Your Phone is Ringing . . . Now What?

Posted: 10/2003

Your Phone is Ringing . . . Now What?

CSRs Key to Winning, Keeping Customers
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, its important that you realize the impression your customer service representatives 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 as a result of the relationship your staff has with your customers.

Statistics support this concept. Recent consumer surveys show, 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 dont 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 not only was enthusiastic, but also demonstrated a desire to make sure 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 also can 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 CSRs communication on the phone. Do your CSRs come across with a robotic greeting that tells you theyve said it a thousand times before or do they leave the impression theyre 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 Needs. If a customer calls inquiring about a product or service, theyre 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, theyre 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 customers 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 customers 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 buyers knowledge level about the product as well as their emotional need for the product. Many customers dont 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 dont know how to ask for the order or they dont like asking for it. Most customers expect to be asked to buy and dont 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 CSRs 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 customers 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?