its sales force with motivated, profesnet-new meetings. The rep can continue sional “telemarketers.” to do all of the due diligence associated You must be in control with a new sale, working closely with the of the message that is Full-time Appointment Setters manager to learn the process of consumbeing conveyed about The other option, although not as demating sales. This way, the sales manager your dealership to your sirable, is to hire full-time people dedican train so the rep is not only learning, prospect in order cated to scheduling meetings. Howbut is also earning commissions. ever, it will be difficult to hire the right Identifying the potential success of a to properly start a people and it will also be the largest new rep is critical during the hiring phase. successful partnership. revolving door in the dealership, given If the rep is unable to schedule net-new the way most dealerships traditionally meetings for his mentor during the rampup phase, it is highly unlikely he will become a long-term, suc- compensate appointment setters. My first job as a marketing professional was to schedule cessful, tenured sales rep. This will also give the dealership an opportunity to evaluate the new hire and determine his meetings for the sales reps of an on-demand printing company. long-term viability, before any headhunting fees become due, The company offered me a small hourly wage, a few more dollars if I set the meeting, plus a small commission for any conthus saving both time and money. A successful hire in this program should be a “win, win, summated deal. This never sat well with me and still doesn’t. win.” The mentor will have his calendar full of net-new Our sales cycle is too long to keep a telemarketer excited to meetings without having to dedicate his time to prospect- constantly prospect with the fervor, dedication and enthusiing, the new sales rep will start to earn commissions while asm necessary to set great appointments if he is waiting 60 to still learning the business, and the dealership will be filling 90 days and beyond to earn a bonus based on the performance of a sales rep. This does not create the motivation for a telemarketer to perform at a peak level over a long period of time, and I know from experience that this creates callers who make 40 dials a day and schedule three to five meetings a week, at best. The ideal hire for this position should want to be compensated for the qualified meetings he sets and not want to wait for the money after sales reps close deals. Pay the money for the scheduled qualified meeting right away and you will have people motivated to call more instead of taking smoke breaks and “cleaning out the database.” Done correctly, this employee should be scheduling 10 to 15 net-new meetings every week and be garnished salary if he does not; that is what you are paying him to do. He will also need to sit in on many office demos so he can watch customer reactions and learn about the solutions you sell. Teach Them to Fish Teaching someone to fish or having someone fish for you — it is the age-old question. Your sales reps are hired fisherman. Make them fish. It is their job. The bottom line: You must be in control of the message that is being conveyed about your dealership to your prospect in order to properly start a successful partnership. You are not in control when you use an outside resource. n Kate Kingston is president of the Kingston Training Group, which provides prospecting sales training to office technology dealerships across the country. She can be reached at kkingston@kingstontraining.com. Visit www.kingstontraining.com. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | F e b ru a ry 2014 | 25
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