A sales lead is as good as a .........

[helenofcalifornia]

I recently submitted some good sales leads that came back as "volume not there," "no chance of shipping."

And I got to thinking, maybe it's not me, but the sales people. There are some sales people who could sell a drowning person some water, and then there are the sales people who couldn't sell a drowning person a life jacket. I bet the centers/hubs that get a lot of new business have excellent sales people who know what they are doing. Us small centers, maybe we get what's left over?

I don't want to dis sales, because Gods knows it's a hard job and I know I sure wouldn't be any good at it. But all the people who submit leads that are rejected can't be all wrong, can they?

 

[Ms Spoken]

UPS outsources its call center to a third party. There is where your problem is. The crazy part is the customer says yes to you and then your lead is closed. Thats just pain BS of someone not taking the time to talk with the customer.
Also, I submitted a lead for myself using my cell number. You should have heard all the crazy stunts UPS was going to do for my company if I would open an account and give them my credit card. I asked simple questions like: Could I have my pick up made at 1pm? Answer Mrs. spoken that wouldn't be a problem at all. What a joke.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

I've all but given up on sales leads. Management keeps pushing and pushing the issue in our center but very few leads are actually attempted by the reps. Drivers are fed up and some have stopped trying. I don't blame them. I see FedEx trucks but don't see many opportunities for leads. Other than the opportunities that our reps have blown already haven't seen any potential volume on the routes that I run.

 

[thelus]

i have to submitted solid sales leads and one was closed due to a reps screw up.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I have 3 sold and producing leads and just went past $10K in sales lead earnings for my career. You have to be persistent with your BD people. I had a lead for a business which had more than doubled what they ship with us so I put a lead in for additional volume. The BD rep said that he could only put the lead in for international volume but I persisted and am now in week 4 of additional volume and will await the $1,000 on my Amex in 9 weeks. We have 2 BD reps in my center who actually work in 3 centers on a rotating basis. One is bi-lingual (French/English) which is an asset here as we are 1/2 hour away from Canada and have a lot of Canadian businesses here. The other would not only sell water to someone who is drowing but would also sell the glass and charge extra for the ice.

I also monitor my sales leads online to make sure that I am getting credit for sold and producing and to follow up if I am not. Don't take "no" for an answer if you feel that the lead you submitted is a good one.

 

[bubsdad]

I went to uor hub manager and told him that as an off the street hire, I didn't know who or how to approach anyone. We have at least 40 guys in the group I was hired with and 40 more in the group that was hired in 99. He basically blew me off. That's 80 guys who could possibly bring customers on board with a little coaching. Personally, I am not against learning how to approach potential customers, but where do you start?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I went to uor hub manager and told him that as an off the street hire, I didn't know who or how to approach anyone. We have at least 40 guys in the group I was hired with and 40 more in the group that was hired in 99. He basically blew me off. That's 80 guys who could possibly bring customers on board with a little coaching. Personally, I am not against learning how to approach potential customers, but where do you start?

I was also an off the street hire and an active sales lead participant so perhaps I can give you a few pointers. First, take a look around when you are making your delivery and/or pickup. Do you see a lot of freight that may have been or will be handled by another carrier? If so, ask the shipping manager if he is satisfied with his current shipping setup and, if not, would he mind if a UPS rep contacted him? If the mgr is not available, note his name and phone number and submit the lead. If you making an OCA pickup and notice outgoing pkgs for another carrier, I would submit a lead on this. Drop boxes pkgs are an excellent source for a sales lead as are pkgs which customers drop off at a MBE store. Yeah, I know we're not supposed to put in leads for pkgs left at UPS stores, but these are an excellent source for sales leads. Customers who ship online and meet you to give you their pkgs are another potential sales lead. The one time pickup logs used to be a good source for leads but our center no longer posts these logs.

Sales leads should not be limited to small packages. Freight leads offer the most potential, especially with the uncertainty surrounding YRC.

Keep your eyes and ears open and you will be amazed at the number of potential leads out there.

 

[bubsdad]

I was also an off the street hire and an active sales lead participant so perhaps I can give you a few pointers. First, take a look around when you are making your delivery and/or pickup. Do you see a lot of freight that may have been or will be handled by another carrier? If so, ask the shipping manager if he is satisfied with his current shipping setup and, if not, would he mind if a UPS rep contacted him? If the mgr is not available, note his name and phone number and submit the lead. If you making an OCA pickup and notice outgoing pkgs for another carrier, I would submit a lead on this. Drop boxes pkgs are an excellent source for a sales lead as are pkgs which customers drop off at a MBE store. Yeah, I know we're not supposed to put in leads for pkgs left at UPS stores, but these are an excellent source for sales leads. Customers who ship online and meet you to give you their pkgs are another potential sales lead. The one time pickup logs used to be a good source for leads but our center no longer posts these logs.

Sales leads should not be limited to small packages. Freight leads offer the most potential, especially with the uncertainty surrounding YRC.

Keep your eyes and ears open and you will be amazed at the number of potential leads out there.

Thanks, Upstate. I really appreciate the help.

 

[brownmonster]

I turned in a lead 2 weeks ago. The owner of the company gave me the business card of the person in charge of shipping. I stapled the business card to the sales lead. I checked the status online yesterday. Lead Closed. Could not contact customer.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

A lot more people with Brownmonstors story than Upstate's. Upstate, you got the good sales people, the rest of us got the rest of them. Too bad. UPS should have some kind of followip with the UPSer who submitted the lead to see what is or can be resolved. I want to "grow the business", believe me I do, but they make it a lot harder than it should be.

 

[hondo]

I went to uor hub manager and told him that as an off the street hire, I didn't know who or how to approach anyone. We have at least 40 guys in the group I was hired with and 40 more in the group that was hired in 99. He basically blew me off. That's 80 guys who could possibly bring customers on board with a little coaching. Personally, I am not against learning how to approach potential customers, but where do you start?

Bubsdad, while you're working inside, you can help to protect our reputation. Any words from you about proper package handling, adding some tape when needed, etc. will likely carry much more weight among us hubrats than the lipservice we get from supervisors. When you do climb back in to that tractor, let the practiced ease of a professional, million mile driver speak to our service.

 

[bubsdad]

Bubsdad, while you're working inside, you can help to protect our reputation. Any words from you about proper package handling, adding some tape when needed, etc. will likely carry much more weight among us hubrats than the lipservice we get from supervisors. When you do climb back in to that tractor, let the practiced ease of a professional, million mile driver speak to our service.

Copy that.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

"Let the practiced ease of a professional, million mile driver speak to our service."

Hondo, did you just come up with that?? Damn, that was nice! "Practiced ease, professional million mile driver, speak to our service." Three nice descriptive phrases. Are you a writer by any chance, or just college educated? Well said. Kind of makes me proud to be a driver.

 

[hdkappler]

I recently submitted some good sales leads that came back as "volume not there," "no chance of shipping."

And I got to thinking, maybe it's not me, but the sales people. There are some sales people who could sell a drowning person some water, and then there are the sales people who couldn't sell a drowning person a life jacket. I bet the centers/hubs that get a lot of new business have excellent sales people who know what they are doing. Us small centers, maybe we get what's left over?

I don't want to dis sales, because Gods knows it's a hard job and I know I sure wouldn't be any good at it. But all the people who submit leads that are rejected can't be all wrong, can they?

they don't follow up.since they blew the dhl bussiness i wouldn,tgive them the time of day.i'am glad to be retired from brown.1 billon dollar deal.down the drain.

 

[wisedragonfly]

I recently submitted some good sales leads that came back as "volume not there," "no chance of shipping."

And I got to thinking, maybe it's not me, but the sales people. There are some sales people who could sell a drowning person some water, and then there are the sales people who couldn't sell a drowning person a life jacket. I bet the centers/hubs that get a lot of new business have excellent sales people who know what they are doing. Us small centers, maybe we get what's left over?

I don't want to dis sales, because Gods knows it's a hard job and I know I sure wouldn't be any good at it. But all the people who submit leads that are rejected can't be all wrong, can they?

Hello HelenofCalifornia,
Thank you, for submitting sales leads! It's a bummer when they don't sell. Whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP!! Especially, if you know that there is volume there to be won.

With that said....

There are many valid reasons that a lead can not be sold, too many reason to list in this forum.

Do you really believe there is new volume potential with the customer's indicated on your leads? You would know whether or not a competitor is making pickup from the customer?

If you truly feel more follow up is needed, then please ask your sales rep to follow up on the lead. If that's not possible, for whatever reason, then ask your center OMS to contact your district Business Development and ask them to pursue the investigation by having a sales rep visit the location. Email makes a great paper trail!

If that fails, find out who your district local "PDA"- Primary District Associate, that overlooks the sales leads and ask them to have the lead followed up on.

If you need help with finding your PDA, send me a pm with your region/district and I'll help you find your district PDA.

 

[brownrodster]

I went to uor hub manager and told him that as an off the street hire, I didn't know who or how to approach anyone. We have at least 40 guys in the group I was hired with and 40 more in the group that was hired in 99. He basically blew me off. That's 80 guys who could possibly bring customers on board with a little coaching. Personally, I am not against learning how to approach potential customers, but where do you start?

Back when I went to some sales leads meetings (it's been years don't know if they do it anymroe) my main concern was how do I do it? I never talk to customers. I don't know what to say. I don't know anyones name, furthermore, I don't want to... They didn't seem to understand my problem. I'm not a sales person. I wouldn't even know how to approach the situation. I simply show up, give someone a box, collect a signiature and leave. You mean now I have to innitiate a conversation? What do I say ?

I suppose I would need a script or something. But I'm not a sales person, so what is the point. And any questions they might have how do I answer? I don't know anything about our services or pricing. I don't know any of our sales guys names. I don't even know how to contact them.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

Thanks WDF for your advice and concern. Some of the leads I have submitted would only generate 4-5 ground packages a week. I was made to feel that this wasn't enough to generate any real revenue. So why bother to tell me "atta girl, go get us some more!!!!" If only 50% of us got an extra 4-5 packages a week..... So anyway, that is why I know now Upstate has all the good ones and we got the rest. Sorta kidding, sorta not.

 

[wisedragonfly]

UPS outsources its call center to a third party. There is where your problem is. The crazy part is the customer says yes to you and then your lead is closed. Thats just pain BS of someone not taking the time to talk with the customer.
Also, I submitted a lead for myself using my cell number. You should have heard all the crazy stunts UPS was going to do for my company if I would open an account and give them my credit card. I asked simple questions like: Could I have my pick up made at 1pm? Answer Mrs. spoken that wouldn't be a problem at all. What a joke.

Hello Ms Spoken,
In most districts, the initial customer contact on a sales lead is made by Inside Sales. I don't think they are a 3rd party company, at all. I believe they are UPSers that sell from a desk. Inside Sales Reps have guidelines to sell over the phone, just like you have guidelines while making pickups and deliveries. One of the criteria's is a credit check/credit card, that allows the Inside Sales Rep the ability to sell an account. If there is a credit issue, the ISR is blocked from selling over the phone. If the ISR is able to verify volume potential and feels a visited is needed they send the lead to the district sales rep for follow-up.

As to why the ISR promised you the moon to get the account started, I can't answer. Maybe it is because, UPS will try their best to accommodate a customer's needs, if there is a way of making the special arrangements, to do so. TEAM effort would be needed between BD and OPS to win a customer with special needs.

I think on a positive note, at least you received a call on the bogus lead, from Inside Sales and your lead wasn't ignored.

Not so positive, is the fact that the ISR could have used the time to contact a real customer that had valid volume to be gained as opposed to wasting time calling a bogus lead. Although, I understand where your coming from. I used to work in the phone center and used to crank call on my days off with a bogus international package to see if I got he proper shipping information when it came to completing the SED, custom invoices, Waybills/ASD, and such.

 

[wisedragonfly]

Thanks WDF for your advice and concern. Some of the leads I have submitted would only generate 4-5 ground packages a week. I was made to feel that this wasn't enough to generate any real revenue. So why bother to tell me "atta girl, go get us some more!!!!" If only 50% of us got an extra 4-5 packages a week..... So anyway, that is why I know now Upstate has all the good ones and we got the rest. Sorta kidding, sorta not.

4-5 packages a week is volume and 1 piece of newly gained volume counts on a sales lead. Of course, larger volume leads earn the biggest rewards.

4-5 ground packages weekly is worth approximately 279 points over a 13 week tracking cycle. The higher the service the more points are earned, with ground earning the lowest and international earning the highest point values.

 

[wisedragonfly]

I have 3 sold and producing leads and just went past $10K in sales lead earnings for my career. You have to be persistent with your BD people. I had a lead for a business which had more than doubled what they ship with us so I put a lead in for additional volume. The BD rep said that he could only put the lead in for international volume but I persisted and am now in week 4 of additional volume and will await the $1,000 on my Amex in 9 weeks. We have 2 BD reps in my center who actually work in 3 centers on a rotating basis. One is bi-lingual (French/English) which is an asset here as we are 1/2 hour away from Canada and have a lot of Canadian businesses here. The other would not only sell water to someone who is drowing but would also sell the glass and charge extra for the ice.

I also monitor my sales leads online to make sure that I am getting credit for sold and producing and to follow up if I am not. Don't take "no" for an answer if you feel that the lead you submitted is a good one.

CONGRATULATIONS, Upstate!!!