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| == [[How to handle customer data]] == | | == [[How to handle customer data]] == |
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| == How to be a Better Salesperson == | | == [[How to be a Better Salesperson]] == |
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| After analysing 1000s of emails from our sales team, we have identified the most common pitfalls in initial email and phone communication with new leads. If you can get these things right, success is guaranteed.
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| '''Top 10 Email Pitfallsv'''
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| '''1) Not using the opening 2 sentences of your Email to full effect'''
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| The opening lines of your email are the best and perhaps only chance to directly address the concerns and wishes of your new lead. They will read these carefully but probably skim down the rest of the email.
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| Your opening 2 sentences should i) contain a personal comment relevant to the customer's company and ii) directly address any concerns the customer has.
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| Bad opening sentence example:
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| Many thanks for your enquiry - please find information and prices below for your interest.
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| Good opening sentence examples:
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| Many thanks for your enquiry - We can definitely meet your requirement for delivery a week on Friday. You may be interested to know we supplied your sister NHS department recently and they were very happy with their order.
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| Many thanks for your enquiry - I think the Spirit Media logo will look great engraved on the Alloy USB Card. I'll be sending you the virtual proof by lunchtime and have posted you some dummy samples for delivery tomorrow morning so you can see this product first hand.
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| Further good examples of opening sentences use the 'Industry Association Principle' (the principle goes that if you inform a lead that we have supplied a company in a similar industry to their company, they will feel Flashbay can fulfil their requirement well because of this experience):
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| Company enquiring is BAE systems (Engineering/Defence company):
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| Many thanks for your enquiry - You may be interested to know we have recently supplied Airbus with USB cards which they used to promote their new A380 - I heard their promotion was a great success.
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| Company enquiring is a Software company:
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| Many thanks for your enquiry - You may be interested to know we have recently supplied HP with USB flash drives for the promotion of their latest Laserjet products.
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| Company enquiring is an Events company:
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| Many thanks for your enquiry - You may be interested to know we have supplied a couple of event companies this month - both were very happy when we delivered well before the big day.
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| Use common sense: Look on the leads' website to know what they do and what type of company they are. Don't mention their direct competitors in the 'Industry Association Principle' because it will have a bad effect!
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| '''2) Failure to complement your electronic communication with physical samples by post'''
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| For those leads which you identify as legitimate, you need to send samples on the 1st day of the sales cycle. Be proactive about sending samples - if a hot lead doesn't ask to see a sample, just inform them in the email that you have posted some samples for his/her review. Sending samples is one of the best sales tools in our business.
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| '''3) Not converting bad enquiries into good'''
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| It's common that some leads come to you which are not 'perfect'. The lead may be after a flash drive model we don't offer, or even a different promotional product. Leads might also come to you incomplete or just as a couple of lines.
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| If the lead is from a genuine company, you still need to put in energy to develop the lead further. Never just email them a 'dead end' email which doesn't offer suggestions or ask questions - this will destroy all future potential.
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| Example: Many thanks for your enquiry. I am familiar with the model which you attached. We can provide a similar looking model which I think is worth considering but not the exact one you attached. Please find attached images of the Wafer USB Card, which can be printed in full colour with your logo and delivered for next Friday at your event - it's a very popular product at the moment with Event companies and I think would really showcase your clients logo well. I've attached a full price list for your review and have posted you some samples for delivery tomorrow so you can examine the product first hand.
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| '''4) Not Promoting our Lead time Sufficiently'''
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| Our Lead time is very quick, and no other competitor can match it. To help differentiate Flashbay from the competition our quick turnaround capabilities should be heavily integrated into your communication, not just mentioned as a one time general statement in the initial quote.
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| Example: Please find attached your virtual proof - should you wish to confirm an order today, we can deliver the full order at Cactus Events, in Fulham for next Thursday.
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| '''5) Using 'turn off' text in your email'''
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| Don't kill off leads before they have had a chance to develop by using 'negative sentences'. Here are some examples of 'turn off' sentences not to be used in the opening email to a customer:
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| We require payment 100% in advance for orders
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| We are a UK registered company and need your valid VAT number otherwise your order will incur a 20% VAT charge
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| We reserve the right to change prices at any time
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| This offer is valid for 'X' days
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| General comment: Don't allow negative words to lie alone (e.g. no, cannot, wont, cant, unfortunately) as these 'turn off' words should be complemented with something positive. So, if the customer asks for something we cannot do, then tell them we can't meet that particular requirement BUT in the same sentence give a positive alternative suggestion.
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| '''6) Knowing when to use spot quotes, attach a price list or both'''
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| There are 3 ways you can quote a customer:
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| Spot Quote: Good for when the customer knows exactly what they want, and you want to close the deal.
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| Price list: Good for when the customer needs to be presented with options, or you can't ascertain what they are after. Let them browse our 'store' while giving them direction in the form of concrete suggestions.
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| Spot Quote and Price list: Good for when the customer thinks they know what they are after but you feel you can 'upsell' to them by giving further options. Use this strategy intelligently (e.g. when the customer is going to place an order and has already identified the product, upsell on capacity or quantity, not on a different product).
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| '''7) Breaking the Email Thread'''
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| When responding to a customer call by email, or following up an older lead, do not start a new blank email. You need to retrieve the previous email communication to build on the existing dialogue. Re-attach any documents to which you refer such as latest virtual proof and price list.
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| Breaking the email thread loses any climax you are trying to develop in the communication process and allows the customer to fob you off leaving you few angles of attack.
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| '''8) Lack of Attachments and attention to detail'''
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| A picture tells 1000 words. When you refer to a product in an email or make a proposal you must always attach an image(s) of the product or accessory. Even if you are quite sure the customer has seen it before, it doesn't hurt to reinforce your message. We have a very extensive picture library and you should use it.
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| Additionally you should ensure your emails contain dates, times, quantities, figures, where appropriate. General communication doesn't offer reassurance nor progress the sales cycle.
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| '''9) Not using the subject line effectively'''
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| Personal subject lines like 'Quote for Cactus Promotions' are much better than a general subject line such as 'Quote from Flashbay'. The recipient will feel like you are answering to their request rather than sending the usual sales text.
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| '''10) Not Using the Price Match Policy Effectively'''
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| You should follow all your quotes and other price sensitive communication with the ‘price match policy statement’ unless you are certain that the customer will accept the prices due to other communication (e.g. no need to do this with past customers). This keeps customers on your fishing line should they initially choke on your prices.
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| '''Top Phone Pitfalls'''
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| '''1) Unfriendly, unenthusiastic phone manner'''
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| You need to sound alert, be helpful and ultra-interested on the phone. Ask the customer questions so they feel like they are valued and you care. Understand and directly address the customer's concerns. Propose the next steps so they know what to expect.
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| If you don't do these things on the phone, the customer will call a competitor and your chances of winning the deal will have halved.
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| '''2) Negotiating prices on the Phone'''
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| Negotiation by phone doesn't allow you time to think about what price is suitable for that customer and conduct further research about what price is best to initially quote.
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| It also won't allow you the chance to properly explain your price so they understand it's excellent value even if you can't meet their target.
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| Quoting is a strategic art and if you have an emotional price driven discussion by phone you will find it very hard to maintain your margins.
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| If a customer insists to negotiate price by phone, kindly inform them you will write an email 'in the next 2 minutes'. Give them the confidence that you will do this by reading out the email address to which you will send it.
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| If you are a good salesperson you will have the customer record open in front of you already.
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| Quoting by email generates an 'audit trail' to which you can refer to in future. If a customer sends you a purchase order or disputes an invoice, you need to have your quotes on file.
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| '''3) Not complementing your calls with an email memo'''
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| While you are on the phone you should have a new email message open in Zimbra. Take notes during the conversation (An experienced salesperson can even write the whole email while listening to the customer).
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| Then when you hang up, you can finish composing the message and email them a professional memo of the conversation.
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| - This sends a very clear signal to the customer that we are a professional company and can deliver their order on time and to the correct specification.
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| - It allows you to have a written history of everything discussed which is invaluable during the sales cycle and for future order generation.
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| - If there is a dispute with the customer, your email records can provide clarity and extricate you from unfair accusations.
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| '''Customer Service Excellence'''
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| Every customer should be contacted via email after delivery of their sales order to check whether everything was 100% to their satisfaction.
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| '''Maintaining your Sales Pipeline'''
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| Most of Flashbay's sales originate from warm leads generated by online advertising. However it is impossible for us to guarantee a constant stream of fresh warm leads to sales people at all times. When the fresh leads are dealt with, a good salesperson turns the focus to 'active' sales efforts even for small pockets of time during the day. These activities help to generate leads in the future and play a vital part of building a sales pipeline. If you ignore your pipeline even when times are good, your sales will dry up and your career as a salesperson will be short lived or stagnant. The "My Pipeline" tab displayed in Zimbra is an extremely useful tool to help you maintain your sales pipeline.
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| '''Set yourself targets'''
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| It's a fact of human nature that unless you set yourself personal targets, you won't get around to achieving anything near your potential. You should set targets for yourself each and every day.
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| Examples of daily targets:
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| - Between 10am and 12pm I will call 30 new resellers today and tell them about our products and services.
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| - I will call 30 final customers I haven't heard from for a few months and send them samples of a new product.
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| '''Know your list of customers in Netsuite'''
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| If you are not using Netsuite effectively, the list of customers and leads assigned to you can sometimes seem impenetrable when viewing online.
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| It's important you know how to sort your customer and lead lists in Netsuite by number, name or by category and that you can use the different list views to show the relevant data you require. Only this way can you ensure your campaigns cover all the customers assigned to you, and that you don't lose track of where you are.
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| If you don't know the answers to these questions, you are lost and need to do some serious catch-up.
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| - Roughly how many customers are assigned to you?
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| - Roughly how many leads are assigned to you?
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| - Which final customers will order from you this week?
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| - Roughly what percentage of new leads are you converting?
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| - What is your average profit margin?
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| With the average, full inducted, Flashbay salesperson having about 800 leads and customers assigned to them at any one time, it is not uncommon to know the contact names of at least half of these companies by memory.
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| '''Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up'''
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| For all those people that sent you a request and never ordered, or are still making a decision, you need to give them a call or write them an email so they don't get away from you. For experienced sales people, following up is second nature, but once the work load increases, follow-ups often become too infrequent. Some things to note when following up a lead:
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| - Be friendly, informative and helpful in your follow-up emails - don't just 'bother' the lead.
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| - Address the lead's specific request and ensure to tailor your follow up texts for each case.
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| - Follow-up by continuing the email thread, don't start a new email. When the customer sees the historical thread of communication they are more likely to reply.
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| - Suggest real solutions to their concerns if you feel they aren't biting. It could be a different model, printing method, capacity, lead time etc that makes the deal.
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| - If they don't respond to emails, give them a call and if they aren't available it's your responsibility to try again.
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| '''Do your active sales activities on a big scale'''
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| Calling a few leads, writing a few emails and letting your day be dictated by your inbox is not the best way. When you decide to do a follow-up session for example think big. Big is more efficient.
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| '''Last minute campaigns don't work'''
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| If you are coming to the end of the month and haven't been selling well, a last minute motivational burst at the end of the day is unlikely to put you back on track for the month. Don't let yourself get to this stage.
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| '''90 day minimum contact rule'''
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| All existing customers in your portfolio must be contacted at least once every 90 days. Customers who are not contacted within this timeframe will be reassigned to other sales account managers.
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| == Order Troubleshooting == | | == Order Troubleshooting == |
Sales Staff Manual
The sales manual provides a useful guide for Sales Account Managers in Flashbay. It covers both basic information and new topics, so should be consulted regularly even by the more experienced sales staff in Flashbay.
If you have any suggestions for additions to the sales manual, or if you need clarification on any of the policies, please email James Roberts, Director of Flashbay, in the first instance.
Order Troubleshooting
Delivery Problems
The first step is to liaise with Aftersales (currently aftersales@flashbay.com or aftersales.us@flashbay.com). They will contact an account manager of the courier company to try and resolve the problem. Remember to empathise with your customer and reassure them we are doing everything we can.
Post delivery problems
Customers will very occasionally make complaints about malfunctioning products or print quality. The following steps should be taken:
1) Empathise with your customer. Advise your customer that we will investigate the problem immediately. Liaise with Aftersales for further instructions.
2) If your customer is purporting to be in possession of malfunctioning units, request instructions from Aftersales.
3) Aftersales may instruct you to schedule a replacement order. Always mention in job notes if an order is for replacements.
4) If applicable, arrange with Aftersales to issue a credit note for any returned units.
Please note that you are required to obtain Aftersales' written approval before offering or even talking about any REFUND to your customers. By standard we do not refund our customers for faulty goods, we replace faulty goods.
Returns Procedure
1) Customer reports a problem to you for an order that has been delivered:
Please ask the customer to provide as much information as possible about the problem in as much detail as possible via phone or email (preferred). If you cannot resolve the problem ‘on the spot’ with the customer over the phone, please advise the customer once you have asked for all the details very carefully that Flashbay will investigate their problem/complaint immediately as a matter of priority and will get back to them as soon as the results are available (usually 24 hours maximum) with an answer.
The outcome of the report maybe that Flashbay needs the order back at our offices to be able to investigate the case properly (see 3) below). Regardless, do NOT advise the customer of any answer or promise before our investigation has been completed in full. Do NOT make arrangements of any kind until the report has been completed. When providing information to Aftersales regarding how the problem occurred, keep your report short, factual and logical.
2) Results of investigation:
The result of the investigation will determine whether Flashbay accepts responsibility for a mistake made on an order or whether we refuse to accept responsibility. An email report is issued to the customer on our findings and our conclusion on our findings. This report has to be agreed by Aftersales in writing before emailing to customer. Do not give partial findings or reports to the customer if they call during the investigation - just inform them we are looking into it the case as a matter of priority and will be in touch soon.
3) Return of orders:
If Flashbay has confirmed responsibility for a mistake on an order we will either offer financial compensation or exchange of the goods to the customer. Any offer of compensation or exchange of goods requires the written approval of Aftersales prior to making any arrangements or concessions to a customer.
4) Receiving returned orders:
When Flashbay receives the returned order, our Aftersales staff will advise the relevant sales account manager in charge of the order that the goods have been received back. The warehouse will count the goods very carefully and advise sales staff on the number of items received back. Once the complete order has been received back, you may schedule a replacement order on Netsuite subject to the approval obtained under 3). For particularly urgent replacement requirements, you may schedule a replacement order before receiving back the original order but the factory will not ship until the original order has been confirmed as received back.
Truffle Express - 1 way to recompense your customer
Truffle Express is an aftersales courtesy for final customers that were not 100% satisfied with Flashbay's service (delivery delay, quality problems etc...). On such occasions, we will send customer an apology together with a box of fine chocolate.
Truffle Express is only available to final customers (not resellers) in selected cases which have to be singled out and approved by your respective team manager.
How to initiate?
Email Aftersales with subject line "TRUFFLE EXPRESS". The email body should contain:
i) Netsuite customer record number
ii) Contact name
iii) Brief description of the particulars of the service failure
Fraud
Fraudulent Enquiries
Enquiries from fraudsters are commonplace for any business that advertises online, including Flashbay.
In fact about 1 in 40 enquiries we receive as a business are fraud, which is fairly normal.
How to recognise fraudsters
- customer writes with poor languages skills
- customer writes with bad grammar
- customer writes in CAPITALS
- customer has a free email address (e.g. shell.oil.company@yahoo.com, guchi.handbags@libero.it etc)
- customer wants to order urgently
- customer keen to pay by credit card, and mentions this payment method early in communication. Customer may also insist on 100% credit terms
- customer doesn't negotiate on price
- customer wants 'blank' units, and not is keen on supplying a logo
- customer wants delivery to Africa, or Russia, or somewhere obscure. There are also plenty of fraudsters in developed countries e.g. Southern Italy
- customer wants delivery to forwarding address or 'PO box' (post box)
- customer has no webpage, or it is under construction, or the webpage is very low quality
Country Sales Team Specific
Spanish Sales Team
Shipments to the Canary Islands
All shipments to the Canary Islands undergo a separate customs procedure in addition to the formal importation to Spain. The import tax which is specific to the Canary Islands is called 'Impuesto General Indirecto Canario', in short IGIC.
Please note that this tax is frequently changed but it should be sufficient to inform the customer that this tax exists.
Mini Marketing Campaigns
There is a STRICT BAN on any of our sales staff running their own mini email marketing campaigns to attract customer business. As a salesperson, you should address leads/customers individually (one at a time) with an individual message and customized offer.
Please see below for reasons why we strictly oppose any micro email marketing campaigns of sales staff:
Strategy reasons
We don’t want to blur the boundary between sales and marketing just as we would not want to get sales people involved in production, shipping etc.
Our marketing strategy is very much automated with the sending of mass emails for information which is widely relevant or for processes which are not possible to do individually. But sending too many general emails can annoy customers. As with many things in life we believe after a certain threshold ‘less is more’ . The balance can only be controlled at a marketing level.
We believe the role of a salesperson is about the value added with individual human interaction and individual decisions. The best salesmanship results from targeted, individualised calls and emails to one's lead/customer base.
If we believed in automating communication, it could be easily achieved in various stages of the order process – but this is not currently the plan as the customer experience would be diminished along with profitability.
Technical reasons
Your email address + IP address combination will be gradually ‘black listed’ by some servers after many identical bulk emails. The % of legitimate email you send which is wrongly classed as spam in future will increase. Our marketing email addresses have the same problem, but we can throw these away and use a new email address. We should however keep ‘you@flashbay.com’ as clean as possible.
Special Requests
Please refrain from making any special offerings above and beyond the Flashbay standard product and service portfolio without written approval from your team leader. What you see on Flashbay's website are the products and services that we sell. Please stick to our STANDARD offering and pay careful attention to the limitations of number of printing colours, delivery times (depending on payment status) etc. etc.
The job of a salesperson is to direct the customer’s ambitions and ideas towards our standard product offering, and not vice versa. For example if your customer requires a bespoke flash drive design, advise them that we cannot source the particular model and direct them to the closest matching product we supply highlighting its similarities and advantages.
Summary
6 WORKING DAYS LEAD TIME APPLIES FROM DATE OF ORDER TO DATE OF DELIVERY (6 working days also applies from receipt of formal payment confirmation, complete data submission for data preload, change of shipping address, receipt of shipping instructions, artwork approval etc.)
Minimum Order quantity is 25 pieces
We do not change the shipping address of an order after it has shipped
We do not part ship orders unless there is a full extra shipping charge on the sales order for the additional part shipment
You require your team leader's written approval if you wish to choose a price below our lowest price level
You are required to schedule a NEW sales order if you wish to add quantity to an order that has already been placed and approved
You may offer free shipping for a customer based on intelligent commercial judgement without written approval if you have passed your trial period. Free shipping should be used in the pre-sales cycle as an effective negotiation tool.
Where special NAND is requested by a customer, you must quote "price list level 7 + cost price of special NAND". Cost prices are available from Operations (operations.cn@flashbay.com). The minimum order quantity for special NAND flash orders is 500 units.
You are required to report any customer problem to Aftersales via email
Before offering any compensation to any of your customers for mistakes, you are required to obtain Aftersales' written approval to do so
Any mistake that is being made by the sales account managers on entering a sales order will result in the sales order being marked ex commission
Your Commission
New Business - Double the Reward
For any new business you generate (defined as 1st order from a new customer above £50.00), you will receive 6% commission based on the first order only. This reward system is designed to better match the effort required for a first time customer and their first order compared to any subsequent order as well as the profit generated from new customer business in general.
Get a lot of NEW BUSINESS and reap the rewards with our 6% commission scheme.
New Business - Minimum Commission Policy
£10 minimum commission is awarded for all new business orders. £10 minimum commission orders show in green on your commission dashboard.
Existing Customer Commission Scheme
The standard commission amount is 3% of profit generated from your orders.
100 days overdue = ex-commission
Any sales order which becomes 100 days overdue for payment is automatically marked ex-commission.
Minimum Profit Requirement and Minimum Daily Activity Requirement
Minimum Profit Requirement
All sales account management staff will be set a monthly minimum sales profit requirement – the exact figures will be clearly displayed on your ‘commission dashboard’. Achieving this minimum requirement is an obligation.
If a sales account manager fails to achieve this reasonably set minimum profit requirement two months consecutively, the company reserves the right to terminate their employment with Flashbay Limited.
The monthly ‘minimum sales profit requirement’ is set understandably low.
Adjustment to Minimum Profit Requirement if you are on Holiday
Your minimum profit requirement will be alleviated by a factor of half a day for every full day of holiday you take.
For example:
If you take 5 days holiday and have a monthly minimum profit requirement of £9,000.
20 working days per month = £9,000 target
15 working days worked = (17.5/20 x £9,000) = £7,875 target
Minimum Daily Activity Requirement
All sales account management staff will be set a minimum daily activity requirement (MDAR). You will not receive new leads on a given day if you fail to meet your MDAR on the previous working day.
Phone MDAR = 32 unique inbound + outbound customer calls
Email MDAR = email score of 45
