Integrate Field Sales and Phone Sales*

Qualify By Phone - Close In Field

Some companies qualify leads on the telephone and close all sales in the field. If your enterprise uses such a system, here are three steps you may take to improve performance.

Step One
First, involve the field in defining a good lead. How? Hold a focus group or take a survey around options you are considering. This proves invaluable in designing lead “cards” - whether they are sent by e-mail or fax. Equally as important, this gets the field to “buy into” the lead system – they have some ownership.

Step Two
Second, as database marketing expert Ashleigh Groce (formerly VP, Customer Relationships at Service Merchandise) has been saying for decades, “Close the loop.” Give each prospect a unique I.D. number and find out what happens to your leads once they are sent to the field. Without this information, you are steering your marketing and sales effort with an obscured view.

For example, the lead source that produces the most leads could be the one costing you the most money per closed sale! You may discover that other lead sources result in more sales volume, even though they generate fewer leads. Or, you may find that some pairings of field reps and territories, media sources or TSRs work better than others. It is crucial to track advertising, marketing, telemarketing and sales together - on an integrated basis - to obtain useful, actionable metrics.

Persuading field sales reps to respond with lead results, particularly intermediary results, usually requires a positive incentive - or “carrot” - such as a contest for a trip to Hawaii. A negative incentive, or “stick” is also necessary to make it uncomfortable not to provide the needed information. For example, this might include withholding commission checks until the requisite information is up-to-date. Most of all, a closed-loop system requires that the sales manager make it a priority to follow-up with sales reps to obtain this mission-critical data.

In today’s world of laptop-equipped field sales reps and synchronization of field and headquarters databases, providing such information may be relatively painless for the field rep. It may simply require some one-time programming, a brief sales rep training session and a few sales rep keystrokes to enter results after each phone or sales call. This is possible on many popular sales force automation programs including less expensive products such as ACT! and GoldMine, as well as premium priced packages such as Siebel Sales Systems and Vantive. However, if use of the notebook sales automation system varies from sales rep to sales rep, you may want to consider the benefits of (a) training to get everyone up-to-speed, and (b) combining an automated system for those so inclined with a more manual system for the technophobes among your sales reps.

Step Three
The third step is too often overlooked, sabotaging the field. Match the tone and style of each telephone rep with that of your field sales reps. If a TSR calls to set an appointment for a printing sales rep and has a very consultative, “soft” style, prospects naturally expect a similar approach by the sales rep. However, if the printing salesperson has a very different style and approaches the appointment as a commodity sale, the meeting will “blow up” and be unsuccessful. Set realistic expectations among prospects by aiming for compatibility in attitude, style and tone between TSRs and field reps.

*These are general recommendations. Specific strategies and tactics should be based on a review of your needs, market and operation. For outside support, contact Lieber & Associates.