Sales Training - Four Poor Sales Skills Not to Ignore!

Procrastination, like a car's noises, is sometimes only heard on occasion for salespeople and independent professionals. Because it may be infrequent, the temptation to ignore it is big. What potential selling noises are you possibly ignoring?

Take procrastination, a noise similar to applying the brakes on your vehicle. You plan your day the evening before or the morning of and then you just cannot make those follow up calls or those get acquainted calls. You reason with yourself why. Before to long, way too many days go by and it's the end of the week. Now you complain about not having enough business. Procrastination, like brake noises in a car, needs a check up. Get to the heart of your procrastination, then implement the best remedy to get moving again. Whatever you do, just get started on doing at least one thing!

Does your sales presentation squeal? Like a loose belt squealing noise which is heard only when the engine is running, you can only hear your presentation squealing when you either debrief a call or record a presentation. If you are too focused on yourself, your products or your services, then your presentation can squeal a prospect right off of the road! Unless you get some self-assessment or feedback from a sales coach or sales manager, you won't know about the squeals. Use techniques and skills that keep you talking more about the customer and create less noise.

Sales follow up can be noisy just like noise you might hear when turning a car around a corner. How noisy is your follow-up? Since 80% of salespeople don't follow up after up to a third contact, this noise is a difficult one to diagnose. From a recent survey I read, here's how it breaks down: 34% feel like they are bothering people so they don't follow up; 32% have a hit or miss process; 14.9% say they are too busy with other things, and just 17% say they persist with a series of planned actions. Just like driving a car, turning corners in sales follow up is necessary, as most of your sales are realized in the follow-up process. Your lack of follow up is a must action to pay attention to.

Creating a lost sales strategy can help from falling into a sales slump. Tim Connor, sales trainer since 1973, suggests that a lost sales strategy is an often overlooked sales skill. Central to his strategy is an attitude to treat lost clients like new prospects. What might happen driving in a pre-owned car if you didn't have regular maintenance? Like with a car, soon enough things might come to a halt. If you don't analyze why you lost a sale, if you don't take a lesson away from a loss, and if you don't reframe the loss to something positive for yourself, then your car will slow down some day to just die at the side of a road! A lost sales strategy can help improve your sales overall.

Pay attention to the sounds of procrastination, listen for too many me-centered presentations, watch out for lack of follow up and be careful to ensure that you have a no lost sales strategy in place. These skills may not be found in every sales training program, but you if you want to accelerate your sales results you seriously need to develop them.


By Patricia Weber
http://patriciaweber.blogspot.com

What would you do if an angry customer physically threatens or assaults you?

Delivering excellent customer service is the hallmark of a true customer service professional and can bring a sweet feeling of sensation, fulfillment and success when delivered, but what do you do when an irate customer becomes violent and threatens to beat you up?

If you're a business owner or service personnel, then you'd agree with me that we've all had to manage difficult customers at one point or the other. Customers do get upset at times but we must keep in mind that customer complaints also present sale opportunities. This is true for the average customer. Problematic customers on the other hand could be troublesome and sometimes violent. But how do you deal with assault?

Having done a reflection on the subject matter, some vital questions came to mind:

·         Is it right to call in the police on a customer who has turned violent knowing fully well that such customer could be lost forever by such action?

·         Would your response to threats, violence or assault from a high net worth customer be the same with that of an average customer?

·         Should an organization ever be comfortable losing any customer?

·         If it does, then at what point should an organization allow a customer to go, if any?

·         Would a customer threaten or assault a customer service officer without any provocation from the customer service officer?

-     Is the customer king no matter what?

My take on the matter:

I do believe that one would have to place a premium on how much he is willing to sacrifice to keep a customer. It is also a fact that organizations do deliver an over the bar service to high net worth and consistent customers while maintaining exceptional service to the average customer.

I once asked in a public discussion what people would do if they were punched in the face by an angry customer. Someone answered that he would gladly receive the punch for a million dollar worth of business.  I find it amusing how people would ordinarily be unwilling to receive a punch on face value but where there is a financial incentive, the reverse may just be the case.

So what am I trying to say here? He/she will have to consider the how much business is currently received from the customer, whether or not the customer is an instrumental part of the success of the business as well as the potential earnings from such customer and then decipher whether he/she is willing to accept the risk. A customer cost benefit analysis should be able to answer this.

Common sense however suggests that if the customer is violent then it is probably better to discontinue doing business with them. Tolerance is an essential part of customer service but where a customer poses a physical danger to service personnel and other customers then it is better to discontinue doing business with them. However, i do not believe that most conflicts would degenerate to this. Practicing emotional intelligence and exuding exceptional people and customer management skills can help resolve a lot of challenges currently faced in handling problematic people.

I’d like to hear other views on the matter. If you’re a front line staff or you do deliver customer service, then please share your thoughts.

Valentine Okolo

Customer Service Excellence Starts With Communication

Simon sent me this lunchtime message that demonstrates how important communication is to customer service excellence: "Whilst waiting for my toasted foccacia, a young man came into the shop and asked for a salad sandwich.

"While the shop owner prepared the sandwich, the young man kept saying 'Give me heaps of carrot,' and "Give me heaps of beetroot,' etc.

"When it came time to pay, the shop owner rang up the transaction and said, 'That's $3.50.' The customer replied, 'But the price says $3.20.'

"The shop owner explained that the customer had requested 'extra' salad. The customer was dismayed and replied, 'I wasn't aware I had to pay extra.'

"The shop owner became angry and stood his ground, insisting on the higher sandwich price. The customer said he did not have any more money and left with the shop owner giving him a filthy look."

Of course, that customer will never return - and I'm quite sure he will tell others about his bad experience. Those he tells may avoid the sandwich shop, because of its lack of customer service excellence.

The shop owner should have checked whether his menu pricing reflected a surcharge for "extra" toppings. I looked, and it didn't.

For the sake of 30 cents, how much business has this shop owner lost?
It's quite true that customers will "take advantage" every chance they get. But there's nothing wrong with that! In fact, it's why customers come to you in the first place. They have made their comparisons and decided that you offer best value for their money.

Why, then, should you be upset when customers try to get everything they can? After all, you offered it.

The problem is not the customer, it's the company that lacks clear and attractive communications to champion customer service excellence.
A simple note on the sandwich shop menu reading "Extra Items = 30 cents," would have neatly solved the problem while demonstrating customer service excellence.

What would solve the problem at your place of business?

Key Learning Points

Full-bodied communication with customers leads to understanding, delight and customer service excellence. By contrast, sparse or misleading communication leads only to distress.

Action Steps

To ensure customer service excellence, do a complete review of your marketing materials, product and service guidelines, purchasing instructions and guarantees. Make sure every promise you make is crystal clear, and everything you offer is completely and gladly delivered.

By Ron Kaufman

Ron Kaufman is the world's leading educator and motivator for upgrading customer service and uplifting service culture. He is author of the bestselling UP Your Service! books and founder of UP Your Service! College. To browse more articles and tips about Customer Service Excellence - visit http://www.UpYourService.com.

Customer Service Training Courses Need to Concentrate on the 2 Ps of Customer Service

The fact is that there is an abundance of poor-to-mediocre customer service training out there that companies opt for because it can save many thousands of dollars in the initial investment.?? The problem is, of course, is that the money they do spend ends up going out the window.?? It's like throwing a glass of water against a forest-fire.?? What should you be wary of in choosing a customer service program??? Here are five things:

Do-it-yourself approaches:?? Sure, anything you do yourself will have a cheaper price-tag, but unless you're a certified instructional designer with a great deal of expertise in customer service training, it is unlikely your program will make a significant difference to your business.

Self-directed approaches:?? There are tons of self-directed programs out there - workbooks, videos, web-based programs - but they rely heavily on the participants already being engaged and excited about the process.?? At best, only about 20%??of participants will retain anything of value.?? (Having said this, self-directed programs can have great value as part of an overall, integrated customer service training program)

Off-the-shelf programs:?? Set, standard programs that rely on participants making the leap from general theory to application in your industry are only marginally effective, and are often painful to sit through.

Programs from general sources:?? Customer service training is a very popular topic these days, and there are a lot of training companies (and colleges, etc)??with different areas of expertise??who are jumping on the bandwagon with programs of their own.?? Their trainers might be training <em>Excel Spreadsheets 101</em> one day, and <em>Customer Service 101</em> the next.?? There is no way they can possibly be as effective as training coming from a company that??lives, eats and breaths customer service.

One-dimensional programs:?? A training workshop, no matter how good, will not have the impact you are looking for unless there are components in place to support it and transfer the learning into new behaviors in a live environment. This should include corresponding management training, blended learning, follow-up modules, etc. ??Your training should also be supported with a performance measurement program, coaching and a??reward and recognition program

Effective training should have a significant and??measurable effect in the workplace.?? Sometimes, in very transactional industries (like retail), you can actually measure the direct??impact of training on sales - then you will really know how good??the training??is.????Another option is to measure using mystery shopping or a similar approach. In other??industries,??you may have to use a more subjective, anecdotal measurement.?? It's a little less concrete,??but it's really not hard to tell when employees have become engaged.?? You can see them use the skills, hear them talking about and referring to the training for weeks afterward.

Yes, you might get lucky with a bare-bones customer service training program.?? But the question I always ask is, why take the chance?

Creating great customer service in any company begins with management, no matter what the business is. The reason why is simple-Control for the company lies in management's hands. They control how the company runs and the image they wish to produce, all focusing on customer satisfaction to ensure profit goals are met. Managers are in a position to show, teach and model how the customer service is played out. A quality management training program and, in particular, customer service management training, are the preliminary steps toward ensuring all company employees provide ongoing service that keeps customers returning and profits increasing.

By Burton Greene

I'm a customer service expert with over 10 years experience in the public and private sectors

Retail Customer Service Training, The Benefits of Customer Service Training, The Benefits of Customer Service Training

The Best Customer Service Option

In any professional service business, customers are your lifeblood. You cannot function without them; however, they probably can get along without you. You must create a relationship with your customer base in order to gain their loyalty and keep them coming back. In order to do so, having a function customer service program and software is essential in managing this relationship.
There are many times when a customer is in need of assistance off hours. What can they do or where can they go to get the help they need once you leave the office? What if you don't have someone on staff that can be a customer service agent to handle these calls?
Ignoring this problem can cause further frustration and alienation for your customers. Impatience and bad timing can turn a small concern into a huge problem that you must use many hours to work out. It's not worth taking the risk. With web based help desk software, you can have a comprehensive system that allows you to manage all customer service queries with ease and little time and money.
With this software, you can weed out frequent and repetitive calls by providing an online knowledge base where prospective clients can go for basic information and frequently asked questions. Here many answers to their business services and functions can be quickly and effectively answered.
Web based help desk software is more that a just an FAQ page. This online system can provide detailed pages and subpages for more detailed information for specific or technical questions. More online information gives back the control to the customer, allowing them to search out what they want to know. It also reduces the need for a customer service agent, decreasing your costs and increasing profit.
What if the customer has questions this software's provided information does not answer? How can the customer get his questions answered? Fortunately there is a solution to this difficulty. There is an email function programmed into the software. Customers can email your company anytime of the day or year. The emails will then be routed to the most knowledgeable person on staff to be addressed.
If that person is unable to address the inquiry, another staff member can use any of the already prepared messages used to answer other similar issues stored in the software. This is very helpful if you are low on staff or someone is sick or out of town.
This software will save you time and money while managing the relationship between your customers fluidly.


By Stephen Rand

Stephen Rand is an entrepreneur who has helped many others get their business started. He suggests many tools to help self-made men make it. He has supported web based help desk software and knowledge base software.