Media Caller Training Direct Results Marketing, Inc. One Day Seminar for Craft-Bilt Manufacturing” “The battle is always decided before it ever begins.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War Briefly ‘We want to look at the various aspects of media calling, those factors affecting the set rates and performance of callers, and how they can be monitored and improved by CBM field representatives. We also want to discuss the philosophy behind the script and approach to the appointment, This is an open discussion... Please don’t hesitate to ask questions or share comments ‘The four areas we want to cover today are: Environment Attitude Seript Yeah, but....(Objection Handling) ENVIRONMENT As the Chinese Master Sun Tzu says: The outcome of a battle is determined before it __ ever takes place. The ground chosen, the morale of the forces, the skill of the opponents, and the motivation affecting the forces determine the outcome...the fighting itself is almost secondary, In that same way, many of the roadblocks to top performance by media callers have nothing to do with the callers themselves. ‘They are often placed in unsuitable situations without proper support, training, and supervision and have no clear understanding of what is expected of them. When you're evaluating the environment a caller is working in what things should you be looking for?Physical Environment: Is the work area a private area free from distraction? Media callers spend an amazing amount of their time unproductively, in other words not talking to someone about an appointment. Dialing, looking up numbers, waiting for an answer. The long waits between opportunities and the repetition of the job can lead to mental boredom quickly and welcomes almost anything to break up the monotony. People to talk with, people to watch, any excuse to get up and do something else will quickly take them away from what they're doing. ‘They should be working in a quiet private office if alone, or a supervised calling room if more than one person is calling. ‘The office should have a closed door and be off limits to anyone but marketing personnel. Interruptions during calling hours should be kept to an absolute minimum, Is the caller expected to handle other duties while calling? Given the choice of two things to do, most media callers will choose the other task (not calling). Callers cannot be expected to answer other phones, watch the showroom, or handle various other tasks while they're calling. Productive calling requires the full concentration of the person. It tends to take a while for a caller to get themselves focused on what they're doing and interruptions break their concentration. Each time they occur, the caller has to go back through the “settling in” process. Don’t dilute calling hours with other tasks. Structure calling shifts with breaks at specific times, not haphazardly atthe caller’s discretion. Are all necessary materials at hand? Appointment sheets, appointment schedules, maps, scripts, and calling sheets should all be readily at hand at the workstation at the start of the shift. When appointments are ‘made, information should be filled out directly onto the appointment sheet itself, not written on scrap paper and then transferred later. When the appointment is completed, move on immediately to another call. Quite often between double writing, updating the schedule, filing the appointment sheet and getting another one the caller not only burns off another 5-10 minutes after writing an appointment, but by the time they’re finished with these tasks, they're back to the “settling in” process,Is their work being supervised? Even if there isn’t a supervisor in the room with them constantly, how are they being. monitored? Knowing that someone is keeping track of what they're doing is helpful to maintaining focus on calling. Left unsupervised, their minds will wander. Listening in on their presentation is the only way to determine if the script and philosophy is being followed. It also is necessary for proper training They can’t be left totally alone. (This is a tough one) If there is a supervisor, are they creating a productive environment? Supervisors sometimes fall into bad habits, too, They may contribute to the time wasting and distractions of callers. Their job is to increase caller effectiveness by supporting the callers and helping them maintain focus and concentration on the task at hand. Supervisors should be in the room at all times. ‘They should see that materials are ready to go at the beginning of a shift. ‘Supervisors should determine what each person will be calling and have those materials ready to go at the start of shift. Supervisors should be updating the boards, filing appointment sheets, etc....not the callers. They should have a list of appointment priorities at the beginning of each shift and make this known to the callers. ‘They should insist on punctuality and prompt start-ups to calling shifts. ‘Supervisors should be actively training throughout the shift, not letting things go and then discussing them in a training “session”. ‘Supervisors should make certain that callers clearly understand what is expected of them and what constitutes a successful job performance.Attitude, Understanding the attitude of the prospect is where we spend the largest amount of time in raining sessions. It’s important that the callers understand what the prospects concerns are and how fo handle them. This is the key to increasing performance to the 30% or greater conversion rates we desire. They need to understand why they need to Tead prospects on to the next step of the process, not get their permission to go on to the next step. “Car dealers and test drives” Attitude: Prospect The attitude of the prospect who has called is one of fear and interest. They want the information about our product but are fearful of the process. They don’t know for sure ‘what will happen, but they’re working on a worst case scenario nightmare in their minds. Our job is to put these fears to rest and move them quietly on to the next step in the process In the whole purchasing process, this may be the toughest decision: the one to begin. It is important to understand why they’re naturally reticent about taking the next step and why the callers can expect some resistance, Prospects are unusually interested in the product. ‘They are fearful of being “pressured” into a big “sales pitch”. They don’t want to build up a sense of obligation by getting involved further in the process because they know it may well lead to them buying a room. ‘They are apprehensive and will naturally resist the moving into the unknown, You can expect it. If we ask them if they want to do this or not, most times we know the answer. ‘Their resistance will manifest most often as time delays, Therefore it’s important to focus on what they do...not what they say. What they say What they did “We're just looking...” ‘They called. Many times after viewing the program multiple times “Not doing anything @ this time...” They called. “Just wanted the brochure...” They called and gave us their phone number “Doing it next spring/year/month.....”. They called 4We know that the decision to call for information is an emotional as opposed to logical one, Of the hundreds or thousands of people who saw the program, we would believe the ‘things they said if they hadn’t called. Something they saw has brought their interest and emotional involvement to a peak and regardless of their plans we want to talk to them now! They also believe that the time to have someone out is when they’re ready to build the room, They don’t understand the timeline involved. (This is important later) Attitude: Caller Callers tend to make two big mistakes... Internalization (how would I feel about it) and they view the calling in the same light as telemarketing. Both of these must be climinated. ‘They have never called a program like this for information about a home improvement product so they can’t relate it to their own experience. They aren’t telemarketing, They’re returning a call for information from a prospective customer. It doesn’t remotely resemble telemarketing If these two hurdles aren’t eliminated, the callers will be unable to project the qualities they need to put the prospects fears at ease: Confidence, competence, and control. Confidence The callers must develop a positive expectation for the call. If they don’t, it comes across in their voice and manners and the prospects pick up on it. If they begin to sound tentative or uncertain when the customers raise their objections, the battle’s over. By the caller projecting confidence about the process, the customer gets more comfortable with the idea. ‘The caller needs to project an air of, “It’s no big thing.....everybody does this...just the next step in the process”. They need to meet resistance not with pressure or tension but with agreement and understanding, Competence The prospect’s already begun to make decisions about this project. They see our product as desirable, This is the first human contact they have with our company. They will begin to make decisions about whether or not they're going to do business with us by the people they meet along the way. This may be their first venture into something like this but they don’t want it to seem like our first time. If we come across professionally and know what we're doing it makes more sense to take our advice. If the person they're 5talking to at this stage sounds lost and bewildered it will be extremely difficult to progress forward. Control The caller must understand that they control the call, not the prospect. The script is designed to help them do this and they need to understand how to get back in control when the customer begins to take it away. The caller is not requesting permission to ‘make an appointment, but determining the proper time to schedule it for the convenience of all parties. When the caller remains in control, the contact most often ends in an appointment. When the caller loses control, the conversation usually ends with, “OK, well we'll check back with you later on and see if you're ready then.”Script The script should be present regardless of the familiarity of the caller with the presentation. If it’s not in front of them it’s not being followed....guaranteed. The purpose of the script is to eliminate errors, make sure all the bases are covered, give the caller control of the conversation, and by repetition increasing the caller’s effectiveness at delivering the message. The script breaks down into the following areas: The Open Greeting, credentials, and the beginning of the process of getting the prospect back to the point they were at when they made the initial phone call to us. This is the point where we separate our call from telemarketers, Go slow. Make certain they understand why we're calling and that we're returning their call. Make certain that they verify information given to us. We are getting their attention and setting the stage for how we want them to respond. ‘Why a deck or patio? Pictures in their heads. Get them thinking about what we want to talk about. Reason for call We are verifying that they received information, not asking if they did. ‘These should be statements not questions! Questions lose control. When the lack of pricelist is mentioned, the customers often agree. That's fine, it sets up the next step. Explanation of pricing and presentation Its very important to go slow here and let the customer visualize the process. Time spent here also allows them to get more comfortable with the whole idea. It assures that ‘enough time will be available for the representative and he won’t meet with resistance to the demonstration. ‘This is the area where callers most frequently shift gears and start accelerating to get to the close..... NO NO NO. This is where you take your time and let the customer get comfortable....hurry through here and you won’t get to offer the appointment. Scheduling the appointment Always offer two specific dates and times. This focuses the customer on scheduling rather than the question of whether or not they want to go ahead with the process. Be certain that stress is placed on the need for a time when both husband and wife are available. If one’s exact schedule is unknown, it is better to make a tentativeappointment based on the one known schedule then call back to verify with the other party than to leave it either in the hands of the customer to call back or for us to call back after they can consult about the best time, Once an agreement is reached on the time of the appointment... move on! Directions and tie downs For a proper appointment, we have just passed the midpoint of the conversation. As ‘much time should be spent after the appointment has been agreed to as before. The pressure’s off now, time spent with the customer puts them more at ease with the idea Directions build up a sense of commitment. They should be taken completely and read back to be certain they’re correct. Stress again the need to have both parties there: “So that’s a good time for both of you, right?” If not, schedule a time that is! Ask them to write the date and time down on their calendar. They'll do it. Ask them to be sure to inform their spouse. These things are critical to setting a strong appointment and often overlooked. Some dealers want alternative phone numbers. If so, it should be done without alerting them to a confirmation the night before, “If we should need to get in touch with you for any reason between now and then is there another number we should have?” ‘Do NOT tell them we'll be calling to confirm or sending out a letter. This undoes all the ‘good you've done getting them to value the appointment. If they know you're going to call the night before, they don’t need to remember it, It lets them off the hook and they often won't bother mentioning it to the spouse until the night before, Doing this leads to cancellations of appointments.Yeah, bute. (Handling Objections) Most all objections come down to time delays and trying to answer them is ineffective. Overcoming them is impossible because they’re likely untrue to begin with. Remember we have to look at what they’ve done, not what they say. Attempting to overcome or answer the objection comes across to the customer as resistance or pressure, exactly the thing we don't want. Meet an objection with agreement and acceptance...." understand, Mr. Jones. [realize you're not doing anything right now, and that’s perfectly OK. You're not under any obligation. You don’t have to buy anything, This is just to get you the information you need if you ever DO decide you want to do something....and the reason 1 was calling was a good time for us would be either this Tuesday at 6:00 or Friday at 10AM and I wondered which time ‘would work out best for you and your wife?” In short, whatever the customer’s plans, they don’t really affect the reason we're calling. ‘We merely want to set up a time for them to get the information, what and when they do with it doesn’t really matter. ‘The customer believes they should do this when they're ready to build the room, we want to separate (for the purpose of getting the appointment) that the process of getting the information and making a decision about what they're going to do is connected. ‘However you respond to their objection you always need to conclude by offering two specific appointment times. This is how you regain control of the conversation and bring the focus back on the appointment, It may require doing this several times. Don’t attempt to answer an objection by providing information about the product. That's the representative’s job. Any question about the room should be used as a reason to et up the appointment. Do not try to answer persistent price questions with ranges or some other sly answer you learned from salesman...you’ll only shoot yourself in the foot. We have no idea about pricing, that’s why we provide the service. Remember: If you answer one question, then don’t answer about the price...they don’t believe you don’t know, they think you're withholding the information. Finally.....In the words of Jim Valvano, “Never give up.” The majority of calls which don’t result in an appointment end with the caller giving up..”"OK, well is it OK to call you back....” Don’t give in. Ifyou feel like you've exhausted everything you can say...change the subject, ask them some other question...chat awhile with them and listen closely....chances are they'll say something which will open the door back up to getting the appointment.