As I write this, I realize, it's here!!!
All I can say is... it's about time! I don't know about you, but this winter was hard. It was long, cold, dreary... and spring wasn't any better. I'm ready for some summer heat. I look outside and turn my face to the sunny warmth; my mind wandering... Cottage season. Beaches. Patio time. Long weekends. Extended holidays.
I achieve an almost completely Zen-like state when... I jolt up in my seat. You know that high-pitched screeching sound an LP makes when it is suddenly and unceremoniously stopped mid-song? (Again, dating myself) Yep, I swear, I actually heard that sound just now.
I've just realized that if I'm yearning for the lazy, hazy, dog days of summer, so are many, many other people - probably the very people we want to engage in conversation about subscriptions... it's going to be a loooong nine weeks.
This is my other, less Zen, perspective of summer. How do we deal with it, stay sane, and keep revenue streaming in consistently for our clients? I have a five-point plan.
We go through this each and every year, and each and every year, the most important thing to do is... be prepared. Anticipate and plan - hire additional staff; conduct advanced training sessions to get staff refocused and back to the basics; plan weekly contests to reward productivity.
We can't change it; we have no control over it. It's a fact. Accept it. Who said, "Life is 1% what happens to you and 99% how you react to it." Hmm... wise.
An important caveat to the point made directly above. Focus the staff on the things they do have control over; the number of dials completed; the quality of each presentation made.
Get everyone in the organization involved - in partnership with your client, you can utilize social media to keep the organization's name, and the excitement for what is to come, on the radar; get other sales departments involved in competitions with telesales; communicate regularly with the box office for sell-out and highly sold performance updates; celebrate staff achievements and make sure those achievements are recognized organization-wide.
So last summer, (July & August 2012), Paradigm Telesales generated $202,949 in revenue for our clients. We will challenge ourselves to surpass that total during July and August 2013. And we'll have fun doing it with contests, incentives and other initiatives that will keep staff motivated and morale high. I will report our progress in future posts.
Happy summer everyone!
