A number of years ago when the global economy was in a different state than it is today, customer care training was not high on the agenda for a number of companies. Why this was I don’t really know, I can guess that to many companies losing a customer did not have the same emphasis as there always seemed to be another customer waiting with money in their pocket to buy. In the competitive market of today where we are all trying to get market share and the loss of a customer is extremely hard to replace customer service training is a vital part of a companies armory.

With the best will in the world every company will at times lose customers, this can be from anything from people moving out of an area, people no longer having a need for the product you sell or even people dying, we all lose customers.

It is important to realise when we lose customers some of these losses will be out of our control, but many of them will be within our control. I remember reading a survey that was carried out by a company in the U.K and they found the greatest reason why customers jumped ship and went to competitors was they had felt an indifferent attitude from a staff member.

I think the interesting part of this is ‘they had felt’ you see customer perception is vital. It is not the old question of ‘is the customer always right’ it is more to do with the feeling perceived by the customer whether they are right or wrong.

Customer service training can definitely help to make staff aware of some very basic wants, needs and desires of customers. These wants needs and desires are the same for all of us, after all we are all customers. If we feel we are not greeted or wanted in a premises due to the grumpiness or indeed the lack of acknowledgement by the staff we wont use the company if there are other competitors available.

If we do are not listened to, advised or helped in a genuine friendly manner we are not happy and will move our custom. Customer service training is not rocket science we all know what we expect when we are involved in a business transaction with a supplier, but unfortunately we do not always receive it.

It is often said customer service training and serving the customer is all common sense, maybe it is but we all know common sense is not always common.

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But, with the right Recruitment Interviewing Skills training and the right people in place, the business can thrive towards success!

Depending on your companies hiring practices, you may or may not be directly involved with the interviewing process and interview skills training. However, it is in your best interest to be fully aware of the process, as well as the employment patterns of your staff or the staff you are recruiting by having the appropriate interview skills.

For the purpose of clarity and understanding we are relating this article to the Recruitment and Interviewing of CSR (Customer Service Representatives) for a Call Centre environment.

 3 Reasons for High Turnover Rates

If your call centre has a high turnover rate, you may be struggling with the reason why. Here are three of the most common reasons:

1. CSRs view their job as a temporary job

The reality is some CSRs are actually still looking for other jobs while they are employed as a CSR.

2.  There is a lack of adequate training for the new CSR

Starting a new job is intimidating enough, but when there is little or no training regarding customer care and telephone skills training, the CSR could feel as if he/she will never really learn the ropes. As a result, the CSR gets frustrated and will either stay with the job unmotivated, or will look for another job.

 3. The CSR wasn’t right for the job in the first place

If the Interviewer was not proficient in interviewing or lacked formal Recruitment Interviewing Training, it is likely that he/she could have recruited a square peg for a round hole in the Recruitment Interview Process.

As a business leader, it doesn’t matter how desperate you are to fill a CSR position, you should not hire a person who you do not believe has the potential to do a great job. In the long run, it is better to have an empty chair and search for the ideal CSR, than to try to fill that chair with a less-than-adequate CSR.

Don’t worry, if you are patient and have the correct Interviewing Skills Training, you will discover how to Interview effectively, and you will find the ideal CSR!

There are excellent CSRs with good communication and problem solving skills just waiting to be recruited but you must have the Recruitment Interviewing Skills to be able to establish the core competencies you need for the role you are trying to fill and if the candidate does not match your competencies –forget it. Always remember Recruitment Interviewing is more than a gut feeling!

For Recruitment Interviewing techniques see www.premiertraining.ie

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We believe that the main difficulty faced by so many sales people is that they sell the product as opposed to selling to the needs and wants of the client. We find from speaking to many sales agents on various Selling Skills Courses that most salespeople who product sell have made up their mind before even speaking to the prospect about what they are going to sell- thereby having no regard to the customers actual requirement…

The problem with this approach is that we end up trying to sell products to customers who may not have a need for the product and we often don’t even discuss other products that may be required by the customer. We need to improve this process and produce products to customers based on their actual need.

Product selling reminds me of fishing with a fishing rod, you may be lucky and you may catch one fish on the end of the rod, however, if you fish with a net you may catch numerous different types of fish.

An effective technique we use on our training courses as we believe it simply delivers results is when selling remember to use the acronym ALLA which means:

Ask relevant questions

Listen to the answer

Learn from the answer

Act accordingly

When I first started in sales many years ago I was in the Life Assurance Industry and my goal was always that when I was in front of the prospect I would establish what they needed and then sell the relevant products. As well as this I would try and ensure that on an ongoing basis I would try and establish what other products could be needed.

When selling Life Assurance there would always be other products such as Pensions, Illness Protection, Business Insurance, Education Planning, etc- as with all businesses there is potential to digress from one product to cross sell and upsell.

True, effective salespeople have learnt that it is important to try and establish the needs for the full product range as opposed to leaving products on the table for your competitor to pick up. They provide solutions to their clients.

Nowadays with the internet people are so used to buying add on products, if you go to Amazon.com they will always have a pop up box that says ‘people who bought this also bought this’.

Probably the first masters of add on products in my lifetime was the burger bars, years ago Burgerland and other burger bars did not sell meals as such. People used to just go in and get a cheeseburger and chips, but automatically the member would say ‘what drink would you like with that ?’ even though the drink was an add on cost, most people automatically responded by saying Coke. It becomes second nature…if you know how.

By keeping up to date with sales techniques your sales process will improve along with your add on sales!

So, to summise- when you are out selling, sell the full range of products you offer- if you do not you are leaving easy sales on the table for the next salesperson to pick up.

The post Sales Training: Are you leaving sales on the table? first appeared on Sales Training & Time Management Courses in Ireland.

1). Make the training course formal

By formal we don’t mean boring; rather, it means you want to present the training as an important event. Send invitations (either paper or electronic) specifying when and where the training will take place, what topics will be covered, the benefits of the training, and what (if anything) the trainee needs to bring. You don’t necessarily need to refer to it as formal training with the trainees, but you should specify that it is mandatory rather than optional. The problem with an optional training course is that it is usually the people who need it most that decide to opt out!

2). Control the environment

You will want the trainees to show you respect and courtesy during the training sessions. To help them, request that they leave mobile phones on meeting mode. These distractions will help the efficiency of the training session. Prior to the course, provide the delegates with a timeline that identifies designated breaks. This way the delegates can plan bathroom, phone, and lunch breaks and avoid the distraction of people constantly walking in and out of the training course.

3). Make the training course relevant

Delegates are primarily interested in training that affects their role and responsibilities. You may be tempted to cover as many different topics as possible during the training course, but it is better to prioritise topics and focus on the relevant few. If they are presented with too much information, they will not be able to digest it all. This means, that you could have    several different training courses covering different topics. Provide training materials with exercises that the delegates can practice on their own.

4). Provide real-world application

Delegates need the skills that match exactly with the types of issues and problems they face during their workday. No one wants to listen to a trainer lecture for hours, so training based on concept alone will not be successful.

5). Make the training course interactive

As you probably know, adult students can get bored easily, so encourage them to participate through action learning. This not only keeps their interest, but it can help them get to know the other trainees. Practice exercises, role plays, group discussions and games are all excellent interactive opportunities. The real tip for success in training courses is the less you do the more they will learn.

For more training techniques see www.premiertraining.ie

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Let’s assume that you have now decided that you are going to consciously employ this thought process throughout the sale, the following will more than likely happen;

1). You break the ice with small talk

Small talk with clients about the news, the weather, their interests etc is sometimes more effective than big discussions about products, prices or objections. It is so important to create a human likeability factorbefore you launch into your sales pitch.

2). You will sell yourself

You must believe in yourself. If you portray your inner belief to your client they will respond with trust. Crystalise in your mind the fact that you are successful, that your client needs to deal with you and buy from you as you know what you are talking about. You are passionate about your product/service and you show their advantages in their true light. You can rely on your own strengths!

3). You ensure that the setting is just right

In order to set up a sales meeting it is crucial that you are prepared. You need to know what venue, day, time etc will best be used to your advantage. If you are required to make a presentation ensure that you have all of your props ready to go. Execute your sales meeting like it is a theatre performance!

4). You will play on your emotions

You must believe in your product/service. Portray the fact that you or your product is the best in the business. Show your client that you know what else is out there in the marketplace but give your client the reasons why they should do business with you! Your enthusiasm and conviction will transfer to the client and you will begin to create trust.

5). You make your best offer

You are convinced that you are making your client the best offer, you have discussed their needs and expectations and you are certain that you understand your product/service more than any other competitor in the marketplace. Your service comes with after care so the customer can rest assured that their needs/queries will always be in your best interest- even after the sale!

I’m sure you will agree that this was a “sale made in heaven”. In our Sales Training courses we provide numerous easy to understand methods of closing sales.

For further techniques and tips on sales training see www.premiertraining.ie

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