Sales:TheGreatestProfessionintheWorld
Areyouabrandwantingtoexpandyourreachoramarketerreadytobringaproducttomarket?The
directresponsespacewillwelcomeyouand,formost,chewyouupandspityouout.We’reallenamoredwith
themulti‐billiondollarindustrywecalldirectresponse,andhopetogetalittlepieceofit.Yoursuccesswill
beginandendwiththeabilitytosellyourproductwithyourchoiceofseveralchannels–butnonegreaterto
connectwithyourcustomersthanthemightytelephone.
Thecallcenterworldseemssimple,butmostdon’tunderstandwhatittakestotrulygetthemostout
ofyourcallcenter.ThemythisthatyoucancreateastellarcreativeandpurchasemediathroughTV,radio,
theWeb,orevenprint,anddriveyourconsumerstosalesagentsthatsimplyreadacompellingscriptand
yourproductwillsell.The“ArtofSelling”hasbeenindiscussionforthousandsofyearsandfrequentsthe
headlinesofForbesandallthewaytotheNewYorkTimesbestsellerlist.Withallthisknowledgeavailable,
whyaremarketersstillnotgettingtheresultstheyneed–tobeprofitable?Thefirststepistounderstandand
embracetheopportunityandrecognizethateverysinglephonecallisanopportunityforamarketer,sales
agent,andtheconsumer.Witheveryopportunity,youhaveto:KnowMore,CareMore,and,therefore,Sell
More.
KnowMore–Understandthescienceofwhatismotivatingthecustomertocall.Whatisthedesired
result,andwhatneedstobedonetoincreasetherateatwhichresultsareachieved?Thereisaprocessto
uncover,articulate,andcommunicate.Youmustmaintainthevaluepropositionofaproductorbrand.
Knowingandunderstandingtheworkthatisputintoacquiringeachcustomerisimportant.Thecallcenter
needstosubordinatetheirsystemsandprocessestomaximizethevalueofeachcustomertotheclient,as
wellasthevaluethatthemarketerprovidesforeachcustomer.
CareMore–Onceyouunderstandhowtoconvertcallstosales,youhavetomaintaintheidealthat
“customercare”isachievedthrough“conversioncare.”Youhavetoutilizereal‐timemeasurementstoensure
thesalesagentsareinsyncwiththecustomers.Trackingtheresultofeachphonecallisadirectreflectionon
theabilitytoachievethegoalsassalesagents,management,andmarketer.Thepassionforpersonalresults
(salesagentsandmanagement)shoulddrivethecallcentertopursueexcellenceoneachphonecall.The
managementmethodsshouldbedesignedtotiethosetwothingstogetherinasymbioticloop.Developing
happyagentsleadstosatisfiedcustomersandhappiermarketers.Thisistherealmeasureofasuccessful
salesdesk.
SellMore–Youcansellmorebyvaluingeachopportunityandeachcustomer.Weknowthat“sales”
isreallytheabilitytogivesomeoneconfidencethatadecisiontheyalreadymadeistherightdecision.The
opportunityforsalesagentsistocreateconfidenceinthemarketers’products,tobuildtheperceivedvalueof
themarketers’brands,andcreatealifelongadvocate.Creatingravingfanscanonlybeachievedthroughtruly
understandingvalue–thevaluepropositionoftheproductandthevalueofeachcustomer.
Asamarketer,yourcallcenterhastoberelentlesslycommittedtoimprovingandnotfocusedon
industrynormsoracceptableperformancestandards.Thedirectresponsespacecreatesmovingtargets,and
thecallcentermustclosethegaponimprovementandbuildagents,systems,andmethodstogainnew
insightandincreasetheabilitytohitthosemovingtargets.“Goodenough”istoooftentheenemyof“great,”
andjustcreatingsatisfiedcustomerscanbetheenemyofcreatingravingfans.
Yourcallcenterisnotacommodityandshouldbeoneofthemostimportantdecisionsyoumake
whencreatingasuccessfulbusinessplan.Unfortunately,itseemstobeoneofthelastdecisionstobemade
andthereforetherushofidentifyingacallcenter,signingcontracts,andintegratingtakesprecedenceover
infusingyoursalesagentswithconfidenceaboutthevalueofyourproductandprovidingthetoolstocreatea
successfullaunch.Remember,salesaresimplytheabilitytogivesomeone–inthiscase,salesagents–
confidencethatadecisiontheyalreadymadeistherightdecision.Atruepartnershipspiritshouldbecreated,
alongwitharobustfeedbacklooptoidentifyhowthecall‐to‐action(CTA)isworking,knowwhatyour
customersareexperiencing,andunderstandhowtopresentthevaluepropositiontoensuretheyareinsync
withyourbrand.
PlusOnehascreatedandrefinedasolutionthatleadstheindustryinsalesperformancebasedon
simplecoreprincipals:I.C.A.F.C.A.TM
 Intent:Itisimpossibletoachieveeliteresultsiftheyarenotfirstclearlyarticulated.PlusOne
believesinbeginningwiththeendinmind.Goalsettingispervasivethroughoutourcompanyand
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“Win/Win/Win”isourstandard.Ensuringthattheintentofeachagentisalignedtofulfilltheintent
ofeachclientandcustomerisaspecialpartofourculture!
Confidence:Theabilitytogivesomeoneelseconfidenceisthemostcovetedabilityinmankind.In
ordertogiveothersconfidence,wehavetohaveit.Webecomemoreconfidentpeoplebycreating
success,andeachphonecallprovidesanopportunitytoaccomplishthegoalsweset.
Action:Whenyoucombineintentwithconfidence,youtakeaction.Actioncreatesopportunity.We
recognizethattheactionswetakedictateopportunitiesweencounter.Ifnoactionistaken,thereis
nochanceoffulfillingintention.Ifactionissustainedandrefined,themomentoffulfillmentmoves
evercloser.
Focus:Fearandcomplacencyareconstantlythreateningourabilitytotakestrongaction.PlusOne
wasfoundedontheprincipleofproactivefocus.Ratherthanbecomingcaughtupin“goodenough”
numbersorbecomingoverwhelmedbybadresults,ourcompanyfocusesonthingswecancontrol
andcreatessuccesswiththosethings.Thatsuccessgivesusconfidenceandincreasesthechancesof
accomplishingthingsoutsideourcontrol.
Commitment:Why?Thatisthequestion.Whatcommitssomeonetoperform?Understandingwhat
motivatespeopleisthekeytoperformance.Wehaveaclearunderstandingofwhatisdrivingour
agents,ourcustomers,andourclients.
Accountability:Resultsholdusaccountable.Aretheactionswearetakingeffective?Arewemaking
progresstowardourintentions?Itiscrucialtomeasurewherewewere,whereweare,andhowfar
wehavetogo.Thisallowsusrefineourcourseofactiontoincreasethecapacityofeachopportunity
todeliverourdesiredresult.
Don’tgorunningtoyoursalesteamandletthemknowcipherhasbeendecoded,andyouexpect
conversionandtheaveragetickettoskyrocket.Frankly,thisisonlyhalfthestory,andI’mnearingmy1,200‐
wordlimit.Pickupthatalmightytelephone–itcouldbethebestdecisionyoumakeallyear!
DanThompsonistheexecutivevicepresidentforPlusOneCompanyandcanbe
reachedat(801)698‐3633,viaE‐[email protected]
www.PlusOneCompany.com.
(AversionofthispieceranoriginallyinDirectAvenue’sDirectConnectE‐newsletter,
SecondQuarter2015)