Hiring and training effective support teams that can sell is a lot like hiring direct sales teams; it’s all about finding the best candidates for the job and cultivating their potential. The question most teams have is how to accomplish this.
The key to establishing a support center that’s a profit center is to hire right from the start with the understanding that sales is a component of the position. And the hiring process needs to be supported through training that reframes ‘sales’ as the ultimate form of helping a customer.
Hiring Support Teams That Can Sell
But what does the ideal support candidate look like? A sales candidate! The Harvard Business Review has conducted intensive studies on what makes a good salesperson. These seven character traits are common to top sellers:
- Modesty — not pushy
- Conscientiousness — strong sense of reliability and duty
- Achievement orientation — highly focused on achieving goals
- Curiosity — willing and interested to ask difficult questions of prospective customers to close knowledge gaps
- Not overly friendly — able to direct prospective customers without being overly buddy-buddy
- Resilient and competitive — not easily discouraged by failure
- Confident — not easily embarrassed or bashful, comfortable being aggressive in pursuing sales
Product knowledge can be developed through training. Soft skills, drive, and personality largely has to be there when you hire. Bring on support team members who are in the mold of successful sales team members and pay attention to these key traits.
Training for Profitability
Go maximize your return on investment, you’ll need the right training processes. Once you’ve chosen the right candidate for the job, they need the knowledge to succeed as soon as possible. It’s critical for new team members to understand the benefits you provide and know how to clearly articulate those to your customers. A good way to achieve this is by having a new employee work closely with an experienced member of the team for their first few weeks. It may seem like an inefficient use of resources to devote so much time and effort to training, but doing so is the best way to manage for ongoing success and profitability.
When your sales team thinks of training as an ongoing process that doesn’t end after their first few weeks of work, great things happen. #CustomerSupport
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When it comes to developing a solid training program, teams should consider not only new hires but also existing employees. To foster improvement, training shouldn’t end with the on-boarding process. Here are some of the strategies they outline for making the most of training:
- Virtual sales roleplaying. This ensures that you know how well your team communicates your messaging. Role-playing gives employees the opportunity to make mistakes in a low-stakes environment while allowing managers to see how their team members are doing.
- Gamification. Make sales a core and enjoyable part of support by adding a layer of game-like elements and ranking to non-game situations. Use positive reinforcement to encourage great sales strategies.
When your sales team thinks of training as an ongoing process that doesn’t end after their first few weeks of work, great things happen increased effectiveness, continuous learning and improvement, a positive environment with higher morale and greater sales just to name a few.
About GlowTouch Technical Support Services
GlowTouch provides outstanding contact center and technology outsourcing solutions to clients around the world. Founded in 2002, our 1,700 employees deliver for our clients by combining operational excellence with high-touch engagement. Specializing in omnichannel customer and technical support, we solve issues, satisfy customers, and sell additional services, therefore providing a superior return on investment for our clients. We help clients effectively scale their operations and seamlessly integrate customer success across their channels, platforms, and devices. A certified Woman-Owned Business and six-time Inc. 5000 honoree, GlowTouch is headquartered in Louisville, KY, with additional locations in Mangalore and Bangalore, India.
For more information, email us at info@glowtouch.com
