Jessie. What's up? It's Tuesday. It's my favorite day of the week when we get to record our podcast.
Jessie
I was about to say Tuesday is your favorite day when?
Jen
Tuesday is also the day that I get to play golf on my golf league with my son and husband. But they are both out of town this week, and so I have asked my dad to join me in my my league tonight. and I have a funny story to tell you about my dad that recently happened.
Jessie
Tell me.
Jen
So my dad's almost 80 years old. remember how Andrew and I were in the Punisher's motorcycle club? like we were. Yeah. We were. Yeah, we were in the gang. we are no longer in the motorcycle club, but my dad is still in the motorcycle club. He still rides. He just got a new Harley.
Jen
Literally almost 80 years old. I don't know how he plans. I don't know how he holds the bike up. So, But he recently, he had never been to Myrtle Beach for the bike week, and he's like, I have always wanted to go to Myrtle Beach, bike Week. Okay. So we of course, his family were like, no, dad, that's ridiculous.
Jen
You don't need to be. You don't need to be riding your motorcycle all the way down there. Anyway. Yada yada. My sister put live 360 on his phone. Like we're tracking, like, seeing what's going on. Like he's a kid. And, the next day, I. I'm talking to him. I'm like, daddy, okay, you having fun? And he's like, well, I have something to tell you.
Jen
Oh, and he's like, oh, no. What? And he goes, I got a tattoo. And I said, you did what? He's like, yeah, I got a tattoo. He's like, everybody was cheering me on. And I folded under the peer pressure and I was like, dad.
Jessie
What was it?
Jen
Okay. So I'm thinking like, hopefully he at least got something, you know, meaningful, right? Or, you know, maybe his road name or whatever. Okay. He goes, I let the guys pick it out, and I'm like, you did what? And he's like, yeah. I let him pick it out. And I was like, okay, dad, what is it? Papa Smurf.
Jessie
Where is it?
Jen
Papa Smurf on his little scrawny 80 year old arm up here on the on the top of his of his arm. Like is his shoulder. Arm. Why, Justin, I have no idea. I'm like, what, Papa Smurf? Like what? That's not even.
Jessie
That's hilarious.
Jen
So. Yeah. What am I? Is he is a is. I was like, dad, did it hurt? Like I'm thinking, like, with your health. Should you be getting a tattoo right now? Like you're, you know, you're not in the best of health. And he's like, oh, it's fine. It didn't hurt. My mom, on the other hand, is having a fit like that.
Jen
Stewart too. I can't believe. Yeah. So my dad came back from Bike Week Papa Smurf tattoo on his shoulder.
Jessie
Meanwhile, I joined a book club like an 80 year old woman. That's the only update I have is I joined a book club. So we are two totally different people. And I aspire to be more like your dad.
Jen
Yeah. Hey, ride Harleys and, get tattoos at age 80.
Jessie
Okay, I'm doing it.
Jen
Jessie, let's have some fun. Let's rock and roll. All right. Episode 16. Jessie, can you believe this? And I am so excited today because we have a special guest. Mama. Always excited with you, of course, but sure, I look forward to this. But we have a special guest today. We have an award winning online sales specialist, Miss Kelly Rushin.
Jen
Hello. Hello. You're looking fabulous.
Kelly
So thank you.
Jen
Thanks for joining us today.
Kelly
Absolutely. I'm so excited to be here.
Jen
So, Jessie, I know I kind of introduced Kelly, but introduce Kelly.
Jessie
Kelly is one of my. Are we allowed to say this one here? She is one of my favorite online salesmen.
Jessie
She gets it done like she get everything done. And it shows she's a National award winner. This past year. at the NASB at the nationals, she was awarded, silver of the year. So I have been working with Kelly for a while now, and it's just been the two of us. And now she's growing her team and we thought, what better time to have an award winner join us then while she is in a transition?
Jessie
So, yeah, we wanted to have Kelly on and get all of her wisdom and and hear how things are going.
Jen
That's awesome. Kelly, we're excited to have you. Thank you so much for joining us. And before we kind of get into what online people are talking about right now, we just kind of gave you a preview, which is Team Dynamics. let's do some quick housekeeping. So we are excited because we are gearing up right now for our online sales and marketing summit that is coming up in October, and Kelly has graciously agreed to be a speaker.
Jen
She's going to be on a panel that we're doing. So we, the coaching team at D convert, we are busy creating some awesome content. So I think there's maybe a few tickets left. If you are wondering if you should attend Kelly. So they attend.
Kelly
Absolutely. It's so fun. I talk about it to our new OSC. I talk about it to our marketing team. Anybody who will listen. It's so much fun just to like, reconnect and get so motivated. Last year I loved the speakers that we had. so I cannot wait for this year.
Jen
Yes, it's like summer camp. Fall camp. That's our online sales specialist and marketers. So definitely we'll put in the show notes how you can how you can, come if you're interested. And then, Jesse, we just released our fall online sales academy.
Jessie
Yes.
Jen
So what are the dates?
Jessie
Oh, my gosh, you put me on the spot. November 6th and seventh. Right? It's due in day in person days. And then, well, virtual in person days on zoom. And then an additional, probably like 8 to 10 weeks. Just because we're into the holidays. Holidays get a couple extra weeks thrown in there. so yeah, November through beginning of next year.
Jen
Virtual online sales academy. So if you're wondering, should you attend if you are new to the role and haven't or and or haven't really had any structured training, need some help kind of getting your program set up with processes and the fundamentals of online sales? You should definitely attend. It's a good time and you get certified official certification in online sales.
Jen
So go to our website. We just announced that you can sign up on the VIP list. We'll be releasing tickets here in the in the future, but definitely don't miss out on that. So we're excited. Okay. What are online people talking about right now? Team dynamics. And so like Jesse said, we wanted to have Kelly on, for several reasons.
Jen
But she recently has a a team member. Right. Kelly, do you want from solo online sales to having a new teammate? Yes. Let's first talk about, like when you think about this, like what are the challenges because you are solo online sales specialist for a long time, right?
Kelly
Yeah. I'm going on almost three years. Okay. and so the team member that we brought on is very familiar with our company, which is great. So we already had that background. so I knew her, which made it a little bit easier. But when it first came, you know, brought to my attention. it is a little scary, you know, it's your baby.
Kelly
You're the only one in there. It's, you know, everything. And, so I was a little bit hesitant, a little bit nervous. But as we've grown and gotten busier, you start to feel like, okay, I do want I do need a little bit more help. And so I've had to change my mindset a little bit and look at it from a growth perspective.
Kelly
And that's what keeps me like super excited that our our leads are growing, our team is growing. It's all good.
Jen
Stuff. Okay. There's so much to unpack in what you just said. So I want to first zoom out for a second, and talk about being a solo online sales specialist. I was to Jesse came in, I think it was a team of two right at the beginning when you started. Yeah. what are the challenges that you had as that you have as a solo OIC in your mind?
Kelly
The thing that comes to my mind first, and this was more so in the beginning, was you you don't have anybody or I didn't have anybody to that could relate to me. When I came on board our program was just getting started. So there was no one that I could, you know, share my triumphs with, but also went to nobody got what, like this position was like what it was like going through and I didn't mind it at first because it was just me.
Kelly
I was doing my thing. And then really, we came to the summit that first year, and it was my first opportunity to see other people who got it and listening to everybody, it kind of triggered my mind to be like, there are people who who get what you're going through and you're not crazy or, you know, this is, struggle that is kind of across the industry.
Kelly
so that first summit was really where I felt like, okay, it I am missing another piece, another partner. and then now again that we've grown, there's nothing worse than being on the phone and having a great phone call. But then your other line is ringing, and then you know that that call has to go. So that it has been a pain point for me a little bit is I am missing lead and I don't want dropped.
Kelly
I need somebody to grab that and and still be click on response right.
Jen
The challenges for sure are, you know you can't get to everything, can't take a vacation really, or you have kind of a janky, backup system, right? That you're like, flipping leads to and you're like, Are they really getting managed correctly?
Kelly
And and I wasn't taking vacation. I wasn't taking time off because it's a rotating, you know, situation. You can't drop that ball. And and then there's that ripple effect. So I would be on vacation, but I would be at my computer and my family's like, are you going to be on vacation with us? But you you can't step away.
Kelly
So, I definitely felt that. And, you know, that's leads to burnout. And you got to be careful with that.
Jen
Yeah. Jesse, any thoughts from you on that? Like when you got to the point where you guys were like, okay, we need to add another team member. What were the benefits of doing that?
Jessie
For sure. I mean, I got to the point where I was basically begging for help because our sales goals started just accumulating so quickly that we couldn't, like, keep up with it. And we didn't realize the need until it was almost too late. And I think a lot of builders are like that because they're like, hey, we want to make sure that the opportunity is there for the person that's in the seat.
Jessie
But also we have to be able to best service all of our customers and and what's fair and what makes sense and what does the training period look like. And so when it got to the point where things started to ramp up for the builder that I worked for, it quickly transitioned. So to and then it went to like seven.
Jessie
And what felt like, I don't know, 3 or 4 months. And that's where kind of I felt the fear. Maybe. Kelly, like you felt at the beginning, like you're going to grow your team. Even though I had a partner, we were growing so quickly that I was like, oh, my opportunity is going to dwindle, and I am here to confidently say every year that we grew and every new teammate, I made more money.
Jessie
And it blew my mind because I was like, how when I'm getting less opportunity. But it was because, like you're saying, Kelly, I wasn't rushing off the phone. I was able to increase the customer experience, do the personalization, you know, do all of the things that needed to be done that I just couldn't do. And so while it is a little bit scary, the pros are, you know, unanimous across the board for the company, for us and for our customer.
Jen
yeah. So Kelly, let's, you know, we like to get real on ups. so you said, you know, you had some fear, like, realistically, like what's going through your mind?
Kelly
What's the opportunity. Right? Like, you it's it's figuring out what does your opportunity look like when it's your hands, the only hand in the pot. It's it all comes you. You know what's going on. And I feel that most successful OS's.
Jen
Have,
Kelly
That rotating schedule, like I said, like, if you drop one ball, you can kind of lose it. So when it's. I always felt like when it was just me, I knew what was going on. Or at least I thought I knew what was going. Yeah, I like I was managing my emails, I was managing my CRM. and you feel like you've got a grasp on everything until somebody emails you, and it's been maybe a month or two since they heard from you.
Kelly
You're like, crap. You're like, oh yeah, but yeah, so that was always a big fear for me is that it was, you know, my feedback. I always knew what was going on in the communities and our sales reps and, and everything. So it's just somebody else being in your space. It's like your baby, you know?
Kelly
So I think that was the biggest fear for me. And then like I said, your your opportunity, you know, of course that's that's going to change a little bit. it's not just fielding as many inbound calls. It is really working for that lead.
Jen
Yeah. It's a it's a mindset shift of like being in control.
Kelly
Yeah.
Jen
Of everything. I literally had this happen recently where I was on a call with a team that is growing, and one of the Oaks literally said right in front of everybody, you're going to be taking money out of my pocket. And I was like, oh snap. Well we got to have a huge mindset shift here. Actually, when you're if you're managing so many leads and you don't have enough bandwidth, you're actually losing.
Jen
That's taking money out of your pocket because you're not able to get to all the leads you're missing cause you're like, oh, like I was supposed to get back to that person. And they fell through the cracks, right? And you're so busy. So actually, like Jesse saying, I have never seen a situation where there was a team member brought in to where the ox opportunity or income went down, it actually goes up because then you can manage the leads better, all right?
Jen
And you're not missing calls and things aren't falling through the cracks. So it is a disruptor. but, you know, like you've had I've been so impressed with how you have taken on a leadership mentorship role, with your new OSC. So I think, like, talk a little bit about that because, you know, I encourage everyone, like when you get to a certain point in your career and you're like, okay, it's time to either move on to something else or it's time to grow my team or whatever.
Jen
Like when you get to a certain point, mentor and teach somebody else. That's the next step. Yeah. So like flipping your brain to like, I could teach this person and bring them on and, you know, help them be an amazing online sales specialist. And I've seen you doing that. So talk a little bit about how you how you've gone kind of through the training with her and how that's been going.
Kelly
Yeah, I, I think it is all about mindset. It's to me it's very exciting if you're passionate about this, like you want to talk to everybody up clearly. Right. We want to talk to anybody who wants to listen about online sales. And so it was someone else that I could express that passion with and help them see that maybe a position that they're not familiar with and see, like the beauty and what this actually is and how exciting it can be.
Kelly
And that's been my mindset. Trying to just move forward is I want to share what I know, and I want to share why this is the best job ever, you know? And that's just kind of what I've been trying to carry. And I think, you know, I'm almost at three years and you're not going anywhere. Like love what I do.
Kelly
But you do want to set another goal for yourself, another level to achieve.
Jen
And it's the.
Kelly
Why not see where you can help mold somebody into bringing them up to you, know, where you're at and where they feel experienced and they know, and I just think it's a ripple effect. And, we've sent her through her 30 day start, which was so exciting to again say, I remember, you know, when I did that, we were able to kind of go back and forth.
Kelly
so again, just that connection. And now we're, you know, in the weeds and I'm giving her the tidbits of what it's like day in and day out and the questions you get and how to answer and how to pivot the conversation. So it's just exciting to take what you know and and share the wealth.
Jen
Yeah. Wouldn't you say that when you have to teach and mentor someone else it causes you to step up your game.
Kelly
Oh my gosh I totally she's like I'll be listening to some of your calls today and like okay.
Jen
I'll be hopefully hopefully I wasn't too busy.
Kelly
And and I'm like, you could do this one. And then I said, you know what? Like we all that's that's the beauty of this is you do get busy. You do miss your important calls. But it's that constant growth and and going in with her and kind of putting yourself on the spot. You know, we were booking an appointment the other day and, and we were so busy.
Kelly
And I got the call and I hung up and she didn't say anything and I didn't say anything. And I was like, don't listen to that one. Like, that was not the call. I missed my questions. And but then that's also, for me, self-reflective to say, this is why I need somebody else. Because now I set an appointment out and my sales consultants have an expectation of what my notes are going to look like.
Kelly
They immediately got on the phone and called me. They're like, hey, what's the deal with this person? Like, there wasn't a lot of notes. And again, then you look back at yourself and you're like, I know better. I, I've gotta do better.
Jen
So very self up above that is the best. So you're like, oh dang. Like to be doing everything that I'm supposed to be doing right. Just have you ever felt like that?
Jessie
Oh my gosh. Yes. And then well one let me say you will learn a ton from a newbie. And just as much as she's learning from you, you're going to learn like, oh yeah, and that was the best practice that like I have just erased from my memory or whatever. And then also there's a healthy level of competition that comes into play when you have a teammate, you know, like our team was very competitive, like in a fun way.
Jessie
It wasn't I want to beat this person. It was how can we increase all of our numbers and increase our overall contribution? And with a teammate, you really can double down in your line sales presence known. And it's so fun to watch. Like there's some okay, how much more can we do as a team. Yeah. What's our contribution.
Kelly
I just some to be a little competitive. So let's say.
Jen
Oh I did it. You girl I saw I saw a different side of you went at the nationals to everybody. Kelly was a runner up in the online sales specialist of the year for Nahb. And she was a runner up. She didn't she didn't get the final golden ticket, however. Man, she was ready to like she was ready to brawl.
Jen
I was like, come on, girl, let's burn the place down.
Jen
It was awesome. It was honest. Well, one thing that get sometimes a little spicy with teams is lead ownership. And so we had I'm going to I'm going to open up the kimono a little bit and be vulnerable with you. We had, internal DC coaches debate. right. Jesse, last week they were we're on our coaches huddle and the the process or the best practice around lead ownership came up and we had two different opinions.
Jen
Two sides. We were split right down the middle, on how to handle lead ownership. All right. We had one time where like, no, no, no, you gotta do this. Other side was like, no, no, no. And so what happened was each side listened to the reasons why. Right. We always talk about like, here's the best practice, but here's the why.
Jen
And so Jesse and I are going to share with you the final, the final decision on lead ownership. When you're working in a team, what is the best practice that might be different from what you've heard in the past? So we're going to we're here to set the record straight and we'll tell you the why. So when you have two people in the team or any team and, you have non-responsive leads, right?
Jen
And responsibly, it's basically those are the two that are being worked the most. You're trying to get to an appointment. If Jesse is on and I'm off and she gets a call and it's a non-responsive lead, and the system that is assigned to me, I've started. I'm on a follow up, but they have not responded to me yet.
Jen
Okay. They're not responsive. Jesse can take it, connect with them, set an appointment, and it's her lead now. It's her appointment now. Okay. If a person calls in, right? Jesse's helping them. She looks him up and they're responsively. Okay, I'm. I'm off that day. They're responsive. I've got notes in there where I've connected with them. I've got, you know, a future follow up task in there.
Jen
Jesse is going to help them. Right. But it still counts as my appointment. So the big differences, non-responsive leads are, you know, up for grabs basically. Like if they if they haven't connected, if there's no, you know, notes in there. Right. They're up for grabs. They can be transferred, you know, talk about lead ownership. That lead ownership can be transferred over to your partner unless it's a responsive lead with documentation documented, notes documented follow up, then that stays with the original OAC.
Jen
Okay. Jesse, do you remember like the y the mayo. Yeah I by that.
Jessie
I was pulling out my notes because we, I mean we were really racking our brain about this because there's two sides of the equation. And so when we came to kind of the understanding it's like, okay, that totally does make sense. You know, we're all on board with this because it's ownership versus transferability of that lead. What was the effort was put in.
Jessie
And what is the end goal for that customer. So we don't care regardless who helps them as long as the customers moving through their journey with our company. And so we don't want ownership to cause a ripple in that's my lead, you know, or that's this person's lead. She'll get back to you when she's in the office.
Jessie
Like, that's not best for customers. But there also has to be some type of incentive for if somebody goes on vacation for a week, you know, you should be able to get credit for non-responsive leaves that you have to qualify as women overcome the objection. And so as we were going through that list of things, it was like, well, if you had built that rapport with them, then they would have called your signature or you would have engaged with them earlier if you had a better speed of response or there was this whole list.
Jessie
Right? So it's, you know, being a good teammate if it's a responsive lead and and even if your partner's working that day or non-responsive Lane, your partner is working that day and they're just not available, you help them out. And really the only time this is a problem when you're looking at something that's totally unscripted versus something that scrubbed, is that about a partner?
Jessie
You know, it's kind of an I scratch your back, scratch mine with a small bucket of leads, not the entire database that you've acquired over some time.
Jen
Yeah. Kelly, any thoughts on that?
Kelly
Yeah, I love that. I was quite confused on what would be best practice, honestly. And that was, the biggest question mark that I had the entire time is how does it work? Right. And every time I think about it or talk to my leadership team, I go all the way down the rabbit hole and be like, well, what if this and what of that?
Kelly
And there's so many what ifs, but I love that Jesse said. The effort that you put in is kind of where that reward comes from. And I think either way, you have to have that partnership with your team member because it is going to cross, it's going to overlap, and it's got to be for the greater good in the end.
Kelly
And I feel like if it comes down to the nitty gritty for, you know, a specific situation, there's ways to work through that, talk through that with leadership and just keeping that communication is open because I think it's inevitable.
Jen
Yeah, I it all comes out in the wash in the end. You know, you're taking care of each other. But I think the biggest thing I just want people to understand is that one, you want to you want to eliminate as many gray areas as possible, right? So that you're not going back and forth to your manager. But look, I talked to, you know, I did 20 non-responsive follow up task.
Jen
And, you know, like in your every situation you're bringing to your manager like that doesn't work. That doesn't feel good. Yeah. Do you want to eliminate as many gray areas? Of course. You're going to probably have one off things every once in a while. But come up with the process and make it as simple as possible. Non-responsive can be transferred over if your teammate gets a responsive, documented follow up happening.
Jen
Stays with the original OSB team members just helping them out, right? I explain that explain that guy Jesse. Yeah, yeah.
Jessie
I think it also helps you identify, you know, if you you might think you're a good teammate or a team player and then a situation comes up and you're like, oh, I don't play very nicely in the sandbox. Like because we, we build all of this stuff and we're like, we're doing the things. But it again, in the wash it all comes out.
Jessie
So like if your partner takes an entire week vacation, now you have additional opportunity, even though you have additional work to do and vice versa. When you're off, you're off like you get to completely. So the quality of life increases too, when you get a little bit of extra bandwidth. If you don't have a backup plan in place as a solo.
Jen
So yeah, what happens when you have friction with your teammate? Who wants to say who wants to tackle that one?
Kelly
I don't know, I, I have been very, very lucky. I've, you know, we've got a great team here at. So I could talk forever, but, I have not experienced that here. And I'm sure that even though, you know, our new OS and myself get along great and we talk all of the time and all of the things, there will be a situation where, you know, somebody gets their toe stepped on.
Kelly
And I just think it comes back to the communication being respected.
Jen
Lifting.
Kelly
Them. And yeah, and just remembering that you are a team, you know, and again you're working towards one goal. In the end.
Jessie
Nothing happens until a sale happens.
Jen
Right.
Jessie
So sales are what keep us employed. So let's just keep the customers going happy.
Jen
Well you just said talk a lot. You talk a lot. All right. So keeping the lines of communication open, addressing any like oh that didn't feel too good. Address it right away. You know like don't let tensions build because then you know there's, there's it's like an explosion. So yeah, you know there's times and then and then mindset.
Jen
The other thing you know it's like keep the lines communication mindset. We're we're a team right. We're here to help each other out. We're here to get more sales. yeah. Good stuff. Okay. Have some fun questions for you now okay. what's your favorite thing about what you get to do?
Kelly
So I think about this a lot because a lot of people ask me, like, internally, and I think that the thing I like the most is being that first initial, I guess, what's the word I'm looking for our first initial impression of our company. Yeah. You can set the tone as to like what that client is to expect throughout their entire process.
Kelly
And I think that that holds a lot of weight, and you have to carry that very gently. and I love when I've got clients that come in that are, you know, the homebuilder dreamers, or maybe they're a little nervous or they're going through a major, you know, family change. and you get to explain why this is the best route for them.
Kelly
You know, they're frustrated with resale. And you get to explain what your company can offer them and, and help, you know, solve those problems for them. And nothing feels better than when you uncover all the layers and do all your digging and you find that perfect, you know, home for them or community or person, whatever it may be.
Kelly
And they go to that appointment and then you get that response and they've had a great time. The sales consultant is happy. Everyone's happy. The that's the dream, right? That's what you expect that time doesn't always happen. But that's very satisfying.
Jen
I feel, chills. I love it.
Kelly
I love this job.
Jen
Who inspires you?
Kelly
I think who inspires me would would be my family, of course. I have three girls and we talk a lot about the fact that girls run this world. Right. And I, I'm always preaching to them that, like, you can have the best of both worlds, and I get to show them what it's like to show up every day, even though we're tired, even though we're doing a million other things.
Kelly
We show up every day, kick some butt, and, I hope that that sets a good example for them.
Jen
Like, yeah. What did you think about Harrison Butler's comments?
Kelly
Oh my gosh, that was crazy. I couldn't believe that he actually said that out loud. And then because I saw like someone from the Chiefs like ownership team doubled down and agreed with him. Starts just like this.
Jen
Is.
Kelly
This is not the place.
Jen
Hey, read the room. Yeah, bro. Yeah. I will not be having him on my fantasy football team next year as my kicker. That's how I'm going to tell. I'm going to get back to the man.
Kelly
Yeah, that was so disappointing to hear and I just couldn't believe that someone would say that at a commencement speech.
Jen
Yeah.
Kelly
You know.
Jen
Women that are graduating and starting their next chapter and in their career or like, yeah, how do you define success?
Kelly
So I, I'm a big goal setter. And that reaching each goal, whether it's daily or weekly or whatever it may be, work personal, setting a goal and reaching that I feel like is a successful day or week or what have you.
Jen
Kelly
That to me is a way to judge what you're doing, what you're contributing, you know, work related. I love to look at, like where I sit amongst what is expected of me. I'm really big on expectations. And, so setting those goals and expectations from myself, personal or, you know, professional, and then reaching that or moving that up where you hit your goal and you can keep continuing that up, is very satisfying.
Jen
man. Jesse, any questions for Kelly?
Jessie
No, I just think, you know, all that she said is a testament to all the work that she does. You know, getting to work with her. I get to watch her progression and and all of the things one, you can tell she has true joy in what she does. And for me, that success is really just enjoying what you're doing.
Jessie
Everything else is a byproduct of it, because if you're not happy, it comes through, you know, it comes through to your customers, it comes through to your teammates, your boss, everybody. and so to watch you come in every day with joy and to service your customers and, and want to do that is the success to me and everything else.
Jessie
All of your metrics that blow other metrics out of the water is just proof of that. And so I think, you know, you are a good example. It's just.
Jessie
Enjoying what you do.
Kelly
Thank nk you, I appreciate it. I really do love this job. And, I always want that to show through and in my work.
Jen
So, Kelly, it's now time for a skills check because. Right. You better check yourself before what Jesse.
00:35:39:13 - 00:35:46:16
Jessie
You wreck yourself. You know they have they have tee shirts at target graphic tees. Now I need to send you I need to send you when.
Jen
They have that, again. Yeah. Okay. Well, I mean, we need one of those. Yeah. okay. One thing to focus on right now with your skills check is, you know, we talked last episode about a shift and leads. You know, what to do if we're feeling a little low, right? When leads get low, we grow. It's not slow.
Jen
You're slow. So skills check this time is outbound calls. And so if the phone's not ringing in or making the phone ringing out, and I'm not talking about your normal follow up tasks, I'm talking about. In addition to that, you're going in creating segmented prospecting list, and you are hitting the phones and you are calling, you know, the phone in, in today is really a lost art.
Jen
I mean, you guys might think I sound old, but seriously, when somebody sends me a text that's kind of like standard, when somebody picks up the phone and calls me, like in addition to a text, like, but they actually call and they take the time to leave me a voicemail. I am going to be more apt to respond back to that text message, or to call them back.
00:37:00:14 - 00:37:10:04
Jen
So, Jesse, what would you say is a good number to shoot for a a day? How many outbound calls should be making a day?
Jessie
Yeah. it used to be 20 outbound prospecting calls. Again, outside of your standard follow up to get the traction of H leads into your database. But when things slow down, you know, it's 40 plus and it's taking more calls to get the same number of appointments right now because of that hesitancy and all those things. and so I think it's important we actually had somebody who attended one of our academies reach out to us earlier this week, and she said, hey, you know, am I on pace?
Jessie
I'm making, you know, 50 calls a day to my leads. Like, is that successful? Well, and it's fun for people to want to establish their career in a positive direction and know what's going on. And so she's making 50 plus calls a day. And so I think it's really just dependent on your bandwidth and also the efficiencies of how you manage your day plays a big role in how much time you do have to be able to do those things.
Jessie
Yeah. And make sure you're calling from your your number, not your cell because.
Jen
Yeah.
Jessie
I've run into this a lot recently. Yeah. This is another what online people are talking about. But we're calling from their direct from their cell. And now the data is skewed a little bit. And then customer experience is a little bit confused because there's a buffer in their in their inbox, but another number in their voicemail. And so there's a little bit of confusion.
Jen
So so pro tips call from call rail or whatever call tracking platform you use. So keep it all inbound and outbound in one platform. Use a call log so you can actually see the results of all of your hard work. This is how many people I call today. This is how many people I connected with. And this these were the results.
Jen
You will blow people's brain like minds like when you go. I called 400 people this month and were able to connect with this many and got this many appointments. Wow. And then the other thing, there was something else. Oh, speaking of team dynamics, like if you're the beauty of being on a team is if you're going to sit down for, you know, an hour or two and like, hey, I'm going to I'm going to bust out some outbound calls.
Jen
Then your team member can handle the inbound calls while you're making your outbound. Okay, I'm going to take myself off of inbound call rotation because I'm going to bust these out. And then guess what? You guys switch, right? So then when your team member comes back on like okay, I'm going to go on inbound, I got you covered.
Jen
And then you make your outbound calls. That way you don't have that pressure of like I'm trying to make outbound calls. But I got inbound calls coming too. You can have focused, dedicated attention to making those outbound calls. So.
Kelly
I was really quick I have to tell you. So we've like I said, we've stayed pretty busy. And there was a day where we needed to do some targeted prospecting. So I created a list and I thought, okay, I'm busy, I'm taking inbound calls and I'm, you know, I've got my email going. I'm just going to text these people first.
Kelly
We're going to start with text, and I, I love tags. We get great response from text. But I texted everybody and the response was so many people that I ended up, I felt like I wasted my time toggling back and forth, and I got through the day and I'm like, oh my God. Like all 50 of these people responded back to me, and now I'm taking so long to just give them the direct information.
Kelly
I would have just picked up the phone, they would have picked up their phone, and we could have just had a more of a natural conversation, and I would have eliminated going back and forth and wasting so much extra time.
Jen
Good point. You might get a response, but then when are you going to have the bandwidth to manage the response? So why not just have a quick five minute phone conversation and get to the meat and potatoes really quickly? I love that perspective. Kelly. You're fantastic. The last question I have for you, let's see if you get this right.
Jen
Are you down with Opt?
Kelly
I knew it was coming. Yeah, you know me.
Jen
Love it. Okay. Thank you. We will see you next time.
Kelly
Okay. Thank you guys so much. Bye!
