What constitutes a “dial” and a “conversation”? 6 Important Conversational Elements
Posted by Geoff Alexander on Mon, Oct 04, 2010 @ 10:02 AM
Geoff - Is there a MEANINGFUL difference between "dials" and "calls?" – David
This question came from a frequent poster on my blog, and these elements of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are among the most common topics that have come “over the transom” in the last month or so. It’s no surprise, as companies are trying to fight as hard as possible to gain market share in times that are challenging for many inside sales departments.
For the purpose of this discussion, I’ll use the term “Conversations,” rather than “Calls,” which can be a nebulous term.
The real objective for which most companies strive is “Conversations” that include conversational elements that will disqualify, qualify to leading the sale forward, or make an actual sale. “Dials” are enabling objectives, but are meaningful in the sense that without Dials, there can’t be Conversations. Over the course of the past year, my inside sales training customers and prospects have required dials per day to be at a low of 50 to a high of 150. Dialing doesn’t require much talent, but conversations do, so let’s discuss what a Conversation is --- and isn’t.
1) A conversation isn’t a voicemail.
2) A conversation may result in a referral to a more appropriate prospect, and it could be with anyone from a receptionist to a CXO.
3) A conversation could be as short as 10-20 seconds, or a lot longer (see #2, above)
4) A conversation should include a qualification element that would include one or more of the following question types:
a) Timeframe for Purchase
b) Needs and Requirements
c) Decision or Sign-off Process
d) Size of the Opportunity
e) Business problem requiring a solution
f) Amount or range budgeted for a solution
5) The best initial conversations include all of the elements listed in #4 above. And yes, I said “initial,” because in the best of all worlds, they’re all addressed on the first call.
6) Subsequent Conversations should have the objective of moving the sale forward, and I’m a believer that the best way to do this is to continually address the business problem for which your product or service could be a solution. If the business problem goes away, so will your sale, generally speaking. I’ve written a blog post on the dangers of having “just following up” as a call objective, so please read it, as that practice can render your conversation ineffective, and may get you no closer to the sale than you were when you started the call.
Because of the varying time taken by Conversations, they’re not as easy to quantify within a strict measurement framework as Dials when it comes to KPIs. But Dials are meaningful, as they lead to Conversations, Demonstrations, Webinars, and Sales. Some of the best reps I’ve known have a practice of dialing like crazy during the early part of the day, and saving the latter part of the day for quotations, webinars, demonstrations, meetings, and all the other paperwork issues that are administrative in nature. They get pretty dogmatic too, about asking their work friends to not bother them with non-work related, casual conversations when they’re in Dialing mode for the first few hours of the work day. Conversations do lead to additional work overhead in terms of getting your notes into the CRM, but it’s best to do it while the conversation is fresh. Besides, when entering your notes, you might realize you forgot something important to ask. If so, you can call right back, and get credit for another Dial and Conversation.
Inside Sales isn’t easy, but as I always say, that’s why they hire bright people like you! So figure out a dialing strategy that works for you and allows you to meet your Dial KPIs, and add it to your Best Practices Playbook.