Once you have a small customer base, you will begin dealing with customer issues. Some of these issues will result from the way you sold and the promises you made. Others simply couldn’t have been avoided. In either case, I hope these tips will help you with your customer service mentality.
***This blog was taken from a small portion of Day 10 of the 20 Day Jump Start Program.
Here are a few short tips:
1. “Exercise integrity at the moment of choice.” When the moment comes that you must choose to be honest or to get the sale, choose honesty. This means when a customer asks for something you can’t do, even though you know he or she will be upset, you say, “Bob, I am committed to making you satisfied and am going to work on a solution, but I cannot do what you are asking.” This statement also goes for your schedule. When you had planned to make cold calls but something else comes up that would be more fun or when you have finished your scheduled work and you think, “I am so busy maybe I could cancel my family time.” …DON’T DO IT!!!! Let this statement sink in to your mind. Write it on a card and put it on your mirror to read every day. “Exercise integrity at the moment of choice.”
2. Treat your customers like equals. Most agents either look down on or look up to their clients. I look my clients right in eye as their equal. They are a business owner, so am I. They had to start from the ground up, so did I. They want good service at a fair price, so do I. They expect people to do what they say they will do, so do I. Learn to emulate your clients. Start to act like a business owner and become the equal of your clients. Don’t ever look down on them as if their goals are not as high as yours, you cannot judge the goals of others. Also, don’t look up to them as if you are a lowly sales rep begging people for business. You are the equal of your clients. This is how you should treat them and this the treatment you should expect in return, once you have proven yourself as a reliable provider.
3. Act, don’t talk. Too many sales agents are great at talking people into something, but once they do they do not know how to execute their plan and fulfill their committments. Most agents try to talk their way out of customer issues by shifting blame or coming up with false solutions and incorrect diagnosis to the problem. Stop talking and start acting. Your customers want you to fix the problem not talk your way out of it. Ask this question the moment you get off the phone with an upset or unsatisfied client, “What is the next action I could take to resolve this issue?” Then, take that action immediately.
I hope these short tips will help you develop a more robust customer service process.
James Shepherd
james@ccsalespro.com
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