1to1 Magazine Demo

hot topics SALES | MARKETING | DATABASE/ANALYTICS | CUSTOMER SERVICE Miami Heat Schools Its Staff on Sales and Service The art of the sale meets the helpful problem solver. The Miami Heat basketball team’s not about ‘sales’ or sales and service representatives ‘service,’ it’s really went into a full-court press this past summer. about the interIn addition to sales The goal? To expand their expertise through personal relacross-training, Aberdeen Group recommends that contact centers cross-training. tionship that align their goals with corporate revenue For the NBA team’s customer service reps, it your company and profit goals. The chart below shows the means learning basic sales techniques they develops with your percentage of companies using both tactics. can employ during calls with customers. For customers, regardless of the sales team, it means a deeper underwhether that person Align contact center goals 52% with corporate revenue standing of the value of service and how that wears the title of ‘sales,’ 35% and profit goals ties into the customer relationship. ‘service,’ or even ‘janitor,’” “Our company’s focus changes depending he says. “Developing this Provide sales 43% on demand,” says Debbie Knowlan, director of emotional connection is key, training for contact 23% center agents season ticket services and retention for the whether it’s forged over two Miami Heat. “If we’re sold out then we’re serviceminutes with a customer en Best-in-Class G driven. Since we’re not sold out, our entire organizaservice representative, two ro Other up ,M tion is focused on driving sales.” years with a sales rep, or ay 2 008 Knowlan, who cut her customer service teeth in a previous two decades with a CEO.” position with Ritz-Carlton, says that sales coaching has helped the This concept works well service staff deliver for the organization, which just finished a very for the Heat. “I’ve received a challenging season. “Last year we started providing our service people surprisingly high number of calls and with the same training that our salespeople receive. It’s given them notes from season ticket holders that essentially say, ‘If it wasn’t for the tools they need to close sales more effectively and it’s increased [service representative] Kenny or Cathy, I probably would not have their confidence.” renewed based on the season alone,’” Knowlan says. That connection Knowlan and Mark Brown, director of sales, maintain a close and is crucial following this past season, in which the team lost its star collaborative relationship that extends to their training approach. player Dwyane Wade to injury, traded away fan-favorite Shaquille Consequently, they both conduct sales and service training using O’Neal, and won only 15 of 82 games. methodologies from the same companies: LRA Worldwide and the 800The service reps establish an emotional link by investing time and Pound Gorilla. And they follow the practice of providing cross-funceffort to get to know season ticket holders personally—they know when tional training based on two concepts. “The first concept is that sales they celebrate anniversaries, their children’s birthdays, and how they and service are, at their core, the same,” says Zach Conen, vice president feel about roster changes and the team’s performance. All of this inforof LRA Worldwide. “The ultimate goal of both functions is to create mation is fed into the ticketing system, a tool that Knowlan describes as value for the customer that leads to a long-term relationship.” crucial to the company’s sales and service performance. Both the sales While salespeople are selling, they also should think about how they and service teams access the system to learn about customers. can meet customer needs. While service reps are meeting customer According to Knowlan, the sales coaching has paid off for her service needs, they should think about other products and services that they staff. After last season many season ticket holders expressed displeasure can offer to customers. This now occurs within the Heat organization. at the team’s performance. Service reps now listen and point out that Its sales team’s training has been massaged to emphasize the value of the team is two years removed from an NBA championship, expects service. And sales and service representatives team up more frequently injured All-Star Wade to return, added a three-point sharp-shooter, and to upsell existing customers, Knowlan says. drafted an all-star rookie who was one of last year’s top college players. “When one of our service reps followed up with a season ticketholder, “Season ticketholders really want someone to listen to them,” the rep learned that he wanted better seats,” she says. “So, the service Knowlan says, adding that now both the sales and service staff are person contacted his premium accounts partner and they worked trained to listen and make the most appropriate offer. “Having that together to successfully upsell the account to premium-level seats.” knowledge of how to properly sell…has given [service reps] the tools The second concept LRA’s Conen emphasizes is the relationship. “It’s they need to close the deal.” > Eric Krell SALES Cross-Training Strategies e rd be :A rce Sou September/October 2008 39

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 1to1 Magazine Demo

1to1 Magazine Demo Contents 1to1media.com Editor's Note Feedback Putting Care in Patients' Hands Loyalty at Work Redefining the Contact Center Agent Introducing Enterprise 2.0 Cigna Dental Drills for Loyal Customers On the Beat 19 Ways to Succeed Miami Heat Schools Its Staff on Sales and Service Marketing Lends a Helping Hand More Than Meets the Eye Customer Service by Committiee Textron's Business Soars by Tracking Customer Loyalty Resources Contact Center Agent as Trusted Advisor Mastering Global CRM Face to Face with Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D.

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.