Boosting Referral and Retention Rates

New sales consultant teams responsible for receiving calls from subscribers (~10% of the workforce) were incorporated into the company.

In addition to their core mission, they have the following two objectives:

• Referrals: selling products, service and additional options

• Retention: retaining clients wishing to terminate their contract

Sales consultants view themselves more as ‘advisers' rather than ‘salesmen'. They don't believe the two roles are compatible

Results to be improved upon:

• Referral rate: consultants rarely propose additional products

• Retention rate too low (10% to 20% below targets) resulting in the loss of key clients

• Initial 2-day training on listening and reasoning

• 1-day training session focusing not as much on listening to the client (runs the risk of increasing call duration) but on enjoying the work, increasing the motivation to sell, and turning the process of taking the order into an enjoyable activity
• Advanced training that helps participants appreciate their work more and thereby uncover a new dimension to their profession

• Outstanding results achieved shortly after training: referral rate up 20% to 30%, retention rate exceeding targets set by all teams
• 6 months later indicators continue to increase
• Significant behavioral changes - teams have rediscovered their passion for their work