What is the definition of a frontline sales representative?

Any team member that interacts with your customers is considered to be on the frontline. This includes face-to-face interactions, phone interactions, and on-line communications.

Why is the frontline important to my business?

In this increasingly competitive market, it is more important than ever for companies to do more than the status quo of merely maintaining business relationships. Business leaders who seek to improve company profit must continually strive to differentiate themselves through the service and sales ability of their frontline.

Imagine what would happen if your frontline sales team was not only genuine, sincere and helpful, but built a good first impression and rapport with your customers, asked the questions they needed to ask to truly understand your customers’ needs, really knew your products and/or services, and built value into what they were selling. The results would be tremendous! New avenues of growth and profit would be created including additional and incremental sales revenue opportunities.

Understand and appreciate the role of your frontline as the vehicle that can transform your bottom-line and you will create the power to generate unprecedented profits!

What do a relaxing Saturday morning, my local Starbucks, neighborhood Walgreens, local gym and barber have in common?

Besides the fact they all play into the delicate balance of my personal vanity and sanity, they are all trying to capture service-based sales opportunities through a frontline sales force. On a recent Saturday morning, each one of these businesses was presented opportunities to enhance my experience and/or increase my initial purchase through their frontline team. Some failed to capitalize on them. With just a few minor changes to some of these presentations all of the businesses would increase their respective ticket averages while enhancing their customer experiences.

On this particular Saturday morning I began my day in the same place millions of other consumers started theirs, by visiting my local Starbucks. Here is a snapshot of my experience, and how it could have easily been much more compelling.

The Presentation/Message:

“Welcome to Starbucks, would you like to enjoy one of our new Soy Strawberries & Cream Frappuccinos today…”

My Response:

“No thank you, I will go with a grande coffee of the day with room for milk, please.” Was I offended? No. Was I informed of a new product that Starbucks undoubtedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars creating and test marketing? Yes.

My Suggestion – FPG Retail Sales Technique:

Always utilize the “Taste and Sell” method for launching a new food or beverage. This technique allows the consumer to enjoy a small piece of the product, creating a small reciprocal obligation and relationship. A more effective approach would have been, “Please enjoy our new Soy Strawberries & Cream Frappuccino.” Always avoid the term sample as it implies the product has very little value.

Once I had enjoyed my morning Starbucks fix I was ready for a visit to my local gym. Here is what I encountered:

The Presentation/Message:

As I went through the front door I swiped my card. The owner greeted me, inquired about my week and my recent travels and casually said, “One more item before you start today, for a difference of only $10 per month on your membership fee, you can use the “Recovery Rack” aqua massage table after every workout. It lets you isolate the body parts you worked out for immediate recovery assistance and we have placed it in a separate, private room. We have received a lot of great feedback on it.”

My Response:

“Sounds good, can I try it today and afterwards add it on?” The owner agreed. Fortunately, I had enough time to try the “Recovery Rack” and was sold. The difference of $10 per month is well worth it and enhances my overall experience at the gym. Plus, I admired the owner’s professional sales message about the “Recovery Rack.” Not only did his message include features and benefits, but he also provided the influence technique of social proof.

My Suggestion – FPG Sales Technique:

The message was effective; however, it would have been even stronger had he led me to ask how much it cost, instead of opening with a price statement.

Now that “My Time” was officially over and the bliss of Starbucks and my gym experience had worn off, it was time to attack the first of many errands of the day. My next stop was Walgreens. After I retrieved everything on my list I moved to the cashier stand.

The Presentation/Message:

“We have our featured product of the month to the left of the register, would you like it?”

My Response:

“No thank you, maybe next time.”

My Suggestion – FPG Sales Technique:

Always avoid passive talk such as, “would you like,” or “do you need.” These are statements that lead to a fast “No” from the consumer and do not allow the product to be adequately featured. As a matter of fact, just 24 hours after being presented with the featured product I cannot even remember what it was because the associate did not place the product name in the opening message. Another missed opportunity.

The next task on my Saturday morning checklist was to get a haircut. I made my way to the normal place – Sports Clips. My sons and I like going to Sports Clips because the staff is friendly, the theme is entirely sports related and you can watch a wide variety of games. They also have a large selection of services and products. The top of the line service is the MVP haircut. In addition to the haircut, it includes a shampoo, hot steam towel, and shoulder and neck massage. It is priced at a 60% premium over a basic haircut.

The Presentation/Message:

After being greeted in a very polite fashion by the store manager, I sat down in the chair and she asked about my additional Saturday plans. After waiting for a few moments to ensure she did not interrupt my answer she confidently said, “The MVP service today…”

My Response:

“Maybe not today, I am running tight on time and I have one more errand to run.”

Second Presentation/Message:

She agreed the entire MVP service might take too long and said, “I understand, so you don’t have to have any hair on your neckline or that itchy feeling, I at least recommend a shampoo for you. You will be more comfortable.”

My Response:

“Okay”

My Suggestion – FPG Sales Technique:

Her ability to drop to a lower priced service while still focusing on my needs was not only impressive, but a fundamental part of service-based sales and delivering outstanding customer service. By opening with the highest service – the MVP – it set the stage for all other secondary purchases. The fact that the shampoo was only a difference of $3.00 did not bother me and was a low enough price point that she did not have to ask if I could afford it.

So as you can see, whether you are a billion dollar corporation, a mom and pop business, or a franchise system there are daily opportunities for you to drive revenue while enhancing your customer experience. The companies that understand these opportunities, embrace the importance of their Frontline Profit Machine, and provide them the necessary resources, incentives and products to succeed will always come out on top, and most importantly, keep their customers coming back.

Ken Stellon - Senior Vice President, Frontline Performance Group

In order to be truly successful companies must strive to reach their full potential, not just improvement.

Compare overall performance to your top performers. Now imagine the behavior of your high flyers becoming the norm in your organization. If you have found a few people who can perform at this level, why not duplicate them across your entire frontline team instead of accepting mediocre or poor performance from the other 90%.

Take a look at the tremendous impact each individual team member has on your revenue and profit. Many business owners and managers are experts when it comes to their P&L statement. However, when it comes to the revenue and profit potential just one of their frontline associates influences each year, they are amazed at what is being left on the table.

Aspire toward your peak potential not your perceived potential, which is artificially bound by the people and processes you have in place now.

Most companies have four to six customer touch points and related sales opportunities.

If you map out all of your customer contact points, you will find that many of them present substantial revenue opportunities, and all of them provide significant service improvement opportunities.

Look at each of your customer contact points and figure out what influence your frontline can have through them.