Motivation Shots from The Doc

Tips and Techniques to Apply for Motivated Staff and More Sales
Twitter Facebook RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Customer service’

People Buy From People – 6 tips for success

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on May 11th, 2013 No Comments

1 Don’t rely on logic20130413-092631.jpg

Many people who sell a technical product or service often find this hard to understand. They seem to believe that all the customer is interested in are the facts and figures. Perhaps they are, but what happens if they don’t particularly like the salesperson?

2 People sell to people

Before accepting what you say, people need to buy you first. If you find this hard to accept, think about people who have tried to sell you something. Even a politician or a religious leader on television. If you don’t particularly like the person then you’ll find it so much harder to accept what they’re saying.

3 People like people who are just like themselves

It’s important to build rapport, to establish mutual areas of interest, to show you understand and care about the other person’s needs.

4 People are different

Everyone on earth is different; we are all as different as our fingerprints. You may have similar interests, but aspects of your product or service may not be as important to your customer or client as you believe.

5 Don’t stereotype

Always keep an open mind when dealing with the other person. They may not think or behave as you’d expect.

6 Adapt your behaviour to different people

Learn to mirror the other person’s words, tone of voice and body language. This doesn’t mean mimicking the other person; it’s about communicating with them in their style and language. For example – if your customer spoke quietly and slowly; then it would build rapport if you spoke quietly and slowly. Subconsciously, the customer is getting the message that – you are just like them.

 

Posted in Customer service, Sales

Nice People Don’t Increase Sales

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on May 9th, 2013 No Comments

Who are the most important people to your business? You might say your employees or you might say customers. I Business Greetingbelieve that your employees are, because without them, you won’t have any customers.

So why do so many organizations employ people in customer service jobs who shouldn’t be dealing with customers?

I was running some customer service training events recently for people in a range of businesses. Like all of my events, I encourage interaction with the participants. I encourage them to ask questions, make statements and even disagree with me.

I never pick on individuals but rather address my questions to the whole group.

However, I was surprised at the number of people at these seminars who had such poor communication skills. So many of them were shy, introverted, and couldn’t look me in the eye. Even on a break they were unable to even chat with me.

I really have to ask, ‘Who employed these people in a customer service job? A job that requires people who can communicate with the customer. People who are warm and friendly. Who make the customer feel at ease and want to return to the business, buy more of the product or service and say positive things to other people.

Were these participants nice people? Of course they were. Do I want them to lose their job? Of course I don’t. But if you want more customers and more sales, then employing “nice” people isn’t the way to do it.

Warm and friendly – yes. Good listeners – yes. Assertive – yes. Persuasive – yes.

Find other jobs in your organization for the nice people to do, but don’t put them in front of customers.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Customer service, Leadership, Motivation, Sales

Not All customer Service People are in the Office

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on May 3rd, 2013 No Comments

By Alan Fairweather

Who are your most important customer service people?ebbetslunch

Let me explain; a few years ago I was running customer service training workshops for a large telecommunications company in the UK. It had become apparent to certain managers that the people most in contact with their customers were the engineers and technicians. These were the guys who visited the customers in their home or place of business, to install telephones or carry out repairs.

The engineers had the potential to make or break the relationship with the customer depending on how they interacted with them. This was most important with business clients.

Another company I did similar training for, were in the beer business. Every week, their delivery drivers, turned up at a pub, bar or hotel to deliver the beer and other drinks.

Again, the relationship between the delivery people and the customer could have a huge influence on the business. A surly or unhelpful delivery guy could influence the customer to change suppliers. Bar owners are always under pressure from other companies to switch suppliers. On the positive side, good delivery people help cement the relationship between the brewery and the customer.

Everybody in your business is a ‘customer service person’; whether they work in sales, technical services, accounts or delivery services. I’m not saying that you should run customer service training for all of them. (Although that would be a good idea for your business and for people like me).

I’m only suggesting that you be aware that everyone in the business has the ability to make or break it, and remember the saying of Karl Albrecht:

The way you treat your staff is the way they’ll treat your customers.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Customer service, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Sales

If You Want More Customers, Move Your Ass

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on April 29th, 2013 No Comments

Do you remember the last time you moved house? Well I’ve just been through that experience, and you’ll know how Dog Tired of Phone Callschallenging and stressful that can be.

We needed new suppliers for telephone, electricity, internet and all the other services required to sustain life. And of course, the most important for the kids; cable TV.

The first cable TV company I approached called ‘We want to make it as difficult as possible TV Company’. Okay, so they weren’t called that, but the amount of hassle I had to go through just to get signed up was unbelievable.

Anyway, a few days later two technicians, Dopey and Grumpy, showed up to do the installation. Ten minutes later, they went away again.

The previous owner of our house used this particular cable company and the cables were all still in place. But apparently they were the wrong kind of cables for the service we wanted. So off went Dopey and Grumpy and we never heard from them again. No follow up phone call to say when they were coming back or what they were going to do for us.

So the following day I went to another TV company called ‘Yes we can do it and we want your business TV Company’. And the following day an eager technician arrived dead on time. Within half an hour we were connected, although the technician said it would be twelve hours before the account would be activated.

However, that evening, six hours later, I turned on the TV just to check and ‘voila’ we were now connected in full HDD.

Business is as tough nowadays as it’s always been. And if you want more customers, more sales and more profits, you need to make it as easy and as quick as possible for your customers to buy your product or service.

 

Posted in Customer service, Leadership, Motivation

Speakers Need to Feel the Fear

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on April 27th, 2013 No Comments

It sometimes surprises people when I tell them I get slightly nervous before a speaking or training event. They seem to 8646613779_8374bb1291_m1think that because I’ve been doing it for years, nervousness would no longer be an issue.

However nervousness is a normal human emotion and as I often say, ‘I’d be nervous if I wasn’t nervous!’

It’s how you handle the nerves that will determine your success as a speaker.

Similarly, many sales people feel nervous or uncomfortable making cold calls, phoning for an appointment or following up an enquiry. Again, this is a normal response and most sales people feel this way.

One of the biggest fears for humans is the fear of rejection and we’ll do almost anything to avoid it. It stops people making speeches, contacting customers, asking for the order, or even asking someone out on a date.

Successful people feel the fear of rejection but they don’t allow it to paralyse them. They take action even although they feel uncomfortable. And of course, the more you do it the less uncomfortable you feel.

In the many challenges you face in life you won’t win them all but you must have the courage to try.

Remember; winners make mistakes but losers never do.

That’s because winners have the courage to try and they know they’ll make mistakes; however that’s how they learn and move forward.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Leadership, Management, Motivation, Public speaking, Sales

Don’t Read this if Business is Booming

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on April 14th, 2013 No Comments

Is your business growing in 2013? Or is it standing still? Or, OMG! Is it going downhill?Red arrow on business graph

You can talk about market forces and the economy. Perhaps you can wait around until they improve. But if you do that, then at best, your business will stand still, and is more likely to go downhill.

You need more customers, clients, sales, and profits, and you need them now!

Finding new customers is a challenge we all face in business, and just as importantly, we need to hang onto the ones we have.

Your product or service must satisfy your customer’s needs in terms of technical specifications and price.

But that won’t guarantee you the sales and profits you need.

Much more importantly, you and your staff need to be, motivated and engaged. You need to hold onto the customers you have, motivate them to buy more from you, and also find new customers.

And you need the skills and talents to do this.

Listed below are twenty-four new seminars and learning events that will develop the skills and talents of business owners, managers, sales and customer service people. Attending these events will ensure that you and your staff have the skills to find new customers, sell more of your products or services and make more profit.

I’ve been in business since 1993 and I’ll tell you how I’ve been growing my business for the past twenty years.

535790_501835376551055_1941846866_n (1)

535790_501835376551055_1941846866_n (1) (Photo credit: motivationdoc)

The Events

  •  Motivational Leadership in 2013
  •  How to Build a Self-Motivating Team
  •  How to Pick the Best People for Your Team
  •  Communicating for Success
  •  Generate More Customers and win more Sales
  •  How to Deal with Difficult People
  •  Develop Your Talent as a Motivational Manager
  •  Learn the techniques of the Motivational Salesperson
  •  Become Expert in Dealing with Sales Resistance
  •  Discover the Cure for Cranky Customers
  •  Dealing with Customers on the Telephone
  •  How to Deliver Extraordinary Customer Service
  •  Simple Selling Skills that Get Results
  •  How to Motivate Customers to Buy
  •  Confident Speaking and Presenting
  •  The Power of Emotional Intelligence
  •  How to Make Sales and Love Selling
  •  How to Network and Make More Contacts
  •  Be a Winner with the Five Factors of Success
  •  How to Make Sales Appointments
  •  Choose to be Assertive
  •  How to be a Powerful Persuader
  •  Coach Staff to Deliver Results
  •  How to get Customers to Come to You

All of these events will be designed to meet the needs of your business and your staff.

They can be run as:

  • A Keynote Speech
  • One-hour Booster Shot Seminars
  • Half-day Mini Workshops for Maximum Results
  • One or Two day Workshops Developing Skills by Practise

You may be thinking – ‘What is it going to cost to train my staff?’

Perhaps you should be thinking – ‘What is it going to cost not to train my staff?

For more information, send an email to: askalan@themotivationdocotor.com

Or phone: +63 (0) 917 517 5191

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Customer service, Difficult people, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Public speaking, Sales

On Time Every Time – If You Want the Sale

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on April 12th, 2013 No Comments

Article by Alan Fairweather

Are you a, ‘I’ll be there at 8am’ or ‘I’ll be there around 8am,’ type of person?Bureau

Okay, so I’ve always had a thing about time. If you want me to meet you at 8am, I’ll be there at 7.50am at the latest. It’s just one of my built in programs and it’s hard to change – I’ve tried, believe me!

I run seminars and workshops throughout the world and I’m getting a bit hacked off with people in certain countries who show up late for meetings and learning events. They then say some thing like, ‘Oh, this is the land of Zog, we never show up on time.’

In one country the seminar started an hour late due to the technicians being late, and the participants wandering in at various times well after the start time. They asked me to speak about how to do more business internationally. Well, showing up on time would be a good start!

I hear stories about being held up in traffic or other excuses. My answer to that one is, ‘If you were going for an interview for the most important job of your life? Would you show up on time – I bet you would.’

When I was a manager, woe betide any of my team who showed up late for a meeting with me. Of course there are times when your car breaks down or there is an unexpected traffic problem. However, you soon get to know the ‘I’ll be there around 8am’ people. And how come, around 8am is never before 8, always after?

Being late is disrespectful, and suggests you don’t care. If you’re in sales, then the impression you give is that the product or service you sell will be delivered late and your service will be poor.

If you’re a manager, then the impression you give to the employee is that you don’t care about them, and won’t do your best to help them.

If you own a shop, and the sign on the door says ‘We open at 8.00am’ make sure you are up and running, doors open at 7.55am, not 8.05 am.

That is, of course, if you want happy customers, happy staff, more sales and more profits?

 

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Customer service, Sales

Is Your Product a Champ or a Chump

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on April 6th, 2013 No Comments

By Alan Fairweather

A pair of In-N-Out cheeseburgers.

A pair of In-N-Out cheeseburgers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I took my youngest staff member to lunch today. Ian is nine years old and he doesn’t talk much – when he’s sleeping! In the waking hours, it’s nonstop talk, and English isn’t even his first language.

Being a young man of fine tastes and no time to wait, it had to be fast food. Jollibee with their fantastically friendly staff, work hard to keep your mind off the food. No sooner had I ordered Ian’s ‘Spaghe…’ than it was on the counter and in Angie’s computer.

My order was a bit more complicated. I asked for a ‘Champ’ burger. I also asked for it ‘Solo’, because that’s what it said on the colorful display behind the counter. To my eyes, the colorful display showed fries and a drink. But it turns out that ‘Solo’ means no friends, no fries, and no drink; silly me! (The burgers in the picture are not the one’s in question, but similar)

Anyway, the ‘Champ’ burger turned out to be a ‘Chump’ burger. There was plenty of it I have to say, but the first bite disintegrated the bun and the whole thing collapsed into a gooey mess.

Now a gooey mess can often be quite tasty, and it was, but every bite sent more bits of ‘Chump’ to the plate, over my hands, and up my arms. It ended up being a kind of Chump burger soup!

Do Jollibee actually taste test the food they serve up or does it just look good on the drawing board?

Would I order it again? Nope!

What I want to know is; is it just me or do other customers buy products or services like this and say ‘Never again?’ I bet they do! And sadly the manufacturer never takes the time to find out why.

Make sure you’re selling Champs not Chumps!

Check out – How to Make Sales When You Don’t Like Selling51dAWpJHORL._SL500_AA300_4

 

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Customer service, Sales

Why Aren’t Your Employees Motivated and Engaged?

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on April 5th, 2013 No Comments

By Alan Fairweather with thanks to Laura Entismy boss and me

Only 29% of employees are fully engaged in their work!

This startling statistic comes from a recent study by Dale Carnegie and MSW Research. They polled a representative sample of 1500 employees across a wide range of industries. And as someone who has spent the last twenty years working with organisations across a range of industries, that doesn’t surprise me.

Totally disengaged employees came in at 26% in this study, and the majority of employees came somewhere in-between. These are the people who are putting in the minimum amount of effort to achieve results. In other words; nearly 50% of employees are just not into their jobs.

And the result of that is, low productivity, poor customer service, lost customers, poor sales, lots of days lost due to “sickness”, high staff turnover and reduced profits.

Organisations are losing billions due to high staff turnover alone. In the US, the Bureau of National Affairs estimates that this costs businesses $11 billion annually.

Okay, so that’s the bad news; now for some good stuff.

Employee engagement is mostly affected by the employee’s relationship with their manager or supervisor.

And even more good news; this can be recharged and made even better.

Motivational Managers create the environment where employees self-motivate. This in turn generates a high level of engagement.

You need managers who communicate well, (and that means listening more than speaking). Managers who talk with every employee individually, on a regular basis, about what they do well, and what they could do better.

Managers who trust their employees, keep them ‘in on things’, encourage growth and appreciate them.

Simple facts

Not doing this will cost your business lots of money.

Doing it costs you nothing and earns you money.

Check out the book, How to be a Motivational Manager51zNGdLr4YL._SL300_3

Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Leadership, Management, Motivation

Make Your Customers Too Embarrassed To Go Elsewhere

Posted by The Motivation Doctor on February 12th, 2013 No Comments

Article by Alan Fairweather

Let me ask you a couple of questions. Do you want your customers or clients to come back to your business and spend more money? Do you also want them to say positive things about your business to other people?embarrassed

I think I can answer these questions myself – of course you do! Because, as you’re no doubt aware, it costs five times as much to find a new customer as to retain existing ones.

Unbreakable, oh yeah!

A quick story: A few weeks ago, I broke my reading glasses; well to be more accurate, they fell apart in my hand. As you’ll gather, I wasn’t too pleased, especially as I’d bought these super-duper, titanium, unbreakable ones that would last forever.

On the Monday, I took them back to the opticians. Turns out I’d bought them about two years before, however, the receptionist said she’d speak to the optician about them.

Later that afternoon, she phoned – ‘Mr Fairweather, we’re going to replace your glasses and I’ll phone you when they’re ready.’

Next day, Tuesday, she phoned to say that my new glasses were ready to be picked up. However, they closed at five thirty, and there was no way I could get there in time. ‘No problem’ said the receptionist, ‘I’ll drop them off at your house on my way home.’

Follow up

The next day the receptionist phoned to ask – ‘Did you get your new glasses okay, are they alright? If you need them adjusted just drop by and the optician fill fix them for you.’

Now I don’t know about you; I think this is fantastic service. Not only did they replace the glasses and deliver them to my door, but they kept in touch checking that everything was okay.

They made the balance between the business side of this customer interaction and the human side. They made me feel special and that my business was important to them.

I’m due to have my eyes tested sometime soon, and I’ll probably need new lenses; guess where I’ll be taking my business?

I’d be too embarrassed to go elsewhere.

Your unpaid salespeople

So there you have it, if you want customers to return, spend more money and tell other people about your business – make them too embarrassed to go elsewhere.

You do this using logic and emotion.

It’s not enough just to replace a faulty product; that’s the logical business part of the customer interaction. Your competitors will be doing much the same thing.

You need to meet the customer’s human needs by showing that you’re interested in them and that you care. And that’s something your competitors are less likely to be doing.

 

Posted in Customer service, Sales
« Older Entries

Powered by WordPress | Log in | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | ilookgood! theme by iwritealot!

%d bloggers like this: