Lead Lines

Customer Service Fitness: Criteria for maintaining a healthy team

According to his businessknowhow.com article “How Fit is Your Customer Service Department?” Adrian Miller discusses how to evaluate a team’s service performance.

“Just like with personal fitness, there are many components to managing the well-being of a customer service department,” Miller writes.

• Sound. Reps’ voices are the ambassadors for the company. If they are positive, professional and upbeat, it will provide a positive image for the company.

• Dialogue. “Does your team have the necessary training, keywords or call guide so that they’re prepared and know what to say?” asks Miller. It is important for sales professionals to have the proper tools to be the best they can be.

• Attitude. Managers must ask themselves if they are honestly making their reps feel appreciated and recognized by the company. Proper incentives for good work can increase employee satisfaction and maintain good performance.

• Environment. In order for reps to keep a good attitude, they must be provided with a pleasant working environment. A deep, dark room hidden inside the company is not pleasant or conducive to a positive attitude.

• Recruitment. “Who you hire can make all of the difference. Consider what skills and experience your CSRs will need to succeed,” advises Miller.

• Education. Reps need a good start with comprehensive training, but their improvement should continue. They should be knowledgeable and up-to-date on everything they need to know.

• Selling techniques. Reps should be cross-selling and up-selling. Managers need to be sure to explore all possible ROI opportunities.

“It’s all about defining all of the components necessary for providing quality customer service and establishing the strategies to achieve specific results,” Miller says.

Training Tips

How to Stay on Top: Out-selling competitors in the recession

The current economic crisis is causing many sales professionals’ knees to buckle, but Jeb Blount says this is the time to focus on standing up against competitors. In his eyesonsales.com article “Five Tips for Beating Your Competitors in this Recession,” he offers the following tips:

1. Play offense. “Smart salespeople go on the offense during economic downturns and take advantage of weak competitors,” Blount writes. Gain market share, become a consultant and help your prospects and customers do better during the recession.

2. Play defense. It is also important to protect your current customer base through the recession. Customers will stay loyal to sales professionals who proactively help them solve their problems.

3. Shape up. “Recessions separate the week from the strong. Your skills, talents and attitude are the real competitive edge in this market place,” Blount says. He suggests sales professionals invest in themselves by reading, attending seminars and participating in training programs.

4. Remember the fundamentals. Sales professionals have a tendency to ignore the basics during the good times, but discipline and focus on the fundamentals are key during a recession.

5. Pick up speed. Although most people slow down during recessions, it’s important for sales professionals to stay active in their market. New products, new goals and new visions will help bring success during the recession.

“The reality is there are no magic pills. The best way to prosper is a strict focus on the fundamentals,” concludes Blount.

Lead Lines

Delegate with Confidence: Overcome the fear of passing on responsibility

“Giving up control and authority is a challenge that many managers fear more than working twelve hours a day, six days a week,” says Melissa Vokoun, writer of the leadershiparticles.net article “Delegation with Confidence: Five Essential Steps.”

In order to get things done effectively, managers must accept their personal limitations and delegate tasks when necessary. Vokoun offers five steps to be sure jobs will be done correctly, including:

1. Clarify the task. Examine the assignment and consider what is needed to complete it. Specifying this clearly to the employee with the necessary skills will ensure desirable results. Also, delegating the outcome and allowing the employee to choose the methods to be used will help him or her meet the goal.

2. Communicate the range of authority. With responsibility comes authority, so managers must allow the employee to inherit the proper power to accomplish the task. This includes the ability to do research, ask others for help and use available resources.

3. Inform others of the decision. Because the employee will need cooperation from coworkers, it is best to let everyone who will be affected know what is going on.

4. Include subordinates. “When you give an assignment, draw on the thoughts and opinions of your subordinate to map out the assignment and your expectations,” Vokoun writes. They will be more likely to participate and cooperate enthusiastically.

5. Establish communication. Employees will benefit from feedback and monitoring. They also need a route for questions and concerns to bring to managers. It helps to set up reporting guidelines to keep tabs on progress. This ensures any problems that arise will be dealt with immediately.

“Delegation is not a sign of limitation or failure to meet expectations but a sign of a confident and secure manager who can draw upon the talent within their organization,” Vokoun explains.

Editor's Note:

Thanks to edi for your input! 

"You forgot #6, show appreciation for your workers."

Training Tips

Rebound Sales Tips: How to recover from a slump

Most sales professionals experience a downward curve in their sales every once in a while. Adrian Miller’s salesgravy.com article “How to Beat a Sales Slump,” explains the following tips for recovering from a dry spell:

• Pursue the attainable goals first. Setting your sights on prospects who will generate sales in the short-term is a must.

• Get feedback. “You need an honest evaluation of your abilities from someone who is objective,” writes Miller.

• Do research. Declines in sales should encourage reps to improve their skills. This can make sure they never get back into that same hole again. Sales books, articles, newsletters and seminars can be great sources for self-improvement.

• Don’t waste time on finding someone to blame. “This isn’t the time to start blaming others or yourself. It doesn’t matter who or what is to blame. Your time and energy is better focused on developing strategies to improve your situation,” explains Miller.

• Explore new methods. In order to achieve new results, sales professionals must try something new.

“These ideas work, and if you’re heading down the path of a slump, you’ll want to start here,” says Miller.

Lead Lines

Nine Rules for Meetings: Guidelines for running them effectively

Leaving a business meeting realizing they’ve wasted hours of their time. In her leadershiparticles.net article “Holding Effective Meetings: Nine simple rules,” Helen Wilkie gives the following guidelines for running effective meetings:

1. Hold only necessary meetings. If a series of phone calls, an e-mail or memo could accomplish the same outcome, it is much more time-effective.

2. Gather the right people. Be sure to invite anyone who has something to contribute to the agenda or needs to hear the information. Others will appreciate doing something more useful with their time.

3. Create and distribute an agenda before the meeting. It will function as a meeting announcement and as a way for people to gather necessary materials.

4. Be punctual. “Allot a time to each subject on the agenda, and stick to it. Effective business meetings start and finish on time,” Wilkie writes.

5. State the objective at the beginning. Setting a goal that is results-oriented rather than discussion-based ensures that things are accomplished by the end of the meeting.

6. Encourage forward motion. Keep the meeting focused on the objective.

7. Speak up. Even if you’re attending someone else’s meeting, contribute what you have to offer that’s relevant to their goal.

8. Arrange for notes to be taken.

9. End the meeting when the goal is accomplished.

“If you follow these rules, you will not only be observing proper meeting etiquette, but you will also be on track to an effective business meeting that delivers results,” Wilkie concludes.

Training Tips

Timesaving Alternatives to Multitasking: Avoid the chaos of juggling too much at once

In her phonepro.com article “Tips for Reducing Multitasking Madness,” Angela Burmeister says multi-tasking can cause trouble for sales professionals. She offers the following tips for being more productive, efficient and accurate:

1. “Admit that multitasking decreases everyone’s productivity, no matter how good they think they are at it,” Burmeister writes.

2. Work from a “to-do” list every day. This will help reps stay focused and on track with tasks. Whether it’s the old-fashioned way of writing on paper or using software to organize your day, it’s important to plan out a daily schedule.

3. Do the most important tasks first. “Beginning your day by working on the most important thing on your list will kick start your day with a sense of accomplishment,” Burmeister explains.

4. Eliminate e-mail notifications. Burmeister says rather than using alerts to notify you when e-mail arrives, schedule three times a day to check and reply to e-mails.

“Remember — work doesn’t control you, you control your work! By trying to accomplish too many tasks all at once, people are less efficient and more stressed,” Burmeister says.