FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Tom Ellis
May 23, 2007 Ellis Communications, Inc.
Phone: (417) 881-5635
Email: tom@elliscomm.com
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Every telecom employee who comes into contact with
customers is in sales regardless of their title and must be sensitive to what
customers want, says Phoenix-based Measure-X.
“It doesn’t matter what a telephone company employee’s job is,” says David
Saxby, president of Measure-X, a company that specializes in helping telecoms
improve their customer service and sales. “If they interact with customers in
any fashion, they are an extension of the sales department. They are selling
their professional credibility, the company’s products and services and the
company’s image. They need to know there are five things customers truly want.”
Saxby outlines those five customer needs as follows:
To have the employee listen more than they talk. Put yourself in your
customers’ shoes – would you rather talk to someone who goes on and on or to
someone who is interested in what you have to say? Saxby asks. “Customers are
not impressed with an employee’s jabbering,” Saxby says. “They’re in contact
with your telecom because they have a need or a problem. Asking customers
intelligent questions and then actively listening to their responses is the best
way to build trust and get at the heart of what the customer really needs.”
To have things explained in a way the customer can understand. Listen to
the customer and speak at their level of expertise, Saxby says. “In today’s
high-tech world, many products on the market are quite complex,” Saxby explains.
“Customers don’t want to be insulted by listening to jargon and acronyms that
are meaningless to most people. They also don’t want to deal with a
condescending employee who sounds exasperated because the customer is not
catching on.”
To deal with nice people. Treat customers to a breath of fresh air and
greet them with a friendly voice and a smile on your face, even if you are on
the telephone, Saxby suggests. “Remember that your customers are most likely
bumping into negativity everywhere they go – traffic jams, long lines in stores,
frustration at work, stress at home,” Saxby says. “When they come into contact
with your telecom, they want to talk to a nice person. They want to believe you
are someone who genuinely cares about their concerns. They want you to sound
warm and friendly.”
To have their time valued, not wasted. Customers juggle their schedules
to reach out to your telecom, and they feel devalued and unappreciated if they
believe their time is being wasted, Saxby says. “Classic time wasters include
placing customers on hold, transferring their calls to other departments and not
getting their requests right the first time,” Saxby says. “It’s also a waste of
time when customers deal with employees who are not knowledgeable and who are
not empowered to make decisions. Managers should evaluate how customer calls are
handled and then identify and eliminate situations that waste a customer’s
time.”
To be offered solutions. Customers want to believe your telecom has the
resources and willingness to deliver what they need, Saxby says. “This will
often mean that you will need to go the extra mile to explore a variety of
solutions for them,” Saxby notes. “You may need to help them build a
relationship with a co-worker who has more expertise than you in a given
situation. Don’t cut your customers short with responses such as ‘I don’t know’
or ‘we don’t do that in this department.’ Commit yourself to being a possibility
thinker for your customers.”
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Measure-X is a measurement, training and recognition company that specializes
in customer service and sales skills. For more information on Measure-X, call
888-644-5499 or visit its Web site at
www.measure-x.com.
