CRM - January 2009 - (Page 43)

INCENTIVES AT THE SPEED OF LIGHTPATH Managing sales compensation—especially for a geographically dispersed workforce— can be tedious. For Optimum Lightpath, rewarding its salespeople involved Excel spreadsheets, time, and often human errors. To remedy the problem, Optimum opted for Xactly Incent, from sales performance and compensation management provider Xactly, to help provide higher incentives for landing more-qualified leads. “Commissions-processing time has been cut by one-third and continues to decrease,” says Matt Grover, vice president of sales operations at Optimum Lightpath, the business telecommunications services division of Cablevision Systems, a provider of cable, Internet, and telephone services to the New York metro area. “Error and time-to-remediate rates are also declining dramatically, leading to further productivity advances—both in the back office and in the field—as reps and operations personnel are freed from engaging in disputes and chasing down mistakes.” A proper incentive program not only motivates reps to sell and to close deals more quickly, but also provides visibility for management, cutting the number of days required for processing payroll. With Salesforce.com integration, salespeople can see information about the leads that will bring the most compensation. They can also see a record of past performance and the number of deals it’ll take to advance sales levels. “Not only can sales reps quickly see where they stand, but management can see at any time how each rep is being compensated, without waiting for ad-hoc reports,” Grover says. “The real-time visibility…helps senior management get closer to the business. Top managers don’t have to wait for rolled-up numbers, but can log in whenever they want, and dive down as deep and as far back as they want. As a result, new kinds of questions are being asked—the ones that further enhance sales performance.” —Lauren McKay “Reps and operations personnel are freed from engaging in disputes.” s home foreclosures surge to sit there for the next 20 to 30 minutes?’” record levels, it’s almost hard On the other hand, when visitors asked to believe how the real estate questions to no end, he recalls being market is braving the finan- conflicted: Should he continue to chat cial storm. “An average of 75 [percent] while having to handle incoming phone to 80 percent of real estate agents in the calls and other appointments? A typical San Fernando Valley aren’t making any conversation could last anywhere from money,” says Richard Johnston, a Realtor 25 minutes to 40. Despite the effort, the with California-based Rodeo Realty. “It’s quality of leads coming in, Johnston a numbers game,” he says. “If we’re not says, “simply wasn’t there.” In April 2008, he came across virtualgenerating a steady flow of leads, we’re ch a t te ch n o l o g y dead in this business.” provider UpSellit’s Now clamoring solution for small over a smaller pool businesses, Moxieof potential buyers, Chat. “I didn’t think Johnston needed a it would do well solution that would originally because capture visitors comthe system seemed ing to his Web sites. pretty basic [and I “At any given mowas] used to more adment, there are seven vanced systems,” he people on my sites,” recalls. “With Livehe estimates, but they Person, you can cuswere coming and goto Z. ing without leaving A Realtor discovers that as tomize from A Still, It’s insane.” any clues as to their one door (fore)closes, bells and whistles identity or what they another might not open only go so far. “If no were looking for. one’s talking to you So Johnston implemented a live-chat solution by LivePerson and you’re not generating leads,” Johnas a way to connect with visitors in real ston laments, “what good is it?” MoxieChat requires Johnston to emtime. It was a unique service that most real estate agents don’t provide, he says. The bed just three lines of code at the bottom competitive advantage he had hoped for, of each Web page, a drastic improvement however, failed to materialize. As a Real- from the 15-plus lines and complex emtor, mobility is part of the job, but John- bedding instructions with LivePerson. ston found himself strapped to his desk Moreover, changes are entered through for 10 hours a day waiting for visitors to a MoxieChat account and automatically updated on each of his sites, removing click on the “Chat Live Now” button. Even worse, Johnston was averaging the need to manually edit the code on only about 15 chat sessions a month. every single page as with LivePerson. The And the few visitors who did take the process takes no more than 10 minutes. As a one-man shop operating in a combait only opened a new can of worms. “They [can be] slow to type, slow to re- petitive industry, Johnston was amazed spond,” Johnston says. “So then you’re by the amount of qualified leads he soon thinking, ‘Do I leave? Go back to work? began receiving. Bringing in five leads a Go to lunch? Answer the phone? Or just day, or 100 monthly, MoxieChat was soon CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | JANUARY 2009 A www.destinationCRM.com 43 http://www.Salesforce.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - January 2009

CRM - January 2009 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Shots Heard ’Round the World 30,000-Foot Views Of the Cloud Stuffing the Ballot Box— With Complaints The Marketing Line for ’09 CRM on Twitter Technology Helps Insurance Weather the Storm Required Reading The Google-ization of CRM The Feedback Funnel Email: What’s Inside? Shake Your Moneymakers Lead Sweet Lead Incentives at the Speed of Lightpath Sales Contentment for Content Management A Worthwhile Excursion Into Call Recording Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - January 2009

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