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Posts Tagged ‘Communication’

By: Stephen Novak

I was heading home after a late meeting and didn’t feel like cooking.  On my way was an Italian restaurant that I’d heard had great food – being a sucker for Italian, I thought I’d give it a try.  When I entered the building I walked to the front counter. I approached the employee behind the register who was seated on a bar stool leaning back against the wall while staring off into space.  I explained that this was my first visit, I had heard good things, and would like to order some dinner to-go.  The employee leaned forward…popped out his ear buds…and said, “Hugh”.   I took a step back and then repeated what I had just said.  He had a puzzled look on his face as he said, “You can’t order to-go food up here.” 

Of course I asked, “Well, where can I order food to-go?”  He pointed to an area towards the back of the restaurant…put his ear buds back in…and leaned back.  I walked to the area that he designated and waited…and waited.  Two servers walked by at least twice before I flagged one of them down.  I immediately recognized the why-are-you-bothering-me look on her face.  I’d go on, but the rest of my visit wasn’t any better.  This experience enlightened me to the fact that although good customer service may be hard to define, poor customer service stands out like fingernails scraping along a chalkboard.  Let me explain:

You could pull a hundred different people off the street and ask them the question, “What is good customer service?”  And you would probably get a hundred different responses.  What’s OK for one person may not be good for another, but there are some fundamentals that must be present in any customer interaction.

Some typical “good customer service” elements that we all look for are:

1. We want to feel welcomed when we enter a business.
2. We want to be treated with respect.
3. We want to be listened to.
4. We want to get what we were promised and treated fairly.
5. We want to be thanked for our business.

Any business that is serious about providing good customer service must have these elements at the core of their customer service process.  Keep in mind that these elements are just a starting point.  If your goal is to provide excellent customer service, then you must notch up the intensity of the above elements while monitoring their effectiveness.  Tweak when necessary and eliminate any obstacle that prevents your customers from having such a positive experience that they honor you with their business time and time again.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

 Everything we do requires some form of a process.  From brushing our teeth to planning a trip, there is always a chain of events.  Merriam-Webster defines a process as:

1 a : progress, advance <in the process of time>

   b : something going on : proceeding

2 a (1) : a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result <the process of growth> (2) : a continuing natural or biological activity or function <such life processes as breathing> b : a series of actions or operations conducing to an end; especially : a continuous operation or treatment especially in manufacture.

We learned as a child how to brush our teeth, walk, and eventually ride a bike.  These processes took practice and determination to perfect.  A novice salesperson should constantly read new books, continually train with knowledgeable teachers, and diligently practice with the same resolve as a strong-minded child.  Come to think of it – experienced salespeople should do the same thing!!!   

 As an exercise, let’s look at a basic step-by-step approach to sales – The ever enduring 5 Steps To A (Anything) Sale:

1) Friendly greeting.

2) Assess needs.

3) Make recommendation.

4) Explain benefits and features.

5) Ask for the sale.

 If we left out step 2, we wouldn’t have any idea which product or service was right for the customer.  It would not help to push the two-car garage if the buyer’s main concern is the age of the roof.  Your job as a salesperson is to seek out what the customer wants.

 If we did not explain the benefits and features in Step 4, it would be impossible for the customer to differentiate our product or service from our competitor.  

 If we did not even ask the customer for the pleasure of his or her business…well, we probably should be doing something else for a living.

 Just as if we had forgotten to use a toothbrush while brushing our teeth, we could not be as effective as we should have been.

 BEWARE:  Do not allow yourselves to become slaves to any process just for the sake of the process.  If what you are doing ain’t working, you MUST try something else.  If the process gets in the way of customer communication, scrap it…amend it…modernize it (Read, train, practice).  Every sales process should enhance customer interaction, and keep a salesperson on track.  A process should NOT be there just to hook customers into buying something that will later regret.   

“We must first identify, before we can satisfy the customer’s proclivity…profitably”.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

Consider the following situations:

A child is eating watermelon in the blistering dog day’s heat – The smile reverberates the true joy that only a simple summer treat can provide.

A man’s feet stammer in the aisle of a church at the beginning of the best decision he will ever make – His prospective spouse’s soul sings as she steers toward the aisle.

Now contrast with the following:

A single mom is leaving work; she notices her tire is low.  She’s knows that she’ll be late picking up her child from daycare (They penalize by the minute if you’re late) as she limps towards her favorite car repair shop.  She’s relieved that the shop doors are just now coming down, someone is still there, she thinks.  The person behind the glass doors waves their hands and yells, “We’re closed”, and steals away into the back room.

Now the reason for the rant:

I went into a convenience store a few days ago.  After checking out, the clerk stuffed my purchases into the bag and said, “Thanks, young man”.  During my sales training courses, I’ve heard similar statements from inexperienced salespeople for years.  When confronted they usually say that they’ve been told to always compliment the customer…to make them feel good.  And while that statement is true, they forgot the most important part of a compliment – IT MUST BE SINCERE.  Today’s customers are a lot savvier than they have ever been – They can spot a sales pitch a mile away.  After being assaulted by such a line, most customers will just smile back while thinking to themselves, what a schmuck. 

For anyone that works with people, commit to this: if you give anyone a compliment, IT MUST BE SINCERE.  People know how old they are, if they’ve lost weight, or if they’ve been working out.  Trite or dishonest statements will shore up any preconceived barriers that the customer may have.  Always remember: it’s our job to break down ANY barriers that get in the way of building strong relationships with our customers.

As for being there for your customers…we’ll cover that later.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

If you know your customers you will be better able to meet their needs. Not every customer that walks into your store is going to want to buy the same thing as the one before them. If you can find out what it is they are looking for you can point them in the right direction.
This is sometimes hard to do when most people don’t want to be followed around or hounded, so you are going to have to be careful. Greet them right away, ask them if you can help them if they are looking for anything specific and if they say no they are just looking let them be.

Watch what they gravitate towards, what they are looking at, without being too obvious, if they spend a lot of time on one product or in a certain section of the store then you can approach them again. Apologize for interrupting and explain that if they are looking for…you have these on sale, or this brand is actually better, even if it is a bit cheaper than what they were looking at.

This builds trust in your customer that you aren’t out to gouge them or make them spend all their money, that you truly do have their best interest at heart and are their to help them.

Once a customer trusts you, you can find out a lot about them just by asking specific questions. For instance, let’s say you sell appliances. You notice your customer going between the cheapest washer and dryer to the most expensive. They can’t seem to decide if they want quality or to go the cheap route.

Ask them if they have any questions, are they purchasing it for their home or a rental unit, is it for a big family or a small one. How much laundry do they do in a week etc. Then you will be able to decipher their needs more and point them in the right direction.

Again, it’s all about trust, not pressure. Nobody likes to be followed around and hounded when they aren’t sure exactly what they want, they like time to look for themselves first, talk amongst themselves and then when they seem confident in what they are looking for they will be more approachable.

The best sales person is one that doesn’t have to sell!

Knowing HOW to say something is just as important as what you say. Positive reinforcement will get you everywhere with your staff and will make them want to work harder for you.

Think back to when you were a child, when your parents praised you for doing a good job, great in school, making your bed etc. You wanted more of that didn’t you? So you went out of your way to do a little more, extra so that you could get more of that good feeling.

Well the same goes for your employees. If all they hear is what they are doing or have done wrong they have nothing to strive for. Always start any conversation on a positive note. For example, let’s say your employee made great sales last week, but this week they are slacking. You might start your conversation with “Wow, I just wanted to say you really rocked last week on your sales, I don’t know what you did but it worked”!

You could then lead into something like “What do you think it was that you did last week that’s missing this week”? Let them think about it, work it out. When they come up with and answer come back with something positive and end with something like “Well I am sure you will get the edge back, keep up the good work”!

If they are having hard times at home or in their personal life it will be all but forgotten, they have gotten the little positive push they needed from you to give it their all and get back on track.

There are ways of making someone feel good without actually agreeing with what they are saying or suggesting. Such as, “What and interesting idea.” or “That’s something to think about.” and even “I never thought of it that way before.” All of these things let the other person know that you are hearing what they are saying, even if you aren’t totally agreeing with them.

Still, they walk away happy and content knowing that you heard them. So remember “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” and you will be well on your way to a happy and productive sales staff!

How many people really like going to work? Unless you own your own business or work from home and have all the advantages that come with that, most people probably don’t. Unless it is their dream job, a job they love, they probably have to force themselves into work every day.

Is your business one that makes employees WANT to come to work? Is the work environment inviting, comfortable and relaxed? Are you challenging your employees, do you give them special and interesting things to do so that they don’t get bored? Do they have the chance to advance?

A happy, fun and challenging workplace usually will keep workers coming back, if the workplace isn’t up to par then you are likely to see more absences and employees that are no shows or just quit.

Making sure your employees get proper breaks and lunches will help with controlling absences also. Who wants to work a 9, 10 or 12 hour shift without a break? Everyone needs to be able to get up and clear their head now and again and if your employees aren’t allowed to do this they will become despondent and most likely will be looking for another job.

Do you have benefits? Vacation, sick and personal days? Can you afford to give your employees all or at least a couple of these? If your business has very few employees little things that show you care like company picnics or get togethers can really boost moral!

Talk to your employees, ask them how things are going, what you can do to better their work environment, if they have any ideas on changes that can be made to improve the workplace etc. Many times that little gesture is all an employee needs to boost their morale!