Helping Your Inside Sales Reps Get Back On Track
Most of us are familiar with the “ebbs and flows” of a sales position. It’s important for your sales reps to always understand the cycle and realize that even the best reps out there still have weeks in a slump. I have found that a healthy and optimistic mindset is what separates your average sales rep from your top performers. This means, it is important for your sales rep to know that even though they had a bad week, it's not something that they should dwell on and have it fill their day with excuses and complaints. Of course our top performers sound great on the phone, but that doesn’t carry them all the way to a fantastic month. To some extent, it’s a numbers game and our reps with the best mindset don’t take the time to dwell on bad weeks. They use that time effectively to put in more calls and spread their message out to a larger audience. As I always remind my reps, the hard work you put in this week or even this month will always come back to you the consecutive week or month. Here are some other tips to get your reps back on track:
Increase their outbound prospecting metrics: This is when you can explain the math behind getting back on track. The more calls and conversations you have, naturally will set you up for more opportunities. As simple as it sounds, it’s always important to give your reps the reminder that one additional call they did on any given day can be where they find the next opportunity.
Make calls to have conversations – not leave voicemails: Let’s say it’s the end of the month and your rep needs to find more opportunities to hit their number. This is when it’s important to not settle for a voicemail. If that person you have left numerous messages with is continuing to not pick up the phone, call the admin, operator, department etc. This is when you should ask to speak with anyone who is in the office. This additional work to get someone live on the phone will dramatically decrease the time it takes to uncover an opportunity.
Move on from your home page!: Don’t waste too much time trying to get a prospect’s attention. There should always be an effective call plan throughout the month that leaves multiple voicemails. It can sometimes take numerous messages and weeks to get a response as your prospect has very busy days.That being said, during slow weeks or months, make sure that you check in with your rep and make sure they are bringing in at least 10 new accounts to their rotation on a daily basis. If it’s the end of the month and I have a rep that desperately needs more leads, I tell them to not worry about their homepage follow-ups, but to dive into their list of untouched accounts. Go back to the last tip and don’t settle for a voicemail!
As an extra push, make sure to always set short term goals and rewards to get a rep back on track. If they hit your increased metrics or goal at the end of the week or month, a gift card to their favorite store or place to eat on the weekend will be that additional incentive. It is important for your rep to see a more immediate reward for increasing their performance.
How do you keep your inside reps focused and on course?