I don’t need to tell you that field service is a competitive business and getting more so with each passing day. Customers are more knowledgeable and demanding, competitors are innovative and tough, and the great things you do for your customers are often overlooked. It’s time to bring BYOB service to your customers and gain the competitive edge. BYOB stands for “Bring Your Own Brains” and the service company that offers this service encourages their technicians to bring their heads as well as their hands when providing a service for a customer.

In today’s competitive environment, the best way to stand out from the crowd and to take market share is to demonstrate to your customers that they are better off for having hired you. Not only is their equipment running in tip-top condition, which is what they would expect by engaging a professional and competent company like yours, but they can say that your efforts have made a contribution to their business that was beyond the scope of the work you were contracted to perform. Maybe because of their relationship with you they are operating more efficiently or safely. Perhaps your recommendations have helped them extend asset life or achieve some sort of important recognition or goal. Regardless, they can look to your relationship as bringing much more value than simply keeping the equipment running and they will reward you by renewing their contract and telling their friends and colleagues.

Of course, the only way to help your customers to be better off is to recognize what is important to them and identify and communicate those actions that the customer can take that will help them make improvements. Our field team plays a critical role here because they are the ones in the best position to gain an understanding of the customer’s challenges and goals and recognize steps that can be taken to address them.

This is where BYOB Service comes in. This helps technicians recognize that a critical part of the service that they provide is looking for ways they can help that customer achieve their goals and helping the customer recognize the value in taking action. BYOB Service providers show their field personnel that proactive conversations with their customers about their recommendations is not selling, but rather an integral part of the service that they provide. BYOB Service companies nourish and build upon the brains of their technicians through training, coaching and practice.

How about your service offering? Do you provide BYOB Service for your customers? Do your technicians recognize that their job is more than fixing things and keeping the equipment running efficiently? Do you and your management team nourish the proactive efforts of your technicians through ongoing training and constant coaching and support? Do your customers recognize your efforts and can they say they are measurably better off for having engaged you?

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. 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 Baston

“I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.”

– Woodrow Wilson

The post BYOB Service – The Competitive Edge appeared first on jimbaston.com.

A friend and I were heading to northern Ontario for a few days of fishing. We started driving at 6:00 am and by the time we took our first break at 10:30 we were more than ready for a coffee. We were delighted to see the unmistakable sign of our favourite coffee chain ahead, conveniently located near some gas pumps. I dropped my friend off at the coffee shop to get our order to go and headed next door to fill up. The plan was for him to pick up the coffees and meet me at the gas pumps. When I finished filling up, my friend was still nowhere to be seen so I pulled up to the coffee shop and went inside.

I was surprised to see him still in line. “Haven’t you ordered yet?” I asked? “No, it’s pretty slow”, he observed. We waited for another couple of minutes. Now I must tell you that my friend is one of the easiest going people I know. Nothing seems to rile him and, although we were anxious to get on our way, he seemed to be taking it in stride. Me? I was getting irritated but held myself in check. I started thinking about what I would say to express my frustration. Finally the server shouted “Next!” Before I could say a word, the server said, “Thanks for your patience! I am so sorry about the wait. It seems like everything that could happen to delay things this morning has.” Her words and her tone were disarming and my frustration began to dissipate. I decided not to say anything. Besides, what could I say? She clearly understood our position.

She took our order and poured the coffee in the cups. Then, with the change she handed over a small certificate. “Thanks again for your patience. Here is a coupon for a free coffee on your next visit.” It was a small gesture to be sure, but one that had a big impact – at least on me. We had not complained or even indicated our frustration for the wait. She anticipated our concern and demonstrated her empathy in both her words and her actions. Through her “spontaneous” empathy, she took a potentially negative situation and turned it into a positive.

She did not cause the delay. It was due to a series of consequences outside of her control. Many would have mumbled an apology and become defensive to any criticism, blaming the circumstances beyond their control. Yet, although this server was not personally responsible for the delay, she took responsibility for our experience.

It got me to thinking that in the technical service business, circumstances beyond our control often occur to cause us to deliver less than ideal service. A serious traffic delay on a major road or a severe winter storm preventing the delivery of the needed part are just two examples. When those things occur, are our field service teams, dispatchers and other front line staff trained and ready to demonstrate “spontaneous” empathy? Are they aware that, although they may not be responsible for the circumstances that have caused the problem, they are responsible for the ongoing customer experience? Do they know how to communicate this through their words and actions? As our example illustrates, even the smallest of gestures can have a significant impact.

For more suggestions and ideas on successfully dealing with difficult customer service situations, check out my book or some of the articles on my website.

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

“Customers don’t expect you to be perfect.
They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.”

– Donald Porter

The post Spontaneous Empathy – Addressing Concerns Before the Customer Raises Them appeared first on jimbaston.com.

My car is getting a bit long in the tooth.  It’s a 2008 and, with over 230,000 kilometers on the clock, it really is time to trade it in.  So it was a happy coincidence that I got a call from the salesperson at the dealership where I purchased this car to tell me about a great deal on the same model I currently own.  I knew that 2013 was the last model year this particular vehicle was made and I was delighted that there were still four available.  I took the car for a test drive while the dealership inspected my car.  When we returned, the salesperson offered me an opening price for the trade-in.  The price was very low and I explained that I just could not see my way to make a deal.  I thanked him for thinking of me and we shook hands.

I got a call on my cell about two minutes later from the salesperson.  “Good news!” he said.  It turns out that they could increase the offer by over 27%!  Over the next few days we negotiated a deal that would be “acceptable to the sales manager”.   We finally agreed on a number – about 43% more than the original offer for my trade-in.  The sales manager accepted it.  We had a deal – or so I thought.

In fact there was really no deal and that was where the problem lies.  “All you need to do now is come in and sign the papers and give us a deposit and the car is yours”, the salesperson said and I arranged to come up that morning.  “Everything will be ready.  We won’t keep you long.”  In fact, everything was not ready.  There was more to it than just signing the papers.  Before making good on their part of the agreement, the sales manager insisted on taking “one last look at my car”.  So the deal, unbeknownst to me, was conditional on a second inspection of my vehicle.

I am sure you can guess what happened next.  The sales manager inspected my car, returned to his office, and had a quick word with the salesperson, who, was sent out to tell me that they could not honour the offer that they had agreed to just 30 minutes before.  I wasn’t very happy and a little upset that I was not told that our agreement was conditional.  I felt that my time was wasted and I expressed my disappointment to the salesperson and that I thought they had acted very unprofessionally.  It occurred to me that this is the type of activity that gives car salespeople such a bad name.

In their zeal to make the sale, they lost sight of the customer – a customer who has been with this dealership since 2008.  They could (and should) have been honest with me during the negotiation. Had they been up front with me that the deal we negotiated was conditional on a second inspection, or had they made it clear that their original offer was the best that they would be able to do instead of putting me through a “mock” negotiation that they wouldn’t honour, then I would have little cause for complaint.  In either case, I may not have ultimately purchased this car, but they would have kept a customer.  Sadly, they have lost both.

This incident brought to focus the difference between losing a sale and losing a customer.  Sometimes we get so focused on the prize, that we will rationalize any means to get there.  Questionable tactics may win the sale on occasion, but the risks are high.  If caught we will not only lose the sale, but also the customer.  And that lost customer is bound to tell others about the experience.

Professional business people realize that it is better to be up-front with the customer even if it means that they are unable to come to an agreement.  When approached this way, the business person may not win the immediate sale, but their integrity will likely win their respect and retain the customer and the opportunity to serve them in the future.

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

“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

– Groucho Marx

The post The Difference Between Losing a Sale and Losing a Customer appeared first on jimbaston.com.

“Are your customers better off having known you?”

As managers, we have an important role to play here.  Our technicians must understand that this is an integral part of their role.   They must recognize that these proactive conversations that they have with their customers represent a valuable and important service – as important as fixing and maintaining the customer’s equipment.  We must ensure that the processes, systems and expectations of all customer-facing personnel support the technicians’ efforts.  We must be prepared to provide training on the necessary skills for our technicians to be successful and coach on and support those skills regularly.  And, we must maintain focus on this initiative consistently, month after month and take every opportunity to do so through toolbox, safety and other service related meetings.

If we take these steps both our technicians and ourselves will be able to answer “Yes” to the question, “Are our customers better off for having known us?”.  And, most importantly, our customers will appreciate and reward our efforts with their business and their referrals to others.

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

“Improvement begins with I.”

– Arnold H. Glasow

The post Are your Customers Better off Having Known you? 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.