4 ways to focus your telephone reps, now!

Most call center managers know that keeping their reps focused is one of the biggest challenges they face. Over time, good reps get caught up in the day to day grind and success is no longer as fun as it was at the start of a campaign. That’s when focus becomes so important. Often, teaching a new technique or challenging reps with new priorities can reinvigorate them. Here are some excellent things that you can use to keep your reps engaged.

1. Voice inflection is a weapon if used properly: matching or mismatching voice inflection with vernacular can keep prospects interested in the conversation. For example, if I say the word “aggressive” in a low monotone voice in the course of a normal conversation, it will not register as normal in a listeners mind. The subconscious reaction is that of curiosity every time. When used as a product specific tactic, the listener will not immediately be able to identify what is “off” but will continue to engage for the sake of finding out. While not enough to be an overall strategy, this tactic is highly effective as a single component. The reactions are predictable and fun for reps to witness.

**Warning: this tactic should be practiced before used.

2. Driving mental imagery: while this is always the goal in telephone sales, having your reps use specific situational phrases to accomplish this will have an immediate impact on their success. This allows reps to bring creative ideas on how to accomplish this to their managers. Encourage this. Allowing phone reps to impact (with tactics and ideas that work), their sales approach will re-engage them. Have them create a list of phrases that put the product or service they are selling in the minds of their listeners.

3. Making it tangible: similar to driving mental imagery, making things tangible over the phone is both challenging and important to their success. As they speak to their prospects, they should already be trying to bring the product to life. Have them take it a step further by attempting to use phrases like, “when you receive your….”, or “when you start using this service you will….”  Giving them individual tactics to focus on will increase their overall focus.

4. The rule of 3: every study ever done on the subject says the same thing. If you can get a prospect to agree with you 3 times the chances of getting a 4^th “yes” go up dramatically. Have your reps create a list of product related questions that they know will get a “yes” from a prospect. Teach them to position these questions in order and just ahead of a trial close. The results are almost comical because the concept is so simplistic. It works every time it is tried and we tend to drift away from solid tactics sometimes. Either way, the creative part of the process will have your reps thinking again and that is the key.

As those of us that have been around this kind of dynamic know, there is no magic bullet. However, a combination of sparking the imagination of your reps and applying solid techniques is bound to have a positive impact. The goal should always be to give your reps a fresh angle to look at. Keeping them engaged is half of the battle.