Manager's Minute Newsletter - SalesTrainingCamp.com

Next Week For Management

Moving The Complacent Sales Rep into Action - Attend this dynamic and fun filled seminar and learn how to implement the following:

Two self funding and self motivating programs to maximize the sales behavior and results we all want!
How to see "trouble coming" where a sales rep is moving into a complacent mode and how to move them immediately back to a high performance one!
How to handle the veteran sales rep who has an install base (better known as an annuity...) where they make their numbers easily and work exactly that way...
How to maximize the rookie sales rep's performance where they may suffer from the disease "Monkey See, Monkey Do"...
More . . .

Can't make the seminar? Pre-order the cd for $6 off the original cd price. Click here for details.

"Manager's Minute" Tip

(Article Archive)

Tele-Sales: It’s NOT About the Numbers
Perspectives On Managing Your Reps and Their Results
by Jim Domanski

If you think that tele-sales is nothing more than a “numbers game” i.e., the more you dial the more you’ll get, then maybe you have problem.

The fact of the matter is this: tele-sales is NOT a numbers game, it’s a results games.

And somewhere down the line many companies have lost site of this fact. As a result they tend to focus on productivity rather than focus on effectiveness. Does this describe the philosophy of your tele-sales department? If so, or if you think there is a grain of truth to it, then pay heed. This article looks at the “numbers thinking” and how it is negatively impacting the sales results of many tele-sales organizations.

Numbers: A Persuasive Argument

I fully understand the power of the concept. Thinking that tele-sales is nothing more than a numbers game is a very persuasive argument. Over time telesales departments have learned that X number of dials typically results in X number of contacts. Further, X number of contacts will result in X number of leads or sales. Logically, then, if you simply get the rep to crank out more dials, the ratios should follow suit and sales increase.

The Trouble is…

The trouble with this thinking is that at some point at in time tele-sales managers and executives begin to ignore other activities that contribute to the bottom line.

Specifically, companies cut back on two areas that are fundamental for selling success. First, they cut back on training. I have seen it dozens of times over the years. The sale is perceived as simple and transactional so the manager or the executive feels the need for training isn’t as important as the need for productivity.

Second, they cut back on coaching. Inside of hunkering down in the trenches with the reps and helping them master a skill or technique, managers lock themselves in their office and play “what if we increase dials by 10%” on their spreadsheet.

But worse then this is the way management’s thinking becomes distorted when they have been thoroughly brainwashed by the “numbers game.” Here are just two examples to illustrate the point.

One company had set a dial rate of 140 per rep per day. If the reps did not achieve this dial rate for the month, 20% of their base pay was docked. It did not matter if the sales rep met their sales quota or even exceeded it, they were docked their pay. This is staggering. I monitored dozens and dozens of calls where reps simply dialed numbers at random so they could get the dial count up. I listened as sales reps terminated decent calls because the call was taking to long and this could impact their dial rate.

In another company, I watched as one sales rep exceeded his daily quota by 170% and another exceeded her daily quota by 305%. Instead of the accolades they should have received, both reps had their wrists slapped (albeit mildly) because they were 11 and 19 dials short of their dial objective. Imagine being the sales rep? How would you feel if it were you? Both reps were plainly discouraged. Both asked the question: what do you want: dials or sales?

(Incidentally, I could provide you with at least a half dozen more examples of similar cases).

4 Perspectives

Let’s put these examples into perspective. First, ask yourself this question: is my president or board of directors more interested in dial counts and contact rates or sales results? Which do you think they care about: that you exceeded your dial and contact rate by 35% but were short by 25% on the revenues, or that your dial and contact rate was 20% less than objective but your sale rate was 123%?

Secondly, in field sales: do managers and executives get their field sales reps to account for every minute of their time on the road? No. They don’t. As long as the rep hits their numbers, they really don’t care if the rep slept in, is playing golf, or takes off early on the weekend. Field sales has got it figure out: its results that count.

Third, in tele-sales we get microscopic about the numbers simply because we can. You can count dials, connects, disconnects, voice mails and the like every five minutes if you like. And because we can get so microscopic about the numbers we tend to micromanage our reps to death thinking that the more we get them to dial the more we’ll get.

Fourth and perhaps more telling is this: managing the numbers is a heck of a lot easier than managing the rep and the sales process. At a conscious or a subconscious level managers and executives alike are abdicating their responsibility to make the sales rep better at selling. Training takes time, dollars and efforts. Coaching takes time and effort. It’s often grunt work and often hard work. It is so much easier to “play pin the tail on the numbers” than it is to make your reps more skilled and more effective.

And that’s the real issue: it’s not so much the numbers as it is what you do with the numbers you have. If your reps are only closing at the rate of 15% you can flog them with more dials or maybe you can figure out how to move that rate from 15% to 18% to 20%.

Numbers Are Important

Don’t get me wrong. Numbers are important. Dialing as an activity in tele-sales is vital. I am not for one minute suggesting you don’t set objectives for dials or contacts. They give the rep necessary focus and direction. What I am suggesting is this you temper productivity with effectiveness. Here are some tips and ideas:

First and foremost, use productivity (dials and contacts) as a guideline or road map for results and not a destination in and of themselves. Activity objectives are designed to help a rep achieve a sales goal.
If a rep exceeds their daily or monthly goal, cut them some slack on dials. If you are not going to reward them, fine. But don’t PUNISH reps who achieve their sales objectives. Please!
Establish a system whereby the reps get a break on dials when they achieve and exceed their objectives. This can bring balance to the equation. For example, if the rep achieves 100% of objective for the day, cut 10 or 15 dials off the quota. It’s no big deal. If they hit 110% cut 20 dials off. Show them that what matters is results not numbers.
Don’t think for one single minute that forcing a rep to dial 20 more times is going to yield the numbers you want. It may work in the short term but in the long term reps will find ways to meet the dial count but not the results.
What gets measured gets done. If you measure dials by the letter of the law you will get dials. You won’t necessarily get good results but you will get dials. Tell that to the board when they question revenues.
If you still need convincing, monitor a couple of hundred calls and see what reps REALLY do when you ask them to dial, dial, dial… You’ll be shocked and embarrassed.
If you still think that massive dialing is the answer, do it for three solid weeks yourself. Make the 120 dials or more every day for three weeks. Fifteen solid work days. If that’s doesn’t give you a better appreciation of the job, nothing will.
Remember it’s not about dials it’s about results. Look closely at your training programs. Are your reps getting a steady dose of good skills training? I mean good, instructor led training support with job aids.
More importantly, are your reps getting the coaching they need after the training to support the implementation of the new skills? How often are you or your supervisors hooked up beside the sales rep monitor calls and providing feedback? How often are calls taped and monitored and reviewed with the reps? If you are not spending at least 25% of your day, one on one with your reps, you are not doing your job. Period.
Remember that there are costs associate with mind numbing dialing. The first cost is turnover. If reps are not successful, the dialing because monotonous, frustrating and discouraging. This leads to turnover. It means money and time being spent on recruiting, hiring and selecting new hires; not to mention training costs. The other cost is opportunity cost. If you have lost a rep you are losing the possible sales that he or she could have derived.

Summary

It is time that we begin to look at tele-sales as something far more than “dialing and smiling.” If you develop a “results mentality” rather than a “numbers mentality” you will be forced to think about effectiveness. You’ll look for ways and means to make your reps better at what they do. Once you achieve this, the numbers are not nearly as significant as the results.

About The Author:
Since 1991, Jim Domanski is the President of Teleconcepts Consulting Inc. and works with companies and individuals who are frustrated with the results they have been getting when using the telephone to generate leads and sales. For more information visit: www.teleconceptsconsulting.com or call 613 591 1998.