Three Reasons You Might Not Like CRM Integration for Call Tracking

At Callbright, we’re big fans of CRM integration. It differentiates today’s call tracking from call tracking 15 years ago. It helps salespeople stay motivated. It does for call tracking what the heated steering wheel does for cars (translation: it adds oomph).

But you know what? There are actually some reasons CRM integration might not be a good fit for you. Here they are.

You Live for Data Entry

Do you get a thrill from entering the same data into multiple systems over and over? Do you love the way your carpal tunnel syndrome makes your wrists ache and your forearms go numb? Do you get a kick out of typos?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to avoid CRM integration. The reason is that as soon as a call comes in, the caller's information is automatically gathered and then synced with your CRM system. 

Do you know what that means? You’d have to kiss data entry and typos good-bye. Worse, your wrists and forearms would get a break.

You Don’t Mind Losing Lead Data

How do you react when a phone lead falls through the cracks and doesn’t quite make it into your CRM system? Do you:

1. Celebrate? That’s one less lead to keep track of!
2. Feel disappointed but shrug it off and wait for a new lead to come in?
3. Find out what happened, try to win over the lead and make sure it doesn’t happen again?

If you answered “a” or “b,” you might not see CRM integration as much of a benefit. Because phone leads automatically appear in your CRM, you don’t have to worry about remembering to enter leads into the system.

You Love Having Tons of Programs Open on Your Computer

Are you the kind of person who recognizes the benefits of having lots of programs open on your computer? It’s like a scavenger hunt sorting through the open windows for the one you need, and the system lag gives you time to grab a cup of coffee! You improve your mental focus when a lead calls in because you have to switch between your call tracking program and CRM to cross-check their data!

If you’re not looking to cut back on the number of applications you use on a daily basis, there’s no need to integrate your call tracking system with your CRM. Why? Because when you integrate the two systems, you can view or edit lead data from one central location.

Don’t identify with any of these statements? Great! Then mosey on over to our CRM integration page to see how it can make your life a little easier.  

Three Ways to Improve Your Workplace Time Management Skills: Part 3 of 3

Now your workday is finally coming together. You have a detailed schedule, and you've learned to ask your coworkers for help so you're not overloaded. Those around you are starting to notice how motivated you are to increase your productivity and ultimately your success.

What if there were even one more way to maximize your time? (Hint: There is!)

Utilize Technology

Technology can be extremely beneficial in taking on tasks for you and relieving some of the pressure from your workload. Knowing how to use the tools you have access to and synchronizing them with your daily work routine can make life simpler in the long run.

For example, are you constantly switching between applications and looking up prospect information? Do you sometimes forget to enter phone leads into your CRM system when you're scrambling around on busy days? Reduce the time you're spending switching back and forth between windows as well as the number of leads you're losing by integrating your call tracking and CRM applications.

Or maybe you're struggling to keep up with repetitive customer calls to remind them of an upcoming appointment, notify them of a change to their account or even wish them a happy birthday. Use broadcast messaging technology to prerecord the information you want them to know and let the application relay the message for you.

By using technology to your advantage, getting that task list checked off will be less of a nightmare.

What techniques do you use to create more time in your busy work schedule? Let us know in the comments.

Three Ways to Improve Your Workplace Time Management Skills: Part 2 of 3

Hopefully, you took our advice in part one of this blog series (experiment to find the right schedule) to increase your efficiency throughout the day. But if somehow the to-do pile on your desk has only partially subsided, we have another tip for you: Ask for help!

Delegate Your Tasks

Work tasks can be utterly overwhelming. People who have been successful in their field know that you don't have to do everything on your own. Realistically, if you have more tasks than you can take on, you'll need to rely on others for support.

Closing leadership skill gaps is the main priority for 58 percent of organizations. But 25 percent of organizations say that less than 10 percent of critical leadership roles have ready successors. A key characteristic managers look for when considering promoting an employee is their ability to delegate, which reiterates the importance of this skill in advancing in the workplace.

How can you delegate more successfully?

• Start out by communicating openly with your teammates. Ask them for help with small tasks and eventually work up to delegating bigger projects.
• Don't be afraid to give feedback or teach new skills if your teammates aren't performing up to your company's standards.
• Set a deadline for the due date so you have time to make any last minute adjustments to the delegated projects.
• Return the favor your coworkers helped you out when you were on a time crunch. Later, they might be in the same boat. What can you do for them?

Before you know it, you'll have enough time in your schedule to tackle that expansive to-do list. What tasks can you delegate to increase your productivity?

Three Ways to Improve Your Workplace Time Management Skills: Part 1 of 3

The work phones have been ringing off the hook all day, and there aren't enough team members to answer all the calls. There are 200-plus emails piling up in your queue. You have several prospects to enter into your CRM and several more to follow up with. The to-do list on your desk is so long it now has chapters. Not to mention, your personal cell phone is buzzing nonstop. You're scared you won't hit quota for Q2, simply because you don't have enough time.

Modern-day Americans are forced to multitask due to a lack of time. But only 2 percent of people can actually multitask effectively. In fact, experts believe multitasking leads to a 40 percent loss of productivity.

So what can be done to finally check all those boxes off your list of things to do while avoiding multitasking? In this three-part series, we'll give you some helpful tips on creating more time in your day. Our first tip is to get into a productive routine.

Experiment to Find the Right Routine

The average desk job employee wastes 2.1 hours a day. Whether that's checking their cell phone, grabbing coffee, talking to a nearby coworker or simply deciding which task to tackle next, 2.1 hours a day equals an alarming 546 hours a year. That's almost an entire month of time! 

We agree hardworking employees deserve to give themselves small breaks to reduce the effects that come from overworking, such as burnout, but there must be limits. Need to grab a coffee and reply to an urgent text? Delegate a few five-minute time frames and write them down on your schedule. During these allotted time periods, tackle small tasks like getting that coffee fix or swinging by a coworker's cubicle to chat. You should set aside time to get those things out of your system so you can focus on having a productive day. 

Learning to schedule your tasks more efficiently takes a little more practice, and your schedule will depend on your unique tasks.

We made this list as a helpful starting point:

• Use "batching," which is simply working on related tasks together.
• Prioritize your to-do list by importance, and keep it clearly visible.
• Reward yourself with incentives after completing tasks.

Once you find the most beneficial way to organize your workday, stick to your schedule for maximum productivity.

What have you done to find the perfect schedule?

The Age of Instant Gratification: How to Manage Customer Service Expectations

Instant gratification, the desire to experience fulfillment without delay, has taken hold of our 21st-century expectations and shows no sign of easing its grip. We want what want, and we want it now.

We've traded Blockbuster and DVDs for instant streaming through Netflix and Hulu — why wait a moment longer to watch your show when you can binge watch it right now? We've traded the art of communicating with others for a quick scroll down their Instagram timeline. We've traded walking the aisles of the grocery store for grabbing curbside pickup instantly and heading home to get back on Netflix and Instagram.

Our society has forgotten what it feels like to wait for something. Follow the tips below to enhance customer satisfaction in the age of dying patience.

Make Mobile Seamless and Hassle Free

Approximately 95 percent of Americans have cell phones, and on average, we're checking them 80 times a day. If we went to your website right now, how easy would it be for us to call you immediately? Would we have to search for your phone number? Would we have to type it out on those tiny smartphone buttons?

Regardless of the size of your company, it's more important than ever that you make the mobile experience as seamless as possible. Consider implementing clickable numbers that will let prospects instantly call you with the click of a button. Now your competition will be frustrated instead of your customers.

Contact Leads Quickly

A study from MIT found that if a rep waits 30 minutes to call a prospect who submitted a web page form, the rep is 100 times less likely to make contact. If the rep waits five hours, the odds drop by 3,000 times. The longer your staff waits to get in contact with prospects, the more potential sales you're losing out on.

How can you ensure your staff isn't missing inquiries from interested customers? Should you just make them hit refresh on their emails every 30 seconds? We don't think so! There a much easier answer to end this problem: a solution that empowers your employees to respond to webs form submissions in a timely manner. When a prospect submits a form, the application calls the next available rep in a round robin rotation to guarantee the lead is contacted. Once an agent is reached, text-to-speech technology converts the text of the web submission into a recording. After listening to the recordings, the rep can then place a call to the customer. This saves your reps the hassle and wasted time of digging through emails to respond to potential leads.

Make the Purchasing Process Easy

Back in 2000, the process of buying an item online was as follows: Take an absurd amount of time out of your day to connect to the internet through dial-up. Once it finally connects, access your favorite retailer’s website and check out with shipping options (like seven business days at the earliest for around $10). Patiently wait a week or longer for the item to arrive.

The process of buying an item online in 2018 is as follows: Simply pull out your smartphone, search for an item on Amazon, check out via your Prime account for free shipping and find it on your doorstep within 48 hours — sometimes even sooner.

Whether or not you’re in the retail biz, customers’ experiences with retailers shape how they view their experiences with other companies. Your customers expect a high-speed quality service experience. If they’re ready to sign the dotted line and give you their money, give them your full attention and do everything in your power to close the sale ASAP.

What steps have you taken to satisfy the demanding expectations of today’s customer base? Let us know in the comments.

Help Your Customer Service Team Put on a Great Show

Jumping through hoops, lying on a bed of nails, fire eating, sword swallowing, lion taming. Is this just a list of entertaining circus acts? Or is it how your customer service team members describe their experiences dealing with challenging customer phone calls?

P.T. Barnum, the inventor of the circus himself, said, "The noblest art is that of making others happy." Your customer service team should be channeling this motto every day — even on those difficult calls. By the year 2020, customer service will surpass product and price as a key differentiator for your company, meaning exceptional customer service isn't optional anymore. It's a requirement.

So how can you ensure your team will always go above and beyond?

Make Happiness Their Job

The circus wouldn't be the circus without the clumsy, fun-loving clowns who thrive on others' laughter. Their main goal is to entertain the audience at their own expense. While some customers might be easy to please, there will always be some that are a "tough crowd." If the audience isn't clowning around, do you think the clown just gives up?

Of course not! Like handling a tough audience, managing frustrated customers can be quite challenging, but it is possible as long as your staff feels the customer (or audience) out and then does their best to help. Ensure they're polite, asking questions, listening intently and doing everything in their power to come up with a solution.

Teach Them the Differences in What Your Company Can Offer

What makes the circus so thrilling? Back in the day, people use to come from miles around because they heard tantalizing rumors of the unknown. A dog man? A bearded lady? Circus employees were experts on being different, and their audience flocked to them to learn more.

In the same way, ensure your staff is knowledgeable about what makes your products different, what your customers need, and how trends are changing in the industry. Eight-four percent of customers are frustrated when the service agent doesn't have helpful information. To avoid customer frustration, it's important to continually train your employees so they feel prepared to answer any questions your customers may have.

Provide Them With the Right Tools

A clown without a nose. A trapeze artist without a trapeze. A magician without a magic hat. What do these things have in common? These performers are crucial components to the circus, but without the proper tools, they can't perform their jobs and the audience won't be pleased.

What tools are your customer service team missing? Whether it's a CRM application to easily store and contact prospects, an easy-to-use outbound calling feature or even hiring more coworkers to reduce the amount of missed calls, identifying and fixing problems your staff may be having will benefit both them and your customers.

Need more inspiration on how to improve your team's service? We've rounded up the best customer service stories from 2017.

How to Fix Three Simple Blogging Mistakes That Cost You Readers

Blogs are a great way to publish dealership-branded content online without overwhelming potential customers with the same old advertisements for incredible one-day-only deals. Regular and insightful posts on your dealership's blog can help you engage customers and become a trusted source of useful car information long before those customers are ready to buy a car.

Of course, if you already operate a blog for your dealership and you're frustrated by the lack of an obvious ROI, you might be unknowingly making mistakes that are keeping you from becoming that trusted source for your customers and sending them clicking elsewhere.

Routine errors and typos, posting too much (or too little) or even a lack of simplicity can turn off readers, keeping your traffic numbers low and leaving your engagement levels lower. Here are some ways you can remedy those issues and make the time you invest into blogging worth it.

Reduce Your Errors

Everybody that contributes to your dealership's blog should be putting a lot of effort into making sure the content is correct. Are you making suggestions for how to winterize a car? Don't mess up and tell them to put heavyweight oil in their car! Recommending the "Penny Test" for checking tire tread depth? The tread shouldn't be as thin as a penny. It should overlap Lincoln's head! Obviously, you need to verify that your advice is accurate.

However, even great advice can be overlooked if your posts are littered with typos and spelling mistakes. A comments section filled with quips like "OMG! EDIT MUCH?" and "Who edits this thing?" isn't a good form of engagement. Make sure every post is read multiple times by several people in the dealership before you publish it. If your options for editors are limited, give your brain a break after writing a post and review it again a day or two later. After reviewing it with fresh eyes, it should be ready to post.

Strike the Right Frequency

So you started a blog for your dealership and you were really excited about the possibilities. You had a ton of ideas for content and you've been churning them out as fast as you can. Maybe tap the brakes there, Dale. It's great that you have a lot of ideas, but do your customers really want to be bombarded with all of that fresh, new and awesome content all the time?

In theory, frequent and fresh content will help you move up Google's rankings, making it easier for interested customers to come across your blog and maybe even get a viral hit. But viral spikes are only temporary. Long-lasting and meaningful traffic is built by being an authority on what you write. Investing time in writing good, error-free content is more important than a splurge of short posts that hinge on the flavor of the day.

Keep It Simple

Cars are complex. From the sales process to even basic maintenance, it can be easy for somebody in the industry (like you) to forget who you're writing for and slip into using dealership jargon. I know you want to be helpful and give your readers information that they'll find interesting, but not all of your readers will understand complex descriptions of complex practices. Readers won't bother coming back if they can't relate to or understand what you're writing about.

You need to know your audience and keep your writing simple. I'm not telling you to water down your ideas, but try to use relatable metaphors that make a confusing idea sound a bit simpler. For example, explaining the reasons why older cars should be warmed up prior to driving in cold weather can sound boring when you start breaking down oil viscosity numbers. Instead, compare the practice to stretching before exercising.

If you're having a hard time understanding your target audience or knowing if your blog efforts are really generating leads, you need to look into a way to track your lead sources. Have you seen your lead traffic bloom after adjusting your blogging habits? What approach did you change? Let us know in the comments.