Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have not traditionally played a significant role in sales-oriented contact centers, particularly those involved with complex products or services. The prominent thinking is that 'people do a better job selling than machines'. While that point might be true, an effective IVR can play a key role in a sales center even if the IVR does not take on the role of 'selling'.

1.
IVR in a Sales Center
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have not traditionally played a significant role in
sales-oriented contact centers, particularly those involved with complex products or
services. The prominent thinking is that 'people do a better job selling than machines'.
While that point might be true, an effective IVR can play a key role in a sales center even
if the IVR does not take on the role of 'selling'.
IVRs should not take the place of highly skilled sales agents who are selling complex
products or services. That does not mean that IVRs cannot do an adequate job “taking
orders” for simple products such as an iPod, especially if the customer knows exactly what
they want to buy. In that case an IVR with the proper understanding capabilities can
collect all the necessary information to place the order. However for more complex
purchases such as buying and configuring a computer or shopping for auto insurance, the
IVR should play a different role.
The goal of the IVR in these types of sales should be to maximize the selling time of the
sales agents, while providing a good experience for the customer. Through this approach
an IVR can provide both an increase in revenue per call and a reduction in cost. This is
accomplished by completing the following tasks that are important to contact center sales:
1. Call Routing - Identifies the purpose of a customer’s call, separates sales calls from non-
sales calls and routes accordingly.
2. Initial Sales Discovery - Completes the opening data collection steps of identifying the
customer, collecting profile information, etc.
Call Routing Benefits
For call routing, by effectively understanding the true intent of the caller, we have seen a
reduction in non-sales calls to sales agents by as much as 60%. The following illustrates the
potential increase in revenue per call in such a case. Assuming the following:
Average order size $1,000
Non sales call % 20%
Average Revenue per call $800
With a 60% reductio n in misdirected calls to sales agents, the following would be the
new average revenue per call.
Interactions Corporation Average order size $1,000
31 Hayward Street Non sales call % 8%
Franklin, MA 02135 Average Revenue per call $920
317.810.4108
www.interactions.net In this case average revenue per call increased by 15%.
contact@interactions.net
twitter: @interactionsco

2. There would also be an additional savings to the sales department for the calls that sales
agents no longer need to handle. In this case 12 out of every 100 calls would be
eliminated. These calls will either be sent to the appropriate department of handled via
self-service. This savings could represent as much as $24 in savings per every 100 calls.
It is common practice to gather information from a caller before starting a consultative
sales process. This discovery process can range from a few simple questions to gather the
name and address of the caller, to completing a short discovery survey. In some cases
such as insurance or loan quotes, the discovery process can last several minutes.
Interactions implemented a simple sales discovery system for a client that collected name,
address, and email address from a customer before sending the call and the collected
information on to a sales associate. The following illustrates the potential savings per call in
a simple sales discovery process such as this.
Average seconds per call for:
Sales discovery 40 seconds
Agent discovery cost per call $.66
IVR discovery cost per call $.22
Savings per call $.44
In addition, collecting the right information up front can enable you to better segment
your customers, tailor offers, and match customers to the most appropriate sales agent.
When you look at call routing and the sales discovery in combination-- the results can be
even more impactful. However most IVR systems do not have the capabilities to achieve
these benefits while maintaining a positive customer experience. In order to accurately
capture data such as names and email addresses the IVR needs to understand as well as
high quality agent. The IVR should also have the understanding capabilities and intelligence
to enable a natural conversation that does not disrupt the normal sales flow. Fortunately,
advanced technology is now available that enables these capabilities.
About Interactions:
Interactions enables companies to more effectively interact with their customers. We
provide an automated voice solution that leverages an unprecedented level of
understanding-- enabling a productive two-way dialogue, quick responses to customer
requests, and a natural and easy way to communicate. The added understanding
capability enables a completely natural interaction, while providing the ability to accurately
capture data such as: e-mail, log-ins, names etc. Moreover, Interactions can seamlessly
handle accents and challenging noise environments. The net result? A self-service
experience that’s as effective as speaking with a high quality agent.
Interactions Corporation
31 Hayward Street
Franklin, MA 02135
317.810.4108
www.interactions.net
contact@interactions.net
twitter: @interactionsco