Negotiation skills are not only useful for closing deals, resolving conflicts, or advancing your career. They can also help you provide better customer service and build stronger relationships with your clients. In this article, you will learn how to use negotiation skills to improve customer service in six ways.
The first step to improve customer service with negotiation skills is to listen actively to your customers. Active listening means paying attention to what they say, how they say it, and what they don't say. It also means asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing their main points, and showing empathy. By listening actively, you can understand your customers' needs, expectations, and emotions, and avoid misunderstandings or assumptions.
Active listening stands as a vital skill for every professional in sales and customer service. To truly put your customers at the center, you must listen, understand, and act on their feedback.
Recognising that most customers are uncomfortable when negotiating is key if you want to create a great relationship with your customers. Show a genuine interest in the customers reasons for negotiating and actively listen before attempting to address the issue or concern. By demonstrating that you have listened and understood what the customer has said will help you building value in your proposition and is the most customer centric way to overcome such objections or reduce the need to negotiate. Pause - Consider - Reply and with empathy. Focus on the value elements of the product or service that is most important to the customer.
Active listening is a crucial skill that helps identify and understand the customer's problem. By doing so, customer service can ask relevant questions and provide an appropriate solution that meets customer needs and expectations.
Through active listening and empathy, negotiating helps to reach resolutions that satisfy both the customer's expectations and the company's policies, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
I believe, negotiating behavior is primarily determined by mental attitudes. Mental attitude is the basic tool in all types of communication. Regardless of the country, language and situation, it plays a crucial role in negotiations.
The second step to improve customer service with negotiation skills is to identify your customers' interests. Interests are the underlying reasons, motivations, or goals that drive your customers' actions or decisions. For example, a customer who complains about a product defect may have an interest in getting a refund, a replacement, or an apology. By identifying your customers' interests, you can focus on finding solutions that satisfy them, rather than arguing over positions or demands.
Negotiation skills can enhance customer satisfaction by fostering a two-way dialogue where both parties feel heard and valued. Imagine a bridge, where negotiation is the sturdy pathway connecting the customer's island of needs to the business's island of services. Through skillful negotiation, a business can understand and align with customer expectations, crafting solutions that resonate with their desires. This mutual understanding, like the meeting at the midpoint of the bridge, leads to tailor-made outcomes, ensuring customers leave feeling respected, appreciated, and most importantly, satisfied.
La empatía juega un papel importante. Continuando con el ejemplo de un reclamo de producto, es necesario no interrumpir al cliente para que baje su nivel emocional y después empatizar con una frase como “yo en su lugar también me sentiría molesto”. Nunca utilizar “yo me sentiría igual” porque en realidad no conocemos todas la emociones o situaciones que el cliente vivió previamente a presentar su reclamo.
After listening to customer complain you need to identify his interest and apologize for the same rather than heavy discussion. Give him solution for his complaint do not keep the problem open handed.
I spent my life in the Auto and Motorcycle industry. I ALWAYS had a rule, Never start negotiation until you have heard ALL of their needs, have looked at relevant solutions and they said, "yeah, that's what I was talking about". During that time you can develop a relationship and then the negotiation feels more comfortable for all involved
One important approach from relations building, which is more than viable for negotiations is: Don’t give your partner everything. Give them what they need. With customers it works the same way. How can you know exactly what they need? Based on the dialogue with them. People are not comfortable talking about things they are not happy. It is much easier for them to vote with their wallet, meaning they will just take their money elsewhere. So it is up to you to provoke that dialogue in regards to their satisfaction and their dissatisfaction even more so!
The third step to improve customer service with negotiation skills is to generate options. Options are possible ways to meet your customers' interests, as well as your own. Generating options requires creativity, flexibility, and collaboration. You can brainstorm with your customers, suggest alternatives, or offer incentives. By generating options, you can expand the range of potential outcomes, increase the value of the agreement, and avoid impasses or deadlocks.
Recordar que pensando en nuestra organización la mejor promesa al cliente es la que no se hace, pues una vez prometido hay que cumplir ese cometido. No hay generar falsas expectativas a los clientes y ofrecer lo comprendido dentro de las políticas de cada organización.
Customer is key and driver always in the business. Of course listening is important but key point is to let them understand that you are there to support them. With active listening and time, finally they Will bring what they want as solution.
Offering one solution will end the process before it begins. There is a huge difference in closing a sale or service solution when you only have a single proposal. This created and Yes or No. When you have multiple options, you have the opportunity to give the customer and opportunity!
When the requirements are identified they are matched to the products or services of the person and discussion on direct translation are matched.
Know how flexible you are allowed to be ahead of time. I call this knowing what's in your your "toolbox" to close a deal. Meet with management beforehand to discuss strategies for winning business. Don't be the person that has to talk to his "manager" for every round of negotiation. Don't hate me for revealing this... sometimes I know what I can concede and make it seem as if my customer won the negotiation when I get back to them with an answer.
The fourth step to improve customer service with negotiation skills is to evaluate options. Evaluating options means comparing and weighing the pros and cons of each option, based on objective criteria. Criteria are standards or measures that can help you judge the quality or suitability of an option. For example, you can use criteria such as cost, time, quality, or fairness. By evaluating options, you can narrow down the choices, eliminate the unacceptable ones, and select the best one.
Siempre hay que sopesar cuando el costo de un cliente mal atendido puede ser mayor que el de la solución ofrecida. Tener en mente que un cliente insatisfecho puede llegar a compartir su malestar hasta con 9 personas más según datos de la American Management Association, convirtiéndose en publicidad negativa difícil de borrar.
Be open to finding flexible solutions that meet both parties' needs. Sometimes, service improvement may involve finding alternative ways to deliver the service or adjusting certain aspects to better align with customer expectations.
Options are great, but be careful not to provide too many and confuse a customer or get them reevaluating their situation. Write down the criteria and boundaries if you have to so you steer towards a sale. You want to start wide and focus in. Versus, switching back to wide view after narrowing the focus. Be patient if you need to which points back to proper listening.
The fifth step to improve customer service with negotiation skills is to communicate effectively. Communicating effectively means expressing your ideas, opinions, and feelings clearly, respectfully, and persuasively. It also means listening to your customers' feedback, acknowledging their concerns, and addressing their objections. By communicating effectively, you can build rapport, trust, and credibility with your customers, and persuade them to accept your offer or proposal.
Addressing objections is a big part in developing a successful customer service person. Active listening and the ability to identify the real objection is a crucial skill. Once uncovered, being able to manage a fact based, non-emotional conversation will help create win-win solutions to overcome the objection and create a great customer experience.
Empathy serves as a vital component in this process. It's the ability to put yourself in your customers' shoes, acknowledging their emotions and experiences. Displaying empathy helps in creating a connection and reassures customers that their concerns are being heard and understood.
La asertividad, es decir, dialogar con calma y respeto, expresando lo que queremos decir pero sin herir los sentimientos de otras personas favorece el clima de confianza. No se trata de quedar bien con el cliente, se trata de ser congruente y con los valores de nuestra compa?ía, cuando sea necesario decir NO hay que sustentar con hechos, no con creencias.
It’s the main most obvious point. You need to identify your customers needs. It’s literally the first thing you should aim to do.
If the above steps are done right this may come naturally. If they have concerns then make sure to have your plan to help them. Gauge the level of concern too. Many times in the sales cycle you may hear a customer say, "well it's not a big deal anymore." If the concern is solid then do not hide from it and let management know or educate you how your organization can help. If the deal is large enough there might be some room for special treatment. Customers like to feel special. Don't let an opportunity pass to make them feel special.
The sixth and final step to improve customer service with negotiation skills is to follow up. Following up means confirming the agreement, delivering on your promises, and checking on your customers' satisfaction. It also means thanking your customers, asking for referrals, or requesting feedback. By following up, you can ensure that the agreement is implemented, resolve any issues or problems, and maintain or enhance the relationship with your customers.
Recognizing that busy people have tight schedules highlights why it's important to keep in touch regularly. Following up isn't just about staying on their radar, its about strengthening your connection and earning trust gradually. This ongoing communication helps address any concerns, share more info, and adapt to their changing needs.
Acknowledge and celebrate successful negotiations that result in improved service. This positive reinforcement encourages a culture of continuous improvement and customer-centricity.
95% of customers with unresolved complaints are likely to switch brands. Negotiation skills are a secret weapon to turn those complaints into loyalty. Research shows 82% of customers are more satisfied when involved in finding solutions. Hence, organizations need to focus on mutually beneficial solutions. By mastering these negotiation skills, you can turn unhappy customers into loyal advocates, boosting customer satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, your bottom line.
In my experience with default loan servicing, I have encountered diverse occasions that call for skilled negotiation and conflict resolution. Both the borrower and the investor are the customer. The goal is to reach a mutually beneficial solution that meets the needs of the investor, the lender, and the borrower. To align opposed parties, you must clarify issues by asking the how, why, where, what, and when questions. The insight gained from listening to problematic dialogue provides variables for options, identifies common ground on which to build, and finds interest-based counterpoints.
Good negotiation skills involve active listening, clear communication, empathy, and creativity to find solutions beneficial to all parties involved. It's about understanding needs, exploring options, and reaching agreements that satisfy everyone's interests while maintaining positive relationships.
Here is mine 5 highlights in negotiation with customers: 1. Nail the greeting in the first 5 seconds for an impactful first impression. 2. Guide with leading questions, uncovering client preferences effortlessly. Stand more on most do's and donot's the client needs. 3. Listen actively—let the client express their thoughts on the service experience. Client must speak 80% of conversation, make sure you hear the client. 4. Tailor your presentation to align with client preferences, showcasing your services. Match up your service with clients expectations you've heard from p.3 5. Always close the conversation with a decisive action, turning every interaction into a successful deal. Good luck.
An example I’ve seen in CS teams, is that a talent with good negotiation skills can actually save and secure fragile relationship with unsatisfied customer. Re-negotiation is what first falls on shoulders of CS teams, when business does not deliver what has been agreed at commercial stage. It is of absolute benefit to those seeking for customer centricity transformation, pay more attention to negotiation abilities in CS teams, rather than solely focusing on communication and other soft skills.