 |
Vital Retention Facts
What is Attrition Costing You?
Article Archives!
R-tactics Tips FREE!
Client Case Studies
HOT Conferences
Site Map
Starting a new company? Learn more about LaunchSmart™.
Bi-weekly tips to boost service and retention levels!
|
|
|
|
MLM Customer Service: The Secret Is In The Sort
By Terrel Transtrum
This article addresses sorting of incoming mail for MLM and Party Plan customer service departments. For companies whose practice it is to simply assign incoming mail by number of pieces to each correspondent, the question arises as to the equitable allocation of work and whether this practice is an inefficient distribution of the workload. Some employees end up with a preponderance of easier problems while less-experienced personnel often have to grapple with matters beyond their capabilities. This article discusses how to distribute the mail.
If there is one aspect of structuring a response group that has to be emphasized, it is the importance of the "Sort." The business axiom of "plan your work then work your plan" has far-reaching implications in this step of your business cycle. Because the sorting function is so important, it should not be assigned to the most-recently-hired or lowest-paid employee. Those assigned to sorting the mail in the customer service department should be among the most experienced and best-paid workers in the group. In a small operation, the manager should perform this function. In some other operations, the team leaders perform the overall departmental sort. Thus, the first step is to assign the sorting function to the right people.
Second, using a multi-position sorting rack, sorters should segregate the mail, based upon their complete familiarity with it, into three major categories by team: simple, medium, and complex, including contacts from VIP's. That stands for Very Important Persons, which includes letters personally addressed to company officers, registered and certified mail, letters from attorneys, governmental agencies and newspaper columnists, TV commentators, and those letters where the customer complains that no response has been received to a previously written query. This sort can be accomplished by a quick scanning of the letters. There is no need to read the letters word for word.
Third, consider the following information regarding production ranges for sorters. As a rule, trained personnel can perform this task, at the rate of 130 to 150 pieces per hour, including removal from the rack and counting by category. See the example below.
Most communications fall into the "simple" category-between 55 and 65 percent. These require little, if any, researching, and usually can be answered by a form card or form letter. Stressing the rapid handling of simple problems and keeping current with such communications should enable your company to provide superior service to the maximum number of customers and distributors. This policy does not mean that correspondence with more-complex problems is set aside, but by disposing of as many simple communications just about immediately and in an informal manner; the department will find that it can handle the more-serious and more-complicated complaints and inquiries expeditiously as well.
Since multilevel marketing (MLM) and Party Plan compensation systems thrive and survive on relationships, and because their continued existence is wholly dependent on the customer service environment that you create within your culture, making the commitment to become a leader in customer service and support is essential to your long-term success. By applying these concepts and using these tools, and others presented in the series on MLM customer service, you may become better service-givers in the exciting world of multilevel marketing and party plan distribution.
Sample Sort Categories
Simple
- Product Information
Is stock, fragrance, size, and type available? Do you carry the item?
- Order Information
How do I order? What are the credit options? How do I exchange?
- Fulfillment Problems
Item omitted; received in error; wrong item or item missing; wrong quantity; damaged product
- Distributor / Customer Account
Change of address or other account information; cancellation of monthly auto-ship
- Order / Back-order Problems
Order not received; where is the back-order; cancel back-order
Medium
- Order Processing Problems
Billed twice; not given correct price
- Payment Problems
Account credited for wrong amount; already paid
- Returns and Exchange Problems
Replacement not received; refund not received; wrong item replaced; wrong amount of refund
- Routine Policy Questions
Routine policy questions which can be answered from standard responses
Complex
- Second Complaints
Received no answer; misinterpreted original letter; "What's wrong with you people?"
- Commissions Problems
Incorrect commission calculations; didn't apply orders correctly; expected enrollment not appearing in downline report
- Complex Policy Administration Questions
Requests for exceptions to established policies; requests for explanations of policies; difficult policy questions such as reporting of policy violations in the field
- Multiple Problems
Tangled issues, multiple questions; long, involved letters
- VIP
Attorneys, Better Business Bureaus, Direct Sales Association, USPS, Attorney's General, consumer advocates, media, top-level distributors writing to the president of the company or other corporate executives
|
Organizing and classifying types of correspondence problems by degree of complexity for sorting.
Back to top | Article Archives
|
|
