At my software company we use sales games every year or two to reinvigorate sales and those who manage the sales process. Conducted right, sales games are a win for all concerned. I’m pleased therefore to see that Bill Express is using a sales game to enable newsagents to win back the cost of the recent BOPO debit card in store training. I like the idea because it reminds newsagents about the importance of bill payment and gets them thinking about this and BOPO in entrepreneurial terms.
In the Bill Express bill payment sales game, the bar is not too high. It’s built around newsagents engaging with their customers a little more to increase bill payment transactions. In return, newsagents win a rebate of the cost of BOPO training – a good commercial solution to an issue newsagents would have thought was lost.
I need to declare that I was one of the people Bill Express consulted in navigating this issue as a result of comments here.
I will hold off making any full judgement before i hear exactly what the ‘sales game’ is … but … as a first reaction i dont see this as a commercial solution.
Damage has already been done (some would argue irrepuable damage). This is not the only issue newsagents have with Bill Express, it is one of many.
I cant see a sales game being a solution. Bill Express has done wrong and now they want newsagnets to jump through hoops to get back money that never should have been withdrawn.
I have nothing against sales games. When used correctly they are a fantasitc tool that can achieve many benifits. Hovever i dont this is anything like the right situation in which to use a sales game.
It is good to see Bill Express doing something, but that something just doesn’t seem to be enough. It also doesnt address the bigger issue of the precedent the withdrawal of the marketing subsidy set. Its a cheap and quick fix when what they need to be doing is mending burnt bridges for long term solutions with the backbone of their service, newsagents.