Robert C. Davis and Associates boosts closes and multi-product sales for major cable provider

Nov. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- Bridgevine, an authorized reseller and customer contact center outsourcing provider for several major cable companies, hired Robert C. Davis and Associates (RCDA - http://www.robertcdavis.net) to conduct a pilot project to evaluate RCDA’s Quality Conversation approach its effectiveness at driving additional sales in digital products and services. By learning, practicing and using the Quality Conversation approach through a combination of intensive classes, role-plays and on-the-job application, Bridgevine’s agents and supervisors achieved truly remarkable results within a very short time. The number of these calls that converted to a sale increased 13 percent. The number of single sales that converted to multi-product sales rose by 14 percent.

“RCDA defines the Quality Conversation as a meaningful and mutually rewarding dialog that occurs when a company’s representative takes and clearly conveys a genuine interest in an individual customer’s wants, interests and needs,” said RCDA president Bob Davis. “It goes beyond building rapport to make an emotional connection and establish real trust. Practicing the Quality Conversation with authenticity and the proper skills shows the customer that the representative truly cares, wants to help, and has not only the desire but also the ability to deliver world-class solutions and service.”

For the pilot project, RCDA trained and coached a group of Bridgevine’s agents and their supervisors on how to have a Quality Conversation with customers who called the center. Many of these calls are typical of the kinds that come in to cable customer contact centers. Customers often call for help with a remote that doesn’t work, to pay a bill, or to ask about the current Internet deal.

Davis described how the customer contact center transformed their calls to meet the definition of the Quality Conversation and achieve such stellar results.

“First, agents on the pilot team learned how to greet each caller with sincere enthusiasm,” said Davis. “And regardless of the request, agents gave customers an equally enthusiastic assurance of help,” he said. “But the real magic in the Quality Conversation comes through what we call full discovery.”

Regardless of why each customer was calling, the agents asked full discovery questions on all of the customers’ digital needs. For those who called in about the Internet, the agents asked related questions such as, “Would you call yourself a heavy user with a need for speed or more of a light user?”

After asking these questions, they transitioned to other digital products by asking questions such as, “While we find the best value for your Internet needs, let me ask, who is your phone provider?” In the pilot project, customers occasionally balked at this type of question, but Davis said the agents are trained to respond by saying, “We’re just asking these questions to make sure you’re getting the best value for your money.”

“More often than not,” said Davis, “the customers answer the phone questions, and this full discovery not only provides the agents with opportunities to sell, the Quality Conversation helps customers sell themselves on the additional digital products because they begin talking about their needs for the full range of services and attractive deals.”

According to RCDA, the Quality Conversation call flow process customized for Bridgevine also empowers agents with methods on effective search and qualification, solutions and upselling, how to handle objections, an assumptive approach to trial closes and closes, how to cross-sell, and how to wrap up the call with a full disclosure and recap.

“The results of the pilot project speak for themselves,” said Davis. “In short, the key components of the Quality Conversation are enthusiasm, taking a genuine interest in the customer, and asking great discovery questions on all digital products.”

More information on RCDA and the Quality Conversation approach is available online at http://www.robertcdavis.net/process.