26 Ways to Use Recorded Calls at Your Business

One of the many features that makes LogMyCalls such a powerful tool is call recording. LogMyCalls can record every customer call at your business. But, how could a business use recorded calls? Here are SOME answers: 

1. Get Answers – Your numbers aren’t improving. Your rep sare working hard, they’re on the phone constantly, but nothing’s getting better. Do you know why?
2. Increased Accountability – Tracking sheets and close rates are one thing, actually hearing how your staff sounds on the phone (and allowing them and maybe even their colleagues to hear it) is quite another. You can’t hide from or make excuses for a recorded conversation.
3. Training – Play the calls back for the employee and use those calls to get better. What did your employee do well? How can they improve?
4. Compliance – Ensure that your reps are not misstating company policy or procedure when they’re on the phone.
5. Company Focus – Determine if your employees are effectively communicating what your company is all about. What is your 'big idea?' Do your employees understand that and convey that well? The only way to know for sure is to hear them try to communicate it to an actual customer.
6. Support for Employees – If a customer has a major dispute with an employee or with the company; guess what? The conversation in question is recorded and easily accessible.
7. Teaching Tool – Use the recorded calls in group settings, team meetings and conference calls to demonstrate what to do and what not to do.
8. Feedback in Real-Time – Forget the customer survey. Hear your how your customers react to things your employees say in real-time. Listen to changes in tone and words to gauge how your customers are reacting to your products and services.
9. Unfiltered Feedback – Hear feedback straight from the horse’s mouth. You have the recording when they called to complain. What were they really upset about?
10. Trends – Using our state-of-the–art analytics tools you can data-mine into calls themselves. You can see which reps are closing more calls. You can see why they’re not closing calls. You can even see which elements of the calls are going well and which are not.
11. Competitor Mentions – With LogMyCall's customizable, searchable call tagging features you can dig into the recorded calls and easily find out if your customer is comparing you to competitors and, if so, on what grounds. Are they saying that their pricing is better? Or find out how the customer is using your competitor’s name in the phone call
12. Product Mentions – Ensure your staff is pitching the right products to the right people at the right time. Are they mentioning the special of the month or the week?
13. Understanding Objections – Why aren’t people buying from you? Using LogMyCall's in-depth analytical tools you can isolate calls when the sale didn’t close, and then figure out why it didn’t close. Perhaps there is a pattern to the objections?
14. Upsell – You can isolate calls where you were able upsell a client. Is there a pattern? Why are these calls more successful?
15. Close More Calls - Isolate calls where there was a closed sale. Are those reps doing anything different? Why did those calls close and others didn’t? You can search the data and easily, in moments, find out.
16. Operational Issues – Based on what the client and your sales rep says you can determine what operational or technical issues are recurring (and again, all this is searchable).
17. Questions on a Call – Are your sales reps asking questions on the call? Are they trying to build a relationship? Or are they just talking?
18. Marketing ROI – You can not only see which ad sources are effective (using LogMyCalls tracking numbers) but with the recordings you can hear from the customer why they are effective.
19. When Did They Call – Using basic reports in LogMyCalls you can tell when someone called, see patterns in the time of day, day of week and time of month. When is marketing most effective for you?
20. Where Did They Call From? – So someone say your ad, where did they see it? Determine if there are certain areas of your market where certain marketing tools are more effective.
21. Advertising – You record your customer service calls. This makes you different! This means you can guarantee an employee has to say ‘have a great day’ or offer a specific discount in every call. If they don’t the customer gets a free _______. Advertise that! Advertise that you will hold your employees accountable because you record the calls.
22. Saves Time – There is no need to go back through notes from a conference call or sales call again. Heck, there’s no need to take notes in conference calls or sales calls anymore, you have the call right on your computer. (And LogMyCalls appends the calls directly to a customer record in your CRM).
23. Maintain a High Level of Customer Service - Randomly audit calls. Hold your employees accountable if they aren’t treating your customers well enough.
24. Scoring – Based on industry best practices (or whatever you want to measure) you can score a call for it's effectiveness. We can score the calls for you or you can score them yourself within LogMyCalls. You can score individual elements and sections of a phone call.
25. Call Analytics - Drill down into any data you want. Find out which reps are scoring better than others. Compare reps against each other. Compare locations or departments or against each other. See who's struggling and who's doing well.
26. Hear What Your Customers Hear - What do your reps sound like to them. They're the reason you're in business right? Shouldn't you know what they are hearing?

Every NGA member can receive a FREE 1-year subscription to LogMyCalls.com!* LogMyCalls is a tool created by ContactPoint with the glass industry in mind. It allows businesses to track which marketing methods are generating phone calls and which are not. It also records calls and allows businesses to score calls on customer service and sales performance.  To sign up for your free LogMyCalls account visit logmycalls.com/nga or contact Jimmy Lea, sales@contactpoint.com, 866-811-8880.

*The account is totally FREE for 1 year, but you will be asked for a credit card number during sign up. This is in case you go over the 150 minutes allotted, you will be charged up to 6 cents a minute. You may cancel at any time. Only NGA members who are Main Locations qualify for this offer.

What’s the Deal With This FREE NGA LogMyCalls Account?

Perhaps, you are aware by now that all NGA members are receiving a FREE LogMyCalls.com account and free phone number*. You get this free account simply because you are an NGA member. LogMyCalls allows you to track the effectiveness of your marketing, determine which marketing methods generate phone calls, and then actually listen to the calls that come into your business. You can hear how you sound on the phone, hear how your employees handle calls and hear real-time customer feedback.
 
What Do You Get? 

• A FREE toll free phone number or local number with 150 recording minutes
• Vital marketing data that shows you which campaigns are generating phone calls and which are wasting your time and money.
• Free call recording to gauge customer feedback in real-time and improve your ability to sell and book appointments over the phone.
• Advanced Call Routing – This feature allows you to take business calls at home, or on a cell phone, during the evening and on weekends. Additionally, if you have multiple locations you can automatically route callers to the location nearest them. (Cool, huh.)

The most important things you should know:

1. Your new phone number sends calls directly to your business phone number. You specify during sign up where you want new number to ring to.
2. You have to market your number to utilize LogMyCalls. You won’t see any value from LogMyCalls and this free NGA program if you don’t market the phone number. There won’t be any calls within LogMyCalls.com to measure, to record or to route. You could put the phone number on your website, on your fliers, on your Facebook page, on the radio, in the yellow pages or, especially, on your Google Places account. You have to get the number out there where people will call it.
3. This is normally a $29 a month package that you are getting for free for 12 months. This is a gigantic value-add for your NGA members. We hope you will take advantage of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

As we’ve rolled out this FREE NGA LogMyCalls account to our members we’ve had a lot of questions about the account, how it works and what it means for members. Here are some of our questions and the answers.

Is it really free? Yes it is really free for 12 months. The features listed above are totally free for NGA members for 12 months.

Where do I go to Sign Up? Visit http://logmycalls.com/nga or call 866-811-8880 if you have any questions.

What Do I Need To Do? You need to market your free phone number. If no one calls your new number, it won’t do you any good. You need to market your number before you can measure you marketing and hear your recorded calls.

How can I upgrade? If you want more features like call scoring, marketing planning and ROI goals, or if you need more numbers or more minutes to truly track various marketing methods and record more calls just call LogMyCalls at 866-811-8880 or visit http://www.LogMyCalls.com.


*The account is totally FREE for 1 year, but you will be asked for a credit card number during sign up. This is in case you go over the 150 minutes allotted, you will be charged up to 6 cents a minute. You may cancel at any time. Only NGA members who are Main Locations qualify for this offer.

Vos Glass is NGA Member of the Month

Vos Glass, Inc. Knows the Value of Active Participation and Continuous Learning

Vos Glass, Inc. was founded in 1982 by my parents, Jake and Barb Vos, with partners John Merryweather and Nelson Veltman. That same year their fledgling company joined the National Glass Association and the Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc., West Michigan Chapter. They recognized that active participation in trade associations would be helpful to the firm.

During the past thirty years, Vos Glass, Inc. has expanded from commercial projects to offer residential and automotive glass. Our company continues a journey that has always been rewarding, taking us to new levels of achievement and expertise. Participation in trade associations is an important part of our story.

In the early 90s, I believed it was necessary to rally the glass companies in Michigan to tackle issues that faced the industry, specifically pertaining to automotive glass. These actions led to the formation of the Michigan Glass Association (MGA).

At that time, automotive insurance companies imposed restrictions limiting where customers could go for auto glass and collision repairs. This was a key issue for auto glass service providers and body shops and it left customers with a narrow range of options. In 1994, with the help of the MGA, I began a ten-year campaign for state legislation that would ban this practice. Our efforts were rewarded in 2004, when Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the bill into law.

This is an example of the power of a trade association to represent and advocate on behalf of its membership. Working with the MGA, I had far greater impact than I would have had as an individual from a single small business. A strong trade association represents its members to legislators and policy makers. By uniting the voices of the industry, it can accomplish much more than any one person or company.

Trade associations also:

• Represent their members to the public, speaking for the industry about relevant events or emerging trends.
• Enhance the perception of your company as an established, reputable organization, and give you and your staff credibility as professionals who know their stuff.
• Offer you the opportunity to network with and learn from fellow members.
• Open the door to professional development. 

The glass business is increasingly complex, so trade associations help us keep up with the latest developments, legal issues, bidding, new construction techniques and materials, legislation, and business issues. In addition, another organization we are active with, American Subcontactors Association of Michigan (ASAM), hosts an annual Business Practice Interchange, where we have discussions, led by experts, about topics that are of vital interest. 

At Vos Glass, we never stop learning. Our employees receive ongoing education to ensure that every person can bring top-of-the-line skills to his or her job. Our many awards for safety attest to our commitment to a carefully planned program of safety training.  

Trade associations also open up ways to give back to your community and your industry. We’ve recently become involved in ASAM’s Hard Hat Development, an initiative designed to train the next generation of construction workers.  

Linda J. Vos-Graham, president, Vos Glass, Inc.

4 Ways to Lose a Lead

As we prepare to launch LogMyCalls we are reaching out to various outlets to discuss marketing and advertising opportunities. We are focused on reaching out to marketers and are looking for outlets that can easily get us in front of the correct audiences. Long story short: we are looking to spend money. We want someone to sell advertising to us.

In some cases thought, stunningly, that isn't happening. In one case we have made a decision about moving forward and are ready to buy but a sales person won't respond to my emails. Now, I'm second-guessing whether to advertise through this outlet at all. Here's how they lost a lead (us) in 4 steps.

1. They were very slow to respond. I emailed the sales manager of a large marketing publication indicating my interest in buying advertising from them. I sent the email early one morning. I didn't receive a response until the following day. It almost seemed like they weren't interested in talking.
2. Assumed I wasn't interested. When I finally spoke to the sales rep she made a false assumption. She had viewed our corporate website (which brands us a Sales Training company) and assumed I was mistaken when I reached out to her. I wasn't. She failed to look at LogMyCalls.com which firmly positions us as a marketing analytics and technology company. Because she made an assumption, she could have lost the sale before she had a chance to make it.
3. Shot me down. After we talked about their products and pricing I asked if there were volume discounts (i.e. if we bought a lot of advertising would that lower the price). I was told unequivocally that, no, there weren't volume discounts. There was no negotiation, no 'I'll check with my boss' or 'I'll see what I can do.' There was a flat 'no.' That annoyed me.
4. Failure fo Follow-Up. I sent an email on Friday morning saying that we were interested in moving forward. It is now Monday afternoon and I still haven't received a reply.

Is she trying to lose the lead?

 

ContactPoint NGA WDDA

NGA Webinars Have Value: Marketing

Frank Reed, Managing Editor of leading Internet marketing blog, Marketing Pilgrim, led a webinar for NGA members early this month.  This webinar was free to all members. Frank went over the basics of social media for local business and ave an overview of the social media landscape including Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and location based services like Foursquare.

NGA members can view Frank's session anytime! And can attend the NGA member webinar series for free. https://www.glass.org/education-training-webinars.html

• If you would like to watch the Social Media webinar, click here and enter the password ngamember.
• If you want to learn more from Frank, you can download his July 2011 webinar: Maximize Your Local Marketing Efforts with Google Places. Click here and enter the password ngamember to download the recording.

Visit www.glass.org/education-training-webinars.html to view a webinar schedule. These webinars and are only available to NGA members. Webinars are just one of the benefits you get by being an NGA member. Learn more about your NGA membership benefits.

NGA Members Receive 1-Year FREE LogMyCalls Account

NGA is excited to announce a partnership with ContactPoint, to offer every NGA member a FREE
1-year subscription to LogMyCalls.com and a FREE local or toll free phone number. An account of this nature is normally $29 a month, but all NGA members will receive it for free for 12 months*. To sign up visit http://logmycalls.com/nga.
 
LogMyCalls is a tool that allows NGA members to track which marketing methods are generating phone calls and, conversely, which are wasting money. LogMyCalls also records the calls and then allows NGA members to listen to the calls, just by logging in.
 
What You Get With Your FREE NGA LogMyCalls Account:  

• FREE 1-year subscription to LogMyCalls.com
• FREE local or toll free phone number with 150 recording minutes
• Vital marketing data that shows you which campaigns are generating phone calls and which are wasting your time and money.
• FREE Call Recording to gauge customer feedback in real-time and improve your ability to sell and book appointments over the phone.
• FREE Advanced Call Routing – This feature allows you to take business calls at home, or on a cell phone, during the evening and on weekends. Additionally, if you have multiple locations you can automatically route callers to the location nearest them.

To sign up, you simply visit http://logmycalls.com/nga. This is a sanctioned NGA website created exclusively for you.  If you have questions just call 866-811-8880.

*The account is totally FREE for 1 year, but you will be asked for a credit card number during sign up. This is in case you go over the 150 minutes allotted, you will be charged up to 6 cents a minute. You may cancel at any time. Only NGA members who are Main Locations qualify for this offer.

Harness the power of earned media

It's harder than ever to break through the competitive clutter.  Traditional advertising is becoming more and more expensive, and less and less effective.

Many companies have learned that a sophisticated public relations campaign -- designed to generate news coverage of their people, their company and their products and services -- can provide a much bigger bang for their buck than advertising.  Positive PR can give a needed boost to your next product launch, generate new customer leads, increase your top-of-mind awareness and dramatically improve your search engine visibility. 

Champion Management specializes in providing marketing and public relations support to small- and mid-sized businesses that don't have the internal expertise or resources to do it themselves. Champion has designed a package of public relations services exclusively for WDDA and NGA members. We can also customize services to address your unique market challenges, starting with a strategic assessment of your marketing/public relations approach. All consulting services will be discounted at least 25% for NGA and WDDA members.

Contact us to get started today, and be sure to tell us you're an NGA or WDDA member for your special rate.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Ladd Biro, President
Champion Management WDDA  NGA
lbiro@championmgt.com
972/930-9933

News & Links for March 2012

Here's what's happening with the NGA and WDDA this month.

1. Lee & Cates is NGA’s March 2012 Member of the Month!
2. NGA is now offering free training to veterans on MyGlassClass.com.  All NGA member companies qualify.
3. Sign up to exhibit for GlassBuild America!  View 2012 floor plan and Exhibitor list or learn more in the Road to GlassBuild America.
4. What is Call Tracking? NGA and ContactPoint are announcing LogMyCalls for NGA members next week.  Watch your inbox for details!
5. All new NGA members in 2012 qualify for a free subscription to MyGlassClass.com! Take advantage of either Auto Glass or Glass Installer training - a $350.00 value! 
6. Check out the NGA blog for tips and tricks for your business: High Expectations for Strategic Plans
7. Upcoming NGA Chapter Events: Glass Texpo April 12-13, Glass Day New England April 27, and Mid-Atlantic Glass Association’s Glass Expo May 2.
8. Nominations for the Glass Magazine Awards: The People, Products and Projects are due April 16. 
9. Free Member Webinar April 2, 2012 on Transportation Costs & Shipping with UPS. Sign up today!
10. Welcome new NGA members!
11. Evotech Industrial Coatings, Infinity from Marvin to Sponsor 2012 Window & Door Dealers Forum.
12. Beacon Windows is WDDA’s March 2012 Member of the Month.
13. Window & Door’s Dealer Perspective: Benchmarking for Success.
14. Senate Bill Would Pare Back LRRP Rule.
15. FTC Reaches Settlement with Five Window Sellers.
16. Attend the Window & Door Dealers Forum and you can participate in WDDA benchmarking for free!  Early bird registration starts May 1!
17. Better customer service can help you save.  Here are 4 ways you can lose a sale.
18. Train your staff with industry best training on MyWindowClass.com.Welcome new WDDA and NGA members!

High Expectations for Strategic Plans

In establishing Action Plans with employees make sure to guard against ones that are expected of them in the normal course of doing their jobs. Here are some examples:

• 100% to Sales Plan is Expected
• 100% to Profit Plan is Expected
• Living within Budget should be a Given
• Good Quality is Expected
• Good Customer Service is Expected

Rather than establishing Action Plans that are expected, establish Action Plans that make it happen. For example:

• Meet face-to-face with general contractors after bidding projects. (That will increase sales.)
• Identify cost savings in my job. (That will contribute to living within budget.)

Both the employee and manager should have high expectations about completing Action Plans. Here are some guidelines on making it happen:

• Added Initiative may be Necessary
• Make Action Plans Challenging
• Avoid Setting “Artificial” Action Plans 
• Think Positively
• Talk Positively
• Make it Known that Results Count
• Have High Expectations for Yourself and Employees
• Have High Expectations for Completing Action Plans

Interesting in learning more about strategic planning? Contact me at rdvoreis@mindspring.com.  You can also view the presentaiton I recently gave for NGA members:  Management System Self-Evaluation Seminar.

 

Richard Vories
Consulting Collaborative

What is Call Tracking?

At its most basic level, call tracking tells an organization which marketing methods and advertising campaigns are generating phone calls, and which aren’t.

Many businesses market and then hope…maybe assume, that their marketing is working. But they simply don’t know which advertising campaigns, or which forms of marketing, are generating phone calls. They don’t know if potential customers are calling because they found a listing on Google, if they’re calling because they got a flier in the mail, clicked on an Internet banner ad or because they heard an ad on the radio. They just don’t know which form of advertising generated that phone call.

Call tracking allows businesses to know that information for sure, and stop wasting money on marketing that isn’t working.

Well, let’s look at the most basic exampleof how call tracking works. You’re a medium sized business. You do occasional direct mail ads, you do radio commercials, you are listed on an online directory, you do banner ads online and you have a Google PPC campaign.

LogMyCalls assigns a unique phone number to each of those elements and then shows you which phone numbers are generating phone calls and which are not. There is no tracking ‘code’ to enter after the call is connected, or coupon to bring in to the store. You put tracking phone numbers (available on LogMyCalls.com) on various pieces of marketing and advertising and then, wait and see what’s working and what isn’t. And all NGA members can sign up for LogMyCalls for Free!

To be frank, if you’re not tracking your marketing in this way, you are almost certainly wasting money.
If you’ve ever received a call from a potential customer or a current customer—ever—you could benefit from call tracking. Some of your marketing spending is going to waste, you just don’t know it. LogMyCalls will show you exactly what is working and what isn’t. Let me be clear: you are wasting money if you don’t know where your calls are coming from.

LogMyCalls is replete with charts and graphs and lists that show you which tracking numbers (thus, which marketing campaigns) are generating phone calls. You can see full caller ID information, the time of day people are calling, peak call times, peak call days, average call length, total calls, missed calls, repeat callers and unique callers. You can even see how many calls you are generating from each zip code, area code and state.

Here are features of LogMyCalls—in addition to the standard call tracking stuff I mentioned above—that will change the way you market and save you money. It’s that simple.

1. Call Recording – LogMyCalls records every call that comes into your business. How You Could Use It – You can use call recording to gather real-time customer feedback, hold employees accountable, improve customer service, improve sales skills and performance, and gather valuable marketing data.
2. Call Tagging – In addition to recording calls, LogMyCalls allows you to tag (label) calls based on marketing lead quality. For example, if a caller is just interested in checking price or getting information but isn’t very interested in buying, you could tag the call ‘cold lead’ or ‘far away from sale.’ Tag it anything you want. Later you can group calls and sort them based on the tags. How You Could Use It – Let’s say that one tracking number associated with a direct mail coupon is generating 77% of your phone calls. That’s great! But then you start tagging your calls and you notice that only 2% of those calls are actually hot leads. The rest are garbage. This information tells you that, perhaps, this great direct mail ad that is generating 77% of your phone calls is not so hot afterall. The leads that come through the number stink!
3. Lead Scoring – LogMyCalls also allows you to score every call on specific criteria that you choose to measure lead quality. How You Could Use It - You can measure whether or not the person is ready to buy in 30 days, whether they have the money to buy now, or if they are just gathering information. LogMyCalls will show you these scores for each tracking number so you can know precisely which advertising campaigns and marketing methods are generating high quality leads and which aren’t.
4. Goals and Alerts – LogMyCalls allows you to set goals for campaign ROI and even individual call value. How You Could Use It – Set a goal to make a certain amount of money from a specific ad campaign. Or set a goal to close a certain number of calls from a certain campaign. LogMyCalls will track this for you and even alert you via email or text message when your deadline is approaching or when your goal has been met. Talk about holding your advertising accountable! You’ll never waste another penny on advertising that doesn’t work!

Find out more about the NGA and ContactPoint. To sign up for your free LogMyCalls account visit logmycalls.com/nga or contact Jimmy Lea, sales@contactpoint.com, 866-811-8880.

Lee & Cates Glass is NGA's Member of the Month

Lee & Cates Glass was founded in 1926 by the brother-in-law combination of Thomas Lee and Raymond Cates. We are celebrating our 86th year in business this year with many fourth generation individuals involved in the operation of the business. We currently have fourteen retail locations providing a full service product line of auto glass, residential glass & mirror products, and commercial replacement and repair. Along with the retail centers we operate a central mobile auto glass division, a commercial glazing division, and a flat glass fabrication plant serving that all serve the Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia markets.

Our involvement in the National Glass Association goes back as far as I can remember. My guess is some 50 years or so. I readily remember my father attending the glass association national meetings in such glamorous locations as Detroit, Michigan. My father’s active involvement in the association was a precursor to my getting heavily involved including a stint on national board of directors. The NGA offers a tremendous line of products and services to member glass companies along with the annual trade show now called Glassbuild.

All the good programs aside my biggest gain out of the association has to be the friendships and contacts I have made along the way. The ability to call a friend in Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and many other states is invaluable not only as business confidants but friends as well. We all have the same issues it is just a different magnitude depending on the sizes of our markets and businesses. Conversations may have lengthy time spans in between but when they occur it is with the knowledge that we are trying to give one another quality feedback. This not only helps me professionally but more importantly keeping my personal life in check. With this roller coaster of an economy and all its happenings a faith in God along with good friends and family will get you through times that are not for the squeamish.

Tom Lee, III
Lee & Cates Glass40 Year NGA Memberwww.leeandcates.com

4 Ways to Lose the Sale

After listening to millions of minutes of sales calls, and working with hundreds of clients over the past 11 years, we’ve heard pretty much every way imaginable someone could lose a sale. There are hundreds—maybe thousands of ways—to lose a sale. Here are four:

1. Failure to Ask Questions
   
   Many sales reps simply talk too much and ask too few questions. They launch right into a sales pitch without first learning anything about what the client does or how the client does it. There are instances when talking is appropriate. Certainly there is a point in each sales interaction when you have to sell your product, explain its features and benefits and close the deal. But you shouldn’t just launch into a sales pitch without first learning what your client needs and how to meet those needs. You can’t learn either of those things without asking a bunch of questions first. Failing to ask questions on an initial sales call is one surefire way to lose a sale.
   
   One more point about asking questions: most people in sales positions understand that asking questions during the sales call is a major key to success. However, too few people are willing to ask direct questions during follow-up calls and emails. They fail to ask questions later in the sales process. Here’s an example: a prospect is talking in vague terms and rambling on about their future plans and budgets and problems. Don’t be afraid to ask direct questions about their interest level and their timetable.
   
   Ask questions throughout the entire sales process.
    
2. Failure to Be Direct
   
   Being direct is often confused with being overbearing. I’ll give you an example of what I’m talking about.
   
   The other day I was on the phone with a potential partner. I had asked some questions and determined their needs and I had given a ‘pitch’ about our new product, LogMyCalls. The potential partner started talking in broad, sweeping generalities about their industry and some of their partners in the past. He started using corporate buzzwords like ‘leverage’ and ‘scalable.’ I could sense from his response that he wasn’t terribly interested in the product, but either didn’t want to say it or didn’t know how to say it.

   So I interrupted and just asked, “So are you interested in a potential partnership.”
   “Well, there are circumstances that are….(blah, blah, blah),” he said for another 10 minutes.
   “Look I don’t want to waste your time or ours,” I said. “Are you interested?”
   “No, not at all,” he replied.
   I responded politely and the conversation ended.
   
   

   However, because he was unwilling or unable to simply tell me that he didn’t think it was a good fit, he ended up wasting 30 minutes beating around the bush. These 30 minutes are minutes that I could have used to find new partners. Be direct.
   
   
3. Failure to Take Control
   
   Far too often sales reps don’t take control of the process. I say process because it is widely known that reps should take control of the actual sales call. The rep should lead in asking questions, providing answers and providing context for the conversation. That is widely understood. What is less understood is the absolute necessity for sales reps to lead in the sales process.
   
   What does this mean?
   
   It means that a prospect should never have to ask ‘what are the next steps?’ or ‘what are my options?’ or ‘can you send me more information about x?’ The rep should always be one step ahead and should always lay out the next steps clearly. There should never be any wishy-washing about when the next appointment is, or what the next step is. The rep should be in firm control of the process.
   
   
4. Failure to Follow-Up
   
   The initial sales call went great. The product seems like a good fit. What do you do next? You follow-up! Too many leads fall through the cracks of a sales process far too often. This should never happen. Make sure to follow up with prospects. Be aggressive and don’t forget about them. FREE Sales Training eBook

ContactPoint NGA WDDA

Free Training for Veterans

We are excited to announce a new program for our members: with support from the Coalition to Support America's heroes, we are now offering free online training on MyGlassClass.com to U.S. Military veterans!

I am excited to help members pay for training in this difficult economic climate, and I am even more enthusiastic about assisting our nation's veterans. Education and training is the main tenant of the NGA’s mission, and we are proud to train veterans for a career in our industry.

This free training will help bring glass industry training to veterans as they reenter the workforce. NGA and WDDA member companies can apply for auto glass, flat glass, or window and door training.

MyGlassClass.com was designed for glass industry companies as an affordable resource for improving worker skills, enhancing workplace safety, achieving professional certification, and complying with training requirements. MyGlassClass.com is the glass industry's single-source online training program containing world-class courseware created by leading experts throughout the industry. The 150+ courses include standards and regulations, best practices, product design and selection, performance requirements, and more.

Free training will be available to the first 100 veterans who apply. They must be employed full-time with a WDDA or NGA member.

David Walker
VP of Association Services
dwalker@glass.org

Upcoming NGA and Chapter Events

At the industry's main events, both attendees and exhibitors have the opportunity to learn about the hottest trends, see the latest products and technology, make important contacts, and show their support to the glass and glazing industry.  The NGA and our chapters host events throughout the year.

The NGA Chapters host the following events:

• WGA: New Glass Products March 1, 2012
• Glass TEXpo 2012 April 12-13 2012
• Glass Day New England April 27, 2012
• Mid-Atlantic Glass Association MGA Glass Expo May 2, 2012

The NGA hosts and participates in the following events:

• Auto Glass Week September 20-22, 2012
• GlassBuild America®: The Glass, Window & Door Expo
• BIPV Event September 14, 2012
• Decorative Glass Seminar, September 14 2012
• Glazing Executives Forum September 12, 2012
• Window & Door Dealers Forum September 13, 2012

Check http://www.glass.org/events.html on a regular basis to learn more about our upcoming events.  Is there an event we forgot?  Email it to membership@glass.org.

February 2012 News & Links

News and links for February 2012:

1. Dandoy Glass is NGA’s February 2012 Member of the Month!
2. Forecast: 2012 and beyond.  Industry leaders talk market conditions, growth opportunities, and why it might be 2013-14 before a recovery takes hold.
3. Upcoming NGA Chapter Events: Glass Texpo April 12-13, Glass Day New England April 27, and Mid-Atlantic Glass Association’s Glass Expo May 2.
4. All new NGA members in 2012 qualify for a free subscription to MyGlassClass.com! Take advantage of either Auto Glass or Glass Installer training - a $350.00 value! 
5. Start planning for GlassBuild 2012!  View the 2012 floor plan and Exhibitor list and sign-up to exhibit today!
6. Glass Magazine needs your input! Take the 2012 Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits Survey.
7. Registration is Now Open for Auto Glass Week™ 2012.
8. Free Member Webinar March 5, 2012 on Social Media with Frank Reed, Managing Editor of leading Internet marketing blog, Marketing Pilgrim. Sign up today!
9. Electronic Data Payment Systems has been committed to providing members with honesty, integrity and excellent service since 2008 and understands that choosing the right credit card processing provider is about more than just the lowest rate.
10. Feldco Windows, Siding & Doors is WDDA’s February 2012 Member of the Month.
11. The WDDA welcomes Jim and Jennifer Snyder as the newest members at the 2012 International Builders Show.
12. Connecting with the Connected Home: Consumers will soon demand doors, window and hardware that communicate with and be controlled by smart home systems.
13. WDDA Members Save with Core Health Insurance and Smart Life Insurance.
14. Is it time to upgrade your windows? Energy-efficient models save money and help the environment
15. If you currently accept credit cards, or have thought about implementing a credit card program, the WDDA Credit Card Processing Program can provide you with tremendous savings. 
16. Train your staff with industry best training on MyWindowClass.com.
17. The Talk at Window & Door: Are Doors and Windows Taking on a New Contemporary Style?
18. Welcome new NGA and WDDA members

Keep Action Plans Simple Stupid

There is an old saying of “Keep It Simple Stupid” (KISS) and that applies to establishing Action Plans, too. 

When establishing Action Plans with your employees, verify mutual understanding at the start of the process so there are no misunderstandings.

Also, remember a not so old saying that has application here as well: “Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood.”

If no one can evaluate the Action Plan to clearly know what is being done, then who knows if the results are being achieved? Evaluating progress and completion of Action Plans is essential. 

Make sure everyone knows what to expect from each Action Plan (Employees and Manager).  Another old and wise saying you should remember: “What gets measured gets done!”

Richard Voreis
Consulting Collaborative

The Super Bowl: Keep Fighting

Sports provides a very accurate portrayal of the effort necessary for success. Case in point was the Super Bowl.  FREE - Smart Managers eBook

Six weeks ago the New York Giants were teetering on the edge of destruction. They were fighting just to get in the NFL playoffs. They needed to win almost every game at the end of the regular season just to continue playing.

Fans in New York were openly calling for the head coach, Tom Coughlin, to be fired. He had 'lost his team,' the critics said. He was no longer effective, he was too old and his methods too archaic. There were even rumblings that some New York Giants players were beginning to jump ship and quit on their coach. They felt that his strategies were too boring and that he was too cantankerous. He fined players for being late to meetings, openly berated millionaire athletes in front of the team and appeared generally unhappy.

The players were quitting. The season was slipping away. All seemed lost. But then the tide suddenly turned. There is no 'moment' when things got better. They just sort of did. It happened slowly, almost imperceptibly, but it happened.

The Giants started winning. Their quarterback, Eli Manning, who occasionally shows flashes of brilliance, began playing more consistently. The players were showing emotion and attitude. They were playing like they had something to prove. They were playing like they had a chip on their shoulders. And it paid off.

The Giants rolled into the playoffs after a mediocre 9 - 7 NFL season. They smashed their first opponent. Smashed the league's best team, the Green Bay Packers, in their second game. And then beat a very good 49ers team to get to the Super Bowl. Then in the midst of the most watched TV program in American history, the Giants beat the New England Patriots.

Why did they win? According to their quarterback Eli Manning, the answer is simple: " We never quit. We never stopped fighting."

These are, no doubt, valuable lessons to lean in our lives and in our businesses.

FREE - Smart Managers eBook

ContactPoint NGA WDDA

Dandoy Glass is NGA's Member of the Month

Dandoy Glass Company of Torrance, CA is the NGA's Member of the Month for February! Dandoy Glass has been serving the Torrance area since 1948 and has been an NGA member since 1978.  This is their story:

Dale Dandoy  the founder of Dandoy Glass co. started with one glass truck when he opened the doors on March of 1948.  Dandoy Glass would become the second glass shop in Torrance and the surrounding area.  It also became the largest operation of auto glass installation in So. Calif.  Within 5 years Dale became the youngest president of the Southern California Glass Dealers Association.

As the business grew Dale was forced to retire because of illness so his wife, Phyllis, took over the company.  Dandoy Glass is now evolved in all new construction, custom mirror work and beautiful custom shower enclosures.  No job too big or too small.  After the retirement of Phyllis, the corporation has been under the management of sons Doug and John Dandoy.
Dandoy Glass is committed to supplying their customers with the highest quality in glass and workmanship available.

Congratulations to Dandoy Glass for being our February 2012 Member of the Month!

Together, We Are the Glass Industry

As your association, the NGA strives to continually evolve to support your business needs. We work every day to make sure we offer the programs, services, and information that helps our members run a successful business in the glass industry. In 2012, we are striving to offer our members even more value. Here are just a couple of the services you need to know about: 

• Benchmarking Service: We will be rolling-out a benchmarking service in the Fall. This service will be available to NGA members only.
• Free NGA Webinars: The NGA’s webinar series is designed to help make your business successful. Topics include marketing, customer service, and business strategy. Recordings will be made available so you access – and learn – at your convenience.
• Member Services: More companies than ever before are saving with our members-only services: from shipping discounts, marketing and public relations services, customer service and business consulting, to name a few.
• Online Training: New content is continually added to MyGlassClass.com. All Auto Glass courses were updated in 2011, and all Flat Glass courses will be updated in 2012.
• Publications: Glass Magazine and Window & Door continue to be the best in the industry, and the weekly editions share breaking news and information.
• GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo: This year’s event, September 12-14, 2012 in Las Vegas, includes a world-class line-up of exhibitors and educational programs.

We will be showcasing our programs at events throughout 2012, including at Auto Glass Week and GlassBuild America. Visit www.glass.org to learn more about your NGA membership, or contact us at membership@glass.org if you have feedback that will help us serve you even more. Thank you for your commitment to the NGA.

Together, we are the glass industry.

Review Action Plans Periodically

It’s not too late to establish company Top Priorities and employee Action Plans for 2012. A common mistake is establishing company Top Priorities and employee Action Plans, which are then set aside until the end of the year to see what has been accomplished. By then, it’s too late to do anything about anything!

Do review your Action Plans periodically…..once a year is not enough, quarterly is not too often, set pre-scheduled review dates and conduct personal face-to-face review meetings. 
 
One of the most important guidelines in establishing Action Plans is to strive to make sure the Action Plan states “how” the Action Plan is to be accomplished. By far, this is the best way to make it happen and to ensure success.
 
Remember to ask “how” the Action Plan will be accomplished and incorporate the “how” into the Action Plan, too.

• Action Plans state “how” objectives will be accomplished.
• Don’t assume the approach to accomplishing the Action Plan is obvious.
• A step-by-step approach of saying “how” is always best; especially, with inexperienced employees.

As a suggestion, establish Quarterly Action Plan Review Meetings as a normal course of the firm’s planned activities for the year and pre-schedule the dates at the beginning of each year. If you need assistance, please call on me.

Richard Voreis Consulting Collaborative