After-sales is a crucial part of any business that wants to retain customers, increase loyalty, and generate referrals. However, it can also be challenging, stressful, and demanding, especially in times of crisis, change, or uncertainty. How can you build resilience in after-sales and cope with the pressures and expectations of your role? Here are some tips to help you.
Resilience is not about being tough or invincible, but about using your skills, talents, and resources to overcome difficulties and adapt to new situations. To build resilience in after-sales, you need to identify your strengths and leverage them to solve problems, improve your performance, and boost your confidence. For example, if you are good at communication, you can use it to build rapport with customers, handle complaints, and negotiate solutions.
Acknowledge your efforts and see failures as opportunities for growth and learning. Since salespeople are people with good days and bad days, it is crucial for their management to support them and guide them toward success. This can be done through holding regular one-on-one feedback meetings.
Feedback is essential for learning, growth, and improvement in after-sales. However, not all feedback is positive or constructive, and some of it can be harsh, unfair, or inaccurate. To build resilience in after-sales, you need to learn from feedback and use it to enhance your skills, knowledge, and attitude. For example, if you receive a negative review from a customer, you can analyze what went wrong, what you can do better, and what you can learn from the experience.
Having a neutral stance with regards to all feedback received is a great place to start. I embrace feedback as a normal part of the after sales process. Feedback is the breakfast of champions. In my experience positive feedback enables me to know what to keep doing in providing solutions to my customers. I also use positive feedback as a way of patting myself on the back to keep myself motivated. Negative feedback may be demoralizing. Nevertheless, I have learnt to pivot this to fuel my curiosity about the customer. It is possible to pivot negative feedback to inspiration and exceed expectations. Negative feedback is a key ingredient in adopting a growth mindset.
Emotions are natural and inevitable in after-sales, as you deal with different customers, situations, and outcomes. However, emotions can also affect your judgment, behavior, and performance, and sometimes lead to stress, frustration, or burnout. To build resilience in after-sales, you need to manage your emotions and regulate them to suit your goals, tasks, and context. For example, if you feel angry or anxious after a difficult interaction with a customer, you can calm yourself down, breathe deeply, and refocus on your next action.
Support is vital for resilience in after-sales, as it can provide you with guidance, assistance, and encouragement when you face challenges, setbacks, or failures. Support can come from different sources, such as your colleagues, managers, mentors, friends, or family. To build resilience in after-sales, you need to seek support and use it to cope with stress, learn from others, and share your feelings and experiences. For example, if you struggle with a complex issue or a dissatisfied customer, you can ask for help from a coworker or a supervisor, or vent to a friend or a relative.
Change is inevitable and constant in after-sales, as you deal with new products, services, policies, procedures, technologies, and customer needs. Change can also be beneficial and rewarding, as it can offer you new opportunities, challenges, and experiences. To build resilience in after-sales, you need to embrace change and use it to innovate, improve, and grow. For example, if you face a new situation or a new requirement from a customer, you can see it as a chance to learn something new, develop a new skill, or create a new solution.