How are you training your non-salespeople salespeople?

Posted by Michael Cage on Thursday, July 29, 2004

Last week I watched a client flush nearly $40,000 in top-notch marketing work down the drain because a $9 an hour employee took the great leads being driven to the business and sabotaged them. In this case, she took motivated and excited incoming calls and shifted their state to negativity faster than a teenage boy on prom night. And not just once.

If you run a business with employees, every single one of 'em who interacts with clients/customers/end-users needs to understand what is and what is not acceptable. We raise people defiant nowadays, so you have to explain why and what's in it for them. Oh, and let's face it... bribes work. (Last month a client with a retail location was having a great deal of trouble with employees unintentionally offending clients. The employees couldn't be fired, so we put together a bonus pool which is reduced every time a customer is lost for a handful of reasons... being offended was one of 'em. It's worked well thus far.)

Employees who do not have contact with clients/customers/end-users need to understand the effect they can have on marketing. (Marketing = everything a business does to get and leverage a client relationship.) Do you have a tech in the backroom who is only allowed out for bathing and feeding? Insulated employees need to know what they do has a direct effect on the growth (or decline) of the business... so instead of playing level 91434 of Doom, (s)he should get the value of speed to a client relationship.

And so on...

It's the old tale, the chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

8 Comments & Trackbacks (add your own)

Everybody Sells
In a small business everybody is really part of the sales team, since most employees will have some interaction with customers. And yet, many small businesses overlook this in their training as shown at this entry at An Entrepreneurs Life....

The Entrepreneurial Mind on Friday, July 30, 2004

Training your Non-Salespeople Salespeople?
An Entrepreneur’s Life: “If you run a business with employees, every single one of ‘em who interacts with clients/customers/end-users needs to understand what is and what is not acceptable. We raise people defiant nowadays, so you have to explain wh…

Business Opportunities Weblog on Friday, July 30, 2004

Hm. Ya think maybe being a $9-an-hour employee has something to do with it? Just maybe?

Why should your employees value you more than you do them?

Dorothea Salo on Tuesday, August 03, 2004

It always amazes me how companies forget that customers spend get their brand message not from a company’s marketing collateral but from their phone calls to the company’s service/support numbers. One long wait in the queue or one interaction with a bored, disincentivized, overworked, underappreciated communicates the true brand of a company far more than a beautiful logo or ad campaign.

I completely agree with Dorothea. You can’t expect people you disrespect, ignore, overwork, and easily discard to care much about your brand or your customers.

Zane Safrit on Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Thanks for the great blog, the content is excelent.

Keep up the great work.

Regards

Ed Keay-Smith
http://www.adwordsmarketing.com

Ed Keay-Smith on Monday, August 30, 2004

From Techie to Business Owner

I’ve figured out why I find sales so unpleasant. Being a business owner
requires a much different mind-set than that of a typical techie.

I’ve been working as a sys admin and web developer for the past seven years.
As such, I only have to sell ...

_o_________ ___ _______ on Saturday, November 13, 2004

The Entrepreneurial Mind on Saturday, December 11, 2004

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