Can you script empathy?

Knowing exactly what to say in a moment like this can be extremely delicate.
On one hand, there’s plenty of business as usual going on all around us.  Prospects are buying, sellers are selling.
On the other hand, there is a massive amount of hurt, grief and distraction at play.  Entire industries have ground to a halt.  Protective financial strategies are impacting employees, vendors, supply chains and more.
Can you still sell in this environment?  Yes, absolutely.  However, selling with empathy needs to be a required and upfront component of your approach.
It’s one thing to tell your sales team to “sell with empathy”, yet another to understand and figure out how to apply that in practice.  I think we’ve all seen examples (in our inboxes, TV commercials and elsewhere) of well-intended attempts at empathy that fall flat or sound just plain awkward.
And expecting your sales reps to know how to “sell with empathy”