As a consultant, I am often asked about the balance between reactive and proactive service work. As a rule, service departments balance their time between reactive and proactive activities depending on customer maintenance work, available time and access to good information.

Most service departments slant towards a reactive stance partly because the manager doesn't grasp how meaningful proactive work can be. Optimally, service departments of 20 or less reps do best when the manager is in close ear-shot range of all the activity. A manager who is near the activity knows when to shift manpower resources from reactive work to proactive work and vice versa.

The reactive work is what happens when customers call in with questions, requests, orders and complaints. Handling the reactive service work efficiently is necessary and it's vital for the manager to ensure that all incoming calls are being answered promptly and courteously.

The proactive work includes outbound sales calls, prospecting, following up on recently shipped orders, measuring customer satisfaction and anything else that enhances the business relationship and adds value. A manager who is in ear-shot range of the activity hears the incoming call activity and senses the rhythm and momentum of the operation.

Based on the activity, management can decide when to shift resources between reactive and proactive sales and service work. A centralized sales and service department enables the manager to ensure that Standard Operating Procedure is being adhered to.

For service departments, a proactive stance includes surfacing hidden sales opportunities both inside and outside the company. Inside the company, sales opportunities exist in latent customers who may not have ordered recently or in current customers who have product needs that have not yet been qualified. Both of these activities can yield more orders in the midst of structured and well-managed programs.

It is up to sales management to provide the required latent customer reports and to set fair expectations with all service reps about upselling and outgoing calls to both latent customers and new prospects. There is no reason for a company to view their service department as reactive - mostly because this stance diminishes the true value that a well-managed service department can yield. World-class service departments maximize their use of manpower resources to maintain a good balance between the reactive and proactive workload.

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