How To Scare Yourself Silly

I LOVES me some Halloween. The decorations, TV shows, costumes, you name it. If, like me, you like being spooked to the point of having the little hairs on your neck stand up, may I suggest a completely free, readily available horror show you can use to entertain yourself year-round? Record and listen to how your employees, techs and supposed-to-be salespeople are handling inbound calls to your office. Trust me, you’ll have nightmares for WEEKS.

An example:?At a recent event, an MSP owner bragged to me?that?he was “unconcerned” about how his phone was being answered. He had that “handled.” You KNOW I can’t let a comment like that pass,?so we secret-shopped his company with a “server down” issue in dire need. Based on what happened when we called, I can tell he’s?also?“unconcerned” about making any money.

The phone was NOT answered live, but prompted the?caller?to press one for the “main?office” and two for?“support.”?Right away there’s confusion. When we got someone, they repeatedly told us that since we weren’t a “contract” customer, they couldn’t help us…and even if they could, they didn’t know if they could get out here anytime soon. (THIS is a HUGE mistake I see over and over again – a lead is calling in and you’re instantly telling them you cannot help them because they aren’t under contract. Might as well have on the website “Don’t call us unless?you’re?already a customer under contract!” and then proceed to abruptly hang up on any prospect who is silly enough to ignore the sign?and?try?to?give you money.)?

Next,?they asked questions about the server and suggested it?might?be under warranty and to call the company we bought it from. (Really? So, I should hang up and call a competitor?) Of course, they didn’t ask ANY questions about us as a company, who we were currently using for IT and why?we?didn’t call them. Needless to say,?they didn’t attempt to CLOSE THE SALE. Had to “call back” to see if they could help. If I was a real prospect, I’d have called 5?or?6 other competitors by then.

Another?similar?example:?I call a company regarding a little problem we’re having with?armadillos invading my yard. His advice? I?could?hire them to set traps OR I could just get an ultra-quiet Ruger 10/22 and shoot?the?little buggers. I can see it now. Me, in my front yard in a lawn chair at 1:00 a.m.?with a loaded gun and a couple of bottles of Silver Oak. I’m sure the neighbors wouldn’t think anything of it. Maybe I’ll shoot at one of the critters and some black gold will come?bubblin’ up and I can quit my day job. Oil, that is. Texas?tea. Not sure what I’m supposed to do with all the dead carcasses, though. Maybe they sell a “25 Ways To Enjoy Armadillo” cookbook. Maybe I can make them into purses or kneepads and sell?’em?on eBay. Maybe a wood chipper? But then I’d have to freeze them first, and I’m pretty sure they’d make the ice cream smell funny. It’s always something, isn’t it?

I KNOW I keep harping?on?about this?– but for a good reason. If you shrug THIS off and ignore it, you’re losing opportunities and big chunks of money. Ugly and dysfunction is happening in your business?right now,?and leads and opportunities are getting burned, relationships destroyed. I guarantee it. I’ve secret-shopped so many IT firms that someone actually handling the inbound call correctly is as RARE as hen’s teeth. If you’re not tightly monitoring this, checking, scripting, retraining and even firing for noncompliance?over?how inbound calls are handled, it’s costing you BIG.?

The cost of a PPC lead for MSPs is over $2,700 right now. If someone doesn’t answer a phone correctly, or a lead gets mishandled, that MSP just THREW AWAY $2,700 and whatever revenue would have been generated from that client.

This should?terrify?you.?The same people who are telling customers how “responsive” and “proactive” they are, as well as how superior their service is,?are completely ignoring this critical aspect of their business.

You can’t honestly look a prospect in the eye and say you are “proactive” or “responsive” with THIS going on, can you??

Two critical points. First,?marketing is NOT a department. THIS?–?your operations, how you handle inbound calls, how you respond to clients’?tickets, etc.?–?is?a direct reflection of how you run your business?and thus?your?marketing. Ray Kroc brilliantly defined “clean bathrooms” as marketing. Many who claim to be in “marketing” think this should be left to someone in?operations; it’s an “administrative” task.?Wrong. Every single touchpoint you have with a client or prospect IS marketing.?

Second, the greatest marketing plan in the world will flat-out fail without a very strategic, tightly monitored, professional SALES PROCESS. How you handle an inbound lead is the SALES department’s job. Who’s running that??

Every MSP or client that comes my way wants one thing:?more leads, more clients, but?they?are grossly unprepared to handle inbound leads and opportunities. They do NOTHING to follow up on leads that “go dark” and never sit an appointment beyond a few e-mails and maybe a phone call. They do NOTHING to check if their website is actually working and the leads coming in are being captured and followed up on,?and the bigger you grow, the more you have to go “dumpster diving” to see what’s going on.

In the short term, at LEAST,?get this handled before you go off and spend thousands on marketing to make the phone ring in the first place. And be afraid. Be VERY afraid. But more fearful of your own ignorance, your own denial, your own lack of drive to get this handled.?Failure to do so?will?eat?a pound of flesh off you faster than?a fresh zombie.

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