The Successful Sales Manager's Guide to Business-to-Business Telephone Sales (Paperback)

by Lee R. Van Vechten (Author) "The genesis of multi-phased marketing is interesting from a number of perspectives..." (more)
Key Phrases: customer behavior styles, inside sales department, inside sales group, New York, Lee Van Vechten, Peg Fisher (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In this massive 300+ page resource, you have the step-by-step guidelines for starting (or repositioning) and running a successful telephone sales operation. This is a complete how-to guide for managers, giving you proven, field-tested strategic and tactical information you will use to avoid costly mistakes, and run your telephone sales operation like a well-oiled, money making machine. Starting and running a telephone sales department--the right way--is much more than sticking a few low paid part timers in an unused corner of the office, throwing some leads at them, and saying, "Go make some calls." And it's a completely different animal than running and managing an outside sales operation. Just ask the thousands of companies and managers who failed in the process. In this 300+page, 8 1/2 x 11 paperback book, you will get the benefit of Lee Van Vechten's 30+ years in telephone sales management and consulting. He has consulted with over 200 companies, and started up over 25 successful inside sales operations. To buy Lee's time to get the same information he shares with you in this book would require an investment of thousands of dollars. In this massive resource, you have the step-by-step guidelines for starting (or repositioning) and running a successful telephone sales operation. This is a complete how-to guide for managers, giving you proven, field-tested strategic and tactical information (including actual job descriptions, salary guidelines, budgeting formulas, job interview questions) you will use to avoid costly mistakes, and run your telephone sales operation like a well-oiled, money making machine. Not Theory; Specific, Detailed Information You Can Use This is not a book about the theory of telephone sales written by some academic type who has never set foot in a telephone sales department or gotten a phone slammed in his ear on a cold call. It's meat, pure and simple. Battle tested stuff you can use. You'll get specifics for, * Knowing what types of calling missions work with telephone sales, and what is sure to guarantee headaches and failure * Step-by-step guidelines, ads, forms, job descriptions, and interview questions for recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and training inside sales reps * How to compensate and motivate to minimize turnover and maximize morale and productivity, and, knowing when and how to cut your losses * Specifics on hands-on day-to-day management and training of sales reps * Preventing conflict with outside sales department, and other sales channels Starting Up a New Department * Seven reasons telephone sales departments fail, and how to avoid these traps * Should you start with one, two, three, or more reps? See results of companies that have tried them all. * How you should physically set up your environment for maximum productivity. Offices vs. cubicles? Where should you be in proximity to other departments? Get all the answers. * Seven reasons telephone sales departments fail, and how to avoid these traps Hiring Telephone Reps * Should you hire product knowledge, or sales skills? See the answer, and why. * How to create a Job Description for your reps * Recruitment Ads: examples, where to place them * How to read resumes, warning signs to be aware of * How to conduct interviews * Employment agreements and forms * When to cut your losses * Specifics on how to measure performance, and how to do performance appraisals Management * Word-for-word example of an actual Territory Management Plan you can model * How to smoothly integrate your department into the overall operation without conflict * How to budget. Specific numbers and formulas * Compensating and Motivating Telephone Sales Reps, Supervisors, and You as Manager * Negative and positive motivators; what works and what doesn't * How to set up a comp plan based on margins, or actual sales dollars * Selling your comp plans to upper-level management so they enthusiastically accept it * A "values survey" you can give to your reps to determine what motivates them * Should you post individual sales results for everyone to see? You'll find out the best ways. Training * At what point do you put someone on the phone during initial training? You might be surprised. * Monitoring calls: the amount of time, percentage-wise you should do it. And you'll learn whether you should do it silently and remotely, or side-by-side with reps * Example of an actual training manual

Regardless of whether you're a veteran telephone sales manager, or just looking to start up an inside sales department, you'll have the benefit of Lee VanVechten's 37+ years of experience in telemarketing sales, management, and consulting. Businesses gladly pay thousands of dollars to hire Lee personally for his expertise, and it makes them hundreds of thousands, and in many cases, millions of dollars.

About the Author
Lee R. Van Vechten is president of F.G.I. & Affiliated Publishing Companies, and Partner in The Van Vechten Group, Freehold, New Jersey, a management-consulting firm since 1977, specializing in turnkey telephone sales installations for businesses; specifically the creation of telephone selling resources for clients. He is the recipient of the DMA's "Telemarketing Council's Pioneer Award", ATA's "Teleprofessional Award" and 1997 TeleProfessional Magazine "Top 10 Pro's of The Year Award". Lee was also the co-founder of the American Teleservices Association and a Past Board of Directors Officer. Lee is past Vice President of Sales and Marketing with AMR International, where he developed and implemented his first successful telephone selling organization. That unit's sales volume increased seven-fold over a thirty month period under his direction. Lee was also V.P. of Sales and Marketing at Arthur W. Weisenberger & Co., a major institutional brokerage firm. Lee spent 14 years with Dun & Bradstreet in various sales and management assignments with Duns Marketing Services. He was instrumental in the management of 250 sales representatives, selling primarily and secondary research services. His final position with D&B was as Senior Manager of Research Fulfillment and Sales. Lee is a prolific writer of articles for all of the leading industry publications and has been a regularly featured writer for DM NEWS. He contributed the telemarketing compensation chapter to Prentice Hall's Encyclopedia of Telemarketing as well as the telemarketing chapter for Dartnell's Marketing Managers Handbook. His latest publication, The Successful Sales Manager's Guide to Business to Business Telephone Sales, published by Business By Phone, will be released Fall 1999. He is a frequent speaker at trade conferences and has presented skill seminars for AMA, Target Marketing Conference Group (DMB and NCOF), Direct Media, ATA, ICSA, DMA, BMC conferences. Also for the Universities of Alabama, Minnesota, Georgia and Syracuse. Lee majored in Labor Management at the College of Business Administration, Penn State University and served as a non-commissioned communications officer in the U.S. Army.

Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Business By Phone (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881081095
• ISBN-13: 978-1881081098
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #388,579 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pro-active, outbound, b-to-b telephone sales from A to Z, February 5, 2001

By	Ben Franco (Ardmore, PA) - See all my reviews

After 23 years of selling over the phone, from computer systems software to specialty surgical instruments, I have finally found a guide that covers all the bases for pro-active, outbound telesales. The author's narrative is concise, easy to read, and has practical easy to follow applications for his methodology. What is astonishing is his thorough understanding of selling over the phone, this is not a customization of field sales adapted for telephone sales.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do It Right The First Time, February 5, 2001

By	SJ Remington (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

When our company decided to implement telemarketing into the mix, the managment team basically thought it would be a no brainer. Pick up the phone, offer your product, and instantly increase sales. Were we ever wrong. After numerous employees revolving through the door, customer relations going sour from badly trained help, and thousands of dollars later, we regrouped and looked for help! This is such a practical guide with a very simple message; "do it and it will work". Our turn-over has decreased tremedously by following the hiring,training,and compensation advice. Customer survey's have risen 7 positive points in our favor and the bottom line.... sales are up 35% in the 1st quarter! Every business can profitably benefit from telemarketing and I highly recommend this book so you can make sound and proven business decisions that can impact your profit margin almost immediatley.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Successful Sales Managers Guide to Telephone Sales, February 6, 2001

By	John Kirk (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

This book is must for any Inside Sales Manager. The information and guidelines in this book helped me to start a new Inside Sales Department with a large manufacturing company. It made it possible to grow $20 million in mature existing business by 15% in just 18 months. Quite a return for such a small investment. Lee Van Vechten provides direction for a telephone sales manager in all areas as it relates to starting and managing an Inside Sales Department. It is simply stated a step by step guide to success regardless of your level of experience. This book has became my "bible"!!!

John Kirk Senco Products, Inc.