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5 Elements of a “Best In Class” Inside Sales Team

Recently I was asked by a client what a best in class inside sales organization looks like. This got me thinking about all the companies I’ve worked with, and after a while I picked a client company in Canada that I believe is practicing the 5 crucial elements that define it as “Best in Class.” Before we get into these elements, here is what they do and how we started working together.A little over a year ago, I met the C.O.O of a young company in Canada that sells HR Solutions over the phone to businesses across Canada. This company was already doing well and had been designated one of the fastest growing companies in 2010. They had a team of about 35 inside sales reps and in each of their first two years they had broken new sales records. When we met over the phone, the C.O.O. told me that they had accomplished this without any official sales structure or training and he was anxious to see what kind of growth he could accomplish by implementing proper systems and sales processes.After an initial evaluation, we identified several key areas that we could improve and after working together for several months, we implemented the following 5 elements that would ensure his company’s continued growth and their “Best in Class” status. Here they are:Number One: The first thing we worked on was defining his sales process. As is the case in most sales rooms, of the 35 sales reps prospecting and closing accounts, there were about 35 different ways this was being done. It took some reps 2 calls to close a deal, while other reps needed to make 4, 5 and even as many as 8 calls to close deals.In addition, while interviewing the reps I found that there were vastly different opinions on what was needed to close a sale. Some felt that extensive emails and information was important for gaining trust and closing the sale, while others used a demo of the website to sell a prospect. Still others relied on referrals from others within the prospect company, while others couldn’t tell me what the deciding factor was. They said they just sent out information to whomever appeared to be the decision maker and then hoped for the best.So the first thing we needed to do was to look at how the top 20% of their sales reps were prospecting and closing sales and then standardize those successful techniques into a best practice structure. We started by indentifying the bench marks in each step and then used these to define the most effective sales process. I call this building the DSP (for Defined Sales Process), and once we had that in place, we could then develop a scripted sales approach that their entire team could use to be more effective.Number Two: Once we had the DSP constructed, we then needed to take these best practice steps and benchmarks and turn them into a useable, repeatable scripted playbook. In other words, we took each step of their best practice sales process – starting with dealing with the gatekeeper, to identifying he decision maker, building rapport, qualifying, etc. – and we scripted, word for word, each part of the sales process out.Taking the time to comprehensively script out each part of the sales process – including best practice voice mails, emails and complete objection handling – allowed them to equip each sales rep with the most effective way of handling the sales situations they were in 80 to 90% of their day. By developing and subsequently practicing a uniform and proven sales approach, the reps were able to qualify better prospects which allowed them to close more deals in a shorter period of time.Number Three: Once a Defined Sales Process and a scripted playbook were in place, the company was now able to better empower their front line managers and supervisors because now they had a uniform way mentoring and coaching their sales reps. Prior to this process, when the reps were adlibbing and unstructured, the style of management was reactive and inefficient. Without a standard to grade, coach and evaluate by, the managers made inconsistent progress and were generally ineffective.This all changed, however, once both sales reps and managers were following a proven, objective sales process and scripted sales approach. During this process we developed actual script grading adherence forms so managers could regularly grade adherence to the best practice sales approach. In addition, script grading also allowed the managers to target problem areas for each rep and design very specific development plans for improvement. Because each step of the process was defined and objective, evaluating and changing performance and measuring and tracking progress of these changes was now possible.Number Four: Once these processes were in place, the company saw the need and benefit in rearranging personnel and redefining job descriptions to better manage and train their growing sales team. Some of these changes included reducing the sales quotas of their team leads/supervisors so they could spend more time in helping their reps improve their sales skills and close deals, and in tasking their sales director with more involvement in hiring and recruiting talent. In addition, they promoted one of their human resource members into a full time sales training position – something they had never had before.A crucial change was the creation of a qualify control person whose sole job it was to listen to and grade recordings of the sales team. Because an important component in this process was to record and grade rep’s adherence to the new sales playbook (and so analyze their sales skills and measure their improvement), it immediately became apparent that listening to 35 sales rep’s calls was a full time job. The innovative change this company made was recognizing this need and creating a position to fill it. Having a full time quality control person allowed the front line managers to spend more time on the floor working with reps and it also provided the ‘real time’ feedback on how each rep performed during the actual sale and how they were tracking in terms of improvement.Number Five: Motivating a sales team is an important component of sustained and improved sales performance, and in this area the company deviated from the daily cash bonus and spiff model of short term motivation and instead took a longer term approach. Recognizing the need to grow the sales team and the benefit of offering its employees a more sustained career model, the company created a career advancement program that rewarded long term sales performance by promoting sales reps into different levels of responsibility and increased pay.The company created new team lead positions, new supervisory positions and even new customer reorder departments that created new growth opportunities for performing reps. Each of these new positions became linked to bi-annual performance goals and replaced the short term bonus plans previously in place. The result was a more engaged and motivated sales force who’s focus was more on the long term goals of the company rather than the short term goals of daily production.While a lot changed in this company’s sales structure, focus and execution, the amazing thing was they were able to make these changes in a four to six month time frame. The results in terms increased sales production were exceptional. Not only did they grow sales by over 34% in their existing department of new business, but they were able to expand their current accounts business by penetrating deeper and cross selling departments and products.The bottom line is that when this company took the time to improve and implement these 5 elements, they were able to leverage their existing sales personnel and create a scalable model for across the board sales improvement. And that is what I call a “Best in Class” sales company.Copyright (c) 2013 Mr. Inside Sales

Teaching You How To Make Money Online – Your Education Formula

The internet seems to be holding the answer or solution to almost anything now, including earning some extra income. You would agree if someone says that at first glance, earning money online looks like just a far off dream. But you will never know the truth behind it if you have not tried it yourself.Truth is, there is a big opportunity you can find online to make money and it can instantly become a reality if you know what needs to be done. As such, this will serve as your education formula to make money online. There are so many opportunities presented online that you can take advantage of. You will soon know how you can grab them through the education formula you would learn here.How to Make Money Online – The Key People who are looking for a way to make money online free are right to be here. There is a big chance that you are one of those who think that a 9-5 job only cuts into your personal and family time. That is why you are now looking for a way to put an end to this. The answer you are looking for is here whether you are simply after earning extra income or you want to make a full time job out of it. But be sure to be prepared to get more than this benefit since there is more that come with it. One of this is the chance to work on your preferred time, which you can do even when you are just in your pajamas. In time, you will find that online job which suits your skills and needs.Just remember that there is one key that can make this possible. That is choosing that one venture you’re interested in and you enjoy. Then, you can follow it with setting up a website catering to your activity or business. Check with a list of website-hosting companies. It is where you can get the support you need for your business.How You Should Proceed with this Money-Making Opportunity There is the idea that starting a business can be quite difficult. But there is a way to make things go easier with you and the 3-step guide below is how it can be possible. Your guide is:• To Choose the Right Niche for Your Online Business• Know the Audience for Your Online Business and Target them Correctly• Determine the Type of Online Business You Want to CreateGuide 1: Choose the Right Niche for Your Online BusinessKeep in mind that the market is huge and is too broad to deal with as a whole. This means it can be difficult to target all consumers who are interested in a specific product and it is expensive as well to attempt to build a business based from it. It is difficult and expensive since the market is not only huge, but it is also in several segments. For example, spiritual transformation has segments that include Christian spirituality, Buddhist spirituality and Jewish spirituality. It simply means that the market is composed of a number of segments which come with smaller niches and more niches under it.With the broadness of the market, it requires you to identify the niche that holds your interest most. But it has to have the potential for profit too for your business to get the support it needs. Again, remember the key mentioned above. Determine the market you have a passion for and know the smaller niches it has and make sure that it offers a high profit rate.Guide 2: Know the Audience for Your Online Business and Target them CorrectlyLearning about this is important since you want to make sure that those you will be dealing with have goals similar to yours. Hence, it is necessary for you to choose well and target your audience correctly. Whatever niche you choose, there 4 main groups of people you will always be dealing with and these are your customers, competitors, partners and suppliers. The key here is to determine the group of people who will be most active in your market and decide whether you want to deal with and be surrounded by them when you are in your business world.What you need to do here is to research your niche market’s customer demographics and write down every characteristic of the audience. It needs to include the age range, values, beliefs, education level, values and more. Then, write down the common problems and deepest desires of these people and decide if they are the type of people you want to deal with most of the time.Guide 3: Determine the Type of Online Business You Want to Create This is the last guide you need to consider on how to make money fast. All of these will not only help with your online money-making goal, but also support whatever business you wish to establish online. The top options you can choose from include advertising, make money online surveys, consulting agency, online coaching and affiliate marketing. Online courses, membership sites and e-commerce are also good options.What you need to do now is to create a research page about the leading websites related to your niche market. Determine how such websites can help with your goal to make money. Are these the e-commerce sites or online courses? You will find that out through research.As you start and start establishing your online business, it is important that you make it among your missions to provide value to your audience. You need to get everything polished, including ensuring that you are able to provide the best to your audience. Now you have an answer when you ask yourself ‘can I make money online’ again.

How Can You Make Money Online In 2016?

You generally hear one of two things when you ask how to make money online.First, some people will tell you that there are no simple online money making opportunities and that online business has become too complicated. But that’s not true.Second, some people will promise you that you’ll make millions online. Whilst that is true for some, it’s not common.If you want make money online in 2016 it can be done, but it does take time and you don’t have to have a business degree to do it. Here are 5 basic business models that generally achieve a good level of success for everyday folk.1. Affiliate MarketingAffiliate marketing is a popular way to make money online when people are starting out with their own internet business. Profit is made by promoting the products or services of others and earning a commission. Your job as an affiliate is to promote your chosen products to a target audience and if they buy via your affiliate link, you earn a commission.2. Information Marketing People use the internet to find information and many people are prepared to pay for that information online if they can get is quickly from a trustworthy source. If you are a specialist or professional in a specific market you can sell information when people see you as an authority in your chosen field.3. Membership WebsitesA membership website is just the same as being a consultant in the offline world. Your job is to help and counsel clients with your expertise. This is a very profitable way to make money online as people tend to stay clients for lengthy periods. You can also recommend relevant affiliate products to your members.4. Service Provider When you provide a service such as writing, design, website development or being a virtual assistant, you get paid for the work that you do for your clients. Freelance websites like Elance and UpWork have countless numbers of customers looking for people like you who are offering their skills in return for payment.5. Product Creator This is where you make a profit selling your own products. The easiest products to produce are digital products, like an eBook, report, audio course or video training series. You create it once, and you can sell it over and over as your customers can simple download it when they buy it from you. You don’t even need to be an expert in a particular subject to create a digital product. You just need to know more than the average person on your chosen subject.