The legendary Frank Sinatra didn’t fully come into his own, some say, until he belted out what became his signature song: “My Way.”
Though he had crooned countless hits as a solo act, and later in duets with people as varied as Bono, Celine Dion, and Charles Aznavour, it was “My Way” that symbolized Sinatra’s bigger-than-life persona and many gifts.
Sinatra didn’t write that song.
Paul Anka, another former teenage heartthrob wrote it for The Chairman of The Board, as Sinatra was known to his Rat-Pack pals.
I heard Anka perform it once, but he didn’t come close to capturing the magic of Sinatra’s sage-like interpretation.
Sinatra made the song his own, as so many of the greats do.
And once this functional “ownership” happens, the real composer doesn’t matter. He moves offstage, far from the glow of appreciation and acclaim that the performing artist brings to the work.
Salespeople, telemarketers, and customer service people are increasingly being called upon to “sing songs” other composers have written for them.
Whether they’re called scripts, call guides, or call paths, these are compositions that also need to be performed with the right text, tone, and timing. They must be brought to life as artistically as possible, so they’ll ring true to their audiences.
But in my decades of experience in sales, service, management, and consulting, I’ve always been amazed by the naiveté of front line personnel when it comes to understanding their performance duties.
They don’t quite get the fact that they, too need to make the scripts that have been written by other people, “their own.”
Instead of trying to find their own voices within the scripts, they reject, out of hand the very idea that they need one in order to be as effective as possible with customers and prospects.
They believe “winging-it,” using a random patter that has been crudely fashioned, is going to outperform the script of an accomplished sales or service “composer.”
They would be wise to study Sinatra, who by no means had the most beautiful voice of his generation.
But he had a unique and compelling style that he brought to his work.
It doesn’t matter who writes your tunes. It’s your job to make them hits!
Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 900 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered “The Gold Standard”–the foremost expert in sales development, customer service, and telephone effectiveness. Top-rated as a speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the globe and the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
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