Connections Magazine - Call Center Upsell Cross-sell

8/8/2019 Connections Magazine - Call Center Upsell Cross-sell

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Best Practices in Up-Selling and Cross-Selling

By

Dr. Jon AntonPurdue University

Director of Benchmark ResearchCenter for Customer-Driven Quality

I n t r oduc t i o n

How do you tu rn a costly service-focus ed call cent er in to a p rofita ble salescent er without aliena ting your cur rent ly successful call cent er a gents?

“You cann ot depen d on your eyes when your ima gina tion is out of focus,”

Mar k Twain once said. In busin ess vern acular , this mean s tha t it’s

impossible to know if you a re s ucceeding if you don’t h ave a clear ly defined,

focused operat ions blueprint . Indeed, in order to build a successful u p-sell

an d/or cross-sell call cent er (hen ceforth up /cross-sell), th ree t opics must be

addr essed: a) business m odel issues, b) tr ainin g an d sta ffing issues an d c)

techn ology issues.

Fr om our dat aba se of th ousan ds of call cent ers, we recru ited a gr oup of ten“Best-In-Class” compa nies repr esentin g ma jor in dust ries to par ticipate in a

stu dy to determ ine wha t a successful u p/cross-sell call cent er is ba sed on. The

part icipants a re all inboun d call centers with a t least 100 seats th at ha ve the

opportu nity t o up/cross-sell on at least 40 percent of their in boun d calls. This

ar ticle is based on findin gs from th at stu dy.

Business Model Issues

The business model for the successful implementation of an up/cross-sell

program mu st focus on t he m igration from cost center sta tu s to profit cent er

sta tu s thr ough t he value of increment al sales. The par adigm shift is critical

to th e success of th e program , and profit cent er st at us a llows call cent ers t odocum ent th eir value t o the compa ny’s bottom line.

To implement such a par adigm sh ift, call cent ers m ight execut e a form alized

“cultu re cam pa ign” to sh ift t he d epa rt men t’s focus from str ictly “ser vice” to

an environmen t focused on both ser vice an d sales. Runn ing a pilot pr ogram

that includes using a needs-based, or “soft-sell,” selling approach, and

training customer service representatives (CSRs) on selling skills before fully



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rolling out an up/cross-sell program can also assist a n organ ization in

adjust ing to th e shift.

This is not t o say sales sh ould be t he singu lar focus of the CSR. Becau se

customer retention is critical to the success of up/cross-sell programs, the

ma in focus of CSRs should be to both sat isfy customer n eeds a nd build long-

term relationships ra th er th an “getting the incremental sa le.” In fact, th e

success of a ca ll cent er’s up /cross-sell busin ess model is not mea su ra bly

influenced by th e level of emph asis t hey placed on sales versu s customer

service, as depicted in t he gra ph below.

Figure 1. Participants with a low level of service emphasis

Figure 2. Participants with an almost equal service and sales emphasis.



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Figure 3. Participants with a low level of sales emphasis

Fu rt her more, business may a ctu ally be better ser ved in a chieving up /cross-sell success by placing em pha sis upon factors other th an cust omer service or

sales, includin g product tr ainin g, opera tiona l efficiency an d CSR

effectiveness.

Solid execut ive sponsorship from all levels of the leadersh ip tea m supp ort ing

th e call cent er is of critical import an ce to a s uccessful u p/cross-sell progra m

business m odel. Execut ives should show long-term comm itmen t t o the

pr ogra m’s success by providing adequ at e budget s for sta ffing an d techn ology.

Additiona lly, execut ive level goals a nd incent ives should be t ied to up -/cross-

sell resu lts.

The a gent model is also a critical componen t of a s uccessful u p/cross-sell

program . Both t he un iversa l CSR model, in which th e CSR ha ndles th e

up/cross-sell, an d t he ded icat ed sa les represen ta tive model, in which

up/cross-sell calls ar e tr an sferred to dedicat ed sales repr esent at ives, can be

effective depen ding on th e complexity an d pr ice point s of th e produ cts. For

low-pr iced pr oducts (under $500), the un iversa l CSR model is more effective,

as sh own in t he gra ph below.



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62.6%

19.4%

13.1%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Up/Cross-sell Opportunities Opportunities Resulting in Sale -

Universal CSR

Opportunities Resulting in Sale -

Dedicated/Transfer CSR

P e e r G r o u p A v e r a

g e i n %

Figure 4. Comparison: Up/Cross-Sell Opportunity Conversions: Universal CSRSales vs. Dedicated/Transfer CSR Sales

Developing perform an ce-tr acking metr ics is importan t in det erm ining th e

success of a n ewly implemen ted up /cross-sell pr ogra m. Key met rics for

tr acking individual CSR sa les perform an ce include: th e nu mber of offers,

per centa ge of up -sells, overa ll qua lity of service provided, an d calls per h our.

Key met rics reflectin g th e level of success of th e business model include: call

qua lity, cost per cont act an d an nu al revenu e. Oth er met rics to be considered

include: avera ge ha ndle t ime, call-to-sale r at ios, repea t sales, order s per call,

ma rgin per call, and n um ber of cont acts per customer.

Several models exist for compen sat ing CSRs, th e most comm on being t ha t a

CSR’s compen sat ion in clude a base sa lary a t least 70% of the t ota l

compen sat ion plan . Other elemen ts of a t otal sales compen sat ion pa ckage

include sliding scale comm ission a ccelera tors, gift cert ificat es, cas h p rizes

an d t eam incentives or bonu ses.

Incentives ar e used t o motivate positive beha viors a nd boost m ora le. Call

cent ers t ha t compen sat e CSRs th rough gifts, prizes, cert ificat es or other

giveaways on “at tem pts” or sales rat her t ha n t hr ough commissions, or th ose

th at offer r eward s for fun an d motivational pu rposes, make t he u p/cross-selleffort fun a nd int erestin g for th e CSR as well as ensur e the pr oper r esult is

achieved: na mely, providing excellent customer ser vice first an d t hen

att empting to ma ke the sale.

Determining how to set a nd t ra ck goals is an important step in setting up t he

up/cross-sell program . First, a product implement at ion st ra tegy team should

be form ed. The t eam sh ould consist of th e call cent er ma na ger, a mar keting



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ana lyst , an IT expert an d a third party expert th at understands h ow to

form alize th e product implement at ion plan a nd set goals. This plan mu st

esta blish h ow new products will be sold an d presen ted t o th e CSR, an ticipat e

an d set goals for selling t he pr oduct, an d deter mine h ow mu ch incent ive will

be given to the CSRs. Back-end tr acking report s must be devised to

accur at ely present th e findings, including nu mber of sales, cost of sales a ndprofit ma rgin, to th e CSR an d ma na gement st aff. Fina lly, one should design

a form al review process th at allows validat ion of th e sales goals, an d assu res

th at th e incent ive plan is corr ectly set to drive the desired resu lts.

Staffing And Training Issues

Hiring an d t raining pra ctices for CSRs and ma na gement can directly impact

th e success of an up /cross-sell pr ogra m.

The ideal telesales can didat e will possess cha ra cteristics th at ar e indicat ive

of CSRs who tend t o be high per form ers with long t enu re. Based on th e

findings of a st udy done in t he ea rly 1990s by indust rial-organ izationa lpsychologist Dr. Michael Marx, these characteristics include “High

Seden ta ry,” “Low Cha ngea ble,” “High Orderly” an d “Med-High S ociable.”

These cha ra cter istics a re described below.

High Sedentary The individual does not mind sitting for long periods, takes somerisks as long as they do not entail physical danger, and seeks jobsthat provide physical security.

Low Changeable Does not like much dramatic change, loves routine, accepts self andothers, is friendly and confident in social settings.

Low Rebellious Enjoys structure and finds it normal, prefers to be given clear goals,procedures and instructions.

High Orderly Develops methods for organizing, scheduling and planning activities,keeps resources and files well organized, and is religious aboutcompleting tasks on time.

Med-HighSociable

Approaches telemarketing or service duties in a friendly, congenialfashion, makes efforts to make friends, feels comfortable interactingwith others on a spontaneous basis, is a loyal person when treatedfairly.

Pre-employment assessment tools can assist management in finding such

employees, but th ey ar e only effective if ut ilized pr operly. The ideal CSR

profile used in the assessm ent sh ould be regularly benchm ar ked an d revised

to reflect th e desired at tr ibutes, char acteristics, or skills of the compa ny’s t op

perform ers with long ten ur e.

Additiona lly, the ma na gement t eam must be committ ed to the design,

sta nda rds a nd overall stru ctu re of th e selection tool in order t o put th e right

people in the right jobs. Call centers should avoid the pitfall of “making



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exceptions” an d lowering st an dar ds just becau se th ey need t o put “bodies” in

seats.

Call cent ers t ha t offer m ore t ha n t wo levels of car eer a dvan cemen t

opportu nities, along with level-based t ra ining, have a h igher CSR reten tion

rat e an d better performa nce. Career pa thing builds stability int o an

organization an d demonstra tes commitm ent t o the CSR. Man y man agers fail

to develop an d/or implemen t a tiered career pa th for CSR developmen t a nd

growth th at , in t he long ter m, is advan ta geous for t he call cent er. By not

focusing on CSR developmen t, call cent ers enh an ce th e risk th at th eir

employees will ta ke th e skill sets t hey ha ve lear ned a nd go to work for

compet itors a cross th e street .

The qua lity of th e tra ining those agents receive can ma ke or brea k th e

up/cross-sell program . Trainin g progra ms m ust be compr ehen sive, modular

(use a building block a pproach), an d inst ru ctiona lly soun d. They must

address a ll learn ing styles an d incorporate a dult learn ing theories an d

techniques. They must include definitive facts (for product knowledge

cour ses) or sk ill models (for soft sk ills tra ining) th at ar e ta ugh t in short,

easily under sta nda ble modules or segment s. The skill models or facts sh ould

be reinforced th rough t he m onitoring form s.

The best CSR sales tr ainin g program consists of a rich mixtu re of cust omized

classroom, on-the-job, computer-based, and one-on-one training combined

with sa les-skills coaching by tr ained super visors a nd positive qua lity

assu ra nce (QA) feedback. Nesting, a technique wh ere n ewly hired CSRs a re

physically grouped together on the production floor to handle live calls with

very close coaching and s up ervision, is a pa rt icula rly effective way to build

th e confidence an d skills of new hires in a safe coaching en vironmen t.

The man agement culture in a call center h as a dram atic impact on CSR

satisfaction an d sales results. If supervisors a nd ma na gers act like a ut hority

figur es tr ying to cat ch CSRs doing somet hin g wrong, you will find a n

environment fra ught with CSR dissatisfaction an d h igh tu rnover. The

ma na gement team mu st be development oriented an d motivated to use an

“eth ics-based n ur tu ring coaching style” th at motivates t he int rinsic values in

CSRs to do wha t is right for t he customer, th e compa ny a nd t hem selves. This

ma na gement st yle celebra tes victories and sup ports personal growth . In a

call center using an ethics-based, nurt uring m an agement concept, th e

super visor might be viewed a s “one who serves t he CSR,” also somet imes

called “servan t leadersh ip.”

Although positive r einforcement th rough side-by-side su pervisor monitoring

an d coaching is t he most effective met hod, it is not t he most efficient met hod.

It is only the preferred m eth od if the u plift in sales resu lts will justify more

super visory t ime sp ent in one-on-one coach ing. St ill, 60% to 70% of a



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super visor’s time sh ould be spent work ing with th eir CSRs. Reporting an d

clerical functions can be offloaded t o lower pa id pers onne l.

Last ly, how th e selling a ctivity is position to th e CSR with th e classical

cust omer service “personality” can be of great importa nce. In a recent st udy,

in which we surveyed callers an d ask ed about their n eeds, we determined th e

hiera rchy of caller needs. The result was a pyra mid of needs sta rt ing at th e

bottom with t he m ost basic, and moving to the most importa nt needs toward

th e t op (see figur e below).

Figure 5. Hierarchy of Caller Needs

It seem s clear th at “giving a dvice” to inboun d callers is a n essen tial n eed of

every caller, and ra nk s very nea r th e top of th e pyram id of needs. Callers

rea lly “don’t know wha t t hey don’t know,” an d th erefore, grea tly app reciat e

th e CSR “educat ing” th em on opport un ities (product feat ur es an d functions

an d/or a dd-ons) tha t ar e germ an e to th e caller’s situa tion. We foun d th at if

th e u p/cross-sell is position a s edu cation an d/or advice giving, an d n ot a “ha rd

close” it is mu ch more pa lat able t o th e professiona l service CSR.

Technology Issues

Techn ology plays an integra l par t in t he su ccess of th e add-on sa les

opportu nity. Customer r elationship ma na gement (CRM) sales tools are

comm only used by call cen ter s. CRM techn ology can include: script ing,

product discount/spiff identifiers, product coupling, and propensity-to-buy

indicators.

Thes e CRM sa les tools can be used t o “tr igger” possible up/cross-sell solut ions

or pr ompt th e CSR to ask for t he sa le by providing scripts, ta king out th e



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add-on sa les guesswork. Per forma nce tra cking can a lso be recorded via t he

CRM system, providing th e man agemen t tea m with inform at ion including

how often a CSR a sks for a sale, how ma ny sales th at CSR closes an d th e

dollar am oun t of each sale. Fina lly, CRM softwa re often feat ur es built-in

fra ud detection capabilities.

Work force ma na gement tools also directly cont ribut e t o the overall up /cross-

sell effort. By insur ing th ere is a dequa te t elephone coverage, CSRs not only

meet cust omer sat isfaction expecta tions, th ey are a ble to meet th e add-on

sales comm itmen t r equirem ent s as well. In best p ra ctices cust omer service

environmen ts, CSRs a re h eld to fairly str ict call ha ndle t imes. By ident ifying

th e increa se in call length due t o selling efforts an d ent ering in th e accur at e

inform at ion int o th e work force ma na gement softwa re, th e correct nu mber of

CSRs is scheduled and sufficient time is given to handle the up/cross-sell call.

Sta ffing adequ at ely promotes CSR well being a nd r educes stress levels an d

allows super visors t o concentr at e on oth er a rea s besides schedu ling CSR

time. The ba r cha rt below shows the r elative cont ribut ions of varioussta nda rd conta ct cent er t echn ology on th e u p/cross-sell fun ction.

46.0

56.0

60.0

64.0

74.0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Interactive Voice Response

/ Virtual Response Unit

Computer Telephony

Integration

Work Force Management

Skills Based Routing

Customer Relationship

Management

Average Peer Group Ranking by Percentage

Figure 6. Technology Ranked by Contribution to Up/Cross-sell Success

Along with technology, th e ma rk eting depa rt men t plays a significan t r ole in

th e up/cross-sell model. For example, the ma rk eting depar tm ent can identify

th e proper products tha t a re closely aligned with oth er products, like the

cables th at bring power t o PCs. They also identify th e customer’s pr opensity

to purcha se oth er pr oducts based on initial products pur chased. This type of

predictive modeling su pport can be provided for t he call cent er via t he



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ma rketing depart ment an d ent ered into the CRM applicat ion. This

kn owledge, when coupled with th e desktop inform at ion pr esent ed to the CSR,

increa ses t he cust omer’s chan ces of buying an d th e CSR’s chan ces of selling.

It is a critical tool for th e up /cross-sell model. It p rovides th e CSR with

“tr iggers” th at help t he CSRs ask for th e sa les. Mar ketin g’s a bility to fine-

tu ne t his opera tion along with t he CRM tool increases t he sa les capa bilitiesenormously.

Conclusion

In order t o build a successful u p/cross-sell call cen ter , busines s model issues,

tr ain ing and st affing issues a nd t echn ology issues mu st be addr essed. With

such a clearly defined, focused opera tions blueprint , call cent ers can build a

successful u p/cross-sell call cent er.

About BenchmarkPortal, Inc.Benchm ark Portal is th e custodian of the Pu rdue University Center for

Cust omer -Driven Qua lity da ta base of cont act center m etr ics, the lar gest inth e world. It pr ovides reports, products an d services for cont act centers in th e

areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement and agent

satisfaction measu rement . For more informa tion about Benchmar kPortal,

call 805.614.0123 or visit our Web site a t: www.BenchmarkPortal.com.

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Connections Magazine - Call Center Upsell Cross-sell

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