Tag Archives: Sales

Performance Measurements For A Sales Call Center

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There are many measurements used to determine the performance of a particular call center. Outstanding performance is vital because companies spend a lot of money on advertising and they need a good sales center to close as many deals as possible to boost their ROI. Satisfactory customer service is also very important to call center managers and to the companies that these call centers support. In this article we will discuss the common performance measurements of agents and the significance of each measurement.

Delays or hold times of callers: This is pretty straight forward. How long is a prospect or customer on hold before they receive assistance? Many companies now alert callers to their expected wait time, so they can choose to stay on the line and wait or call back at a less busy time. This greatly reduces the number of angry callers, because callers are informed and know what to expect in terms of weighting time.

The average talk time: This is a measurement of the amount of time actually spent talking to the caller. Agents want to be able to help as many customers as possible, but there must be a healthy balance between adequately helping the customer and helping as many customers as possible.

The average handling time: This is a measurement of the total amount of time spent on the phone by the customer. It includes the customers holding time as well. Call centers don’t want to unnecessarily take up a great deal of a caller’s time.

The number of calls handled by an agent every hour: This is simply a measure of an agent’s proficiency.

The amount of time a customer spends on hold while being helped by an agent: This is a measurement of how long it takes for an agent to do his or her job. Constantly places callers on hold to get information might be a sign that the agent needs more training.

The percentage of complete call resolution. This is a measurement of the percentage of times that an agent solves the customer’s problem or concern, the first time the customer calls in.

The percentage of hang ups: Because this is often related to long waiting times, it sends a warning that the call center might not be adequately staffed.

The percentage of time that agents are idle: This may be an instance of a lazy agent or simply an over staffing problem.

By keeping track of these performance measures, call centers can make sure they are effectively meeting their clients’ needs, and providing their clients’ customers with the proper support. Call center managers couple these quantitative measurements with qualitative ones by listening in on customer-agent phone calls. They listen for things like: Is the agent using the right tone of voice? Is he or she following the script correctly? Are objections being overcome? Is quality service in general being rendered? It is the responsibility of the call center manager to work closely with agents and change structures or policies in order to improve service.

Learn how a professional call center who is laser-focused on phone sales can earn you more revenue per call and improve your bottom line at http://www.consultsales.com

Ty Price is the E-commerce/Marketing Director of Consult Sales. The professional phone sales call center is engineered to consistently perform with excellence in the consultative phone sales and telemarketing environment, and will deliver more revenue per call than you are currently enjoying. Visit http://www.consultsales.com to see how Ty and Consult Sales can improve your bottom line.

How to Improve the Results of Your Sales Training Program

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Is your sales training program delivering the results that you want and more importantly need?Learn how to create a sales training program that actually delivers a positive return on your investment (ROI).

Simply speaking, the reason most sales training programs fail to deliver a positive return on investment and achieve the desired goal of improved performance, is that these programs are modeled on the K-16 educational experiences.If you look at the lack of progress in the public education arena, why should the corporate education and training experiences be any different?

How much is 10 times 10?You probably had the answer in your head before you finished reading the question. Now how much is 25 times 24? This time the answer is not coming as quickly and you may even say I do not know. The reason for this is simple.You practiced 10 time 10 many, many times, however you may have only computed 25 times 24 once or twice in your lifetime.

To bridge the gap between knowing how to do something as multiplying something to actual doing it requires numerous opportunities to apply new knowledge.Learning is the acquisition of knowledge. Performance is the application of knowledge.

Simply speaking, you cannot change years of behaviors and the supporting beliefs by a one to three day learning engagement.To achieve a positive return on the investment for those education and training dollars invested in sales training demands practice.Yet, most training and development sessions are very short in duration with no to limited opportunities for ongoing feedback and practice.

The focus as in the K-16 experience is about learning, getting more knowledge and skills. Yet, to realize performance improvement is really about developing the necessary attitudes and habits.

The other unstated obstacle to achieving a positive return on your sales training program is the belief that that an external force can create sustainable behavior change. Ongoing positive behavioral change must come from within each and every individual.Again, this demonstrates the importance of attitudes, those habits of thoughts.

Years ago, Dr. Don Kirkpatrick constructed a model of evaluating training for the business and corporate worlds.This model now known as the Kirkpatrick 4 Levels of Evaluation suggested that to achieve a positive return on investment requires actual performance and to see the impact of that performance within the organization (Levels 3 and 4). Yet, he realized that the majority of training focused on levels 1 and 2.Again, this focus is because of the conditioning from the k-16 experiences where content is king.

Simply speaking if you wish to achieve a positive return on your sales training investment then you may wish to take these actions:

Schedule your training in shorter sessions with a week in between to allow for practice

Incorporate attitudes and habits along with the necessary Self Leadership Skills and Knowledge

Infuse opportunities for practice

Measure the impact of your sales training program

By taking these proactive actions, you will achieve not only measurable results, but much happier sales people in the process.

Would you like to increase your sales? Then, you may find Simply Speaking, Increase Sales By a combination e book and e workbook sales training book that leverages marketing, selling & planning skills to increase sales at http://www.processspecialist.com/sales-training-book.htm

Do you want self improvement to small business help? Then register for FREE monthly teleconferences at http://www.processspecialist.com/seminars.htm. These seminars will help you increase your business productivity to personal productivity.

Please feel free to call me, Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Your Chief People Officer and Business Coach, who works with individuals and organizations that are tired of not being where they want to be. 219.759.5601

Dealing With Not Interested Prospects Using Sales Lead Generation Go Tos

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You can use “not interested” responses to uncover unexpected objections your prospects might have. . When you uncover these objections and prepare responses, you should add them to your Go-To List.

A Go-To list is, essentially, a crib sheet for arguments against any objections a prospect might throw at you. It can take whatever form you are comfortable with: a spreadsheet, a few printed pages tacked to the message board near your phone…you could even use HTML in a Word document (or online) to create a FAQ-style list where you can get to the appropriate response with a click of the mouse, if you are familiar enough with the application.

More important than how you create the list is your commitment to maintaining it, and adding to it each and every time you get a new “not interested” objection. Most of these objections center around either quality, price or service, or whether this need is already being met by another vendor. Each of these are objections that can be easily countered.

For instance, if a prospect isn’t interested because they “just signed a two-year lease on our existing office space,” Go To: “Are you in need of a satellite office or mirror-site to serve as a back-up?”

Finally, develop more than one counter to each objection. Try them all a number of times and track them to see which ones pull better results. Be sure to revise your list accordingly. Your Go-To list should be a constant work in progress, and you should feel encouraged each time you have to add a new page. It means you’re developing that many more new skills to deal with the dreaded “Not Interested.”

Al Davidson is the President and Owner of Strategic Sales & Marketing, Inc. (http://www.manageyourleads.com), which he founded in 1989. Under Al’s direction SSM has designed and implemented new business development plans and programs for thousands of B2B companies nationwide. Since their inception SSM’s calling center has completed over 50 million cold calls to high level business decision makers and generated over 5 million sales leads. As a result, SSM has developed vertical expertise in the high technology, manufacturing and business service sectors. With this in mind SSM works specifically in generating “high value” sales leads that result in “big ticket” average sales opportunities. In addition, Al Davidson has 25 years experience in business-to-business (B2B) direct marketing, new business development consulting, sales force management, lead management, sales training, and B2B web marketing.

Training Your Customers the Right Way 3 Ways To Combat the Roller Coaster Sales Cycle

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Every week I talk to dozens of business owners and media buyers.The biggest lament I hear from my clients is the large peaks and valleys in their sales cycles.One good month.Three bad months.One good month.Two bad months.They can’t figure out how to flatten the peaks in the cycle.I ask every one of my clients how they’re training their customers to buy their product or service.The reply I get most often is a blank stare.Businesses train their employees how to help customers but don’t realize they’re also training their customers when to buy.The fact is you as a business owner, manager, or marketer can train your customers to buy your product or service.Without realizing it, you may be training your customers to not buy from you.If you’re in a sales cycle that has large peaks and valleys in it, consider the following three ways to train your customers to buy from you in a more reliable timeframe.

1) Stop having sales.You read correctly.Don’t have sales.I understand that if people are not buying from you the natural inclination for businesses is to lower prices to try to draw more customers.However, sales train your customers to shop only when there’s a sale.If you have sales too often, customers will just wait to buy till the next sale and you’ll have lower profit margins as a result.Those peaks in the buying cycle start getting larger as a result.

2) Stop focusing on today’s buyers.There are four stages to the buying cycle: attention, interest, desire, and action.The people who are in the attention stage are people who may have just purchased a product and not be in the market again for approximately ten months to a year.Though not in the market for your product today, you want them to keep you in mind because you want them to buy from you again when they’re back in the market.The second stage to the buying stage is interest.The people in the interest phase are people who are six to nine months away from making a buy.Though not in the market today, these people are aware of a product you have and are entertaining the possibility of purchasing it.The third stage of the buying stage is desire.People in the desire stage are one to two months away from making a buy.They want the product you have.They are now actively looking at brands, features, and benefits to determine which particular model is the one they should purchase.The fourth stage is action.People in the action stage are less than a month from buying.They want your product now.Your advertising and marketing efforts should be executed with each of these four buying stages in mind.Talk to the future customers in each of these stages of the process because the people who are not in the market for your product today will be in the near or distant future.Be sure each of these buyers knows where they should buy when they are in the market and ready to do so.

3) Stop focusing on transactional buyers.Transactional buyers are only as loyal as your lowest price.They’ll drive 50 miles to save ten bucks, even in an era of three-dollar gasoline.You will get more traffic from transactional buyers but you get a lower profit margin to be able to meet the price at which they’ll buy.Transactional customers are one-time buyers.They may never give you a second chance to sell to them.Instead, you must put your focus on your relational customers.Relational buyers will make repeat purchases because they trust you.The relational buyers will not match the traffic of the transactional buyers but the profit margins are larger simply because you didn’t have to lower your prices to make a sale.Relational buyers will pay a few dollars more for your products because it’s worth it to them that they know you’ll treat them fairly every time.You don’t have to work as hard to sell them.

If you’re in a sales cycle that has large peaks and valleys and want to flatten them out, train your customers to buy from you whenever they’re in the market.Train your customers that you’re there when they need you and they’ll be there when you need them.And get off the get off the roller coaster sales cycle.

Dr. Eric Shoars has a Ph.D. in Organizational Management from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.He has consulted many businesses on their marketing and advertising efforts, often with impressive results.

What Can You Do To Insure That Your Sales Meeting Doesnt Get Cancelled

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Have you ever set a sales appointment only to show up at your prospect’s office and they forgot about your meeting? Have you ever set a day and time to speak with your prospect on the telephone and they missed the phone appointment? If you don’t confirm your appointments in a systematic way then these outcomes will frequently happen. So what actionable steps can you take to insure that your sales meeting actually happens?

The first actionable step that you can take is to repeat your meeting date more than one time before you hang up the telephone. Make sure that they have a calendar in front of them while you are on the telephone. And if your prospect says just stop by next Tuesday morning then you need to get them to commit to a specific time as well. The more specific you get on the telephone when setting a meeting then the more likely your meeting will happen.

The second actionable step that you can take is to ask your prospect for their email address. Once you have their email you can then send them an email to confirm your meeting day and time. In your confirmation email, let your prospect know how much you value their time, let them know the day and time that you have arranged a meeting, and finally, let them know what you will discuss at this meeting.

The final actionable step that you can take is to forward your original confirmation email to your sales prospect one day before your scheduled meeting. In this email you can write, “(First name of your prospect), just a friendly reminder about our meeting tomorrow at (List the time here). If you should have any questions please call me at (Your number here).” If you wanted to take this step a bit further to insure that they actually received your email then you could ask them to reply to your email to confirm your meeting as well.

Copyright 2007 MR. COLD CALL SEMINARS – All rights reserved.

Behind The Scenes With Mr. Cold Call

Mr. Cold Call is the author of “How To Have Fun Cold Calling” and “113 Common Sales Objections, 182 Clever And Savvy Responses.” According to Mr. Cold Call, “Your cold call success is dependent on 11 winning personality traits (known as your Telephone Persona Of Success!).” Collectively, these traits allow you to uniquely market yourself over the telephone so that you can inspire your prospect’s curiosity and reduce their resistance. Are you interested in finding out more about Mr. Cold Call? Then sign-up for his free weekly cold calling tipsat http://www.mrcoldcall.com

5 Key Points to Being a Successful Sales Person

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In order to be a successful sales person, it is not that difficult. By applying or following the following five key points, one can be one.

1. Direct Selling Approach

Most of the time, people would not want to hear excuses or being forwarded from department to department on their problems or concerns. What is critical to them is that they are able to have their issues, problems or concerns solved directly.

Hence this applies to selling too. Being direct and honest, would be a better way of selling instead of covering up facts which would be found out eventually. Do not beat around the bush. Selling of the core benefits of the products and services is the key point here in sales.

2. Setting Goals (or Targets)

Never forget that by setting goals or targets, one gives direction to whatever he or she would hope to achieve. This is important as then he or she would know what would be needed to be done to achieve the goal. And furthermore, the prospects of self satisfaction from achieving goals and targets are highly tempting or provide motivation to a person.

3. Sales Pitch

With experience, one would be able to analyse his or her arsenal of sales pitch where those that do work would be focused on. Hence by focusing on those sales pitch that works, the selling skills can be honed and sharpened. With each selling experience, confidence and belief in one’s selling skill would be built up to the level of being able to cope with any sorts of customers.

4. Taking positive from negative

In sales, it is not always possible to conduct a sales. Be it the wrong sales pitch or unsuitability of the product or service, it should be not disheartening to the sales person. The reason is that as above under point 3, take it as a learning experience where by analysing what went wrong with the pitch or method. Thus by remembering the mistake, one should or would not make in the future.

5. Mistakes

No is prefect where he or she does not make any mistakes where starting a sales job. There is no need to dwell or linger on mistakes, but take them as learning experiences to reduce or prevent them from happening again. Slowly, the number of mistakes would be reduced or prevented.

And do not be afraid to apologize for any mistakes made. Always be prepared to make amends to them.

Lastly, always reflect on the set goals or targets and update them if necessary.

Hopefully the above can help you in overcoming your sales problems and to be on your way to be a more successful sales person.

Ever wanted to be your own boss and earning your income from home without ever leaving for work. The answer is to be an Internet Marketer. With Wealthy Affiliates, one can pick up the tools for being a successful internet marketer. What are you waiting for? Check out Damien’s blog at http://www.earnrealmoneyworldwide.blogspot.com for ways to start earning real money now.

Sales Letters That Bring Results

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We, all, are busy.If a person takes time to read a sales letter, it must

be interesting, and spark a desire, need in us.

It is essential your product or service reach the right person.

“How do I make that happen?”You asked.

Prior to sending out sales letters, do research.Direct a sales letter

to those whose wares/jobs require your product/service.

Forums are an excellent place to get feedback on product/services.

You can get a feel for how your product/service will be received.

Throw out a version of your business plan, if that is more comfortable

for you.It is, also, a means to advertising.Pitching an idea gains tips,

previously, looked over by you.

The first words of a sales letter is to hold the reader’s attention.

Make the point, be clear.Use words that are easy to understand.Do

not run-on with your head-line.

List the benefits, and spell-out the features.Most people want to know

what’s in it for me.Why should I purchase the product/service?

Remember, never get technical.Simply, write as if you are talking to an

associate, friend.

The sales letter is sent to get a positive response.The reply, form, fax,

etc should be easy to understand.Supply a postage paid envelope.

A dead-line is necessary.It causes an individual to act, especially if

he/she has an interest.

Always, re-state the offer.A guarantee adds a flavor of credibility.

Above all, be fair with customers, and you will get re-peat business.

There is no better advertising than word-of-mouth, which equals more

business.

A sales letter is the introduction to your product/service.The head-line

is three to five words long.The writing level is based on the comprehension

of an eight grader.

I welcome comments.Contact me at writer.feedback@gmail.com

Insurance Sales Success Reason Number 12 You Cant Sell

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You’re trying to persuade.There’s a big difference between understanding persuasive words and phrases that increase the effectiveness of your statements, and trying to persuade someone to your way of thinking.Leave persuasion to the politicians.It doesn’t necessarily work all that well for them either, but that’s not your problem.

But isn’t selling all about persuasion?Nope, persuasion is a very risky proposition.Persuasion is about trying to talk someone into doing something.Carnival hawkers try to persuade passers by to allow them to guess their weight and win a prize.Insurance sales professionals don’t talk people into doing something.When you try to persuade someone you run the very high risk of making them defensive because no one wants to be talked into anything.

There are particular words and phrases that are naturally persuasive, and it never hurts to use them when it makes sense in a conversation.The word “because” is a very persuasive word.You’ve been conditioned to accept because all by itself as an acceptable response that explains everything.Think about when you were a little kid and you asked your Mom if you could have a piece of candy right before dinner.Her response was probably, “no”.And then you came back with, “but why Mom”.To which she responded, “because I said so”.End of story.And because of this early conditioning we all respond to the word because as preceding a perfectly acceptable and logical explanation.The phrase, for example, is a powerfully persuasive phrase.When you here that phrase you expect it to be followed with an explanation that will make whatever preceded it make perfect sense.

Persuasive words and phrases do not put the prospect on the defensive.When your prospect hears these persuasive words they’re receptive to the message that goes with them.Persuasive words and phrases help the prospect to better understand in a way that feels more natural.A comfortable and natural conversation always has a higher likelihood of a sale than one that’s manipulative.

Persuasion feels manipulative and it lowers trust.When you try to persuade someone their defenses go up and their senses are on red alert for the catch.They don’t trust you or what you’re selling, and even if they buy they’re thinking there must be a catch somewhere and they just haven’t figured it out yet.Guilt is one particular persuasion tactic that’s really risky because now not only is their level of trust low, but they resent being made to feel guilty.Low trust sales lead to high customer turn-over and zero referrals.Don’t try to build your business around people you’ve persuaded to do business with you.

Would you like to learn more about your sales skills?Sales Skills Analysis [http://omaha-business-coach.com/sales.html].

Ready to get unstuck and get going?start here.

Insurance Sales Success Reason Number 9 You Cant Sell

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You don’t know what to say and it’s killing your insurance sales success.Whether you’re meeting people face to face or your sending out a marketing message you need to know what to say.The biggest reason this is so hard for you is because you think you have to say something about you and what you want to sell.

Your insurance sales success rests in your ability to follow the basic sales process.The sales process at it’s most basic level can be broken down into: introducing yourself and establishing rapport, discovering wants and needs, exploring the impact and benefits related to those needs, presenting a solution, gaining the business, and following up.But you can’t do all that in one fell swoop and that’s where you may be getting all twisted up.You have to start at the beginning and get permission to go to each next step.And when you meet someone who tries to go too far too fast you have to rein them in and bring them back where they should be.

Your insurance sales success begins with your introduction.Pretend you’re on vacation somewhere you have no hope of getting a client because you aren’t even licensed to do business there.If we met how would you interact with me?Would you ask if I had kids?Would you ask how long I’d lived there?Would you ask what I do?Would you ask how I like to spend my time?When you were asking all those very basic questions do you think I’d open up and start telling you more than maybe you wanted to know?Would you begin to understand what’s important to me?At the end of our little conversation do you think we’d have rapport so the next time we met I’d be sure to greet you.Do you think I might even come up to you and start making small talk with you?Hmmm.I wonder, could you do that with people who are prospects too?Thinking about the sales process you have to get to this point before you can move any farther so this may be really important.

What if at some point in this conversation I turned to you and asked what you do?Would you be able to tell me in a way that would help me to understand who you work with and why?You see when you make your message really broad and general it’s vague.It doesn’t give anyone a reason to ask you to tell them more about that.It won’t get the person you’re speaking with to think of who they know that’s like that, maybe even to identify themselves as someone like that.If they can’t do that they won’t be able to raise their own hand as a prospect, or help you to connect with someone they know who’s looking for someone like you to help them.This lack of clarity in your message is hurting your sales more than you’ll ever realize until you craft a message that does all those things.When you get this message right the people you talk to will listen intently.You’ll see them thinking as you’re talking, and they’ll start asking you questions.

Whether you meet someone face to face or generate a marketing message your message needs to be about your prospect.At this point your objective is to gain favorable attention and pique their interest.So you can begin to put the focus back on them through your questions. And you can really listen for understanding, so when they ask if you can tell them more about that you can do so in a way that gets them thinking they should explore this a little deeper.

Would you like to learn more about your sales skills?Sales Skills Analysis [http://omaha-business-coach.com/sales.html].

Ready to get unstuck and get going?start here.

Sales Coaching How to Take Off Your Blindfolds to Hit Your Sales Target

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Sales coaching:

“Thank you Rachel, this was the best company luncheon we have ever had. It was a great way to have Bill’s retirement party,” Mr. Evans said to Rachel as she was packing up her supplies.

Rachel runs a local small business selling company lunch parties for businesses. Companies hire her to put on these special occasion luncheons and usually hold them in their conference rooms.

Rachel has had some good sales training in her past jobs and developed some effective selling skills. Having good selling tools has helped her in promoting her business.

This is the fifth lunch she has done this week.

“Sales are up and business is good,” she though as she was driving home. “So why did my accountant tell me yesterday if sales don’t improve soon I’ll run out of cash?”

People love Rachel’s company lunch parties and she enjoys putting them on. This should be working out great, but it’s not. Something was wrong but Rachel couldn’t figure out what the problem was.

On her way home she decided to stop off at her old employer’s office to drop off some of her business cards. She figured they would be good clients for her lunch parties.

When she walked in she saw her former sales manager Ken Tucker. Ken invited her into his office. She always liked Ken and he was a sales coaching and sales training pro. Rachel learned more and sold more working for Ken than anyone.

As they talked, Rachel confided in Ken about her business problem.

Ken looked concerned for Rachel and asked if he could ask her a few questions about her sales business.

Rachel readily agreed to Ken’s request. Then Ken asked her the following questions:

Can you tell me the average number of prospects you talk to daily & and your objective?

Can you tell me your average gross profit per luncheon & and your objective?

Can you give me your current closing ratio & and your objective?

Can you tell me your average monthly net profit & and your objective?

To each question Rachel gave a vague or uncertain answer. Ken immediately could see a big problem for Rachel.

Ken’s sales coaching advice for Rachel and you:

When you don’t know your sales numbers you are operating your sales business blindfolded. Start today tracking the above four numbers for your business. This will show you two things. It will show your strengths and your weaknesses. Work on your specific weaknesses and in sales you just gave yourself a raise.

David Nassief selling skills coach invites you to improve your sales with the free report “Selling Secrets of Top 5% Earning Salespeople”David’s site is http://www.phoenix-best-sales-jobs.com