The Secret Weapon to Increasing Conversion Rates
In 2010 Dave Brailsford was asked to improve Team Sky, Great Britain’s cycling team. It seemed a massive task that would be impossible to do quickly. But Brailsford had a plan. He decided to use a concept called the ‘aggregation of marginal gains’.
This theory is centred around the idea that a 1% margin of improvement in everything you do will lead to success. And that these small gains will add up to a large overall improvement.
He changed everything, from the team diet, to the pillow they used.
The team won the Tour de France in three years.
Image Source – Rob Schleiffert|(CC License)
The same principle can be applied to your business telemarketing strategy to increase conversion rates. Here are some ideas:
Politeness: Be more polite on the phone, taking care to wish your clients well. Write down what you talked about, and remember something about the conversation for next time.
Preparation: Ensure that everyone can access all client data so that they can prepare for their calls. Knowing the aim before you start talking will make everyone more effective sellers.
Fast computer: Don’t let computers hold you up! Waiting for a computer to load is frustrating and time-consuming. Make sure all the computers are updated, and that their drives have all been defragmented.
On hand technical assistance: No matter what you do, technology will always go wrong. Have a technical team that can quickly and easily jump in when a problem arises.
Training: Spend a little longer training and the results will surprise you . People not knowing what to do wastes time, and requires them to ask someone. Then they end up wasting someone else’s time, when the problems could easily have been resolved.
Nice environment: If everyone feels comfortable in the office they won’t mind staying longer and will work harder. A friendly and productive atmosphere encourages people to interact, and allows people to enjoy their work.
Comfy chair: Back ache is persistent and nagging. It also leads to time wasting as employees have to get up more often, or procrastinate before going back to work. Solve the problem with a comfortable seat and everyone will feel the benefit.
Image Source – Zara Walker | (CC License)
Ergonomic keyboard: These keyboards are designed to help you maintain good posture. They support the natural position of your wrists and hands.
CMS sales software: Having easy to use CMS sales software will minimise technical issues, and speed up training.
Uniform methods across the company: Keeping rules, regulations and processes the same throughout the company means that everyone has the same basic understanding of the business.
Free Fruit Bowl: Having a healthy, free, food option will encourage your workers to eat healthily, and show that, as a company, you are thinking about your employees.
Free coffee/tea: Free drinks will keep everyone concentrating for longer, and has the added bonus of keeping the team engaged with one another. Meeting at the coffee machine has been shown to improve workers productivity, individually and as a team.
Image Source – Blake Richard Verdoon | (CC License)
Air conditioning: Surprisingly, being too hot or too cold in the office can seriously affect people’s productivity. Air conditioning is a must for any company.
Available stationary: Pens that work will obviously increase productivity, and a stationary cupboard that actually contains stationary will stop any needless pen-hunting.
Auto-dialling: Software that immediately dials the next number on the system prevents your employees having to constantly types in numbers, increasing the number of calls that you can make.
So, using the 1% rule why not discover how much you can improve your telemarketing?
Virtual Sales Limited are here to help you meet your sales and telemarketing goals. For help and advice, get in touch today.
Andy Dickens
Andy Dickens is a veteran of IT Sales, used to leading by example. He is the CEO of Virtual Sales Limited (VSL) who offer telesales, telemarketing, lead generation and appointment setting services to B2b businesses. He previously was Sales Director EMEA for Red Hat and before that ran sales at Visio before it was acquired by Microsoft.