The ABC's Of Managing An Inside Sales Team
My digital marketing manager mentioned that he came across a great blog from Kara Trivunovic, Vice President of Marketing Services for StrongMail. Her topic focused on the
ABC's of email marketing and we thought it would be interesting to come up with an A-Z run down on teleprospecting from a manager's perspective.
Here we go:
A- Align company goals w/ employee goals
B- Bi-Directional Communication w/ inside and outside sales team is vital to sales success
C- Call plan: Your team needs a call strategy to follow on daily basis to maximize prodcutivity
D- Downtime is detrimental: You should always have time to prospect
E- Entice your reps: Utilize contests to encourage healthy competition
F- Foster your culture: A healthy company culture keeps the troops motivated and moving forward which key when you're teleprospecting all day
G- Get to the point with your scripts: Blatant rip off from Kara here. When leaving messages keep it to 30 seconds/ when sending email keep it brief- 4 sentences max!
H- Hold your reps accountable: Managers put pressure on themselves to make their reps successful....but the rep has ultimate responsibility for their results
I- Include your reps on messaging discussions: I've this the only way they can truly internalize the message
J- Joint training with peers: Managers only have so much time in the day. We need recognize that reps have just as much to learn from each other as they can from management.
K- KPI's worth monitoring: You need to determine/track the metrics that drive productivity; Call Numbers, Connect Rate, Conversion Rates...etc
L- Learn what motivates your reps specifically
M- Messaging should always be changing based on your target: Your scripts should always fluid and personalized when possible
N- Never have your team rely solely on emails: Email shouldn't be a crutch. Best practices tell us to weave email into your calling efforts
O- Open Door Policy with your reps: I've often argued that teleprospecting is the most difficult part of the sales process. Don't lose sight of the fact that your reps are always in need of your support.
P- Perspective: Good managers should have the capability of recognizing when they're adding value and when they need to get the hell out of the way. No one likes a micro-manager, especially when it's not needed.
Q- Qualify, Qualifly, Qualify!!!: This needs to happen for opportunities to progress in your sales pipeline
R- Research: Any time you pick up the phone you should know something about the company and the prospect you're calling into
S- Sales training: one of the most critical continuing education pieces you can provide for your team
T- Time management: Your day can get away from you very quickly unless you have some structure. Personally, I feel this is one of the most important aspects driving a teleprospectors success
U- Urban Myth: Teleprospecting is easy
V- Vent in private and not with your team
W- Walk around the office: Don't be chained to your desk. You must be visible to your team for the times they need your motivation
X- X-ray vision- Your reporting needs to be crystal clear and see through
Y- Your sales team is a direct reflection of you as a manager
Z- Zero#- Best way for your team to navigate a large organization
I've probably left off 30-40 other management examples here, but this exercise definitely got me thinking about all of the things we do on a daily basis to manage our teams. I'm always open to other suggestions. Feel free to share!
