Audience attraction to my live seminars is often due to the rich multimedia (video, audio and animation) that supports the stories and case studies.  Talking about customer phone calls is one thing.  Playing an actual phone call to demonstrate the vocal tone and interaction escalates the education to much higher level.

During last week’s PHCC CONNECT conference, I conducted a seminar to  packed room of plumbing and heating company owners and service managers.  The energy and enthusiasm among this diverse group was electric.

This energetic audience had me on my toes from the opening story until my closing remarks.  “Talkers are learners,” I told them early on.  “The more you speak up, the better for all concerned in terms of education and information retention.”

So these folks took my advice literally.  Their questions and comments kept coming and this, in turn, added momentum.  During any educational session, audience interaction makes everyone feel like it is time well-invested.

After listening to the “How much do you charge?” phone call, many of the audience’s facial expressions displayed the horror and shock of knowing that their employees were mishandling calls similarly.

“The key to handling customer push back is similar to Jujutsu.

The wikipedia Jujutsu definition is: “Ju” can be translated to mean “gentle, soft, supple, flexible, pliable, or yielding.” “Jutsu” can be translated to mean “art” or “technique” and represents manipulating the opponent’s force against himself rather than confronting it with one’s own force.

Therefore, a CSRs best strategy is to  shift the conversation from price to value by asking simple questions.  “Questions are non-threatening and when asked in a calm, courteous and professional manner,” I advised the audience.

A trained CSR sets up the questions with a phrase such as, “We can help you with that.  First I need to gather a little information…”  Then in a calm, courteous and professional manner (managing pace-of-speech and vocal tonality), a CSR begins the call conversion process by asking the right questions.

[blockquote type=’full’]the audience’s facial expressions displayed the horror and shock of knowing that their employees were mishandling calls similarly.[/blockquote]

Customer push back is what happens when a customer’s price-only mindset is allowed to prevail.  The best CSRs know how to build a relationship, regardless of the customer’s mindset.

Your employees have the potential to be more effective and efficient – when they’re properly trained.  And since management’s role is to help employees to become more successful, it’s best to invest in their future.

If I can help your company, call me – 610-853-9836.

My trek will take me to many more wonderful places.  CLICK HERE or on the image below to see my travel calendar.