Ross - DSN Article
- 1. 62 Direct Selling News | May 2009 Working Smart At the core, there is one rule in business: If customers get what they want, they come back; if they dont, they wont. Its that simple. The more your business follows this rule,the more successful it will be.So heres how you can apply this rule to maximize your own sales and customer service. Know your customers.1. The contact center is a hub of interaction, and contact center representatives (CSRs) know whos happyand who isnt. They immediately know whether your products or services are exceeding expectations. Thats why its critically important to train your CSRs to recognize which calls require immediate action or indicate trends. Challenge old ways.2. With time, the way a company does business has to evolve. Some outdated processes may not make sense anymore, so dont be afraid to look for better ways. Whether order volume is dropping or your customers are repeatedly calling about the same concerns, this information needs to be shared with leadership staff at your company. Remember, your contact center talks to your customers more than anyone else. So ask what they are hearingand listen. Call your own toll-free number once a week.3. How many menus do your customers have to sort through? Three? Four? Even if you use an initial menu to sort calls, dont go more than one menu deep. And if your customers want to press zero and talk to a live person right away, let them do it. Its worth the $2025 an hour to have a cheerful, friendly voice greet a caller, route their call to the appropriate team and exceed their expectations. Have clear channels.4. Make it easy for your customers to return products or ask for assistance if theres a problem with their orderonline or by phone. These issues happen in every business. But how they are handled makes a big difference. Clearly display your toll-free numbers and offer your customers easy-to-use
- 2. www.directsellingnews.com 63 Working Smart online forms, which you can focus on when call volume is not high. Offer an online suggestion box.5. With this simple tool, you can gather and sort suggestions from your customersand show you care about their needs. Its important to get those suggestions to the right people throughout your company who can make changes happen. Use online chat.6. Chat is one of the best tools available right now, and the return on investment (ROI) is incredible. With online chat, an experienced CSR can help five to eight customers simultaneously online. Online chat even allows you to click and drag scripted answers, so start a searchable knowledge base with clear, friendly answers. Once youve got online chat, make it available from any page on your Web site. Take the busy out of business.7. Use caution when you set up a process to take care of an issue. Make sure it will work in the long run. If you have processes that involve a lot of paperwork, figure out how you can go electronic, still achieve 8090 percent of your desired result and reduce workload. Track your customers.8. If youre in direct sales, you need a customer relationship management (CRM) software package that creates accounts for all your direct sellers. This software tracks their order history, status and any one-time courtesies or special exceptions. It provides key information to monitor those who might try to take advantage or extend extra kindness to your top achievers. Have a generous policy, and consider a fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, shame on us approach. Survey your customers with informal quick9. polls. After a chat session, use a quick survey with two or three questions to rate their service. You can also post polls regularly on your Web site about specific topics. Know your vision.10. Its imperative that your team has its own vision. Write a mission statement with input from your team and leadership staff that dovetails with the overall mission of the company. Post it and use it to guide your decisions. Remember your boundaries.11. Understand what your department does, and rely on other departments to do their jobs. Otherwise, there is a tendency for customer service to take on more and more roles as time passes. Also, be willing to send great ideas to other teams instead of trying to implement everything on your own. Be calm and empathize.12. In sales and customer service, its important to act like youve been there before. Customers dont want to talk to someone who is surprised by their callthey want someone to listen, empathize and offer a solution. Empathy is a great thing. In other languages, one says Im sorry by sayingI feel it. In English, often people think thatIm sorry means admitting fault, but really we are saying,I am here for you. Your approach should be simple: Be there and talk about solutions. Be prepared.13. Even with the best products in the world, you need to be prepared for consumer safety issues. Write solid standard operating procedures before continued on page 58
- 3. 64 Direct Selling News | May 2009 Working Smart you need them with the help of your quality assurance and legal teams. Create a guide of best practices.14. When you figure out the best way to do something, write it down. It sounds obvious, but your CSRs should pull their talking points and actions from a searchable archive. Update these processes as better ones come along. Create staffing forecasts.15. Find correlations between sales activity, order volume and workload for your team. Use 90180 days of data to find this correlation, and then update it every 3060 days to guide your staffing forecasts. Its prudent to staff to 75 percent of the volume of your busiest days. (If you staff to meet your busiest days, youll be overstaffed the rest of the time.) Measure your performance.16. An excellent service goal is to answer at least 80 percent of calls within 60 seconds. Also, measure your performance by having managers on the floor, listening to calls and coaching they are your most experienced resources. Focus on quality, not quantity.17. Great companies have empowered CSRs who take their time with every customerup-selling and fostering relationships. Though it will create some additional labor costs, its one of your best investments, since its the primary way customers interact with your company. Cross-train, cross-train, cross-train.18. Customers are happier when they get an answer on their first contact at least 80 percent of the time. When a contact center is staffed with specialists, this is harder to achieve due to meetings, days off and breakswhich means customers get voicemails or delays. The answer is to develop knowledgeable, interchangeable generalists who can access search-friendly databases. Encourage your CSRs to serve on project19. teams. Nobody knows more about customers than your CSRs. They are continuously interacting with the people who purchase your products or services. Giving up an employee temporarily for projects such as Web development or testing is worthwhile because it creates a better product for your organization and allows your CSRs to expand their skills. Know when to let go.20. A great leader knows they are not great at everything. When you empower and trust your employees, your organization will move faster. So surround yourself with exceptional people and get out of their way. And remember, your employees talk to your customers more than you do. They might not always know the best course of action, but they have the continued from page 57 Tastefully Simple Customer Service Representatives If customers get what they want, they come back.
- 4. www.directsellingnews.com 65 Working Smart best data and information. Your role is to bundle and sort that information and make decisions based on vision. Adopt a servant style of leadership.21. All levels of leadership should roll up their sleeves, answer calls, open the mail or pack orders. Serve your people by working alongside them, and remember that your attitude sets the pace. Check your ego at the door, and be the person youd want to work for. Let family come first.22. Honor that people love their families. Support them when they cant be at work or need flexibility. When their family needs are met, people are more likely to love their jobs and do anything for a boss or company they love. Recognize this fact, and respect an employees desire to put their family first. Create a great culture.23. Hopefully your organization invests in creating a positive culture, but you have the power to make or break that culture within your own department. Make it a fun place to work. Smile. Celebrate whats working, start meetings with victories and focus on what you want to see more of. Surprise your team with treats, and have subgroups of employees who plan special meals and birthday cakes. Know your work volume, so you make time for fun during downtimes. Its up to you. Get all in or get all out. Make your employees comfortable.24. Spend money on quality headsets, computers, chairs, additional monitors and faster Internet service. You must have the right tools to do the job. Promote employees to other teams.25. Hard to believe, right? Its actually good to lose A-players to other departments at your company, because youll hire more A-players. Its important for employees to develop their skills and career path. Plus, promotions to other teams foster strong relationships across the company. Remember,there is one rule in business: If customers get what they want,they come back; if they dont,they wont.When you focus on that simple rule,you can retain more customers,increase your sales and set your organization apart from the pack.DSN Louis Ross is Director of Order Services for Tastefully Simple, based in Alexandria, Minn.