How to evaluate your online sales counselor

Mystery shopping is one of the best evaluation tools available to sales managers to determine the competency of their sales staff. There are many good mystery shopping companies to choose from, however we recommend Melinda Brody and Company, because they specialize in the new home sales industry.

In addition to evaluating the performance of your on-site agents, you also need to evaluate the performance of your online sales counselor (OSC). How do you know if your online sales program is working? How do you know where it could be improved? The easy answer is to eMystery shop your online sales counselor for objective feedback from a customer's perspective.

The Anatomy of an eMystery Shop

First, the eMystery shopper submits an information request via your website and waits for a response. A good shopper will fill out the web form completely and indicate a price range, a community of interest and an urgent moving time frame. The request should also include complete contact information including a phone number. This type of request gives every advantage to the Online Sales Counselor because it is an "A+" eLead.

Secondly, the shopper then documents the date and time of all follow-up attempts including email auto-responders, phone call attempts, direct mail and personalized email follow-up. If the Online Sales Counselor calls, the shopper speaks to the OSC and agrees to an appointment to visit the community if asked. If the OSC emails the shopper, the shopper engages the OSC via email by asking further questions and setting an appointment if asked.

Finally, the shopper fills out a detailed report of the interaction and attaches any correspondence received.

What Is The Shopper Looking For?

• A fast response! The shopper should receive an auto-response email message within 10 minutes of the initial request. Ideally, the shopper will also receive a phone call and a personalized email within the hour of the initial request answering specific questions posed in the request.

• Ongoing follow-up. One email or phone call is not enough follow-up. Many online shoppers are just starting to search and need time to "mature" into ready, willing and able buyers. Ongoing follow-up ensures you stay in front of the prospect during the maturation process. The OSC should complete 5 to 6 follow-ups using a variety of methods including email, direct mail and phone.

• Professionally written and designed email correspondence. The email should be include graphics (not text only) and coordinate with the builder's website brand.  It should be printer friendly and load quickly in the shopper's email in-box. The email should be free of grammatical and spelling errors.

• Personalized email copy. The email should use friendly language and a casual tone as if the salesperson and prospect were talking face-to-face. The email should also ask the prospect for an appointment and provide complete contact information for the OSC.

• CAN SPAM Act Compliance. As a safe-guard against spam complaints, I recommend conformance to the CAN SPAM Act requirements. The legislation requires each email contain a physical address, unsubscribe options and privacy policy language. For more information, please consult your general counsel.

• Sales ability. An OSC is a salesperson first and an administrator second. They should close for an appointment by phone and/or email. They should attempt to overcome objections and demonstrate enthusiasm. Product knowledge and patience with questions is also very important.

Evaluating Your Online Sales Counselor

Many builders don't know how to judge the performance of this new breed of sales force. It's easy to cross your fingers and hope you are making eSales. Your OSC looks busy so the program must be working! Wrong!

>> Meet weekly with your OSC and go over the previous week's performance numbers. Review the number of eLeads received, the number of appointments set, the number of appointments kept and the number of closed eSales. Also be sure to review obstacles encountered and possible solutions. Role-play objection handling and closing techniques.

>> Remember your OSC needs motivation and training just like your on-site sales staff. Seek out education fitting for their unique job description. It's tough being a one man/woman department. The camaraderie and brainstorming with other salespeople will go a long way to establishing loyalty and improving skills.

>> Be sure to reward and recognize your OSC. Most sales contests are designed for the on-site agents. Incorporate your online agent into your sales contests or create a sales contest just for them. Be sure to recognize both the OSC and the on-site agents for eSales at the weekly sales meeting. Give our OSC a few minutes on the agenda to talk about upcoming appointments and new eSales.

As more and more builders start an online sales program, it is important we determine how to effectively measure, reward and train these unique sales people. Internet shoppers aren't going anywhere so let's perfect our response mechanism for optimum sales results!