When I have the opportunity to speak with service managers, one of the discussion points that inevitably comes up is about the quality of the work order summaries written by their service technicians. It seems that in many organizations, the quality of the written summaries of work is all over the map – from very poor to excellent. When I ask if they have clear and simple guidelines to help their busy technicians to consistently write well, they often admit that those guidelines are still on the “to do” list.
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I-CARE – 5 Steps to Work Orders that Shout “Value”
Tagged with: 5 keys to sucess for service technicians, bettering customer service experience, business development using service technicans, customer service expert, customer service tech work order template, Jim Baston, Proactive Service®, service tech work order forms, work order sample
Posted in Business, Customer Service, Service Tech Training
Posted in Business, Customer Service, Service Tech Training
4 Steps to Turn Service Teams into Enthusiastic Business Promoters
From my experience, technicians as a whole do not see themselves as salespeople and object to being put in that position. It should not be a surprise, therefore, if they are not enthusiastic about a company initiative that expects them to take on a larger business development role. This concern should be acknowledged and addressed, yet many managers act as if this concern does not exist. This is a mistake.
Give Your Customers Your Heads as Well as Your Hands
The focus changes from how the customer can help us achieve our goals to how we can better help the customer achieve their goals. We should be taking every opportunity to broadcast what our technicians are doing to our customers and prospects alike. It should be a point of differentiation for us. For example, imagine your salesperson promoting the services of your company in a competitive situation. Rather than simply saying what every one of their competitors will say, they can communicate the unique value they bring through the actions of their technicians. The conversation might go something like this:
The Limiting Reality of Getting Technicians to “Sell” – 4 Reasons Why
In my opinion, a technician who feels – based on their knowledge and experience – that the customer would benefit from a particular product or service in some way, and brings this to the attention of the customer is providing a service and is not selling. It is part of their job – as important as their ability to fix or maintain the equipment itself. In fact, I suggest that they have an obligation to the customer to discuss any action that would be of benefit to their operations.
Want your Technicians More Proactive in Promoting your Services? Your Perspective May be Getting in the Way
But this view may just be what is limiting performance and results. When we think of service as a distinct activity and look to “move our technicians towards the right” on our chart, we tend to see selling as an activity that is an “add on” to what our technicians are doing now (service) and not part of the service itself. This can result in a “while you’re there” perspective as in, “While you’re there, keep your eyes open for other things that we can sell to the customer.” It is this viewpoint that can limit the potential of our initiative and may even erode the relationship with the customer.
