Sales scripts: structure and ready-made examples for an online store

A sales script is a map of a conversation with a customer: stages, questions and answer options that lead to one result — an order, a confirmed delivery or the next call. A classic script has five stages: opening, discovery, offer, objection handling and next step. Nobody reads it word for word: the rep knows the route and the key phrases and says them in their own words.

An online store needs scripts for more than selling. The order confirmation call and the repeat sale bring back money that stores usually lose to refused deliveries and forgotten customers. Below are ready scripts for five typical store conversations, a calculation of what a confirmation call is worth, and how to write and roll out your own script.

When stores start looking for sales scripts

Why a store needs a script

A script makes every rep, not only the best one, talk to the point and skip nothing. In practice it gives you:

• The same quality in every conversation. A new rep answers typical questions as well as an experienced one, because the answers have already been found.
• Faster onboarding. A newcomer talks to customers after a few days instead of learning from their own mistakes for months.
• Nothing gets forgotten. The address, the payment method, the accessory, the agreed next contact.
• You can see what works. When everyone follows one route, you can change one phrase and compare the result.

Sales script structure: five stages

A script is a route with forks, not a monologue. The main path runs through four points, and objections are a loop after which the conversation returns to the next step.

1. Opening. Greeting, your name, the store name; on an outbound call, the reason for calling.
2. Discovery. Open questions: what it is for, who it is for, what matters, what budget the customer has in mind.
3. Offer. One or two options that fit the stated need, and why these.
4. Objections. Find out the reason for the doubt and answer it — the method and ready answers are in how to handle customer objections.
5. Next step. A concrete action: place the order, send a payment link, agree on a call with a date. This is also where a relevant accessory fits.

On an inbound call, opening and discovery are short: the customer already knows what they want. On an outbound call the opening gets longer — you have to explain why you are calling. How to ask about needs is covered in how to identify customer needs.

Which scripts an online store needs

One goal, one script. Most stores need five:

Ready-made sales script examples for an online store

The templates below are a base to rewrite for your products and terms. Your data goes in square brackets.

Inbound call script

1. Opening. "Hello, [store name], this is Emma speaking. Who am I talking to?"
2. Discovery. "What are you choosing the [product] for — home or work? What matters most: size, power, price? What budget do you have in mind?"
3. Offer. "Two models fit what you need. [Model A] — [benefit that matches the need], [price]. [Model B] is [amount] cheaper, but [honest limitation]. Which one sounds closer?"
4. Doubt. "What is holding you back — the price, the delivery time or something else?"
5. Next step. "Shall I place the order for [model]? [Carrier] delivers to your address by [day]. What name and address should it go to?" Then: "People often add [accessory] to this model, because [reason]. Shall I add it?"

Chat and messaging script

• First reply: "Hi! I'm Emma from [store name]. [Product] is in stock, the price is [price]. What do you need it for? I'll help you pick the right one."
• Clarifying: one question per message — "Which size do you need?"
• Offer: "I'd go with [model] — [one benefit that matches the need]. Here are photos and the link: [link]."
• Next step: "Shall I place the order for you? Send me your name, phone number and delivery address."
• The customer went quiet: one message the next day — "[Name], we have [quantity] left of [model] in your size. Shall I hold one until tomorrow?"

Order confirmation call script

1. "Hello, [name]. This is [store name], you placed order #[number] for [product]. Do you have a minute?"
2. "Let me check the details: delivery by [carrier] to [address], payment [method], recipient [name]. Is everything correct?"
3. "Do you have any questions about the product or delivery?" — this question clears the doubt that otherwise ends in a refused parcel.
4. "There is [accessory] for [product] at [price] — shall I add it to the same parcel so you don't pay for shipping twice?"
5. "We'll ship it on [day], and the tracking number will come by email. Thank you for your order."

Repeat sale script

A repeat call or message needs a reason tied to the previous purchase: a consumable runs out, something new came out for the product they bought, the season starts.

• "Hello, [name]. This is [store name]. In [month] you bought [product] from us. How is it working for you?"
• If it is fine: "Then it's about time to replace the [consumable] — we have [option] at [price]. Shall I send it?"
• If it is not: "Please tell me what's wrong." — and pass the problem to the person who will fix it. The sale is no longer the point here.

Take the timing from the product: how long a filter, cartridge or kit lasts. Before you send such messages by email or SMS, check that you are allowed to: the rules for marketing messages to existing customers differ in the EU and the US — see how to build a customer database. How to keep customers with service between purchases is covered in customer service rules.

Salesperson phrases: what to replace

What an order confirmation call is worth: the math

A confirmation call pays off in two ways: fewer refused parcels and an add-on in the same parcel. Against that stands the rep's time.

Call effect = (refusals without a call − refusals with a call) × cost of one refusal + add-ons × add-on margin − cost of the time spent on calls.

Illustrative example for the arithmetic, not market data. A store ships 200 orders a month, paid on delivery. Without a call, 20 parcels are refused, and each costs €10 in shipping both ways. After confirmation calls, 14 are refused: a saving of 6 × 10 = €60. Another 20 customers out of 200 add an accessory with a margin of €10 — €200. Calls of 3 minutes take 10 hours of a rep's time; at €20 an hour that is €200. Total: 60 + 200 − 200 = €60 a month.

What this shows. At these labour costs, almost the whole effect comes from the add-on: without it the calls cost €200 and save €60, a loss of €140 a month. So the confirmation call pays only if the rep actually offers the accessory. If your orders are prepaid and refusals are rare, replace the call with an automatic confirmation message and call only about large or unusual orders.

Plug in your own numbers: refusals and return shipping from your carrier account, the add-on margin from your prices, the hourly cost from payroll.

How to write a sales script

You build your own script from three sources: call recordings, chat and email history, and the questions customers ask most often.

1. Collect the material. Listen to the recordings and read the chats of your best rep. Write down customer questions and the answers after which people ordered.
2. Set the goal. One goal, one script: an inbound call and an order confirmation are different scenarios.
3. Split it into stages. For each, two or three phrase options and forks: what to say if the customer answered this way, and what if they answered differently.
4. Add answers to common questions. Delivery, payment, warranty, returns, "it's too expensive", "I'll think about it".
5. Read it out loud. Rewrite every phrase that sounds like a greeting card.
6. Test it for two weeks. Compare how many conversations end in an order before and after. Change one thing at a time, otherwise you won't know what worked.

How to roll out a script in the team

• Write it with the reps. A script in their own words gets used more willingly than one handed down.
• Practise in pairs before the first real conversations: one plays the customer, the other answers.
• Keep it at hand. Reply templates belong where the rep works — in email and chat, not in a file nobody opens.
• Listen to conversations. Spot-check whether reps go through the key stages: discovery and next step.
• Update it. When prices, the range or delivery terms change, the script changes too. Make one person responsible.

Pros and cons of sales scripts

When scripts are easier to keep in a CRM

When several reps talk to customers across different channels: then a script in a file goes unopened, and you can only guess who skips stages.

Elbuz has no separate script editor. Answers to typical questions are stored as email templates with the customer's name filled in, calls through your cloud phone system land in the call log with a recording and a short summary, and before a call the rep sees the customer's previous orders and messages in the customer card. How it works is on the CRM for an online store page.

Who does not need it: if one person talks to all customers, a script in phone notes and saved replies in the messenger do the job.

CRM for an online storeCustomers, conversations and orders in one card, 14 days free

Frequently asked questions

What is a sales script in simple words?

It is a map of a conversation with a customer: stages, questions and answer options that lead to one result — an order, a confirmation or the next call. You use it as a route, not as a text to read out.

What are the 5 steps of a sales call?

Opening, discovery of the need, an offer that fits the need, objection handling, and a close with a concrete next step. Details are in the script structure section.

How do I write a sales script?

Pick one goal, split the conversation into stages, write two or three phrase options and forks for different customer answers at each stage, add answers to common questions, and test for two weeks, changing one thing at a time.

Who should write the scripts for a sales team?

The sales lead or the owner, together with the reps who talk to customers every day. The base is the call recordings and chats of your best rep, not someone else's templates from the internet.

Can AI write a sales script?

It can give you a draft, but you need to rewrite it for your products, prices and delivery terms and test it on real conversations. Without your data, AI produces generic phrases that customers recognise at once.

Should a sales script be read word for word?

No. Customers hear word-for-word reading at once and close up. The rep should know the stages and key phrases and say them in their own words.

Sources

The scripts, the phrase table and the calculation in this article are our own; the numbers in the example are illustrative.

Checked on October 31, 2026.