By David Saxby
Every day, your phone is ringing. Your customers are calling with a need
and an interest in purchasing one of your products or services.
Every time your phone rings, you have a sales opportunity. As a small
carrier, it’s important that you realize the impression your CSRs leave with
your customers is instrumental in the sales cycle.
CSRs need to know that feelings conveyed and developed during
customer-contact situations are important. People buy when they feel
comfortable, when they feel they can trust you, when the process feels natural
and reassuring, and when they come to the conclusion that buying will make
them feel good. All of this happens with the relationship your staff
has with your customers.
Statistics support this concept. Recent consumer surveys show that, in most
cases, 20 percent of the decision to make a purchase is logical and 80 percent
is emotional.
You will gain a huge competitive advantage if your CSRs have the ability to
develop rapport and create a relationship in which your customers feel
comfortable and understood.
Here are some basic components of that process.
Building Rapport. You don’t get a second chance to make a first
impression with a customer. 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 not only enthusiastic, but also demonstrated a desire to make
sure that your questions were answered and your needs were met?
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.
During face-to-face interactions, we have a definite advantage in that we
can also use our body language to support our communication. We lose that
advantage when communicating over the telephone. Our voice, tonality and pitch
are the biggest part of this communication.
Voice inflection is a vital part of the CSR’s communication on the phone.
Do your CSRs come across with a robotic greeting that tells you they’ve said
it a thousand times before or do they leave the impression they’re ready to do
anything they can to assist your customers?
Active Listening. CSRs are asked the same questions every day. This
repetition can become boring. So what can they do to prevent your customer
from hearing that boredom?
Practice active listening. They need to ask questions to confirm they
clearly understood what the customer said. Words and phrases like “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 it clears up any opportunities for miscommunication.
Understanding Customer Need. If a customer calls inquiring about a
product or service, they’re revealing an indication that they may buy. Before
they can make that buying decision, though, they probably have some questions.
People shop for a product based on price but they buy 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 an emotional need.
CSRs should strive to create a dialogue with your customers to determine
their motivation for buying that product. They can then explain the benefits
based on the customer’s need.
Most telecom CSRs quote the price and expect the customer to make a
decision based solely on that information. Price may not be your competitive
advantage.
So how do they create a dialogue to determine a customer’s need? The key is
to have rapport with the customer and ask a variety of open-ended questions to
create a conversation.
Some examples of open-ended questions are:
- What prompted you to inquire about DSL service?
- What about DSL is appealing to you?
- What concerns might you have about DSL?
- What information do you need in order for you to be comfortable with
purchasing DSL?
Open-ended questions help your CSRs understand the buyer’s knowledge level
about the product as well as their emotional need for the product. Many
customers don’t understand DSL or how it works. CSRs need to spend more time
helping those customers understand the benefits of DSL so they will be
comfortable with making a purchase.
Asking for the Business. Unfortunately, most CSRs either don’t know how
to ask for the order or they don’t like asking for it. Most customers expect
to be asked to buy and don’t object if the request is not made in a pushy or
condescending manner. Remember, you cannot force your customers to buy. They
do so on their own. The CSR’s role is to help them make a decision.
Asking the customer to buy should be a stress-free conclusion to the sales
presentation. 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 they have heard
a professional presentation.
Knowing your Competition. Your competitors are investing their
marketing dollars to attract your customers to their products. Your customers
may be comparing you against your competition based on price. In many cases,
you may not be the lowest-priced provider.
Do your CSRs know competitor rates and plans? Do they know what makes your
products and services different and better? Are they comfortable explaining
the benefits of choosing your company over the competition?
Your phone is ringing every day with customers interested in buying
products and services. Are they buying from you or your competition?
David Saxby is president of Measure-X, a Phoenix, Ariz., measurement,
training and recognition company that specializes in customer service and
sales training for the telecom industry. He can be reached at 888-644-5499 or
at
david@measure-x.com. Visit the Measure-X Web site at
www.measure-x.com.
