Archive for January, 2015
Making Customer Service Everyone’s Job
Posted by Rick Pranitis in CUSTOMER SERVICE on January 30, 2015
Culled from the ‘has-this-ever-happened-to-you?’ files: You dial an 800 number for product or service support and find yourself getting lost in the IVR tree. If you press zero, either the prompt doesn’t work or you’re informed that the wait time to speak with a live agent is seemingly longer than a trans-Atlantic flight. Undeterred, you decide to punch in a random number in the hope of connecting with someone – anyone – until you suddenly find yourself speaking with somebody who works in a back-office function. If you’re lucky, this person will either help you or transfer you to the right contact. But in most cases, if you’re connected with someone outside of customer service – regardless of how you arrived there – he or she will inform you that customer support is outside their jurisdiction.
But it shouldn’t be. Customers have every right to expect to have their issues resolved by an employee when they reach out to a company. In fairness, it might be too much to expect a staffer in the accounts payable department for an electronics retailer to know how to troubleshoot a laptop problem. But there should be a culture of customer-centricity in place that induces an accounts payable worker or any other employee in a non customer-facing role to ensure that a customer has his or her problem resolved quickly and satisfactorily.
This doesn’t mean that back-office workers need to receive the same level of training as contact center agents. Still, all employees should be provided enough instruction and empowerment to help resolve a customer’s issue when the situation arises.
As Donald E. Brown, M.D., founder and CEO of Interactive Intelligence points out, customers often don’t differentiate between different parts of a company for support.
Brown recently shared an anecdote with me about a customer service experience he had with a financial services company. It was taking Brown a while to connect with someone at the company regarding an account issue and he was tight on time. When he did finally connect with someone, he was informed that they’d have to transfer the call because he’d been identified as a “preferred customer.”
“I was ready to pull my hair out,” says Brown. “We were close to finishing out the transaction and I just wanted to be a regular customer to get the transaction completed right then and there.”
Customer care shouldn’t simply be the purview of the contact center. Great companies take care of their customers across all corners of the enterprise.
This article was originally posted to the 1to1 Media blog by Tom Hoffman on January 20, 2015.
B2B Companies Expand Inside Sales Teams For Efficient, Relevant Lead Follow-Up
Posted by Rick Pranitis in GENERAL DISCUSSION on January 26, 2015
Over the past few years, many B2B organizations have been growing their inside sales teams, spurred by the better conversion rates and lower costs compared to a traditional sales team.
The most recent Inside Sales Market Size Study, conducted by InsideSales.com, revealed that inside sales is growing 7.5%, compared to field sales at only 0.5%. In addition, more than half of B2B sales reps (53%) sell remotely. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the number of U.S. non-retail inside sales positions is projected to increase by more than 40,000 per year through 2020.
Inside salespeople are also more likely to meet their quota. The InsideSales.com study revealed that 85% of inside sales people make quota, compared to field sales, where 81% achieved sales goals.
While at one time inside sales was viewed as a more junior role, inside sales reps are now becoming “executive, fluent and able to have those top-level conversations,” said Mari Anne Vanella, Founder and CEO of The Vanella Group, a firm specializing in B2B telesales and lead generation services.
“Today, the inside sales rep has a much more sophisticated skill set and the technology needed to manage relationships remotely,” Vanella said. “While there used to be a clear demarcation between inside sales and outside sales, I prefer to think of it as all just sales.”
In addition, buyers have become more comfortable with communicating through online channels such as email, social media, screen sharing and Skype. “Internet technologies are pervasive, and buyers of all ages and industries are becoming more comfortable with them at every stage of the business cycle, including in B2B sales,” said Jeff Kalter, CEO of 3D2B, a global B2B telemarketing firm.
“Customers have become used to researching products and solutions themselves,” Kalter added. “Many are also comfortable communicating with salespersons via email, social media, and conference calls. Some customers even prefer these over phone or in-person meetings.”
Inside Sales Positioned For Quick Response
While driving more sales at lower costs is key, the fast-paced nature of B2B sales is also fueling the move toward an inside sales model, experts note. In its 2014 Lead Response Report, InsideSales.com noted that if a company attempts phone contact within five minutes after lead submission, the odds that the lead is contacted are 100 times greater than if it is contacted 30 minutes after submission.
“It is often the inside sales team that is best positioned to respond to those leads in the most timely manner,” said Ken Krogue, President and Co-Founder of InsideSales.com.
Kristina McMillan, Director of Sales Development at Five9, a provider of cloud contact center software, added: “The inside sales team has the productivity tools for scoring and follow up, so they can access information and respond more quickly in many cases than the field sales reps, who are often traveling and in meetings.”
Another inside sales trend that is sparking performance is the use of gamification, McMillan said. “When everyone can see how the leaders are doing in terms of responding to leads, it lifts the whole team.”
A more data-driven approach to the entire customer lifecycle is also helping to improve the productivity of the inside sales team.
“Technologically, things have gotten more advanced in terms of identifying hot leads throughout the customer lifecycle,” said Mick Hollison, CMO for InsideSales.com. “Predictive analytics and Big Data are having tremendous impact on helping the inside sales team work smarter and be more productive.”
Analytics have provided B2B organizations with the ability to standardize activities across the entire sales team. “It makes a great deal of difference when you can figure out what works and know the amount of sales that are likely to be generated by that effort,” said Peter Fuller, CMO of Salesvue, a provider of sales automation software. “When you know things such as how many attempts it takes to turn a lead into an opportunity and how many opportunities it takes to reach your goal of closed deals, it helps the entire sales organization, including inside sales. “
Corporate structure and training can also impact productivity of the inside sales team. Some B2B companies have inside sales fall under the sales team, while others are more aligned with marketing operations.
According to the Sales Development Rep 2014 Metrics and Compensation Report from The Bridge Group, Inc., 73% of groups with the sales development role report to sales. “We recommend that this team report to whomever has the bandwidth, passion and capacity to lead it,” said Trish Bertuzzi, President and Chief Strategist of the inside sales consulting and implementation firm.
Whatever department inside sales falls under, there should be a strong relationship with marketing and the same commitment to training as with the traditional sales team, Bertuzzi noted.
“Marketing is particularly focused on the top of the funnel, so it is critical that the sales reps who are making the initial contact with a lead be aligned with marketing even if they don’t report to them,” Bertuzzi said. “They need to be able to articulate the company’s message, and that is the responsibility of marketing.”
This article originally appeared in the Demand Gen Report by Kim Ann ZImmermann on January 14, 2015.
Building a Successful Team
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES LEADERSHIP on January 13, 2015
Team building is a difficult task. In order to build a great team, you need to understand other people, their strengths and weaknesses, and figure out which tasks they like to work on. If you are a manager, you should also keep in mind that you are responsible from the success of your team. This means the success of individuals working in your team equals to your success. Therefore, you should show great leadership. You should manage not only their demands for attention and acknowledgment but also make them work towards a common goal. As a result, you should learn how to place the right people to the right positions at the right time in order to sustain the success of the company.
Here are some useful tips for building a successful team:
Get To Know Each Person Very Well: You should invest time to understand each person in your team so you can bring out the best in them. For example, someone might be a very good writer but s/he may not be a good presenter. Remember every individual is different and it is your responsibility to motivate them and make them surpass beyond expectations.
Make Sure Everybody Understands Their Roles: Take the time to meet with each individual on your team and discuss their role within the team. Outline their responsibilities and explain your expectations from them. Then, make a career map together so they can see what they need in order to climb to the next level. Also, don’t forget to share the overall objective of the team. It is important that everybody understands the purpose of the team and their roles clearly so they can contribute their best.
Don’t Be A Micromanager: Trust your team to get the job done. Guide them but don’t micromanage them. Always be available to provide supervision but let them do their job. Be sure to give them constant feedback. Make regular status meetings with each team member. Don’t wait until a problem occurs to meet with them. Acknowledge and reward the team members who step up and demonstrate great performance.
Encourage Effective And Transparent Communication: Invite your team members to discuss issues and encourage everybody’s participation to the discussion. Also, keep everyone in the loop when emailing so they can follow what is going on within the team and so no one feels neglected. If there are people who cannot get along, bring them together and help them work through their problems. They don’t need to like each other but they need to understand and respect each other to be able to work together.
This article was originally posted to the Business 2 Community Blog by Ceren Cubukcu on December 15, 2014.
Make Every Sales Call Matter
Posted by Rick Pranitis in GENERAL DISCUSSION on January 5, 2015
There are really only two things a salesperson controls; who they call on, and what they say when they get there. Ideally a seller should be spending more time preparing for and executing on the ‘what’ as he is deciding on the ‘who’. After all, no matter how well you have refined your target market, figured out the ideal buyer persona, and sharpened your competitive positioning, nothing happens until you engage with the customer.
But research shows very few of these engagements are that well planned. It’s all too rare a sales person has a detailed plan of what he wants to achieve on the call. What are the desired outcomes? Why might you fail? In the absence of a Call Plan many sales interactions leave a lot to be desired. In fact, 64% of all sales calls are ineffective.
Making every sales call matter – matters. This is where the magic is supposed to happen. It’s the salesperson’s opportunity to progress the sale, to deepen relationships and to uncover and address vulnerabilities in the deal. It’s his opportunity to show that he is a credible individual who can bring his own insight to the conversation, and create – not just communicate – value, all the time advancing the deal.
Unfortunately, most of the time, there is no value created by the salesperson. Only 25% of senior business executives are prepared to take a second meeting. Two-thirds of the time business executives are turned off by the lack of preparation by the sales person. They say that they don’t find a lot of value in sales conversations. We should not find it surprising business executives who are being pursued by sales people play hard to get, using their executive assistants to screen callers, interrupt meetings, or delegating the entire interaction to a subordinate.
The harsh truth is that most sellers are not adequately prepared for sales calls. The consequences go further than you might think. If you waste an executive’s time – the most precious currency they have – your stock has fallen. The likelihood of progressing the sale has been damaged. Your value is questioned. Any business you win will be on price alone. Research suggests the purchase experience is the most significant arbiter of customer loyalty. When your customer loyalty is damaged even before you start. You have a steep hill to climb if you ever want to use this executive to refer you to their colleagues. You’ve wasted their time – so why would they subject their treasured relationships to an ineffective sales call?
After every meeting, you always want the customer to feel that the meeting was a good use of time, and there was more take-away from the meeting than was expected. Satisfaction or quality is always a function of expectation and performance. If you don’t perform to the customer’s expectations then they’ll be disappointed, and that’s not good. You, your colleagues, and the customer, should all be clear as to the customer’s expectation of the call. That’s a good place to start.
Making every sales call matter – matters.
Five Reasons to Start Sending Hand-Written Notes
Posted by Rick Pranitis in GENERAL DISCUSSION on January 2, 2015
It’s a lost art, but can quickly become your secret weapon. Few people take the time to send hand-written notes anymore, but they can have amazing power. Perhaps more than ever before, they stand out and make you look really good. And if used effectively – in the right contexts and timed well – they can help you win and influence more business as well.
Here are a few examples to get you started. Why not use the last few weeks of the year to start a new habit?
Executive thank you notes: Encourage your management team to write quick, hand-written notes to customers and top prospects. It can be a simple “thank you for your business” or “thanks for attending our event.” Just a couple lines, a couple times a week, can go a long way.
Gift promo codes: Thank loyal customers with a surprise coupon and a hand-written coupon code. I’ve actually tested coupon codes delivered via a machine-printed letter and a hand-written letter. The huge increase in conversion rate made taking the time to write notes worth it (especially if you outsource that effort to an intern or admin).
Customer service follow ups: Put a stack of note cards and envelopes next to the desk of your high-touch customer service reps. Encourage them to write a short thank you note to customers after a good call, including their business card or a branded sticker or something fun.
Event attendee follow ups: Divvy up the cards between those who attended the show or staffed the book, and have people knock them out on the flight home. Have an admin or intern coordinate getting them stamped and mailed.
Job candidates: It’s a good practice for candidates to send thank you notes to prospective employers. But what about sending a thank you note to candidates you’re wooing and recruiting? It says something about the culture you have, and just might help sway your preferred candidates to come on board.
Of course, sending a hand-written note is more time consuming than firing off an email or social media message. How do you lower that barrier and increase your likelihood of making it a regular habit?
Have note cards and envelopes ready and nearby: If it’s as easy are reaching into a drawer, you’re far more likely to write something than digging through a closet or wondering what you should wrote on. Simple cards with your logo in a corner should suffice, but even generic non-branded cards are fine.
Have postage: Stick a pack of forever stamps next to those note cards.
Create a daily reminder: I use my daily to-do list, but you can use whatever system keeps you organized (calendars, task lists, etc.).
-
You are currently browsing the archives for January, 2015
Follow On The Web!
