OSCs Are Driven When You Give Them the Right Car
An OSC is going to be just as driven as a sales agent to create sales for the company as long as you give them the right vehicle to do so.
That vehicle means having the right:
- Company Support
- Pay Structure
- Tools
- Training
Company Support – The gas that fuels the car
Energy is everything. The tone set by the leadership of the company can make or break a program. This role needs to have the support of the company. It needs to be implemented from the top down. A new home builder’s ability to adopt this role and push it downward for change all helps fuel the success of the online sales position.
There should be cross training between online and onsite sales agents so that the OSC can see how the sales floor works and the sales agents can better understand what an OSC does. Cross training doesn’t stop there. The OSC needs to be in on what is going on with marketing, which channels are being used, and what messaging is going out. These things will help optimize the marketing to online sales hand-offs. Finally, last but not least, the leadership of the company needs to understand the role and accept it as part of the marketing to sales process.
Pay Structure – These are the features that keep you going
No OSC should feel like they can’t feed their kids or pay their bills. This role touches at least 45-50% of your buyers. This is not an entry level position. It’s not a receptionist. It’s not a call center (though some builders seem to think it is.) The skill sets that someone needs are diverse and draw from a varied background and level of experience. This is why we call this person a unicorn when hiring the right person and giving them the right tools and training.
If your sales agents make six figures, your OSC needs to have an achievable earning potential into the six figures. This can be made up of salary and a bonus structure for appointments kept and sales made from appointments. There are so many ways to structure it, but the base pay shouldn’t be something you can barely pay your rent on. Talk to me for more details, your situation is different than others and there is no set way to pay an OSC.
Tools – The wheels and the engine that make the car run
An OSC program with the wrong tools will stay in the slow lane. No matter how well paid, how well trained, and how much support is given from the company, if the tools are bad the program is going to struggle.
The right tools will help OSCs complete their daily tasks and stay on top of their volume. From first contact to ongoing follow-up, an OSC needs a CRM system that will allow them to create, stop, and add follow-up processes, schedule appointments, track results. The list goes on. They need a calling system that will be able to forward when needed, distribute calls when there’s a team, and record for training purposes and for those times they are on the go. As much as possible leads should be able to feed the CRM and not be entered manually. Manual entry both online and onsite is the death of lead management. They need video emailing, and other tools that will, when possible, integrate with their CRM. Give them the tools and they can really drive.
Training – This is your overall understanding of how to drive safely in traffic
You need to provide training and support. This means across the entire company. They cannot function in a bubble. The Agents need training too. They need a better understanding of what the OSCs do on a day-to-day, week-to-week and month-to-month basis. Otherwise, you run into situations where the agents are frustrated and mad at the OSCs or placing blame for “bad appointments.” We all need a cohesive approach where we understand each other.
When you give your OSC’s the right company support, pay structure, tools and training you set the entire company up for a win.