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Getting the best possible results during your visits to music retailer call centers
It’s no secret that in recent years, musical instrument e-commerce retailers have grown tremendously. The larger ones have well-developed Contact Centers with varying staff sizes, and most all of them welcome key vendors to provide product training. I can say from first-hand experience as both a vendor trainer and Call Center organizer, this is a prime opportunity to provide serious value to your retail partners. There are several areas that need particular focus to ensure a high-quality day of training and a residual benefit for all parties.
Without question, preparation is fundamental to success in this endeavor. Allocating adequate time to create clear, concise and focused training material is a prerequisite. Most Contact Centers in our musical instrument and pro audio vertical will provide training guidelines in advance, so be sure to tailor your presentation to their specific requirements. You’ll not only make life easier for the Call Center Manager, but will also endear yourself to the sales agents when you deliver the goods as far as quality training.
In most cases, you’ll be training small groups of sales agents, and will be repeating your session several times during the day. It’s important you realize that Contact Centers have service levels to maintain, so they cannot drop everything and take a large number of agents off the phones. This actually works to your benefit, as you can provide more personalized attention in the small group environment and offer an experience that will arm the agents with useful instrument, amplifier or pro audio knowledge. Just be aware that these sessions are typically timed, so rehearse your presentation and stay on track.
It’s critical to impress the participants with your brand, so incorporate the important value propositions and advantages that you as a music product vendor bring to the table. Be focused and to the point, avoiding lengthy speeches. Provide a brief background on yourself, but don’t soak up too much valuable time. The most important thing is to deliver succinct information about the products or range of models being discussed. Don’t bite off too much and attempt to jam a multi-line music brand presentation into what is typically a 45-minute to one-hour time slot.
Ultimately, you’ll want to provide a memorable experience, leaving adequate space for some questions and hands-on gear time. If you can distill your selling message on a particular product down to what’s referred to as an “elevator pitch,” you’ll provide the retail sales agents what they need to succeed.
To recap, it’s best to communicate in advance with the training manager, show up on time and be prepared with a focused presentation. Do this and your training efforts will be both rewarding and a solid investment, and you’ll surely be invited back!
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