Retail Marketing

Effective Questioning Skills

By Nancy Friedman, Telephone Doctor

How important is it to ask good questions?  It’s very important.  It’s important you use questioning skills to help you completely understand the caller’s situation.  Otherwise, you could be responding to what you guess the caller means, which may or may not be correct.  Questioning goes beyond listening. 

Effective questioning is a real compliment to your skills.  It shows that you have the ability to understand the caller's real needs.  It shows that you are looking for meaning that’s deeper than the spoken message.  Effective questioning is a powerful, learned skill.  It says to the caller, “I’m interested in determining your needs.”

Questioning can be put into two divisions: Open-Ended Questions and Closed-Ended Questions. 

Open-Ended Questions:  Open-ended questions are questions without a fixed limit.  They encourage continued conversation, and help you get more information.  Plus, they often provide opportunities to gain insight into the other person’s feelings.  Open-ended questions draw out more information.  If you want the caller to open up, use open-ended questions that start with who, what, where, why, when, and how.  A few examples are:

“What are some of the things you look for in a hotel?”

“How do you feel government could be more responsive to your needs?”

“What are your concerns about this new program?”

Closed-Ended Questions:  Closed-ended questions have a fixed limit.  They’re often answered with a yes or no, or with a simple statement of fact.  Closed-ended questions are used to direct the conversation.  They usually get specific information or confirm facts.  Here are some examples. 

“Do you have health insurance?”

“Do you want the new brochure?”

“Would you be interested in that?”

We use the open-ended questions to get more information and the closed-ended questions to focus in on one area. 

Additionally, there are several other type of questioning techniques.  A few are:

Probing Questions: Sometimes you ask an open-ended question to get more information and you only get part of what you need.  Now it’s time for a probing question.  A probing question is another open-ended question, but it’s a follow-up.  It’s narrower.  It asks about one area.  Here’s an example:

“What topic areas are you interested in?”  This question would be better than reading off 50 topics to the caller.  It’s a probing question. 

A few other examples are:

“Are you able to tell me more about the form you received?”

“What did you like best about Paris?”

Probing questions are valuable in getting to the heart of the matter. 

The Echo Question:  Here’s a good technique for getting more information.  You can use this like a probing question.  The idea is to use the last part of a phrase the caller said.  Slightly raise the tone of your voice at the end of the phrase to convert it to a question.  Then pause and use silence – like this:

“…The bill you received?”

An echo question repeats part of the phrase that the caller used, using voice inflection to convert it to a question.  Some people call it mirroring or reflecting.  Others call it parroting.  We call it echoing.  Whatever you call it, it’s a valuable technique to use.   

Leading Questions: Many things can be good or bad.  Take fire for example.  Fire warms our home, cooks our food, and does many other useful things.  Uncontrolled, it can burn down our houses. 

The reason we use that example is because leading questions can also be good or bad.  Leading questions, if used improperly, can be manipulative because you’re leading the person to give the answer you want.  When they are used properly, you’re helping that person.  Some examples of proper leading questions are:

“You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”

“You’ll want to know about our same day delivery service, right?”

“You’ll want to go ahead with this, won't you?”

Leading questions often end with suggestive nudges toward the desired answer.  Some ending phrases would be, “Don’t you?”, “Shouldn’t you?”, “Won’t you?”, “Haven’t you?”, and “Right?”

So where are leading questions useful?  Well, they’re useful in helping someone who’s undecided make the right decision, a decision that will benefit them.  You use a leading question ethically when you help someone do the right thing.  Some folks call this technique the “tie down” technique because you’re actually trying to tie down the caller's needs. 

The bottom line is to practice using a variety of questioning techniques.  It will help you help your callers more effectively.  After all, you want to provide the very best customer service, don’t you? 

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor, an international customer service training company, based in St. Louis, MO.  Nancy is the author of four best selling books.  Contact Nancy at 314-291-1012 or nancy@telephonedoctor.com.

 

 

Top Telephone Pet Peeve is Put On Hold

By Nancy Friedman, Telephone Doctor

After 15 years of being number one, “Being put on hold” dropped to the third spot in Telephone Doctor’s “What Bugs You On The Telephone?” survey.  What’s the new number one complaint?  The automated attendant!

Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, recently conducted a survey to update the biggest telephone pet peeve of the American public. With hundreds of submissions received and a multitude of various aggravations, the automated attendant won hands down as the biggest frustration.  “Especially when there is no option for a human,” said Nancy Friedman, President of Telephone Doctor and noted expert on customer service and communication skills.

Nancy says, “We hear from audiences all over the country and there’s not a single program that we present where we don’t hear grumbles about the automated attendant (AA).”  We also found out that while AA is aggravating; the menus and the messages can often times be worse."

“Saying ‘Your call is very important to me’ sends callers up a wall,” said Nancy. Callers think, “Yea?  If I’m so important why aren’t you there?”

So what’s second on the ‘dirty dozen’ list?  Lack of good manners, rudeness and not having a good attitude.   If you’re concerned about cell phones, they came in fifth.  Or more succinctly – the users of the cell phone and their horrible manners – loud talkers, ill placed calls, and obnoxious rings.

Top Telephone Pet Peeves:

1. Automated attendant

2. Lack of good manners, rudeness and bad attitude

3. Being put on hold

4. Speakerphones

5. Cell phones

6. Foreign accents, speaking too fast, not speaking clearly

7. Eating or chewing while on the phone

8. Voice mail

9. Transferring calls improperly

10. Background noises

11. Carryover conversation

12. Not returning phone calls

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor, an international customer service training company, based in St. Louis, MO.  Nancy is the author of four best selling books.  Contact Nancy at 314-291-1012 or nancy@telephonedoctor.com.

 

The Importance of Empowering Frontline Staff

Sales, marketing, engineering, IT, customer service and other departments in non-healthcare organizations face issues similar to those in the healthcare industry. Suppose that the sales and engineering staff undermine each other. Resulting delays may reduce client satisfaction; if severe, the conflict could derail an entire contract. Employees need quick and accurate action instead of obstacles and delays.

For example, a hospital patient asks for a banana. The nurse calls the dietary manager, who replies, “not without a doctor’s order.“ After talking to two nearby managers who commiserate with her, the nurse mentions it to a Senior VP, who was passing through the unit. The senior VP intervenes and the patient, unhappy about the long wait, finally receives the banana. The time taken by each person to solve his problem makes the cost of the banana exceed $100. This wasted money, due to miscommunication and failure to integrate department systems, is an example of why medical care costs have escalated.

Frontline employees with decision-making authorization save management time and increase client satisfaction. Organizations providing work environments where staff can perform at their best attract and retain the best people. Positive employee relationships generate energy and raise productivity.

Save money, improve client satisfaction, and reduce expensive errors with the following seven tips:

1. Empower your frontline staff to solve client problems on the spot. Then support them. When frontline employees hesitate to make the independent decisions related to critical thinking, it’s because they have been reprimanded for doing so in the past. They have learned to wait for specific directions from their managers rather than functioning as autonomous professionals. This ingrained habit is difficult to break. The best way to change this habit is to build trust by giving your staff consistent support. Don’t let your chain of command become a ball and chain. When you empower frontline employees, you save money, clients are more satisfied, and productivity increases.

2. Building trust enables you to use your intellectual capital. When your staff trusts each other, they save time and money, because people who trust others can act quickly and decisively. How do you build trust? By respecting yourself and others, by being a role model, by courteous communication, and by sensitivity to the needs of others. For instance, a frontline employee working on a joint venture with a valued client needs to transfer very complex documents with multiple imbedded links. She wanted to make the transfers in a way that is time effective for herself and the other company. She thinks that using a particular website would make it possible to easily transfer the files and asks her manager if their company prefers any one site. The manager suggests that she discuss it with the IT manager. The IT manager agrees that the site will work, and explains how best to set it up. Since the frontline worker had the autonomy to contact the IT manager directly, she saved time and prevented wasted time in repeated tasks. Staff members establish trust in you when you make consistent decisions according to what is right, rather than what is easy. When companies use the intellectual capital of their frontline employees, they save many $100 bananas and preserve trusting relationships with their business partners.

3. Build a positive work environment. Organizations that provide environments where staff can perform at their best attract and retain the best people. Long-term strategies such as effective communication and staff-friendly cultures enable organizations to achieve the best results. Building a positive culture takes multiple elements: respect, consistency, and integrity. A positive culture is worth the effort because it promotes employee understanding of organizational values enabling them to make smart decisions for clients.

4. Insist that staff collaborate instead of compete. For instance, ask yourself the question, “Is everyone aligned behind our sales strategy?” Everyone can accomplish more when departments work together. Good communication and collaboration save time and money, and increase productivity. For instance, a salesperson may sell a product or service, but if he expects to make repeat sales, the customer service person and the delivery person must also interact effectively with clients. No matter how good the sales person is, future sales will be lost if the customer service person is insensitive to the client’s needs or if the delivery person is rude. This kind of alignment is essential for any company because the faces of all of these people are the faces that reflect the whole company from a client perspective.

5. Brainstorm about the opportunities that lie beyond the challenges. Dedicate a portion of your staff meetings to list current challenges. Then talk about ways to transform these challenges into opportunities. Perhaps you will be able to redefine your selling proposition to increase sales. For instance, look at both sides of client complaints. Ask yourself if the complaint reflects a client’s need for a new product or service that your company could offer.

6. Communicate respectfully. Poor communication wastes time, delays decisions, and damages morale. As the $100 banana illustrates, poor communication is also expensive. Even proven communication strategies are rendered ineffective when staff manage to find new ways to sabotage one another in negative cultures.

7. Solve the root causes of problem. If frontline employees have no power to solve the root causes of their problems, they end up creating temporary fixes day after day. This wastes huge amounts of time, costing their companies significant amounts of money and reducing quality for clients. Solving the root causes of problems may enable you to move from a product focus to a client focus, building your business in new strategic ways.

Core values such as respectful communication and integrity cost nothing. Smarter managers empower their staff to assist people in working together with conceptual communication and leadership approaches that enable them to leverage scarce resources and to do more with less. More than helping to maximize client satisfaction, using these tips will address the bottom line for managers: the dollar difference between the present level of staff productivity and full professional capacity are the number of $100 bananas you can save.

June Fabre, MBA, RN-BC, is author of “Smart Nursing: Nurse Retention and Patient Safety Improvement Strategies,” and owner of Smart Healthcare LLC. June is a speaker, trainer, consultant, coach and author, and has worked as an educator and sales manager. Through Smart Healthcare LLC, June develops and presents education programs that improve communication, raise productivity without burnout, and promote team performance. She assists frontline staff and managers in how to work together, using conceptual, communication, and leadership approaches. The seven core values of Smart Nursing are caring, respect, simplicity, flexibility, integrity, professional culture, and communication. These core values are universally applicable in any business. She can be contacted at (603) 320-3469 or at http://www.junefabre.com/.

Listen While You Work

An ancient Chinese proverb reminds us; "To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well." While everyone can benefit from this sage advice, these words of wisdom are particularly appropriate for professional salespeople. Would you consider yourself a good listener? Perhaps a more important question might be, how would your customers, business associates, friends and family members rate your listening ability? Their feedback just might surprise you, because most people believe they're much better listeners than they truly are.

Poor listeners frequently confuse the physical act of hearing with the emotional art of listening. While hearing is a function of biology, active listening skills must be acquired and developed. In the selling process, when you talk you merely provide information, but when you genuinely listen you show respect, create trust and develop rapport. Unfortunately, our educational system places emphasis on speaking and writing, but not on listening. For example, I have a good friend with a PhD who speaks three languages fluently, but can't listen worth a hoot. The only way to become a better listener is to mindfully practice "active listening" in all of your daily encounters… from the kitchen table to the sales table.

Active listening is making a conscious effort to hear your customer's words as well as to try and understand the total message being sent, both verbally and nonverbally. It requires you to listen not only with your ears, but also with your eyes. It's important to monitor your customer's body language gestures and look for congruency between words, posture, movement and tone of voice.

Are you able to stay focused on your customer or does your mind wander? By giving your customer your full and undivided attention, you're laying a foundation of trust and building rapport. Discipline your mind and put aside distracting thoughts. Each time you catch your mind starting to wander, "grab it" and immediately refocus your attention back to your customer. Show that you're listening by using your body language gestures to convey your attention. A simple smile or nod of the head conveys that you're listening without interrupting your customer's flow of thought.

The best salespeople have a tendency to listen like a homicide detective and ask great probing questions. They don't make assumptions, they summarize and seek clarity. An occasional question or comment to recap what has been said communicates that you understand the message. Until this is done, your customer will resist your input.

Where communication is poor, mistakes increase, relationships breakdown and opportunities to make the sale are missed! If you want to enhance your professional image, strengthen relationships and dramatically improve your sales effectiveness, I encourage you to listen while you work.

John Boe presents a variety of sales training and motivational programs for meetings and conventions. John brings over twenty years of experience as an award-winning sales trainer to the platform.  To have John speak at your next event, call 937-299-9001.  A free newsletter is available on his website.

 

What Your Customers Really Want

By Walt Zeglinski

Does your business have what it takes to consistently win in today’s market?  How about keeping your customers loyal?  If you think the price of your products or services is the reason you are attracting or not attracting and maintaining customers, think again.  Today’s customers are savvy and want much more from their relationship with your company than just a low cost. 

Customers are looking for relationships that deliver unique value. Yes, they want your products to solve their problems but they also seek a level of satisfaction that goes beyond the intrinsic value of what they paid for. By learning to tap into this deeper level of emotional satisfaction, your business with current customers will increase and you will uncover a steady stream of new customers.

Are Your Customers Loyal? You may have asked your customers if they were satisfied with their purchase from your company.  But the true measure is whether your customers are actually coming back.  In an average customer poll you may find that 8 or 9 out of 10 customers were satisfied.  That sounds great. But studies show that only 4 or 5 purchase from you again.  Why? Because rational satisfaction (they were not displeased, the product worked, etc.) is only part of the equation.  Customers who purchase again are emotionally satisfied. Moreover, emotionally satisfied customers will also recommend your product or service to others.

The bottom line on measuring loyalty: (1) How many of your customers intend to purchase again, and (2) how many of your customers would endorse your company to others.

Creating Exceptional Value: Exceptional value is created when your customer perceives your product or service to be worth more to them than the price they pay. There are two components in any strategy for creating exceptional value with customer.  The first is how well you communicating the unique value of your products and services as compared to alternative solutions in the marketplace.  This is important and is likely to result in a high rational satisfaction.  However it takes emotional satisfaction to develop a loyal customer.  The second factor – building deeper, trust-based relationships – is the key to emotionally satisfied customers.   This happens when your employees show your organization understands a customer’s needs, delivers more than is expected, and helps them achieve their goals. 
Exceptional value stems from exceptional employees.  Your people are the “secret sauce” in your organization’s ability to deliver on its value promise.  You have to hire and retain the right people to make it work.  These employees are those who do not need management mandates to engage customers and adhere to company values.  These employees are your customer’s problem solvers. They provide the discretionary effort and intellectual capital that can take your customers from satisfied to loyal.  And, studies  have shown that an increase of only 5% in customer loyalty can add from 25% to more than 100% to your bottom line!

Tapping the Emotional Fountain: Developing emotional satisfied customers who enjoy extrinsic value (beyond functional benefits) might seem like a pie in the sky ideal but there are many world examples.  Think about a Rolex watch and what you feel when you see one worn.  Any watch can give you the time. But they aren’t a Rolex.  What captivates us about a Rolex isn’t its function, it’s the prestige. A Rolex suggests more than your need to tell the time. It says that you appreciate the finer things. It shows that you have earned enough success to purchase one. It means you are knowledgeable about the value of the craftsmanship and precision it represents. 
That is the connection you should seek to develop with your customers.  You want to deliver more value than the functional benefits inherent in your product or service.  You want your customers to experience the extrinsic value you bring to the relationship by being emotionally engaged throughout the buying process.

It Pays to Be Ethical: A recent USA Today poll revealed that 72% of people will pay more to use the services and products of a company they perceive to be ethical.  An easy example of this for consumer products is the higher prices that consumers pay at eco-friendly stores like WholeFoods.  For service-based businesses, think of the movement of customers away from the megabanks who charged hidden fees and left customers navigating though a labyrinth of automated phone systems to credit unions and community banks where a real person answers the phone with a sincere interest in your situation.
These are examples of how the perception of ethical business practices can make a difference.  It reflects the impact of emotionally satisfied customers.  People feel better about themselves when they believe they are dealing with an organization that cares about “doing the right thing”. 

By optimizing the key performance drivers of value creation, you can successfully tap the emotional bonds of your customer relationships.  This takes the right people, the right process, the right leadership, and the right commitment.  The investment your company makes in enabling and aligning your team with the skills, attitudes, beliefs and values that develop loyal customers will enrich your core business and provide new opportunities to gain customers and market share.  Stay engaged and stay ethical in your customer relationships and you will transform your business

 

Walt Zeglinski is the CEO & Chief Client Advocate for Integrity Solutions, a performance improvement company that helps its clients to create value for their customers. Walt has over 20 years of successful experience in the corporate performance industry, applying his expertise to successfully diagnose, plan and implement practical solutions for complex business challenges. He has worked with executive teams and frontline sales and service teams across most industries including financial services, healthcare, technology, hospitality and manufacturing. You may contact Walt at wzeglinski@IntegritySolutions.com, 602-253-5700 or www.IntegritySolutions.com.

Three Lessons Kids Teach You About Business Success

By Brian Sullivan

“My see,” were the words my two-year-old daughter Maggie used last week as she extended her arms toward an older woman sitting in the window seat on a spring break flight to Mexico last week. The adult translation of those words is, “Excuse me ma’am, your window seat is better than my middle seat. I would really love to climb over this armrest, jump on your lap and hang out with you for a few minutes so I can look out that window. You good with that?” This woman was obviously well-versed in the ancient language of baby babble, and knew exactly what Maggie was saying. She pulled up the armrest, held out her arms and without hesitation, Maggie plopped onto her lap. They then began cloud gazing while getting to know each other.

My first reaction as a parent was one of hesitation. After all, I was a product of the “don’t talk to strangers” era, and not only was Maggie talking (I think), she was bouncing on the knee of a complete stranger. My second reaction was as an adult; thinking there was no way that woman could want my drooling two-year-old climbing all over her.  After several minutes of visiting, Maggie waved bye-bye to the woman and happily scampered back to her Barney video. And this was only the beginning.

Throughout the week Maggie sat in several more laps, high-fived countless strangers and waved kisses to a dozen or more people she had gotten to know. As I watched, I began thinking at what point and at what age will Maggie become weary of new faces, put her guard up and perhaps stop trusting people she doesn’t know? At what point will strangers stop randomly smiling at, waving at, and openly trusting her?
Then I thought…what a shame. Why does it all have to end? Well maybe it doesn’t. While I don’t expect strangers to randomly pinch our cheeks and blow us kisses walking down the street, maybe there is something we can do that will make people want to open up to us more. Because if they open up to us more, we can then learn more, influence more and serve more. So how do we do gain access to the hearts and minds of as many people as possible?

Kid Lesson #1: Trust others as you did when you didn’t know any better! Trust others, and they will trust you.  It’s a nice little game of give and take. If your defenses are always up and are skeptical of other’s intentions, other’s defenses will be up, and they will be skeptical of your intentions. So this week, let’s think of one person who you are reluctant to trust and trust them. Make the first move. Might you get burned? Yep! But when you open your doors, more good than bad will enter. And surrounded by more good than ever, you can be taken back to a time when, like Maggie, people felt even more compelled to smile at you, laugh with you and let you know that their day is better because you helped them “look out the window and into the clouds” for just a bit.

Kid Lesson #2: Put yourself “out there” by being fearless: Sure, most kids are afraid of things like green beans and cough syrup, but like Maggie, most have no problem “cold calling” people they don’t know. Why? Because they don’t yet have a fear of rejection. Even without a psychology degree, most people can tell you the most successful salespeople, entrepreneurs and business leaders attack opportunities that average performers deem outlandish.

So this week, think of three business opportunities or potential clients who others think you have absolutely no chance of getting. Then identify the highest person in the decision-making chain and make the call, pay the visit, send the creative e-mail or deliver the singing telegram. Regardless of how you do it, just put yourself out there. And take comfort in knowing the top is not crowded. Most of your competition is too scared to take the risk that you are about to take.

Another way to put yourself out there is to by identifying one smart person who you are dying to learn from. Not your buddy in the office, your manager or even your current mentor. Think about somebody big such as the author of your favorite book or a magazine writer you love, the host of that business radio show you enjoy, the speaker at that last seminar …whomever! Why not? Most people, regardless of their VIP status, are willing to help anybody gutsy enough to ask.

Cameron Johnson, a well-known author at age 23, has sold more than a dozen Internet businesses, and is now a contestant on Oprah’s Big Give. He talked about a time when he was an eight-year-old kid, sending a letter to Donald Trump, Plaza Hotel, New York City. It was addressed just like that … no street number, street name, zip code – nothing! He didn’t tell his parents he was sending it, but in the letter he asked Mr. Trump if, when he came to New York, Donald would give him a tour of the room where Macaulay Culkin stayed in the movie “Home Alone - Lost in New York.” When his family arrived at The Plaza for their vacation, the hotel manager’s first words were, “You must be Cameron!” Not long after, Cameron and family got a five-star tour of Cameron’s favorite room by none other than Donald Trump. So what’s the point? Because Cameron was eight-years-old and didn’t know any better, he put himself out there and his high-profile prospect, Donald Trump, responded by giving him access.

Kid Lesson #3: Give access to expect access: Kids will not only talk to anybody, but they will let just about anybody talk to them. How about you? Will you give access to just about anybody?  Let’s face it, we are all crazy busy and don’t have a ton of minutes to burn every day. But if you expect people to call you back (access), you better be somebody who calls others back. If you expect that high level decision-maker to let you in, you better let that salesperson calling on you “in.”  If you expect advice from that VIP, you better be willing to give advice to that rookie. Those who get to the top in business and in life are those who are the most selfless. And because it is so natural for the top performer to give help and access to others, it is easy for them to ask for it from others.

 
So there you have it, kids. Let’s turn back the clock by trusting more, fearing less and by opening ourselves up to those who need our help. And by acting in this childish manner, you are about to find yourself with a lot more customers, contacts, mentors and friends than you ever dreamed possible.
Read other articles and learn more about Brian Sullivan.

Sales coach and business consultant, Brian Sullivan, is author of "20 Days to the TOP - How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company's Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less." As president of PRECISE Selling, Brian helps improve sales, customer service, leadership, and presentation skills through seminars and Internet training programs. He also hosts "Entrepreneurial Moments," a radio show on business and personal development.

What I Learned From A Successful Small Business Owner About Sales

By Jeremy Ulmer

Yesterday I stopped in a large Fortune 500 retail chain to make a small purchase. As I was checking out, the clerk was looking at an inventory list that she was working on when I came to the counter, she hardly looked up, and then proceed to check me out. She muffled an obligatory “Thanks.” and handed me my receipt quickly as she began to look back at her inventory list.

I thought to myself, wow, if I was the CEO of the company, I would not be happy with the customer service. As a consumer, however, I quickly shrugged it off and accepted it as poor service that was not out of the ordinary, until today.

Today, I stopped in a small business and made another small purchase with a very different customer service experience. I was greeted with a friendly “Hello” and smile from the owner right when I walked in and was told to ask if I needed any help. I was then left to myself to complete my shopping. I checked out and he looked me in the eye, said, “Thank you, I really appreciate your business” as he reached out to shake my hand.

Wow. As I walked out, I felt really good about the interaction, just because he looked me in the eye and said a genuine “Thank you” with a handshake. That was it. That is all he did. Granted, maybe a handshake at a large retail store would be different, but maybe not a bad thing? Certainly a “Thank you.” while looking someone in the eyes would be appropriate.

What I learned from him is that the little, tiniest customer service experiences can have a huge impact on customer loyalty. 

In the world of sales, make sure you are doing the simple little things, to have a huge impact:

•Look people in the eye when you shake their hand.

•State a genuine “Thank you.” when you have earned new business, set an appointment, or gained a commitment. Also, hand written “Thank You” notes never go out of style.

•Always be early or on-time.

•Never be late.

•Be prepared.

•Listen much much much more than you speak, please.

•Smile and learn to laugh easily. (Both are contagious, good for your health, and make you more likeable)

•Follow up when you say you will.

•Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

•Be kind and thoughtful.

Sales coaching expert, Jeremy Ulmer, has helped hundreds of sales professionals, sales leaders, and business owners just like you overcome sales challenges to increase productivity and win more clients faster.  For 100s of unbeatable, sure-fire ways to increasing your sales results, subscribe for your free sales tips or request a free sales coaching consultation at www.SalesCoachingHabits.com.

Strategies for Handling Irate Callers

By Nancy Friedman

If your job entails taking calls from unhappy, irate callers, you’ve got your work cut out for you.  Many of us are vulnerable to outbursts from callers who are already going through an emotional, stressful time.  Handling these calls takes time and training, but it can be accomplished effectively.  Here are some service recovery techniques for turning unhappy callers into satisfied ones. 

Understand the Source of the Anger - Realize that angry callers are not unhappy with you, just t he situation.  Don’t take a caller’s hostility personally.  You are the lightning rod, not the target. 

You can do a great deal to diffuse a caller’s anger before you even pick up the phone.  How?  By smiling before you answer that call.  A smile can really be “heard” over the phone.  It’s difficult to be rude to someone who’s warm and friendly. 

Use the ASAP Technique - Here is my ASAP technique for handling irate callers:

Acknowledge the person’s feelings and apologize for the inconvenience the caller has encountered.  Make an effort to be sincere.  In today’s impersonal society, it’s incredibly rare to hear the words “I’m sorry that happened.  Let me get the ball rolling to fix it.”  You’ll probably spend about 80 percent of your time massaging the caller’s feelings and 20 percent actually solving the problem. 

Sympathize and empathize with the caller.  Phrases like, “I can understand why you’re upset,” help soothe ruffled feathers.  Pretend it is you calling.  Then get busy solving the caller's problem. 

Accept 100 percent responsibility for the call.  This is probably the toughest part.  Chances are you had nothing to do with the problem.  However, it is your job to accept responsibility and initiate a solution. 

Prepare to help.  Begin by reintroducing yourself.  Callers don’t usually remember your name.  State that you will be able to help.  Use the caller’s name, if possible, which helps diffuse the anger.  A willing attitude is essential because if the caller senses insincerity or indifference, he will stay angry.  It’s exasperating to file a complaint with someone who obviously doesn’t care. 

No Excuses - Never make an excuse to a complaining caller.  No one wants to hear, “The computer is down,” or “I’m the only one here.”  That is your problem, not the caller’s.  When you give an excuse, the caller hears, “I’m not going to help you now.”

Escalating a Call - Sometimes you are not able to solve the problem on the spot.  Many times you need more information from another department.  Perhaps the call needs to be handled by another person.  Although these are legitimate courses of action, they usually upset your caller again. 

If you need more information, explain that to your caller.  Ask him if he is able to hold while you obtain it, or if he would prefer a call back.  Avoid untrue phrases like, “Hold on a sec.”  Nothing takes a second. 

If you need to transfer a caller, let him know the name of the person to whom he or she will be speaking.  Give a reason why you are bringing in a third party.  “Joe, Mrs. Smith in our claims department is the real expert in resolving your type of problem.  Let me transfer you directly to her.”

Swear Stopper Technique - Unfortunately, there are callers who are firmly convinced that abusive language is their only recourse.  Try my “swear stopper” technique.  Say to the caller in a firm, but pleasant voice, “Excuse me, I can help you with your problem, but I’m not able to handle your abusive language.”

By using this wording, you are taking control of the conversation.  Then immediately start asking questions that will help solve the problem.  This helps you stay in control of the conversation. 

Try using these techniques and see how quickly you start handling complaint calls more effectively.  Then see how good you feel about yourself; you’ll be doing your job better than ever before!

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor, an international customer service training company, based in St. Louis, MO.  Nancy is the author of four best selling books.  Contact Nancy at 314-291-1012 or nancy@telephonedoctor.com.

Selling to the Four Temperament Styles

By John Boe

Have you ever wondered why you seem to hit it off right away with some customers, while with others it's more like oil and water? That's because we respond intuitively to the natural chemistry, or lack there of, between temperament styles. Our temperament style not only determines our behavioral traits, body language patterns and buying style, but it also influences our compatibility with other people.

Today we have access to innovative tools such as the Internet, cell phones, faxes and voice mail all designed to enhance our communications and support us in selling more effectively. Nevertheless, even with all of these technological tools at our disposal, the alarming number of failed relationships, dissatisfied employees and lost sales all reflect the fact that none of us are as effective at understanding others as we would like to believe. For example, what about that sale you thought you had made, but for some unknown reason your prospect changed their mind and didn't buy... or at least they didn't buy from you. Chances are you lost that sale because of your inability to recognize and adjust to your prospect's preferred buying style. This temperament mismatch is often referred to as a "personality conflict."

Research in the field of psychology tells us that we are born into one of four primary temperament styles (Aggressive, Expressive, Passive or Analytical). A person's temperament style is determined genetically and has nothing to do with his or her astrology sign, birth order or childhood experiences. Our temperament style is also unrelated to race or gender. Each of these four primary behavioral styles requires a different approach and selling strategy. Ancient Wisdom Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is credited with originating the basic theory of the four temperament styles twenty-four hundred years ago. Since the days of ancient Greece there have been many temperament theories and a wide variety of evaluation instruments, but essentially they utilize the four temperament styles that Hippocrates identified. Hippocrates observed that these four styles have a direct influence on our physiology, character traits and outlook on life.

The Aggressive or Worker style is:

•Extroverted

•Determined

•Demanding

•Domineering

•Controlling

•Practical

•Self-reliant

•Decisive

•Insensitive

Their major weakness is "anger management". Under pressure the Worker will work harder and may become ill-natured or explosive.

The impatient and goal-oriented Worker prefers a quick, bottom line presentation style. They expect you to be on time and well prepared. They like it when you avoid small talk and get right down to business.

Workers are generally quick to make a decision. They are focused on results and ask "what" questions. Keywords to use when presenting to a Worker are results, speed and control. Give them options so you don't threaten their need for control.

The Expressive or Talker style is:

•Extroverted

•Enthusiastic

•Emotional

•Sociable

•Impulsive

•Optimistic

•Persuasive

•Unorganized

Their major weakness is "emotional management". Under pressure the Talker will talk more, shop or eat, and may display an emotional outburst.

The playful and friendly Talker prefers a fast paced and enthusiastic presentation style. Use a short warm up and allow extra time in your presentation for them to talk. Talkers can be impulsive shoppers and are generally quick to make a decision. The key to making a sale to a Talker is to keep them focused on the presentation and allow time for them to express their feelings.

Talkers seek social acceptance and are concerned about what other people think of them. They ask "who" questions. Keywords to use when presenting to a Talker are exciting, fun and enthusiastic. Keep your presentation big picture and avoid giving them too much detail. Consider using colorful pictures, pie charts or graphs when presenting to this style.

The Passive or Watcher style is:

•Introverted

•Accommodating

•Harmonious

•Indecisive

•Patient

•Polite

•Uninvolved

•Friendly

•Sympathetic

Their major weakness is "self-esteem management." Under pressure the Watcher will avoid conflict by sleeping in longer.

The peaceful and stoic Watcher prefers a slow, deliberate presentation style. Watchers, unlike the impatient Worker, require extra time to warm up before you begin talking about business. Watchers are very sensitive to conflict or "sales pressure." They have a need to accommodate others and tend to ask "how" questions. Keywords to use when presenting to this style are family, service and harmony. Help the Watcher make a decision by giving them assurance. They dislike having to make decisions and are natural born procrastinators who love the status quo.

The Analytical or Thinker style is:

•Introverted

•Thoughtful

•Organized

•Critical

•Shy Detailed

•Pessimistic

•Introspective

•Secretive

•Aloof

Their major weakness is "stress management." Under pressure the Thinker becomes withdrawn, depressed and worries more (panic attacks). They "stress out" and seek perfection.

The cautious Thinker prefers a slow, detailed presentation style and warms up slowly. They are skeptical and typically research before they purchase. Thinkers want detailed information and they tend to ask "why" questions. Keywords to use are logical, safety and quality. Because they are concerned about making a wrong decision and appearing incompetent, you can expect the Thinker to want to take their time. Their frugal nature will cause them to "shop your numbers" to make certain they are not paying too much. Because of their desire for research and their need to avoid making a mistake, Thinkers often get bogged down in details. They get what is called "paralyzes from analysis." Close the sale with the Thinker by reducing their fear of making a mistake. Give them evidence, facts, testimonials and guarantees.

While there are certainly many factors that influence the selling process, by far the most important factor is to identify your prospect's preferred buying style. Once you learn how to quickly and accurately determine your prospect's temperament style using body language, you will be able to close more sales in less time!

John Boe presents a variety of sales training and motivational programs for meetings and conventions. John brings over twenty years of experience as an award-winning sales trainer to the platform.  To have John speak at your next event, call 937-299-9001.  A free newsletter is available on his website http://www.johnboe.com

Service Recovery: The Art of Damage Control

By Nancy Friedman, The Telephone Doctor

We all know the importance of customer service.  Those of us who are in this industry normally are the ones who genuinely want to help the customer.  It’s sort of a “high” for us when things go right.  But what happens when it all goes wrong?  How do you recover?

Service recovery is simply the art of damage control.  Every industry has damage control.  Think about Hollywood; poor Tom Cruise, for example.  He said something negative about Brooke Shields and suddenly everyone was out to get him.  His PR team went into damage control mode.  What about when things happen in government?  Big-time damage control shifts into gear. 

It’s the same when customer service goes wrong.  Think “damage control.”  What can we do over and above in order to gain this customer back?  To have them swearing by us and not at us?

Empowerment.  That’s the number one step of service recovery.  Each employee needs some form of empowerment.  They need to know how far they can go to help the customer.  Remember our Telephone Doctor rule: It should never take two people to give good customer service.  Any time you escalate a call to a supervisor, you are losing ground.  The more employees a customer speaks with, the harder service recovery becomes. 

Humor will only work when you have a rational customer.  And normally by the time you’re into service recovery, the rationale is lost.  However, what we do know is that most customers respond in kind to gentle humor. 

One of the worst things you can say to a customer is “I know how you feel.”  There is simply no way in the world anyone can know how someone else feels.  That particular statement will get you in a lot of hot water.  Drop this phrase now.  Even worse is saying, “I know exactly how you feel.”  You can say, “I can only imagine how you feel.”  But it’s best that you don’t walk in the customer’s shoes.  It won’t be a good fit, I promise you. 

True service recovery occurs when you’ve helped the customer and you can tell that they’re satisfied, that they’re back in the groove with your company again. It’s when they go from screaming to loving you, and it can be done. 

To do this, you need a whole lot of empathy.  You need to listen; you need to care.  These are the tools for service recovery.  You need to go that “one step beyond.”  You need to do something they’re not expecting, something that bowls them over.  It might mean taking a loss, but if you’re really looking to save that customer, you’re willing to take that loss.  At the end of the call, they’ll be so happy and so smitten with your response, they’ll be singing your praises to all their friends. 

Service recovery is special.  You see, good customer service is expected.  That’s nothing new or special.  You’re supposed to give good customer service.  What’s the big deal?  But often it all hits the fan and you’ve got one customer who is just really fired up.  Mad, bad, screaming, totally out of it.  That’s when your service recovery needs to kick into gear.

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor, an international customer service training company, based in St. Louis, MO.  Nancy is the author of four best selling books.  Contact Nancy at 314-291-1012 or nancy@telephonedoctor.com.