Steve, who is a key part of a large, national service firm suggested, “Actually Jim, I agree with you but I think you need to be more specific.  When engaging our service technicians in speaking to customers about the other things we can do to assist them, we need to ensure that they use their hearts as well as their heads.”  Steve went on to relate a story that a service manager told him.  It seems that they had a technician on staff who took promoting services to a new high.  He would promote anything and everything to anybody that would listen.  As a result, this service manager was getting complaints from several customers.  They didn’t appreciate being “sold” when the technician was really there to service their equipment.  Steve went on, “This technician wasn’t really acting on behalf of the customer, he was acting for himself and the benefits that he would get if the customer bought the product or service he was offering.  His heart was not in the right place and the customers could spot it a mile away.”

Steve was right.  Technicians have to engage the customer in these kinds of discussions for the right reasons.  They have to believe that the customer will be better off by taking their recommendations.  If they don’t believe that the recommended action is in the interest of the customer, then they should not be suggesting the service at all.  That is one of the reasons I don’t think that “commissions” or “bonuses” should be paid for services sold by the technician.  It encourages the behaviour but for the wrong reasons.

I encourage you to look closely at your own programs for promoting services through your technicians.  Are your technicians empowered to give your customers their hearts as well as their hands?  Do your support systems (like bonuses or commissions) reinforce this approach or do they encourage them to leave their hearts in the truck?  Have you made it clear that you want them to use good judgement before making recommendations and be certain, in their own minds, that the recommendation is truly in the interests of the customer?

I’d love your feedback on this. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”

– Nelson Mandela

The post Proactive Service® – Giving Customers your Hearts & your Heads appeared first on jimbaston.com.

Step 1:  Put callers on hold for long periods.  I realize that this is not a new revelation, but I am amazed that, with the technology available today, some companies are able to persist in putting people on indefinite hold.  All it took for me was to ask for the “service department”.  After what seemed like several minutes, the receptionist returned to the line and said, “I can’t seem to find him anywhere!  Would you like to leave a voicemail?”  Which brings me to Step 2 of using the telephone to turn away business.

Step 2:  Don’t be available – especially if you are in the “service” department.  I have no idea where the service manager/advisor was (and apparently I was not the only one), but not having anyone who can handle a service call in the middle of the day is one sure way to let the customer know that you do not believe they are important.

Step 3:  Don’t return your calls.  No matter what, don’t call the customer back – certainly not on the same day!  Prompt responses to voicemail messages only serves to encourage more customers to leave more messages that might result in more business.

Step 4:  Make sure you are able to set your phone system so that callers cannot reach a live person during busy periods.  This is especially important to screen out angry callers who want to know why you haven’t responded to their voicemail.  This particular system would not let you dial “zero” to reach a live person.  You could only dial “1” for service, “2” for sales, “3” for …  (Refer to Step 2).

Step 5:  Encourage your staff to talk negatively about the company.  This is a particularly good one and highly recommended if you are serious about reducing the number of pesky customers.  In my case, after several attempt at reaching the “service” department (Press “1”), I decided to try to reach a salesperson (Press 2).  It worked!  A rather unenthusiastic voice announced “Sales” and asked how he could help.  I explained to him that I was trying to reach the service department and was unable to get any response.  I asked if he could see anyone.  “Hang on” he replied and put me on hold.  (See Step 1), “I found him, but he is on the phone,” came the eventual reply  (See Step 2).  I told him that I thought his phone system was terrible.  “Yes!”  he agreed.  “It’s not been the same since we got the new system last year.  We keep telling the boss that it sucks but he won’t listen.”  This was the first bit of enthusiasm I could detect in his voice.  He obviously took Step 5 seriously.

Step 6:  Tell people how busy you are.  This assumes that you failed at Step 2 and the persistent caller finally manages to break through your defenses.  I finally got through to the service advisor/manager at about 4:55 that evening – I had been trying since 9:00 am.  I explained who I was and that I had left a voicemail message early that morning. “Oh yeah! I got your message and you’re 23 on my list to call back.  What do you need?” (“What do you need?” is industry jargon for “How may I help you?”).  I repeated the information that I left on the original voicemail – that I would like an oil change and hoped to be able to schedule it for Thursday morning and that I would like to wait.  “What time do you have available?” I inquired.  “What time do you want to bring it in?” he responded.  “Early, if possible.”  I replied.  “Well, we’re wide open so name the time.”  Wide open?  How could they be so quiet and yet be so busy?

And then it hit me.  Their strategy was working!  Use the telephone to turn away business and get rid of those pesky customers who only end up making the job more complicated.  I started to wonder if service manager/advisor and everyone else were really busy at all, or were they just pretending they were as part of the strategy (Step 6).

Now, I should explain that the manufacturer of the motorcycle I ride has only one authorized service centre in my area so, unless I am prepared to ride a considerable distance, I don’t have much choice on where I take my bike for service.  Given the experience I just had, I don’t imagine that this will be a problem for very long.

How about your organization?  Are you turning away business too?

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

 “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”?

– Mahatma Ghandhi

The post 6 Steps to Using the Telephone to Turn Away Service Business appeared first on jimbaston.com.

My daughter, Julia, had arranged for a new smart phone to replace her aging iPhone that had a small mechanical problem.  Her plan had a replacement option for such situations.  Although she was happy with her iPhone, the clerk at the store suggested that she try an android.  She took the advice and within 12 hours it was a shattered mess on the floor.  Turns out that she dropped the new phone and it fell apart.  The phone was inoperable.

The next morning, desperate without contact with the outside world, she went to the local store to get the problem resolved.  Her point was that the phone, although not “bullet proof”, should be able to withstand “normal” wear and tear such as the occasional dropping on the floor.  Her plan, she argued, should cover the breakage since she had a replacement option in case of a mechanical or electronic failure.  The clerk at the store did not agree.  He advised her that she could buy a new phone (several hundred dollars) and the store would give her a $100 credit or she could have the old one repaired (estimated at between $200 and $300).  When Julia objected, the clerk simply told her that was all he could do.

That evening, she explained the situation to me and asked for my help and we agreed to go to the store together the next day.  We walked into the store and up to the mobile phone counter, Julia carrying the box with the remains of her cell phone.  We asked for the manager.  A young man came out smiling and asked how he could help.  Here is how he handled the situation.

Connect with the customer.  As Julia explained the situation, the smile soon left his face and was replaced with what certainly looked like genuine concern.  He maintained eye contact with her as she went through the details.  He asked some questions.  He picked up and examined the phone.  His attention was clearly on Julia and her problem.

Acknowledge their emotional state.  As Julia explained, his comments, voice tone and body language communicated that he understood.  After listening carefully he shook his head and said something to the effect that he could see how upsetting such an issue would be.

Legitimize their feelings.  At this point he empathized with Julia.  He continued, “Gee, you must be going nuts without a phone.  I have a hard time going without mine for an hour, let alone a day or two.  We have got to get this sorted out.”

Manage the situation.  This is the critical point in this situation.  The manager had used an approach to draw out some of the emotion from the situation, but was he prepared to do anything?  Here is what he did.

The manager explained that the replacement of the phone was not a store issue but a manufacturer’s one.  He had to abide by the manufacturers rules and dropping a phone is not an acceptable reason for replacement.  He advised that, no matter how “reasonable” the specific circumstances might be, the phone companies were uncompromising.  There was nothing he could do about that.  (Here we go, I thought, nice guy but no help).  “But we do have a couple of options available – ones we can control.”  Notice that he politely stood his ground and set some boundaries for discussion.  We could have pushed back here but the logical way forward was to listen to the options.

One option, he said, was to have the unit repaired.  There would be a cost but the store would be willing to pick up much of it.  The other option was to explore other phone plans that might provide her with an equivalent phone at little cost.

All in all, it took about 30 minutes to explore the options and the manager never left our side for the entire time.  In the end, he identified a plan that Julia could switch to which was actually less expensive than her current “pay as you go” plan and it came with a free iPhone 5.  There was no access fee.  The catch was that it was a 2-year contract.  We reasoned that Julia would have a cell phone anyway, so signing a 2-year contract was no big deal.  He also provided Julia with a protective case for the phone (about $90 retail), to protect it from “future falls”.  She also got to keep the damaged phone, which can be repaired and sold.

The solution was not ideal, but it was good enough for us and we walked out of the store feeling that we had been treated fairly.  Although the manager may not have recognized that he used a technique called CALM which we teach in our Proactive Service© workshops for handling potentially explosive situations, he certainly used it to great effect.

How about your staff?  Are they prepared to handle emotional customers and situations to achieve a positive result?

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.”
Robert Green Ingersoll

The post Dealing With Emotional Customers to a Positive Result appeared first on jimbaston.com.

“Actually John”, I replied, “they pay you for both – fixing things and looking good.”  John was not convinced.

I asked John if he had been to a wedding recently and it turns out he was just the month before.

“What did you wear?” I asked.

“Sports Jacket and dress shirt – no tie.”

“What day of the week was it?”

“Saturday.  Why?”

“Is that what you usually wear on a Saturday?”

“You’re kidding, right?”  John responded.  “It’s usually torn jeans and a stained T-shirt”.  John smiled broadly and looked around the room at his peers.

“Really?” I asked in mock astonishment.  “Why didn’t you wear those to the wedding?”

“Because you just don’t that’s why.  You dress up for a wedding.  It shows respect.”

“But surely John, you weren’t invited to look good, you were invited to share the joy of the bride and groom’s big day.”  I stated, paraphrasing what he had said earlier.

“This is different!  I was talking about work and the need to get something fixed.  My customers wouldn’t care if I came in boxer shorts so long as I fixed the problem before I left!”

“Okay John.  How about this?  Have you seen your doctor in the last 12 months?”

“I just had my check up.  Why?

“What was he wearing?”

“Nice pants and a dress shirt – white I think.  He also had a phone on his belt and a stethoscope around his neck.”

“Any bloodstains on the shirt?”

“What????  No!!!”

“What if there were?  What if your doctor was wearing clothes with bloodstains and that looked like they had been slept in, wore a two-day beard and had unkempt hair?  How would you feel about that?”

I went on to explain to John that the service that our customers’ experience is derived from two distinct yet inseparable components.  One is the actual service performed – the troubleshooting and repair, the maintenance activities, the installation, etc.  This component is the service outcome.  It is the reason that the customer called us in the first place.  It was what John was thinking about when he spoke about the fact that customers don’t pay him to look good.

The second component that makes up our customers’ service experience is how the service is conducted – the smile on the tech’s face, the cleanliness of the work area, the quality of the repair description and even how the technicians chooses to present him or herself.  This is called the service delivery.

Because in most cases the customer can’t truly assess the quality of the actual service outcome, they look to how the service is delivered to determine the quality of the service provided.  In effect, they use the service delivery as the lens through which to view and assess the service outcome.  Both service delivery and service outcome are important and cannot be separated.  Together they add up to the total service experience.

Therefore, since customers are paying for the total service experience, it is fair to say that customers do pay us to look good AND fix things.  It is up to us as managers to ensure that they are getting what they are paying for when purchasing services from us.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Your appearance, attitude, and confidence define you as a person.  A professional, well-dressed golfer, like a businessperson, gives the impression that he thinks that the golf course and/or workplace and the people there are important.”

– Lorii Myers, Targeting Success, Develop the Right Business Attitude to be Successful in the Workplace

The post “They Don’t Pay Me to Look Good” in Service Delivery appeared first on jimbaston.com.

It is important to keep in mind that, as managers, we are not measured so much by what we do, but by what our employees do.  That means that we should be trying to spend as much of our time as possible in helping our employees do their jobs better.  However, the reality is that we are in a fast-paced, real-time business that often forces us to put coaching and development activities aside to address more urgent matters.  When we allow this to happen too often, we find we spend little or no time providing the critical support that will truly help our employees excel.  And that can be costly in terms of our team’s effectiveness and therefore our overall performance.  Some research has demonstrated that with new skills adoption, as much as 75% of an initiative’s success will be dependent upon the actions of management to support and coach their employees.  A large association of training and development professionals found that training, followed by coaching, showed a four-fold improvement in skills adoption.

Coaching isn’t the only factor that will determine how well our team adopts and contributes to a Proactive Service culture.  We must ensure that we also “walk the walk”.  Leading by example makes it clear that we are serious and that this is not just another management fad.  It also provides a reference for the team in understanding exactly what is expected of them.

Coaching and leading by example to support new behaviors plays a critical role in new skills adoption.  For some, taking a more proactive approach to discussing opportunities that will help the customer run their facilities more effectively is a challenging task.  It takes time and practice to become comfortable.  Without coaching and reinforcement, most of our technicians will simply revert back to their old ways and our efforts will be lost.  It is helpful to think of coaching as a form of maintenance.  We would never expect a piece of equipment to run very long or very well without maintenance so why would we expect our service team to perform well and consistently at new skills without coaching?

I have written an article that summarizes the key steps I have written about in the last several blogs for instilling a Proactive Service® culture in your service team.  I thought it could be a handy reference.  If you are interested, you can download a complimentary copy by clicking here.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”

– Mahatma Gandhi

The post Step 6 of a Proactive Service® Culture – Coach and Support appeared first on jimbaston.com.

During our Proactive Service® workshops, we ask technicians if they have ever proposed an idea to a customer where the customer has never gotten back to them and where they do not know what the customer has decided to do.  Almost everyone’s hand goes up.  We then ask, “Why do you think that is the case?”  Responses range from, “They decided not to do it” to “They got someone else to do it.”  Occasionally someone will say something like, “Maybe they forgot about it” and if they don’t, then we suggest it.  We then relate the story that I told in my last blog about the technician that passed on a lead from the field that was never followed up by the salesperson.  In that situation, the recommended action was to prevent a failure and a few months later, the failure indeed occurred.  Of course, the customer was angry and the technician was put in an uncomfortable position because of inaction on the part of the salesperson, but the problem would have been avoided altogether if the technician just took a moment to inquire with the customer whether they had given any more thought to the matter.

Usually there are one or two techs in the room who share with the rest of the class that they make it a point to follow up.  When they volunteer this, I ask them “What does the customer say when you remind them of something important that they may have forgotten about?”.  “They thank me” is the usual reply.

If we truly want to deliver a more valuable (and valued) level of service, we must do more than simply bring opportunities to the customer.  We must inquire about them when the customer has not taken action to ensure that the customer does not lose sight of those important recommendations and save them grief and aggravation down the road.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

– Thomas A. Edison

The post Step 5 of a Proactive Service® Culture – Follow Up on Opportunities appeared first on jimbaston.com.

Nothing will stop a technician from making recommendations to a customer more quickly than poor or inconsistent follow-up by the rest of the company’s staff.  A technician that makes a recommendation that requires follow-up by others (salesperson or manager for example) and which is not followed up, is unlikely to continue to do so.  But worse than that, lack of follow-up can have serious consequences.

I worked with one service firm that did not have a formal process for handling opportunities from the field.  I interviewed one of their technicians and he related a story that highlights the problems that can occur.  The technician had found a problem with a key piece of equipment and recommended to the customer that it be replaced as soon as possible.  The customer asked the technician to have someone get in touch with him with pricing and installation information for the replacement.  The technician reported the opportunity on the work order along with the request for a follow-up call by the salesperson responsible for the account.  Unknown to the service tech, the information did not get to the salesperson and no one followed up.  About a month later, the customer called in a panic because the equipment failed, just as foretold.  Rather than praising the technician for his ability to predict the failure, the customer was furious that there was no follow-up on the part of the firm.  The service technician took the brunt of the customer’s anger and felt let down by his colleagues.  Needless to say, by the time we spoke to the technician, he was reluctant to identify opportunities in the future.

Even when a process for opportunity management is in place, it may not include an important step.  One of the most common complaints we hear from technicians is that, even when there is follow-up, the technician is not kept in the loop.  The lack of a communication loop to keep the technician informed causes more than hard feelings.  It also can cause a customer service failure.  Let’s assume that the technician has spoken to the customer and they are interested in pursuing an idea that she brought forward that may reduce energy consumption.  The salesperson or manager is duly informed and goes out to visit the customer.  If there is no communication back to the technician, the salesperson may develop a solution that is beyond what the technician had in mind and far exceeds the customer’s expectations.  A simple discussion with the technician would have prevented this from happening and the technician would have an opportunity to share her ideas with the salesperson that could be incorporated into the ultimate solution.  In addition, by keeping the technician in the loop, the technician will have an informed response if the customer asks about the progress on the opportunity development the next time she is in their facility.

A key step therefore, to ensure that you create a successful and lasting Proactive Service® culture is to ensure that you have a clear, concise and consistent process for identifying and following-up on recommendations from the field.  Not only will this improve your service delivery, but it will let your technicians (and customers) know that these recommendations are important and that they play a key role in your firm’s the overall service delivery.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”

– Peter Drucker

The post Step 4 of a Proactive Service® Culture – A Clear Opportunity Process appeared first on jimbaston.com.

In our work with training technicians to be more proactive in business development activities, we ask them to list all of the products and services that their company offers.  We usually get two, three and sometimes as many as four sheets of flip chart paper filled with products and services.  We then ask them’ “How many of your customers know that you do all of these things?”  “Very few, if any” is the usual answer.

We then ask the technicians, “How many of you know enough about all of the services and products that your company offers to have a high-level conversation with your customers about what you do?”  Several, if not all of the technicians typically will indicate that they are not aware of all of the products or services offered.  We then ask, “If you were more aware and were able to carry on that high-level conversation to explore if the customer could benefit from the product or service, do you think that you would be of more value to that customer?”  The answer is invariably “Yes!”  “So what are you prepared to do about it?” is our challenge.

Now we have had many discussions with both technicians and their managers about who is responsible for their learning about the capabilities of the company.  Is it up to management to educate their technicians or should the technicians make it a point to educate themselves?  Regardless of where you sit on this question, you will do your customers, technicians and yourselves a great service by taking the initiative in educating your technicians on your products and services.

Take every opportunity to educate your technicians about your products and services.  Ensure they know the value of each one and how your customers will benefit.  Help them understand what to look for to determine if there is an opportunity to help and encourage them to speak to your customers about these services when they think that they will benefit.  Doing this will ensure your team knows the complete range of services you offer and give them more confidence to engage the customer.  This will allow your technicians to offer a higher and more valued level of service.  Your customers – and your technicians – will thank you.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”

– Benjamin Franklin

The post Continuous Educational Opportunities – 3rd Step in Creating a Proactive Service® Culture appeared first on jimbaston.com.

Without knowing the goals of the customer, how can our technicians make valuable recommendations?  A solution that works for one company might be contrary to the needs of another.  There is a wonderful story circulating around the Internet that illustrates the danger of solving problems without understanding the business goals.  Perhaps you have read it.  It goes something like this.

An employee of a large company was working late one evening.  She sees the CEO of the company standing in front of the shredding machine with a piece of paper in his hand.  He looks completely at a loss of what to do.  He asks the employee to help him make it work, explaining that his executive assistant has left for the day.  The employee is delighted to help and takes the paper, turns on the shredder and feeds the document into the machine.  As the paper disappears into the shredder, the CEO says “Thank you.  That is an extremely important document.  I only need one copy.”  Oops!!!

Understanding the customer’s business goals adds a critical piece of information to help the technician solve the puzzle of what they can do to help.  Knowing this will ensure the recommendations address the right problem, or as in the story above, prevent the creation of a new one.

How can a technician understand the business goals and challenges of the customer?  There are several ways, including doing Internet research, reading annual reports and catching up on the trade press for example.  But perhaps the best and easiest way is simply to ask.  This does not have to be a sophisticated discussion, but merely a conversation with the customer.  For example, the tech might ask about the most challenging aspects of building maintenance or what problems that, if eliminated, would make life much easier for the customer.  Or inquire about the most common complaints raised by tenants.  They may ask about their interest in LEED certification for existing buildings.  They may even ask about long-term plans for the building or process.  As managers, we can identify the best questions for our customer base and provide these for the technician.

An informed technician who can make recommendations that can directly contribute to their customer’s goals, is a valuable business partner.  They do more than fix things – they make things better.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

Yogi Berra

The post Step 2 in Creating Proactive Service® – Knowing Customers’ Business Goals appeared first on jimbaston.com.

Technicians who seem naturally gifted at selling their company’s products or services do not see their efforts as selling at all – they recognize their recommendations as the valuable service that they are.  To them it is a service activity.

Many service managers, however, treat business development efforts as a selling activity and this subtly undermines their efforts in three ways.

1. It puts the focus on what more the service company can “get” out of their customers.  We may look at the opportunity in terms of “… let’s leverage our customer relationships to win more business.”  There is nothing inherently wrong with this and of course, it is the objective of every business development activity.  However, this is a short term, tactical approach, which can obscure the much larger opportunities to build a differentiated service offering.
2. It positions the technician as a salesperson.  I don’t know about you, but I have not met many service technicians who appreciate being called a salesperson.  In fact, most are insulted by the title.  To be successful we need our technicians engaged and enthusiastic and this is pretty hard to do when the technician doesn’t see it as his or her job and is insulted by the expectation.
3. It adversely impacts the relationship with the customer.  If the technicians do take the “selling” role to heart, we risk alienating our customers.  The harder the technician tries to sell to the customer, the less effective they will be in building new business.  The reason is that, the moment the service tech starts to “sell”, he/she transcends that bond of trust that has been forged with the customer.  Regardless of how genuine the service technician is, the very reason the customer trusted the tech in the first place – the fact that they aren’t out to sell them anything – is suddenly no longer the basis of the relationship.

The preferred approach is to treat business development as a service.  Like the technicians on our team who seem to create an endless stream of opportunities, we need to get all of our technicians to recognize that identifying ways for the customer to run their facilities more effectively is a critical and valued service and not a sale.  There is a subtle difference here, but an important one.  When the technician understands that using their heads as well as their hands to help the customer is a service, they will approach the role with more enthusiasm and focus.  And customers, when they see that the technician is providing valuable suggestions aimed at helping them operate more effectively, will recognize and welcome this as the valuable service it is.  Certainly some technicians will be uncomfortable in engaging the customer in conversation so may have some difficulty in executing the plan as effectively as we might like, but that can be overcome by skills development like our Proactive Service® workshops, mentoring and support systems.

Maintain focus on this approach to business development by using every opportunity to repeat the mantra to the techs that identifying opportunities and bringing them to the attention of the customer is a valuable service.  Let them know that if they don’t think it is “right” for the customer, then they should not have the conversation.  Make it clear that you are not interested in sales for sales sake but simply want to ensure that each customer receives the benefit of having someone of their caliber in their facility.  Take this approach and the sales will take care of themselves.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

– Muhammad Ali

The post 1st Step in Creating Proactive Service® – Focus on Service, Not Selling appeared first on jimbaston.com.