Author: Sienna Anderson

Why Customised Australian Sales Training is Vital for Your Organisation

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Australian Sales TrainingSome organisations think of sales training as a cost rather than an investment. However, it has been proven time and again that customised Australian sales training programs will help your organisation achieve increased sales results. Tailored programs, (not off the shelf, by the manual sales training courses) will be crucial for your sales team to get maximum return on your investment, and here are the 3 proven benefits:

1. Elevated Sales Figures.

What can be better than having increased sales figures for your organisation? An effective sales training program will help in producing more sales and maximize profit, as the program can provide detailed understanding of the customer’s ‘buying cycle’ and relevant sales process. It will also establish the required Quantity, Direction and Quality of sales activity required to achieve sales targets, as well as providing creative ideas on how to approach prospects and convert them into sales.

2. Improved Customer Service

Some clients ask “How is sales and customer service linked?” so when you implement Australian sales training, you should consider to including a customer service and Key Account Management Training component that will help your sales team to understand the customers’ wants and needs, which will in-turn help them drive sales more proactively

3. Up and Cross Selling

To maximise your opportunities, it is important for your sales team to understand the buying pattern of your targeted customers. Sales training from Australia’s Leading sales training company will help them to understand customers’ needs and then offer customers products or services that match their expectations. Equipped with the essential skills, your sales team must first be able to ask High Impact Questions to understand customers’ needs and then have the presentation skills to be able to present products or services that will fulfil these needs. The KONA Group is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company and provide customised training programs that include: Sales Training & Coaching, Key Account Management Training, Call Centre Training & coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers, and more. So, if you are looking to increase the effectiveness and results of your sales team, contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email: info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your organisation’s results.

Why Businesses Need To Customise Their Call Centre Training Programs

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
call centre trainingDid you know that there are over 198,200 Call Centres in Australia? This does not mean that most Australians are taking up this position as a possible long term career prospect – with a turnover rate of almost 40%, many Australians use this position as a pit stop rather than a full time career option. With the stress and pressurised workplace environment, is it any wonder why this is so? Call centre representatives are often the first line of control for any and all issues pertaining to an organisation when it comes to customer grievances. Contrary to popular belief this position requires a set of Conversational Skills that are akin to those that are common in budding leaders. Needless to say, very few individuals come tailor-made for these positions and thus most end up treating it as just a job they need to complete before day’s end. In fact, KONA Group recently reviewed several Call Centre Training Induction programs and found that in an average 3-day Induction and Onboarding, 2 and a half days were spent on internal policies, procedures and how to use the organisation’s technology and systems, and only about 3 hours on how to actually speak and engage with customers! Organisations need to train their people to not only navigate their systems and data entry the correct information, but give them the skills to quickly build rapport and engage with customers, as well as work with angry or abrasive callers By giving your people the skills they need to effectively complete calls with real-life people without focusing on AHT and the flashing red light of the next caller, call centres can be transformed into the most engaging and profitable departments rather than just portals for problems and information Depending on how these facilities are operated and the type of business they represent, call centres can make or break an organisation. The rule of thumb is to give call centre reps the skills, capabilities and information they need to take care of customer queries. The result? A source of income that is focused on the bottom line AND a resource for information that will aid in the creation of better products AND services. The solution? Turning today’s customer service representatives into a sales resource that can not only tackle simple queries but who are also unafraid to tackle complex ones. In other words, by providing Call Centre Training and Australian Sales Training to show representatives how to take responsibility for the customer and upsell rather than just escalating calls to Team Leaders, Australian organisations can retain customers, make more money AND create a loyal clientele at the same time. SO much more effective than over re-inventing the wheel, so to speak, by creating new marketing strategies to reel in disgruntled customers or attract new ones each time sales hits a low point. Call Centre Training and Sales Training that is customised to your business and your marketplace, rather than just a generic, ‘off the shelf’ public course should focus on sales as well as customer service. By training representatives to engage with customers then truly listen to customer, needs rather than just focus on making more calls, will make for a more effective sales and customer representative team. In addition, besides increasing sales and customer satisfaction rates, this approach will also go a long way to increase employee satisfaction and reduce turnover rates in organisations. In short, the point of a call centre should be to solve queries and problems, upsell and cross sell – however the overriding goal should be to retain customers and ensure they remain loyal to a brand or business irrespective of offerings. That is what we aim for with KONA Group’s Call Centre Training and Coaching program which can aid your team leaders and call centre agents in becoming vital parts of your sales process. The KONA Group is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company and provide customised training programs that include: Team Leader Training; Sales Training & Coaching, Key Account Management Training, Call Centre Training & coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers, and more. So if you are looking to increase the effectiveness and results of your sales team, contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email: info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your organisation’s results. In addition, if you want to receive a FREE Call Centre Capability Assessment for your organisation, email Glenn today on Glenn@KONA.com.au

5 Methods to Inspire Call Centre Employees

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
5 Methods to Inspire Call Centre Employees Working in a call centre must always involve meeting certain targets and KPIs. So creating a solid performance base is essential for employees to be effective and not live in fear of losing their job. The following are 5 different ways of motivating your call centre staff:

1. Short Term Incentives

Earning sales commission is a constant motivation for the most call centre employees. Financial incentives for On-Target Earnings (OTE) are one of the strongest motivation practices to use as on target employees have the opportunity to add a substantial amount of money on top of their basic salary. However financial incentives are not the ‘be all and end all’. Rewards and competitions are another source of motivation for call centre employees. Running internal competitions on a daily or weekly basis will give employees short term goals to aim for and create performance momentum This will also create healthy competition which will eventually lead to a better overall performance from your call centre team.

2. Feedback

Feedback from managers and members of senior team is imperative. A manager acknowledgement goes a very long way and awarding a team or team member for having the best performance in the last week will create a positive attitude within the team.

3. Call Centre Training

Offering call centre training on a regular basis is a great motivator for employees in call centre roles. It will encourage them perform better and develop the required skills and knowledge to help them meet their goals. Importantly, if employees then have their skills reinforced and coached by their managers it will show them that the company cares about them and their performance.

4. Evaluations / Reviews

Regular review sessions with individual employee or a team can help them to understand their current performance level and how they can step to the next level. During review sessions, senior management team can discuss short or long-term goals and more importantly how the managers will provide sales training to their people to ‘close the gap’

5. Clean Workspace

More of a discipline rather than a skill however it is important for an employee in a call centre role to have a clean workspace. Having an organised desk with equipment that works professionally is crucial to enhance performance and employee working in a clean working setting is more likely to perform better than working in a chaotic environment. An organised desk can also help in maximising work efficiency because the employee will be able to work through their work in an order instead of working through a disorganised pile.

Going forward:

Establishing a clean workspace, implementing employee sales training and call centre training and providing monetary incentives will appeal to employees and set the benchmark for a performance culture The KONA Group is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company and provide customised training programs that include: Sales Training & Coaching, Key Account Management Training, Call Centre Training & coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers, and more. So, if you are looking to increase the effectiveness and results of your sales team, contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email: info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your organisation’s results.

Do You Have Issues With Your Net Promoter Score? You are Not Alone!

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
nps Net Promoter or Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a management tool that can be used to gauge the loyalty of an organisation’s customer relationships. It serves as an alternative to traditional customer satisfaction research and is often assumed to be correlated with revenue growth. While the monitoring of Net Promoter Score (NPS) is becoming an increasingly valuable way to monitor your customers experience of your product or service many organisations are struggling with the next step.  How do we make it better?  Measuring NPS is the easy part but it creates a few challenges.
  1. It tells you the ‘what’ i.e. what is my score?  It does not help you much with the ‘So What?’ and ‘Now What?’ steps of the continuous improvement cycle.
  2. NPS cuts out the middle of the road, those customers who had an OK experience but could be moved up the scale with a few small changes.
The first problem The KONA Group sees across many organisations is that they often stop at the point of collecting the Net Promoter Score. Their score may be solid and an improvement on the last year so they say to themselves ‘we’re doing great, we have a higher percentage of promoters and attractors than last year! What they miss is the WHY?  Why has their score changed or stayed the same?  Why has it dropped 8 points and what do we need to do about it?  It seems to us that missing the chance to gather customer stories and details to create context around a customer’s response is a lost opportunity.  Even knowing that your customer enjoyed their experience and is a promoter but not knowing why creates an issue.  It means that you are flying blind. Can your NPS provider ask a series of follow-up questions.
  • “Why is it that you’re giving us this score?” or
  • “We notice that you gave us a 9, why is this?’
  • “What would we need to do for you to give us an 8?
The second question is about the numbers and theory of NPS. The final NPS scpore is supposed to work like this…

‘We add the scores those customers that rate you a 9 or 10 out of 10, and then we subtract the combined scores of those that rate you between a 0 and a 6 out of 10.’

What about the 7s and 8s?  Those customers who are ‘OK’ with their experience are not part of the measurement. We see this as pretty dangerous, once again why have they scored you at this level?  What do you need to do differently to change their score. The KONA Group Customer Insights team have a very clear focus on both the Quantitative and Qualitative data needed to look after your customers.  They look to link the feedback from your customers to an action register that ensures identified issues are recorded and resolved, not lost in the clutter of the NPS scores of 8 and below. KONA, Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company, provides customised training programs that include:  Sales Training & Coaching, Call Centre Training & Coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers  and more.  KONA is also a leading provider of Customer Satisfaction Surveys and research services. Alternatively contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your business results.

Day 9 – The Final Day and over $370 000 Raised!

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
tour-de-force-final-day-pic-2016 The final day of the 2016 Tour de Chance started with a flat coastal route out of Kiama before heading up hill and down dale to Audley Weir We left Kiama with a few hangovers after last nights TdC celebration event and many wished they had left the celebrating until after day 9 and not the night before! The first hour and half was a reasonably quick ride along beautiful undulating roads then past the burning flames of Port Kembla steel mills before we stopped for a short caffeine hit overlooking the harbour in Wollongong. However the pleasure soon turned to pain as we climbed up the steep and challenging escarpment out of Wollongong and into the Heathcote National Park via Thirroul and Stanwell Tops. Why do these hills seem SO easy when sitting in a car! After having enjoyed for so many days the long open roads in country Victoria and NSW, one final major challenge we had to face was to be wary of the rev-heads and family cars who were racing the bends of the national parks, all needing to be at their destinations 10 seconds sooner. Finally, after one last burst of energy, we all rolled safely into Audley Weir where riders and crew were met by family, friends and many of the young people we are raising money for. After over 1,250 kms and 80 hours sitting on a very narrow saddle; through freezing healthcpc.virusinc.org/ativan/ cold and burning heat; horrendously steep uphill climbs and crazy downhill descents; flat tyres, potholes, kerbs and drainage grates; falls, concussions, cars, caravans and trucks, we all dismounted for the final time this year, tired, relieved and happy with a job well done At time of writing we have already received over $372,000 in donations which will open 2 new brand centres and provide meaningful employment, work experience and skills development to over 120 young people with the most significant disabilities in our community. Even better news is that once open these centres will not require further donations as they will become self funding, hence with your support The KONA Group is helping to make a long term, sustainable difference to these young people. There is still time to donate at https://tourdechance2016.raisely.com/glenndobson as every dollar WILL make a difference Next step: Over the last few years The KONA Group has helped to raise over $1,300,000 for various causes so if you or your organisation are interested in the next KONA Charity Challenge please just give us a call or email info@KONA.com.au Alternatively, KONA is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company, and we provide customised training programs that include: Sales Training & Coaching, Call Centre Training & Coaching, Key Account Management Training, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Conference Speakers and more. So contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your team or organisation’s results.

Tour de Chance Day 8 – Hang on Tight

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
Day 8 is 166 kms down to the coast at Kiama. A day that began with pelting rain in the chilly southern tablelands town of Braidwood and turned to hot, biting sun as the Tour de Chance hit the coastal side of the Great Dividing Range en route to the seaside treasure of Kiama, home of the famous blowhole. Gravity finally began working but was not for the faint hearted with some of us hanging on tight as we achieved 70-80 kph on steep downhill descents, a major feature of the run into Nowra. A flat tyre, pot-hole or stray wallaby at those speeds can have a traumatic outcome but after 8 days in the saddle and over 1,100 kms cycled we just wanted to get to the finish line as quickly as possible Before the downhill, the Nev Hedge Hill Climb Challenge had to be settled on the first and steeper half of the 2.2km 14% haul up from the Endrick River outside Nerriga, 60 kms on from the historic town of Braidwood. “Nifty Nev” set up as bookmaker to the Challenge, framing a market and taking wagers The race quickly became a match in three between Eric Miller, Terry Goodman and Tim Smeallie, all at relatively short odds in Nifty’s market. Eric pulled away to an emphatic victory from Terry and Tim. The hard luck story of the race was Steve Hickey, who dropped his chain twice, while TdC founder Tim Powell, chased the field in as Lantern Rouge. Protests were lodged on the grounds that Eric, who joined the team the previous night, was “fresh legs” and thus should have been apportioned a time penalty for joining the ride that day, but to no avail – it was first alprazolam past the post. Eric was a “winner” for the bookie, all proceeds going to Fighting Chance. Nowra provided a refreshing stop at The Cup and The Spoon café on the Shoalhaven River. With weary legs restored, the riders headed for a coastal and less trafficked route to Kiama, gaining a sea breeze, occasional wonderful views and avoidance of most of the horror of the Princes Highway. Unfortunately the motorway climb into Kiama, was steep, long and busy, and all was going well, even though Glenn Dobson, with head down and legs stubbornly grinding up the hill, ran into the back of a broken down car half way up! The final day will start with a good flat coastal route before heading up hill and down dale to Audley Weir, where riders and crew will reconnect with family and friends – and dismount. But first, a final blowout dinner in Kiama. And pass the Voltaren, Neurofen and Savlon! Tour facts : The ride, when it concludes, will have been longer than the Rhine River and we will have climbed one and half Mt Everests (12,500m plus), generated sufficient kilowatt hours to power an average Australian house for three weeks and seen enough extra calories consumed to feed two people in Eritrea for a year. The KONA Group is helping to make a difference to the young people with extreme disabilities at Fighting Chance so please donate at https://tourdechance2016.raisely.com/glenndobson KONA, Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company, provides customised training programs that include: Sales Training & Coaching, Call Centre Training & Coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers and more. Alternatively contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your business results.

Tour de Chance Day 7 – Lest We Forget

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
The Tour de Chance formed a Remembrance circle in the shadow of the Australian flag in the village of Bungendore, gathering at 11am for a memorial to those who have fallen in war. KONA Group MD Glenn Dobson had personal memories of lost colleagues having served in Northern Ireland during the “Troubles” and the TDC group minute’s silence allowed a personal remembrance for each tour member, before a communal “Lest We Forget” saw the team break ranks. The ride resumed, but with a refreshed perspective. Steve Hickey nailed it when he said that Remembrance Day was also an appropriate point to remember those who are the inspiration for the ride, the interns of Fighting Chance. In their personal battles there is no armistice, but the support from the circle of friends extending from the Tour does make a difference. Although day Seven was classed as a recovery day of a short 74kms, it started with a stiff, steep and long climb out of Queanbeyan, a stern test for the overnight newcomers to the ride – Greg Rector, Tim Smeallie and Dan Powell – and a punishing reminder of the reality of the ride for the race-hardened crew. (One of the cyclists did have a major advantage however as due to the high carbohydrate diet we have all been consuming, nature was taking its course and nearly ‘blew’ him self-propelled up the hills!!) The cumulative effort of the ride – it is now at 989 kms in 7 days – took its toll with two riders taking temporary respite, one for knee pain, the other for extremely severe saddle sores. There were absolutely no offers to rub savlon into the rider’s premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/weight-loss/ ‘sore parts’ and hopefully they will be back tomorrow for the run home! It was a day of undulations and some steep hills as the tour headed for the charming town of Braidwood, midway between Canberra and the coast. There was a stop for a refreshing orange quarter (welcome back Nev Hedge) on the banks of the Shoalhaven River. It was a little upstream from the setting of Arthur Boyd’s famed paintings, but no less beautiful for that. Day 8 is 166 kms down to the coast at Kiama, so despite 1509 metres of uphill on the route, the net result is well and truly down, ending at sea level – thank you gravity, its about time. Tour fact : Based on an estimated combined weight for the riders of 1.8 tonnes, the 766m above sea level of the highest point of day 8 and gravitational acceleration of 9.8 metres per second squared, the kinetic potential energy of the team will be 13.5m joules. One joule is the energy required to lift a medium sized tomato 1 metre from the ground. I have no idea what any of this means however it sounds a lot and the group is looking for a very BIG fruit and vegetable shop. The KONA Group is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company and provides customised training programs that include:  Sales Training & Coaching, Call Centre Training & Coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers and more. So please help us make a difference to the young people at Fighting Chance and donate at https://tourdechance2016.raisely.com/glenndobson Alternatively contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your business results.

Tour de Chance – Day 4 Taken to the limit

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
  The KONA Group’s  Glenn Dobson continues his daily blog as he rides from Melbourne to Sydney to raise money for the company charity, ‘Fighting Chance’. The day four ride up the Snowy River valley and beyond to the NSW timber town of Bombala took the riders to the limit, the 2700 metres of climbing and 162 kms of road compounding the heavy schedule of the first three days. The effort was rewarded with some of the finest riding country imaginable, soaring forests, rushing streams, birdsong, the odd kangaroo and wildflower in bloom, the clear fresh air and an almost complete absence of traffic. There were about 10 vehicles over the first eight hours of a 10 hour plus day, but perversely the team struck two red lights as part of road works traffic management – go figure! On a parcours suited to the Tour de France, there was similar action, with the Pod 1 group looking like a breakaway determined to bring on a “selection” among the leaders of the General Classification. The following bunch of the main peloton was splintered, riders struggling to stay as a cohesive group. The Tour de Chance is ride and not a race, but it hurts just as much no matter what you call it. The terrain and flora changed as the ride crossed into NSW at Delegate River – the Sydney parochialists were heard to cheer – with a drier trend and the country opening out into more rolling farm and timberland. A less testing environment for the riders but still some hard pulls before they bombed into town for a restorative ale. Perhaps two. Day five is a mercifully short 108kms but the climbing is a healthy 1694m. Chapeau to all for today’s effort and bon chance for tomorrow. Tour fact : The cumulative kms of the team to date, laid end to end, would stretch from Sydney to Los Angeles. Flying is easier and faster, but a lot less meaningful.

The KONA Group is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company and provides customised training programs that include: Sales Strategy, Sales Training & Coaching, Call Centre Training & Coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers, and more.

So contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email: info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your business results.

Tour de Chance – Day 5

Posted on | by Sienna Anderson
The KONA Group’s  Glenn Dobson continues his daily blog as he rides from Melbourne to Sydney to raise money for the company charity, ‘Fighting Chance’. For the L’Etape Australia it is called the Col de Beloka. For the Tour de Chance it’s the Mur de Boloco, for a Wall it was, an almost insurmountable barrier to the ride’s progress. Almost 90 kms into day 5, this 3km beast struck with an average grade of 15%, ramping at the start to 20% or better. Rising 450m in total it softened a little in the middle but twisted the knife in the final kilometre with more one-in-five action before it topped out. Eight doughty souls made it, with Wayne Oxenham, David Clarke and Glenn Dobson conquering the Mur without stopping or walking. Bravo to all, but a special shout out to Wayne, Clarkie and Dobbo. Wayne’s time of 18 minutes, averaging 10kph, set a mark that will impress Tour de France champ Chris Froome when he rides this terror in L’Etape in December. At the start of the day the riders disappeared into thin air shortly after departing Bombala (gravy capital of Australia) as the team climbed to the sullen, pewter cloud cover, and then were swallowed by thick fog. The opening route, the Monaro Highway, was a rude change from the prior day’s peace, with monster 26m log-trucks thundering past in the cold, damp mist of the morning. Fortunately, the Snowy River Way was close by and with the fog lifting the tour resumed a quieter and more charming path, rolling through the granite high plains to the lunch break at the tranquil and historic village of Dalgety. The morning had earlier handed out its own challenges, including a solid 3km uphill at a stiff gradient to the becalmed Boco Rock wind farm, plainly sapping the legs of those who later fell at the Mur of Boloco. Jindabyne marked the end of 108kms and nearly 1700 metres of climbing. A less taxing day – “only” six or seven hours in the saddle. Day 6 offers 169km to Queanbeyan and 1739m of climbing, which will see the cumulative total top Mt Everest.

The KONA Group is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company and provides customised training programs that include: Sales Strategy, Sales Training & Coaching, Call Centre Training & Coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers, and more.

So contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email: info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your business results.