I didn’t know you hurt your toe…
When it comes to customer service, it always starts with a willingness to be the first one to say or do something good.
For example, if a person has a question about your product and/or service and they give you a call…you don’t know that they bumped their pinky toe just before you said hello and that now they are in pain. All you might hear is a bothered tone in the opening seconds of the call as the prospect says, “Yes. I’ve been looking for a company that does thus and so at the right price.” As the pain from their pinky toe shoots up the ladder to their brain repeatedly until the throbbing stops, their level of patience thins with every sound you make when you say things that are initially, irrelevant (i.e. Where are you calling from?). Of course, location is important, but if your feeling the temperature of the call (i.e. no hello from the beginning), you know that may not be the best place to start.
Get to the pain points as quickly as possible.
The caller is clearly not in a “time-wasting” mood and the bad manners they displayed might have even offended you. Do you match that persona? Do you mutter your inbound call script? You can do both of those things if you want to blow your chance at getting business from this person.
The point here is that you don’t know what is going on in someone else’s life when they’re talking with you. What you do know is that this person reached out to you for help or at the very least information. In that moment, the best thing to do is let them talk. Don’t try to sway them with superficial rapport…start asking questions that get them to talk about their pain points.
I recommend the “Ooh They’re Mad Script.” What is that? Quite simply put, it is the framework you use to guide angry, sad, impatient potential clients through your qualifying and closing process. It redirects the energy behind their words to the outcome you both need and want.
- Ask questions about their immediate need immediately!
- Present the solution as a benefit early in the call. “We handle this all the time with our…”
- Get tangible validation with every benefit mentioned within the flow of speaking (i.e. so we could get this done in this time frame…does that sound good or is that okay).
At the end day people just want their needs met.
Don’t play with people’s time or money. Give people the respect that every person deserves and speak to the real issue not the person’s behavior. Being professional means that you have risen above the average run of the mill salesy person and become a consultant…a professional consultant on the issues people reach out to you or your company to solve.
What do you think?
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