JJ's (Sept 2018) Tips in this issue: 1. Customer Service & Sales Tips Use the following tips as training tools. Present this situation to your group and brainstorm solutions together, or submit your own situation question to be answered in an upcoming newsletter. SITUATION QUESTION: A reader wrote: "Hello: First let me say I found the articles on your website very informative. I manage a Customer Service/E-Commerce department. Normally, I only take those calls that the CSR's are unable to handle. Every now and then I have to maintain firm ground which doesn't always mean the customer is pleased with my decision. There are times when the customer asks for the president's name or wants to speak to him directly. Our company is quite small and the president would rather I handle ALL calls and not forward any. I'm wondering what is a good way to communicate this with the consumer without adding fuel to the fire." SOLUTIONS: FIRST, if you get a lot of customers complaining and asking to speak to the president, look at what changes need to be made to cut down on the complaints. SECOND, If you are the last stop for the customer, you should have a title that implies authority, not just supervisor or manager, even if that is your title. When a customer asks or needs to be transferred to you, your CSR should use your title with reverence. Role play how they say it to the customer. THIRD, it’s possible your CSR’s need to be empowered to handle upset customers better so they don’t have to be given to you. FOURTH, If the call does come to you, use your lower voice which is more authoritative; act and sound confident and don’t let the customer get to you or make you take the situation personally. If you’re truly caring, personable and working to get in the customer’s shoes, your manner will disarm them. You should also have something to offer them if the company has made a mistake, etc. This is assuming you want to retain the customer. Remember, it takes five times more money and effort to secure a new customer than it does to retain the old one. FIFTH, are you empowered to be flexible and make adjustments under these stressful situations? If not, you have not been given the tools to do your job without sending the call to the president. If the president does not want the call AT ALL, give the customer a name, title and address to write to complain. Have those letters come to you and later discuss them with the president on how he wants you to handle them. The more tools you have to solve the situation, the more you feel empowered, and can truly enjoy your job. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SALES SKILL from Mr. Fanta$tic For those of us who do all or part of our business via the phone, we should appreciate the awesome value of Using the Left Ear Only. It's been proven that the Right Ear goes to the left hemisphere of the Brain, which is the logical, common sense, and rational part of our thinking process. On the other hand, the Left Ear goes to the right hemisphere, which is the creative and emotional part of the thinking process. If you want to start selling with more Emotion, Use the Left Ear Only. Even if you use a dual headset, please remove the foam over the right side, tape up the opening, and then put the foam back on. This one idea could increase your effectiveness by at least 20%. About the Author, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "We can learn to soar only in direct proportion to our determination to rise above the doubt and transcend the limitations." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE in an area? Service? Sales? Call for your FREE CONSULTATION now EVALUATION OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT Have you had an Evaluation of Your Environment lately so you could receive suggestions on improving it? (It's like the doctor's check up, you often don't know you need it, until after you've had it.) http://www.jjlauderbaugh.com/about.html **************************************** JJ Lauderbaugh, CMC JJ works with companies that want to give exceptional customer service to increase sales,
and with Directors and Call Center/Help Desk Managers who want to improve human
performance. ---------------------------------------------------------- Reprinted with permission
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