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Category: Customer service
Build a “bomb-proof” comfort zone for your customers
The simplest and most accurate description of selling that I have seen is to “create and keep customers”. That sounds nice. We just need to be careful we don’t gloss over the second part of this statement…KEEPING CUSTOMERS. I find that this part is often overlooked. To keep a customer we need to build a comfort zone around them that is so powerful it cannot be penetrated.
I have a comfort zone story: In the summer of 1974, I had just moved up to the Chicago area and was looking for a barber. My current barber was outstanding, but he was in Kansas. I was forced out of my comfort zone. So, Mike and I began. He was a great barber, and I now had a new comfort zone. He was with me through the times of my life, including the haircut he gave me to look good for my wedding in June, 1978. We were born the same year, so hi age was perfect.
The years rolled on, and in 1989 I moved to a suburb 40 miles away from Mike’s shop. That’s OK. I made the drive each month to get my haircut from Mike. Then, one day I called for an appointment, and Mike had no openings. I needed a haircut, and I was forced out of my comfort zone. I went to another barber locally. Scott took care of me, and did a good job. He wasn’t Mike, but then again, Mike wasn’t him. 31 years later, Scott is still my barber. I never went back to Mike, but I did give him a courtesy call and thanked him for the years of service. This experience taught me a lesson: Comfort zones are very powerful, and if we don’t create them for our customers, they can easily be snatched away. Do you have a strategy and specific action plan for keeping your valued customers, or do you take them for granted? Remember the old dental commercial: “Customers are like teeth…ignore them and they will go away!”
How do you want to be remembered?
“The rare individual who honestly satisfies this heart hunger will hold people in the palm of his or her hand, and even the undertaker will be sorry when he dies”
-Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends and Influence People
For many years I was a training facilitator for The Dale Carnegie Course. The above quote was one of my favorites. It encapsulates what I believe is the most important thing to know when building relationships and leading others: Making the other person feel important.
Once I worked with a fellow named Don. He had a way of making people feel special. He would greet people with a warm, sincere smile, and immediately begin to ask questions that enabled them to talk about themselves. Remember, that is everyone’s favorite subject!
Don was an avid fisherman, and one time he went on a trip way up north in the Canadian wilderness. In his experience, he interacted with the guides and staff at the lodge. As usual, he showed his genuine interest, and was able to find out things about people that were very informative and entertaining. The conversations Don had with them was one of the highlights of his trip. When Don checked out, the host said, “I keep hearing from my staff members about you. They want to know when you will be coming back. They have never done that before!”
What Don did was what many of us don’t feel we have time to do: Find out what makes others feel important and listen to their story. If we do, we will brighten people’s day and make them feel important. We may never know what a difference that will make.
Customer service and moments of truth
I once heard the term “comfort zone” described as the “mental home in which we live.” When we manage our relationships well, we help create a comfortable “mental home” for our prized customer base.
This past week I visited the store where I purchased my cell phone a couple years ago. I had a problem, and they solved it. At the end of the conversation the service agent asked me if I would be interested in moving my cable, Internet, and land line service to them. We compared the plan we had to their plan. We determined that switching to them would save us $20 per month.
My wife and I had the luxury of time, so we we looked at the new proposed plan and reflected on the past two occasions when we needed to talk to the service department of our current vendor. Considering these two conversations, we concluded that the service was outstanding. We were not that confident that switching to the new company would mean better service. Our current phone company has created a “comfort zone” we did not want to leave. We decided to stay with them in spite of the $20 savings.
As I reflect on this situation, I am amazed that we would be open to changing vendors after a relationship of 20 years. I realize it wasn’t the 20 years that created the comfort zone: It was all the contacts or “moments of truth” along the way that were well managed. The lesson is this: With each customer we have moments of truth. It is vital that we find a way to manage these moments. If we don’t, we will weaken the comfort zone, and open up the door to our competition.
The sales process is for everyone
When I began my career, one of my first objectives was to build my skills in professional selling. I enrolled in a 12-week course that broke the sales process into five steps that contained 23 fundamentals. Soon after I began the training, I asked myself, “Why do they just teach the sales process to salespeople? Why not everyone?” What I discovered was that learning the fundamentals of the sales process not only helps our success in selling, it also positively affects our personal lives with friends, children, and partners. Allow me to illustrate by giving a simple overview of the 5 steps of selling:
Step #1: Generate rapport. We begin in a friendly way that results in the prospect viewing us favorably. This enables us to generate a willingness to have a conversation.
Step #2: Show genuine interest. That’s fine that we are a nice person. Our next step is to understand the other person, their situation, and what they need. We do this by asking good questions, listening to the answers, and affirming that we have heard correctly.
Step #3: Present the solution. Now that we know what someone needs and why it is important to them, we can recommend a solution that appeals to their interest.
Step #4: Secure commitment. Once we have agreed on the solution, we ask for their commitment.
Step #5: Act. Now that we are committed, we take action!
OK. Now imagine you needed to have a serious conversation with your teenager. Wouldn’t this process apply? My recommendation: Learn the sales process (but don’t tell them you are not in selling)
Add some sparkle to your leadership ability…
“The expression one wears on one’s face is far more important that the clothes one wears on one’s back”
– Dale Carnegie
Today I was reminded of an important principle in building team trust: One of my friends mentioned that she had taken a picture of a colleague in a meeting while he was looking at his smart phone. The expression on his face was not radiant.
In building strong team trust, approachability is critically important. Our team members must be comfortable approaching us with questions, ideas, and genuine concerns. If the “at-rest” expression on our face is stern or intense, many will avoid us. This leads to a weaker team.
Many years ago I was coaching a business owner who talked about his most significant growth as a leader. A friend commented about the normal expression on his face. He said, “You look mean.” Carl was smart enough to realize that if he had a mad countenance, many of his team would hesitate to approach him. That day, Carl decided he would develop the habit of having an approachable expression as much as possible.
Carl got to work. It was tough. He claimed it was nearly 2 years before the sparkle on his face became a habit. Carl said the effects his efforts on teamwork and productivity were immeasurable.
I realize there are times when we will not have a sparkling expression on our face. We may be in a serious or intense conversation and we want our facial expression to match our message. The objective is, whenever possible and appropriate, always have a friendly expression on our face. This builds trust and leads to stronger relationships.