CHAPEL HILL, N.C., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The challenge of managing service-to-sales hybrid employees is highly complex since managers must not only manage the activities of the reps, they must also manage the culture. According to a recent research study completed by Best Practices, LLC, managers that successfully foster a service-to-sales environment spend more of their time training and coaching employees than standard management activities. Service-to-sales managers often manage fewer employees than their counterparts managing just service or just sales reps.

Managing for High Performance in Service-to-Sales is a detailed benchmarking study on the best practices and performance metrics of service- to-sales organizations across industries. In total, 57 companies participated in the study from across industries, including banking, financial services, telecommunications, high-tech and manufacturing. Top tier participants include BellSouth, IBM, Lands' End, Travelocity and Wachovia. To download a complimentary excerpt please visit http://www3.best-in-class.com/re223.htm.

    Key study findings in managing a service-to-sales culture include:
     - Front-line employees must understand connection between sales and
       service -- that sales is a form of good service.
     - As customer service centers begin to shift their operational emphasis
       to include sales in their core mission, the lynchpin for increasing
       sales productivity is a clear set of codified and quantifiable sales
       goals. Almost 90% of companies surveyed use number of units sold,
       customer satisfaction and average handling time to measure service-to-
       sales efforts.

The leading practices, winning strategies and critical insights in this report were drawn from in-depth interviews and surveys with executives at world-class service and sales organizations. With this groundbreaking benchmark report, executives will gain the insights necessary to:

     - Create a "virtuous cycle of success" through pro-active service which
       links customer satisfaction, service and cross-selling.
     - Reaffirm the service to sales transition as a customer focused
       transformation consistent with service-excellence principles in order
       to win the hearts of incumbent service reps.
     - Begin with soft sales targets for new reps and roll out hard targets
       after a transition period to create a goal-driven staff.

Download a complimentary report summary, including sample best practices, at: http://www3.best-in-class.com/re223.htm. With over 1,000 documents on customer service and sales in our Best Practices Database, chances are you'll find exactly what you need to improve your company's performance. Browse through our extensive repository of customer service research at http://www.bestpracticedatabase.com

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a superior course to economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class organizations. For more information about Best Practices, LLC, call (919) 403-0251 or visit http://www.best-in-class.com/ .

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Source: Best Practices, LLC

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