First, be sure that you tell the team that you’re doing ghost calls and listening to the call recordings. In addition, be sure to tell the team that you’ll be having regular call review training sessions which means the whole team will be listening to call recordings. This might seem like an obvious step, but many law firms forget. It’s especially important that your team isn’t surprised. It’s important that you work hard to help your team to understand why you’re recording and listening to prospect phone calls. Here’s an example of a script to introduce this new process and program: “Great news! We’re going to have regular call review training sessions to help us enhance what we’re already doing right. This training is designed to perfect our phone sales skills, conversion, and customer service. This is not an easy program, but we’re all here to support and help each other be the very best. The focus is progress not perfection.”
In reviewing results and sharing the call critiques with the team, here’s what to keep in mind: Calm down. Breathe and relax. Remember your purpose: to influence your team to repeat the great things they’ve been doing and tweak the areas that need improvement. Pay particular attention to the language I’ve just used and the order in which I’ve used it! Address the positive first.
Have a “plan” before you review the call critiques with them. Take time to listen to call recordings and additionally make your own notes about the good in the calls you will play during training and why it’s important for them to continue repeating what they are doing correctly and doing well. Many intake specialists don’t even realize what they’re doing well when speaking with prospects because it’s part of their routine. Be certain to point out all the positives! Of course, you’ll also make notes on the areas that need tweaking for improvement and give specific examples. Equally important, share why it needs to be improved. Ensure that you offer the solution of how to improve what needs improvement. Without a solution, it’s all moot.
Now its time to play a call recording. Ask the intake specialist to review the call before you share your “call review notes”. First, they’ll share what they thought worked. Next, ask them to share what they felt didn’t work, specifically. Finally, the intake specialist will share the steps they will put into place to improve. Once the intake specialist is done its your turn to share your call review notes.
Make the call review training sessions fun. Smile! You want to create an atmosphere that makes your team look forward to the critique sessions and even ask for them. Sound impossible? It’s been my experience that this will happen, but the experience must be positive. Hold your team accountable for the needed improvements. Map out a plan with specific steps. With your plan for how they can make improvements, include how you can help them and when you’ll meet again to review progress.
No one really enjoys hearing their own recorded voice but listening is the key to making improvements. In addition to the team cringing at hearing their recorded voice they also are very uncomfortable at their calls being heard by the rest of the team during training sessions. It’s important that the leader of the training is very sensitive to this so that the call critique training sessions are successful.
Pay attention to your team: guide them, coach them, and encourage them to meet with you. Watch your own tone, body language, and words. Remember that you’re being observed, too. Commit to listening to calls at a minimum every week as a group critique together. No excuses to miss this. Make this call review training important; don’t drop the ball on this. Keep at it. Your team is probably waiting for you to drop the ball on this, especially if you’ve done so in the past with other ideas and programs about which you were initially fired up. Not this time. It’s too important.
Teach your team to self-critique. Self-critiquing is in addition to the group call review training sessions. Team members would ideally on a daily basis listen and score their own call recordings and provide the scores to you. What you focus on expands what gets measured gets done. Give your team the tools they need: monitoring calls, ongoing coaching, sales training, relationship and communication training, scripts, FAQ’s, objections lists with correct answers, role-playing opportunities, and support.
Peer recognition. Remember the importance of peer recognition. Encourage it, require it, and systemize the process. Catch your team doing something right, daily! Teach the team to catch each other doing something right, daily! Consistently recognize even the smallest improvements.
Have fun!
