your business. 

Here are a few best practices for creating and using your sales talk track while encountering complexities unique to your business. 

1. Identify The Areas Where You Need a Talk Track

Complex concepts are relative to people discussing them. For me, a concept that’s tricky to understand might be easy for you to comprehend. You need to analyze sales conversations to identify situations where individual reps need talk tracks. 

Personalize talk tracks for individuals’ needs to minimize the time agents struggle to explain things in the best possible way. 

You’ll generally find opportunities to refer to a talk track while: 

• Dealing with objections
• Giving product demos
• Answering FAQs
• Qualifying leads

2. Encourage Natural Collaboration

Talk Tracks are for individuals, but the team should use them collaboratively. Work on them as a team and navigate complexities in sales conversations through the best available talk tracks. Ensure people on your team can access and easily share them when needed. 

Senior sales reps will have a better talk track. Collaborate with them to discover and share the best one with the team. 

3. Leave Space For Personalization

Avoid making sales talk tracks mandatory to use as they are in sales conversations. Trust your sales team to decide when to use them and how to make sure they feel empowered but not restricted by the talk track. 

Conversations with every prospect are different. After actively listening to your prospects, the team will better understand what to convey and how to make the interaction more effective. 

Let them personalize the talk track based on their conversation. 

Tip: Encourage sales teams to use talk tracks, but don’t pressure them to do so. The team should use them as long as they’re genuinely helpful. 

4. Make Talk Tracks Easily Accessible

Give your reps easy access to the talk tracks you’ve created. If using a sales enablement tool, include these talk tracks in your onboarding and training process. 

Still, it’s often tricky for prospects to access the talk track when they need it the most. Instead, you can make them part of product demos. Storylane’s presenter notes let you refer to these talk tracks while explaining features or answering product-related FAQs. 

5. Keep Improving The Talk Tracks

Salespeople interact with new prospects daily. As you work to move these prospects forward in the sales journey, you consistently encounter new objections, challenges, and complexities. 

Make sure to sit with your team bi-weekly to discuss any new complexities and update the talk tracks accordingly. 

Creating talk tracks is a continuous process that helps keep your sales reps relevant and useful. 

How to Optimize Your Talk Tracks? 

You can optimize talk tracks using insights for sales intelligence tools. These tools let you personalize talk tracks for the prospect you will interact with before you’re on a live call with them. 

For example, sales intelligence data from Storylane, gives you insights into what features intrigue prospects the most. You can prepare talk tracks anticipating the questions prospects might ask around those feature.  

Want to explore different insights from Storylane? Take a free trial and see for yourself. 

FAQs

1. How can I measure the effectiveness of my talk track?

You can collect feedback from your audience through surveys or polls, track engagement metrics like questions asked and participation rates to measure talk tracks’ effectiveness. You can analyze these data points to identify areas for improvement.

2. Can I create separate talk tracks for different sales reps on my team? 

Yes, ideally you should. Different reps will face distinct complexities while explaining a product or service. With Storylane, every rep can add personalized talk tracks to presenter notes to engage prospects effectively. 

3. How can I adapt the talk track template for different buyer personas within my target audience?

To adapt the talk track template for different buyer personas:

• Identify key personas in your target audience.
• Customize the messaging to address each persona's needs, pain points, and goals.
• Use relevant language and examples for each persona.
• Highlight unique value propositions that resonate with each group.
• Adjust the tone and style to match the preferences of each persona.