Are You Losing
Business to Your Competition? Let Mary Jane Show the Way to Improved Sales
By David Saxby
Recently, my wife Kerry gathered up her
courage and set out to find new furniture for our living room. You may
wonder why she needed to build up her nerve for such a simple thing. You
see, my wife is not a shopper.
Although we needed the furniture, she did not want to endure the pain of
going from store to store dealing with salespeople who would pressure her to
buy their product. But much to my amazement, Kerry returned from her
shopping journey as excited as a child who just bought their first bike with
their own money.
Yes, she encountered salespeople who did not exactly make her day. But then
there was Mary Jane! And what an incredible sales experience she delivered!
I know this was a furniture store, but as I explain the attributes of this
wonderful salesperson, ask yourself if your telco’s CSRs are just as good.
Do they have the same skills and know-how? You need as many Mary Janes as
possible working for you.
Mary Jane was friendly, helpful and a joy to talk with. Mary Jane asked a
variety of questions to understand what my wife needed. Mary Jane listened
to what Kerry had to say and then asked even more questions to thoroughly
understand our needs. She wanted to know what was important to us in finding
the right furniture and how we would use the furniture. Were we TV watchers,
readers or big entertainers?
Mary Jane asked questions to understand how the rest of the family would use
the furniture, how our house was decorated and the colors we have.
Mary Jane even explained why she chose to sell furniture as her career. She
furthered that explanation with details on why she chose that specific
company. My wife became comfortable and confident in Mary Jane’s abilities.
Before Mary Jane even started showing my wife furniture, she had a great
understanding of our needs. Armed with the answers to her questions, Mary
Jane selectively showed my wife a couple of options. Kerry didn’t have to
look at every set in the store. Mary Jane was well familiar with her
products and easily explained the facts and benefits of the various pieces.
Mary Jane made the decision-making process easy.
Mary Jane created a great experience for my wife. She did what few
salespeople do:
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She created a relationship with the
customer.
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She listened to the customer’s needs.
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She asked questions to confirm she clearly
understood what was important to the customer.
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She demonstrated how her products exceeded
my wife’s needs and expectations.
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Mary Jane made it easy for my wife to do
business with her.
Every day, existing customers and new
customers call or walk into your telco offices interested in spending their
money. They have a desire or a need to buy the various products and services
you offer. The question is this: will they spend their money with you or
will they choose your competition?
Let’s take a look at the steps involved in quality customer service and
sales. You’ll see quite a bit of Mary Jane here and even more:
DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP: People prefer to do business with others they
like and trust. How many companies have you personally called in the last 72
hours? How many times were you greeted by a warm and friendly person who was
enthusiastic and demonstrated a desire to make sure your questions were
answered and your needs were met?
We have an advantage in face-to-face interactions because we can also use
our body language to support our communication. That advantage is lost when
we communicate over the telephone. Research of telephone conversations
concludes that 87 percent of our communication is a result of our voice
quality while only 13 percent is from content. Our voice, tonality and pitch
are the biggest part of this communication.
Do your CSRs come across as almost robotic or do they communicate the
feeling that they are ready and willing to help that customer with whatever
need they have?
LISTENING ACTIVELY: CSRs are asked the same questions every day. This
repetition can become boring. So what can they do to improve rapport with
the customer and engage the customer in a dialog?
Practice active listening. They need to ask questions to confirm they
clearly understand what the customer said. Words and phrases such as “okay,”
“right” and “I see” interspersed during a conversation tell the customer the
CSR is listening. Confirming what the customer said also shows the CSR is
listening and clears up any opportunities for miscommunication.
UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER NEED: Most people shop for a product based on price
but they purchase based on the benefit they believe they will receive from
ownership of that product. When a customer buys a cell phone, DSL or any
other product you offer, they’re buying because the perceived benefit will
fill a need. Many telco CSRs quote the price and expect the customer to make
a decision based solely on that information. Price is important but it may
not be your competitive advantage.
CSRs should strive to create a dialogue with your customers to determine
their motivation for buying that product. Open-ended questions help your
CSRs understand the buyer’s knowledge level about the product as well as
their emotional need for the product.
Open-ended questions help your customer tell you how they feel, what they
want or what they think. Many customers have a fear about purchasing DSL
because they don’t understand how it works. CSRs should educate those
customers on how the product works and the benefits of DSL so they will be
comfortable in making a buy decision. Find out what the customer’s concerns
are and then address them one by one.
An open-ended question is one that customers cannot answer with a yes or a
no. The answer must reveal something. Some examples of open-ended questions
are:
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What prompted you to inquire about DSL
service?
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What about DSL is appealing to you?
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What concerns might you have about DSL?
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What information do you need in order for
you to be comfortable with purchasing DSL?
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What do you use the Internet for now?
PERSONAL TESTIMONY: It’s tough to sell a
product or service you either haven’t tried or aren’t using yourself. All of
your staff should, at the very least, have experienced and know how to use
every product you offer to your customers. You may want to consider giving
your employees some or all of your products free, or at a greatly reduced
cost, as a benefit.
PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE: If a customer called your company today, could every one
of your CSRs comfortably answer any questions and concerns about the
products you offer? Could they explain the benefits of the products to your
customers?
The ability of your CSRs to accurately and confidently demonstrate their
product knowledge in conversation with your customers is vital to increasing
that customer’s desire to purchase a product they may know little about. It
is the responsibility of the CSR to educate your customers. Make sure you
give them the knowledge with which to speak.
KNOWING YOUR COMPETITION: Do your CSRs know your competitors’ rates and
plans? Your competition may be spending a substantial sum of money to
attract your customers. Can your CSRs easily explain to a customer what the
benefits are in choosing your products over the competition?
ASKING FOR THE BUSINESS: Unfortunately, most CSRs are either uncomfortable
asking for the customer’s business or they don’t know how to ask. Most
customers expect to be asked to buy and don’t object if the request is not
made in a pushy or condescending manner.
You cannot force your customers to buy. They do so on their own. The CSR’s
role is to help them make a decision. If they have qualified the customer’s
needs, presented the features, advantages and benefits of your products and
created value in the mind of the customer, CSRs should be able to
comfortably ask for the business. Often the customer will actually close the
sale themselves if their needs have been met.
Common closing questions are:
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When would you like to start this service?
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Which plan do you like best?
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Do you want me to e-mail or fax you the
application?
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Are you ready to set up service while I have
you on the phone?
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When would you like that service installed?
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When do you want to stop by the office?
TRAINING: Creating a relationship, identifying
customer need, promoting the benefits and asking the customer for their
business are all skills that require practice to become comfortable and
confident. Role playing different customer scenarios is important to
enhancing the CSR’s skills in dealing with any customer inquiry.
Developing those skills requires ongoing practice and reinforcement. Each
customer’s needs and problems are different. The confidence that your staff
communicates in their ability to handle any inquiry will strengthen their
ability to help the customer in making the decision to buy.
Selling is nothing more than helping the customer find the solution that
meets their needs. Your staff can be like Mary Jane.
By the way, we spent about a third again as much as we intended to on
furniture, not because Mary Jane was a pushy salesperson but because she
understood our needs and demonstrated what we should have to make sure those
needs were met. Oh and one more thing. Our personal testimony to a friend
about our experience earned Mary Jane yet another buying customer.
Empower your staff to become “Mary Jane.”
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David Saxby is president of Measure-X, a Phoenix,
Ariz.-based measurement, training and recognition company that specializes in
customer service and sales skill training for utility companies. He can be
reached at 888-644-5499 or via e-mail at
david@measure-x.com. Visit the Measure-X Web site at
www.measure-x.com.
