Technology Tools at High Ticket Closing Agency
Introduction
When looking for someone to interview regarding entrepreneurship technologies, I wanted to find a young entrepreneur in the sales industry as I have had sales experience myself. Tim Delcourt, founder of High Ticket Closing Agency was suggested to me from a friend and seemed a perfect fit. High Ticket Closing Agency “works with businesses and influencers to convert more inbound leads on high-ticket offers. We manage the sales process from inbound contact to the close. Our role is to convert more leads into sales so you can focus on other aspects of your business and life” (High Ticket Closing Agency, n.d.). Tim started this business a year and a half ago, with the goal of trying to fill a gap in the market. Tim had worked as an account executive for a data tech company selling to government organizations. This experience showed him the internal operations on how to run a sales team and the issues that came with it. Some of the issues Tim notices were the high turnover rate, burnout, and the difficulty of finding quality salespeople. Tim solves these issues by providing a high-quality sales team to smaller companies that are more remote or internet-based and have difficulty finding and scaling their own sales team. This focus has provided him with a unique position in the industry and a competitive advantage against the larger sales agencies.
Technology Tools
Tim utilizes a large variety of technology tools to run his business such as Google Drive, Google Sheets, Zoom, Slack, HubSpot, PayPal, Loom, Zapier, QuickBooks, Wix, Calendly, and more we ran out of time to discuss. These tools have allowed Tim to efficiently run his business while at a minimal cost. This paper analyzes the tools Tim uses, how he uses them, and how anyone can use these tools to improve their business or life.
Slack
To start, Slack is the most important tool Tim uses to effectively communicate internally. Slack is a collaboration hub that is used to help you and your team work together seamlessly (What is Slack?, n.d.). He began using slack to get away from using text and to streamline all the communication into a single platform. This is especially useful in the sales industry as in Slack you can create multiple different channels that Tim utilizes to allocate to different clients he’s working with. This allows him to organize and properly allocate information about clients to his team and the leads generated from those clients. If someone messages Tim on his team and says a lead wants to move forward, he knows which business it is related to and the specific product that they’re trying to sell (T. Delcourt, personal communication (pc), February 20, 2020). In addition to organizing communication and clients, Slack can automatically populate what the prospects bought and what the sale price is in his team channel. Tim acknowledged this as a unique way to provide motivation and a sense of community among his team as many work in remote locations.
I recommended using Slack as a communication tool for Finesse Wealth Management, a Student Union Club at the University of Calgary. With over 20 current members and many alumni, I found texting or Facebook Messenger as inefficient tools for communicating with the group as well as building a sense of community with all members. After implementing Slack, communication throughout the group has drastically improved as well as making the organization of events much easier. If you are having trouble communicating with a group, I highly recommend trying the technology tool Slack.
Slack
Example of High Ticket Closing Agency using Slack
Calendly
Furthermore, Calendly has been an essential tool Tim uses in High Ticket Closing Agency as a way to easily book new leads for calls and keep track of which team members take the calls. Calendly is an easy to use scheduling software which aims to save time and improve service quality by eliminating the old-school way of using phone tags or email and allowing hot prospects to connect right away (Calendly Review, n.d.). The app is easily implemented to a client’s website and a potential lead can pick a date and time they are available for a call.
Example of a prospect booking a call
Once a prospect books a call through Calendly, the information is sent to Tim and his team. His team gets notified of a new booking through email and Slack. Additionally, Tim has Calendly connected to a Google Spreadsheet to easily keep track of leads. Finally, the calendar gets filled and his team is easily able to manage their schedules and include their assigned calls into their calendars. Calendly has been useful for Tim and his team as keeping track of appointments is crucial for operations. Team members work during different time slots and Calendly allows his team to easily manage prospects in their time slots.
Prospect Bookings from Calendly at High Ticket Closing Agency
Loom
Training his team on selling a new product is a challenge Tim faces. As Tim mentioned, finding quality salespeople is difficult and keeping them can be even more difficult. To effectively train his team, Tim uses Loom. Loom is a video recording tool that helps you communicate through instantly shareable videos. Loom allows you to record your camera, microphone, and desktop simultaneously and instantly share it through Loom’s patented technology (What is Loom?, n.d.). Tim’s approach to training is to build out systems that are more automated and structured in a way to easily onboard new personnel. Loom provides this training as a video recording training software where Tim can record his screen or process on how to do something and upload it to the platform. Then after his team watches, he gets them to fill out a form and explain what they did to reiterate it back to Tim. Loom’s platform has helped his employees interactively receive training. Additionally, what separates Loom from other services such as Google Drive or YouTube, is that with those services you need to upload it or send it to someone, on Loom you basically click record and stop and it automatically processes and uploads it for you (T. Delcourt, pc, February 20, 2020). This saves time as you don’t have to do any editing or uploading.
Recording settings on Loom
PayPal
The main objective of High Ticket Closing Agency is to make sales for its clients. As the business focuses on closing leads over the phone, accepting payment is a large component of a successful sale. In order to bill customers and accept payments, Tim uses PayPal. PayPal is an online payments system that provides online money transfers and serves as an alternative to traditional methods. PayPal mainly operates as a payment processor for online vendors (PayPal, n.d.). When a lead Tim or his team is speaking with is ready to purchase, PayPal offers two main services that they use. First, and most common method, if the customer is making a one-time or recurring payment Tim will send them an invoice. Tim fills out the email, product description, price, and whether it is a one time or recurring payment (usually monthly or bi-weekly). Tim stays on the phone with the customer until they have received and completed the payment form. Once that is complete, he will provide them with their product or service, answer any final questions, and complete the sale.
PayPal Invoice
If it is a one-time payment, and the customer is away from a computer or unable to fill out the payment form, Tim will enter the PayPal virtual terminal and fill out the required information for the customer. The process is the same except Tim needs to fill out the form for the customer and input their payment information. PayPal is also used for Tim to bill his client for the commission from the sales generated in the prior month.
PayPal Virtual Terminal
PayPal has been a useful tool in my life as I have utilized the service many times when making or sending online payments. PayPal and similar services have been important tools for entrepreneurs and supporting the global transition towards a digital economy. The introduction of efficient and secure payments online has led to a large advancement in internet-based online companies and has provided massive opportunities for entrepreneurs going forward.
Zapier
Finally, to keep track of everything and engage with the business client, Tim uses Zapier. Zapier is one of the more expensive tools Tim pays for, but “it pays in dividends for sure to automate and keep track of everything” (T. Delcourt, pc, February 20, 2020). Zapier is a service that helps you connect and move information between your apps and automate workflow. One of the questions I asked Tim was how do you manage all these tools you use? Zapier was his answer. He uses Zapier as a tool to automate his business workflow which allows him to focus on growing his business, rather than menial time-consuming work. It is one of the biggest tools he uses to engage with business clients, as they have accounts that are unique to them. Changing all that for a new client would be time-consuming, Tim utilizes Zapier to create a connection to the client’s apps and to be able to link his tools and systems.
Zapier was a tool I was introduced to in the first lab of my ENTI 407 entrepreneurship technology class. This Lab taught me how to use Zapier by connecting apps such as Google Sheets, Gmail, as well as creating a Twitter bot that automatically retweets other tweets. At the time, I found the service interesting and a good productivity tool. Interviewing Tim allowed me to see the true value of Zapier and how it saves him hundreds of hours in menial tasks. The ability to connect apps and automate workflow is an essential element to the entrepreneurial tool stack and as Tim noted, pays dividends.
Zaps created in ENTI 407
When someone filled out the Google Sheet, an automatic email in Gmail gets triggered
Conclusion
Tim showed me how important entrepreneurship technology is to run a business in today’s world. Without these tools, High Ticket Closing Agency would not operate as effectively as it does or may not even exist. The ease of use and growth of these tools available today has expanded the opportunities and possibilities for individuals and entrepreneurs. Most people, however, are unaware of these tools and how “entrepreneurship technology is useful, like, really useful, to low-tech entrepreneurs as well as high-tech ones” (Keyhani, 2018). I was one of these individuals and believed most tools out there were for “high-tech” individuals only. Interviewing Tim helped me change my belief as he is not a “high-tech” entrepreneur however has been able to effectively implement the tools available to create a successful online business at a minimal cost. Increasing your knowledge of the tools available and being able to implement these tools into your personal life or business, will be a necessity to remain competitive in the future and allows you to pursue opportunities not seen before. Tim has provided valuable insight into the tools we discussed, although there are many more tools available. If you’re interested in finding more tools a great source is Entrepreneur Tools by Mohammad Keyhani.
Links to Tools
https://entrepreneur-tools.zeef.com/keyhanimo
References
Calendly Review. (n.d.). Finances Online. Retrieved February 21, 2020, from https://reviews.financesonline.com/p/calendly/
Create Invoice [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.paypal.com/ca/business/get-paid/invoicing-and-subscriptions/invoice-generator
High-Ticket Closing Agency: We Convert Leads to Sales. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2020, from https://www.highticketclosingagency.com/
Keyhani, M. (n.d.). Entrepreneur Tools. Retrieved February 21, 2020, from https://entrepreneur-tools.zeef.com/keyhanimo
Keyhani, M. (2018, November 5). The Amazing Value of Learning about Digital Tech for Entrepreneurs. Retrieved from https://medium.com/entrepreneurship-technology-blog/the-amazing-value-of-learning-about-digital-tech-for-entrepreneurs-d137d14c7d3f
Khan, S. (2017). Loom recording settings [Online image]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvRVJ46ffoQ
Manfull, A. (2019). Scheduling with Calendly [Online image]. Retrieved from https://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2019/08/21/check-out-calendly-to-help-schedule-meetings-or-to-help-your-staffs-book-photo-or-video-studio-time/
PayPal. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved February 22, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal
Slack user interface [Online image]. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/slack-stock-surges-at-debut-values-company-at-more-than-23-billion-4122901.html
Virtual Terminal [Online image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/virtual-terminal
What is Loom? (n.d.). Loom. Retrieved February 22, 2020, from https://support.loom.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002158057-What-is-Loom-
What is Slack? (n.d.). Slack. Retrieved February 22, 2020, from https://slack.com/intl/en-ca/help/articles/115004071768-What-is-Slack-
