Jordan Belfort and sales scripts: build a guide that leaves room to listen

Start with the boundaries

List what your team may promise: scope, delivery conditions and any approved commercial flexibility. Add what they must check with somebody else. If a question concerns availability, the script should name the person who confirms it.

For an illustrative recruitment service, a seller might be able to promise a documented search process and weekly updates. They cannot promise that a particular candidate will accept a role. Making that distinction before training prevents fluency from turning an uncertain outcome into a guarantee.

Then define an unsuitable opportunity. Perhaps the requested role is outside your expertise or the employer’s timeline is impossible. Put the exit on the page, not in an unwritten rule that only experienced colleagues know.

An original five-part call guide

Opening: Explain why you are speaking and check the time available. For an inbound enquiry: “You asked about hiring a customer success lead. What would be most useful to clarify today?”

Situation: Ask what created the vacancy, what the person will need to accomplish and who will decide. Capture the answer before choosing a service.

Fit: Summarise the constraints. If the timeline or role falls outside your capability, explain that and discuss whether another next step would help.

Recommendation: Connect the proposed scope to the stated need. Include the fee basis, responsibilities and important exclusions in plain language.

Next decision: Ask what information the employer needs to evaluate the proposal. Agree who will provide it and when the conversation should resume, if they want to continue.

Test the branch that breaks the script

Have a colleague interrupt at each stage. They might refuse to share a budget, reveal that the hiring manager has not approved the role, or ask for a guarantee you cannot provide. The test is whether the seller can adapt while preserving accuracy.

Mark points where the guide encourages a premature recommendation. Replace a speech with a question, or add a short explanation of why the information matters. Remove questions that do not affect your advice; unnecessary interrogation makes a call longer without making it better.

Maintain it like a working document

Assign someone to check claims, prices and process descriptions when the offer changes. Put a review date on the internal guide. Keep useful phrasing from real conversations only after removing private information and checking that the promise remains true.

Judge the guide by outcomes such as fewer misunderstandings, clearer handoffs and better-qualified proposals. A seller can follow a script perfectly and still offer the wrong service. The document should support judgement, and managers should make that expectation explicit.