8 Eye-Opening Questions

For All Payroll Sales Leaders

By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker         

• Word Count:  275
• Time To Read: 1.1 Minutes [Based on 250 Per Minute]

This is a perfect time of the year to look at your sales strategies, marketing campaigns and sales tools.  If not, you are putting your payroll service at risk and 2015 may turn out to be an “average” year at best when it comes to acquiring new payroll clients.

It’s Time You Stopped Hoping Things Will Change.

All too often, many sales leaders tell me they are hoping for a turnaround with their sales and/or salespeople.  My typical reply is this: “The only way your sales needle will move in a positive direction is for you to take action and do something different.”  I then ask them a series of questions that go like this:

8 Questions I Ask All Payroll Sales Leaders: 

1. How many prospects and referral partners does each salesperson have in their database?
2. How many of your prospects have an e-mail address associated with their record?
3. What is your strategy to increase the size of our e-mail marketing database of prospects, referral partners and clients?
4. Are you relying on your salespeople to stay in touch with their database of prospects and referral partners? (Fact: 99% of all salespeople give up after their third unsuccessful call). 
5. What is your e-mail marketing and direct mail marketing strategy (and have you shared it with your sales team)?
6. What type of marketing collateral do you use on a sales call to reduce price as a focal point or sales objection?
7. How often are you training your sales staff to improve their sales performance?
8. How often do you touch your clients to:
   1. Cross-sell them other products or services?
   2. Ask for referrals?
   3. Survey them to determine their future needs? 

Are You Happy With Your Answers? 

If not, you should seek out a professional who can help you create or fine-tune your sales and marketing strategy.  By the way, don’t put marketing on your sales team’s shoulders, as research has proven salespeople are notoriously bad writers, and worse, do marketing on an intermittent basis at best.

Executive Summary:  If you do not know the answers to the questions above, or if you are unsatisfied with them, it means you and your salespeople are underleveraged in the marketplace.  Should this be the case, your salespeople are losing 15% to 50% of their sales revenue per year by not being plugged into an automated marketing system.

About The Author

Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc.  He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist.  He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayropll.com.  His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.

To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577. 

3 Things Every Payroll
Sales Leader Needs To Inspect

By Glenn Fallavollita, CEO – SellMorePayroll.com | Author | Keynote Speaker         

• Word Count:  351
• Time To Read: 1.5 Minutes [Based On 250 Words Per Minute]

In my book “Supercharge Your Payroll Service’s Sale NOW!, I outlined more than 500 sales and marketing ideas to improve your payroll service bureau’s sales performance.  However, I want to put those ideas to the side and focus on three core things winning payroll sales leaders do to improve their sales. 

#1: They Take Charge And Measure Their Sales Team’s Performance Metrics. If you are an owner or sales leader, take charge of your sales team's performance metrics on an objective basis (it is amazing what happens when you do).

Here are some non-subjective reports you should consider tracking for your sales staff: 
 

• Number of proposals presented (date driven)
• Proposal close ratio
• Prospect database size (e-mail list)
• Referral partner database size (e-mail list)
• Sales pipeline report (prospect BS report)
• Tracking the # of first time appointment (FTAs) meetings each week (with decision makers)

#2: They Have Mandatory Phone Time. The #1 thing you can do with your sales team is to get them to spend more time on the phone calling prospects and referral partners. Specifically:

• If a salesperson is 80% or less of their sales quota. Have this salesperson come into your office to make calls three days a week for four to five hours each day.
• After a major marketing campaign was released. After you send (mail or e-mail) a campaign to a prospect, client or referral partner, every salesperson would be required to attend a "phone blitz" session.
• Have your salespeople profile their sales territory: Have each salesperson start keeping track of the businesses in their sales territory that are using a third-party payroll service and WHOM they are using! 

#3: They HIGHLY Reward A Hunter's Mentality. Pay a salesperson for their sales success with a commission plan that rewards over performance. Additionally, run monthly sales bonuses for hitting certain level of sales, i.e., first sale over $X, first sale of the month, most new sales for the month, etc.

Executive Summary: At the end of the day, salespeople need to be managed and measured just like everyone else at your payroll service.  In an industry where 66% of all salespeople quit or are fired within 9- to 12-months of their hire date, it is imperative to measure what you inspect. 

About The Author

Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc.  He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist.  He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayropll.com.  His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 35 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.

To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577. 

Marketing Ideas For
Independent Payroll Service Bureaus

Independent payroll service bureaus don’t have the deep-pockets the big national or regional players do; however, with a little creativity and mindful spending, the impact can be just as great on the local level.

The Key: Build Mind-Share Not Market-Share.

By taking advantage of the marketing opportunities that are low-cost, you can easily build mind-share with your database of payroll clients, prospects and referral partners.  That being said, I have listed below ten lost cost ideas to help build mind-share with your marketing databases AND help increase your payroll service’s sales in less than 24-hours. 

1. After sending an important/sales themed e-mail, make a list of the e-mail addresses that DID NOT open the e-mail after 72 BUSINESS hours.  Then on that same day, but no later than the fourth business day, e-mail them the initial campaign again.
2. After your salesperson drops off a client’s first payroll, have them give a premade “drop by” kit to four other businesses that are in proximity to this new client (read idea #13 for its content).
3. Ask your clients to give you a testimonial; add these testimonials to your marketing campaigns, brochures and websites.
4. Call your clients and ask them who their accountant is.  After getting the accountant’s name, call him or her and set an appointment to discuss your payroll service’s referral partner program.
5. Create a formal “Refer Our Payroll Service” rewards program for your payroll clients.  Once it’s finalized, e-mail a press release to your clients to announce and promote the program.  Call everyone that received this campaign within 24 hours.  During the call, ask for three referrals.  
6. Create a formal referral partner program for CPAs. Give a CPA the option to take a percentage of the sale or not.  e-Mail your database of CPAs a press release on the program. Follow-up with everyone that received it within 24 hours.
7. Create a lumpy mail package and mail it to your top 10 prospects and top 10 referral partners (per salesperson).  The package should contain a special coupon offer, brochure, promotional product and cover letter.  Call everyone within 24 hours of the package hitting his or her desk.
8. Create a special “drop by” kit that a salesperson can give businesses as they walk through an industrial park.  The kit should contain a special coupon offer, brochure, promotional product and cover letter.  You might also consider adding a labor law poster to the package too.
9. Create spiffs (for great sales performance) for your sales team each week, i.e., gifts, money, weekend get away hotel stay, etc.
10. e-Mail your payroll clients a letter that details your “Refer Our Payroll Service” rewards program within 30 days of the press release announcing the program.

In my book “Supercharge Your Payroll Service’s Sale NOW!, I have create a list of 40 other low-cost and awesome ideas that will supercharge your payroll service’s sales.  To read more about it, or to order this book, visit us online at www.SellMorePayroll.com.

About The Author

Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc.  He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist.  He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayropll.com.  His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 30 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.

To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577. 

How To Dominate
Your Sales Territory
(For Payroll Sales Leaders Only)

How many payroll services do you compete against on a local, regional and national level? And of those, how many are targeting the same prospects and referral partners as you do with comparable pricing? As we both know, the answers are a lot.

One More Question.

How many of these same payroll services are getting better sales results than you? Most likely, a lot. If they are, it means this: They have a better sales and marketing process than your payroll service.

It Could Be Due To These Factors:

• They have a better sales leader and sales trainer.
• They are better at marketing their business to their database of clients, prospects and referral partners.
• Their salespeople are better trained at asking a prospect and a referral partner business questions not "What's your price?" questions.
• They have done a better job at building a massive database of prospects that are using a third party payroll service; and have done a better job at maintaining consistent contact with them.
• They are better at making a sales presentation.
• They are better at getting referrals from accountants.
• They are better at getting referrals from their payroll customers.
• They are better at prospecting for new business.
• They are better at positioning themselves as a unique and trusted payroll service.  

Now Ask Yourself This: How Can Your Payroll Service Do Things "Better?"

One of the simplest things you can do is ask yourself if there is a better way to increase your sales. Here are some questions to help get you and your team focused:

• How can we make our payroll service seem more attractive (awesome and unique) to a prospect and referral partner?
• How can we eliminate some of the most common sales objections from a prospect?
• How can we reduce a prospect's fear of switching to our payroll service?
• How can we reduce an accountant's fear when recommending our payroll service to one of his or her clients?
• How can we do a better job at staying in contact with our database of clients, prospects and referral partners?
• How can we do a better job at staying in contact with a prospect? 

By the way, when you come up with the answers to these questions, and implement these changes, you will oftentimes dramatically increase your sales.

Executive Summary: There are many ways to increase your payroll service's sales; however, the key is to invest 2 to 3 hours in the next several days to uncover them. Remember, your prime selling season is now.

P.S. 90% of the payroll services you compete against will continue to implement the same worn-out sales and marketing strategies; therefore, your market is wide open and it is waiting for your payroll service to dominate it.  

About The Author

Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc.  He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist.  He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayropll.com.  His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 30 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.

To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577. 

9 Tips To Supercharge
Your Payroll Service's Sales

If you want to hit your sales revenue goals in the next 12 months, all experts agree that you need a plan that deals with your payroll service’s sales and marketing weaknesses head on. To help you address any shortcomings you or your payroll service may have, I have listed below nine tips to help your payroll service become a sales and marketing powerhouse! 

Tips #1: Write Better Marketing Copy. The reality is that most people that work for you, or that you hire as a consultant, do a poor job at writing marketing copy for a payroll service. So what happens next is this: Your payroll service starts to look like a small, "me too" business. If you don't believe me, print out the home pages from ADP, Paychex and any of your local/regional competitors. Now compare it to yours.

Here are some links to reference:

ADP

Bank Of America

Ceridian

Intuit Payroll

Paychex

Paycor

Paylocity

PrimePay

SurePayroll

Tip #2: Develop Written Sales And Marketing Goals. All too often, business owners and sales leaders are focused on running things on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, they forget the importance of writing their goals and training their entire staff to do the same.

When writing your goals, try to keep it to one to three pages. Once you have written your goals, share them with everyone at your business (you can access a sales and marketing strategy template in my new book, “Supercharge Your Payroll Sales NOW!). 

Tip #3: Know That Everyone Needs To Take Action. No matter how busy you are, set aside 5 to 15 minutes a day and reread your goals. Remember, the key to hitting your goals is to take action. Want you staff to hit their goals? Remember this: Inspect what you expect. That said, keep your staff accountable for hitting their goals too.

Tip #4: Give Your Website A Marketing Makeover. Does your website reflect the things that make your payroll service awesome and unique in the marketplace; or is your copy outdated? Do your graphics look current, or are you using a design from five years ago? Does it open quickly on smartphones and tablets? Make the necessary changes to modernize and upgrade your website.

Tip #5: Take Charge Of Your Objective Sales Metrics. If you are an owner or sales leader, take charge of your sales team's performance metrics. Here are some non-subjective reports you should consider developing:

• Number of proposals presented (date driven)
• Proposal close ratio
• Prospect database size (e-mail list)
• Referral partner database size (e-mail list)
• Sales pipeline report (prospect BS report)
• Tracking the # of first time appointment (FTAs) meetings each week (with decision makers)

Tip #6: Create A Mandatory Sales Follow-Up Plan. The #1 thing you can do with your sales team is to get them to spend more time on the phone. Specifically:

• If a salesperson is 80% or less of their sales quota. Have this salesperson come into your office to make calls three days a week for four to five hours each day.
• After a major marketing campaign was released. After you send (mail or e-mail) a campaign to a prospect, client or referral partner, every salesperson would be required to attend a "phone blitz" session.

Tip #7: Highly Reward A Hunter's Mentality. Pay a salesperson for their sales success with a commission plan that rewards over performance. Additionally, run monthly sales bonuses for hitting certain level of sales, i.e., first sale over $X, first sale of the month, most new sales for the month, etc.

Tip #8: Install An Automated Drip Marketing System. Our research has proven that 99% of all salespeople stop calling a prospect after their third unsuccessful attempt at moving the sales process forward. That said, make sure you develop a lead nurturing system to ensure your payroll service maintains contact with a potential new sale.

Tip #9: Ask For Referrals: If you don't ask your customers or clients for a referral, they won't send a lot, if any, your way. If you would like to have your customers be an advocate for your business, then send them BOTH and email and postcard asking them to refer you to someone they know. Accelerate your results by adding a gift card to the campaign.

Executive Summary: When you position your payroll service with these strategies in place, you will have a more compelling story to tell. This in itself is a huge competitive advantage for any payroll service willing to take these extra steps.

About The Author

Glenn Fallavollita is the President of SellMorePayroll.com, a Division of Drip Marketing, Inc.  He founded Drip Marketing, Inc. in 2002, and serves as CEO, lead copywriter and strategist.  He is also instrumental in developing the curriculum, format and expansion of Drip University - the training arm of Drip Marketing, Inc. and SellMorePayropll.com.  His work, insight and creative talent has been the catalyst for the delivery of more than 30 million e-mail campaigns on behalf of his clients.

To learn how we can help your payroll service increase its sales, visit us on the web at www.SellMorePayroll.com or call us directly at (856) 401-9577.