Sales and marketing are really just 2 sides of the same coin. Yin and Yang. Push and Pull. And in many ways, they are becoming more and more alike.

I have spent time in both roles and the basic tenets of success in sales and marketing still come down to basic human nature. Help people and they will reward you.

And no matter what business you are in, you will need to find the right balance of traditional and new techniques to reach your customers and help your company grow through higher sales.

In this post, my man Rob Krekstein is back with 5 tips to generate sales through that most traditional of techniques, the call center…

Whether you are a B2B or B2C Company, you need to understand that you are selling your products or services to People.  With that as your Platform, you can then move to consider how to create your Call Center Sales team model and process.  Here are a few tips for creating a Call Center that can yield significant Revenue for your company through Volume and Velocity.

• Hire Phone Warriors – You should look to hire people that are not afraid of making a high volume of calls.  Qualified Sales People are fantastic but if they come from Companies where they were viewed as “Sales Executives” and expected to make 10-20 calls a day, and hunt Elephants, they are not for you.  In today’s world that might mean hiring younger more inexperienced people, but look at that as a positive, as they are like a blank canvas waiting for your instruction, with no bad habits to break.

• Be Realistic About The Job – All Companies create ambiguous titles like, “Demand Executives”, “Inside Generation Experts” or “Inside Account Executives”, but be honest, this is a job where you need to be a “Phone Sales Expert”.  The job Is all about Volume and Velocity, and you need to be certain your new hires understand that.

• Do Not De-Value Training – Training is critical to the success of your agents.  Not only Product or Solution Knowledge, but Phone Sales knowledge as well.  Getting past Gatekeepers, utilizing proper preparation skills, Value Propositions, and Competitive information will be essential for your Representatives to close revenue.  The Training should be standardized, not like the old school methodology “Every Salesperson uses their own techniques that work best” which basically means you did not invest in Training properly.

• Metrics Are Key – You must set expectations that are realistic and in line with your Product or Service.  This does not only include Revenue, but Dials per day, Conversations per day, Appointments per week, and Pipeline.  This will set the foundation for your Employees so be sure and set the goal appropriately.  If more than 60% of your workforce consistently hits or exceeds the goal, you should look to raise it as it was improperly set.

• Dials = Dollars – This is a common understanding in the “telemarketing” world, but for some reason when we talk about “Sales” we lose touch with this.  It is a simple, logical premise…More Calls equals more conversations which equals more Pipeline which leads to more REVENUE.  You must make this concept a part of your team’s DNA if you want to create and cultivate a successful Call Center Sales Force.

With these simple tips you will have created a sustainable, Revenue Generating Sales Force, that can handle any product or service.  They will have been properly trained, motivated, and should be focused on the correct actions to attain all their targets.

Photo by Flickr user Jurvetson