I think our field people could help with leads. They see clients all day and I”™m sure there are opportunities for us to make proposals. Any suggestions about getting them involved?
Field staff ”“ the eyes and ears on the ground for most companies. It”™s crucial they have good connections with clients and clients see them as helpful. Figuring out how to track the leads, and recognize and reward results can be challenging. It”™s important to make sure the rules are clear as to what”™s appropriate and where to draw the line. Set a goal to add to this year”™s top and bottom line by increasing the depth of what your company offers to your existing clients.
Assess, train staffers
Often we focus on having field people be expert at what they do. It”™s worth it to spend time building observation and communication skills as well. Field staff are more involved with meeting customer needs than probably anyone else in your company. They can provide valuable information and form bonds with customers.
Spend time observing how well people in the field communicate. Are they clear and fact-based? Do they take notes? Do they have a good follow-up routine? Are they polite, respectful and positive?
On the job it”™s easy to get caught up in the task of the moment. Fix this, repair that. It”™s important to remember why someone is out on a service call ”“ because a human being had a problem or request. Solving that need means more than just doing what needs to be done. Communicate effectively ”“ what was done, why the need arose and what else to consider.
Train your field staff to reach beyond the task. Locate the key contact for the job, inform that person of when the team arrived, what”™s been accomplished, any follow-up actions that are needed and when they”™re leaving. Keep this up and you”™re well on your way to creating lasting relationships with the people who request your services and pay your bills.
Provide a daily tracking log for your people to fill out and send back to the office. Keep a record of who”™s sending in what kinds of requests. Be sure the log gets referred to the proper person to follow up for additional sales opportunities.
Identify who are your best players in the game of identifying additional needs. Talk in staff meetings about what they”™re doing. Talk as a group about what everyone else can do to model their behaviors.
Challenge each person
One question that may come up is, “If I”™m identifying leads, will I get paid for them?” There are a couple of ways to go with this question. The first answer is that by identifying leads, field crews are doing what they can to ensure there”™s future work for them to do. Staying employed and busy is a key concern in today”™s economy and it”™s everyone”™s job to pitch in to make that happen.
If you want to go further, consider a reward and recognition program. You can track leads and have an award for the leader of the month. You can assign points based on the quality and quantity of work produced and give people rewards in relation to the point system.
Make it clear that you”™re not looking for your field personnel to become salespeople. If someone in the field is especially interested in moving into sales, that”™s an entirely different conversation. In the meantime, point out that bringing in leads is only the door opener to additional business opportunities.
Looking for a good book? Try “Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization” by Leonardo Inghilleri, Micah Solomon and Horst Schulze.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., www.StrategyLeaders.com, a business consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. Questions may be e-mailed to her at AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com or mailed to Andi Gray, Strategy Leaders Inc., 5 Crossways, Chappaqua, NY 10514. Phone: 877-238-3535. Visit www.AskAndi.com for archived Ask Andi articles.
