Organizing a direct sales force can be challenging. Since your sales staff is working directly with your customer, giving them the support they need allows for better service for your customers. A sales staff needs to be kept abreast of the latest facts, figures and information, but in a simple and cost effective way.
Knowledge is power. Having the latest information can give you an edge over the competition and make you appear savvy and aware to customers. The more you are aware of the conditions your customers face, the better you can cater your product or presentation to their needs and show how you can provide the best solution to their most pressing issues.
Not only do you have to get the information, you must have a way to efficiently disperse it to your sales staff and your customers. It doesn’t do you any good to sit on the facts and details that only have value if they are out working for you. Since your staff should be off the phone or computer, and out networking and interfacing with customers, information needs to be easily accessible at any time of day from a multiple number of sources.
Email can be a great way to reach a large number of people simultaneously with a message that is as long as you need it to be. However, unless the person receiving it knows you well or is expecting your email, anything you send could end up in the junk file and deleted. In addition, email is not very personal and can be easily misunderstood without voice inflection to give it context. Sometimes, especially when trying to influence someone or to deliver bad news, a personal touch is best.
Getting on the phone and calling everyone gives the personal touch a situation can require, but it is time consuming and can be impractical of time is of the essence. It is also not the best medium for a longer message that does not require a full conversation. You may not be available for a discussion at the time of the call, but it can be hard to gracefully break away from a conversation to make your next call without causing insult.
Message services that allow for the quick and easy exchange of personal messages are a great addition to any corporate communication plan and address the pitfalls of email and phone communication. While they can’t replace phone or email, they can supplement them. GenieVOX by AllCom is an option that is available for a low monthly fee and without a contract. It allows you to leave messages to be retrieved from your box at any time, so you can provide updates to your sales staff while they are out. You can leave an up to 3 minute message to any number of staff and customers you require. Customers can leave messages with your staff by calling a toll-free number that can be retrieved via phone, text or email 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You also get an avatar that you can attach to your emails or website that provides customers and staff instant one-touch access to your message box.
