The Key Customer Service Skills your Team should definitely have

A question I always answer right from the start of any courses I deliver is why did I chose to train people when it comes to helping businesses improving their customer service? And my answer is always the same: because of the power of people. You can have the best methods in place, great customer service starts with a team feeling proud, empowered and acknowledged when it comes to successfully delivering it.

So when it comes to the best customer service skills and methods your team really needs, the first thing to understand is that they can only apply these methods effectively if they feel empowered and important in this role.

Now let’s see more in-depth some key skills your people should have when it comes to delivering an exceptional experience.

Successfully managing and exceeding customers’ expectations

When it comes to managing expectations, your team can only do it effectively if they understand why they are doing it. Here are some reasons you should definitely share with your team so they have the correct mindset when it comes to this key topic:

·??????? To make sure your clients have all information related to your offer

·??????? To provide the offer you should and want to provide

·??????? To make sure your customers get the best out of what you provide

·??????? To avoid future complaints

·??????? To protect your business

Now we covered the “why” (so your people have the correct mindset),? let’s cover the “what” (how to get your people to effectively manage your customer’s expectations). Here are 5 stages to successfully manage your customers’ expectations:

1.????? Be crystal clear on what information you need from your customers

2.????? Give them all the required information you need them to be aware of

3.????? Target the discrepancies from what they tell you

4.????? Have courageous conversations accordingly (see below for more information)

5.????? Never overpromise

The keys to success to effective complaints handling

Dealing successfully with complaints is all about perspective. The minute we change our perspective around complaining clients as a team, we change our approach to complaints. As you will turn a complaint into one of the best way to show genuine care, generate even more trust from customers or give yourself / your team another opportunity to set boundaries or re-manage expectations.

But there is one main thing which makes a huge difference when it comes to complaints handling: making the best impact on your customers’ emotional perception. Science tells us that human reactions and decision-making process is emotional first and then logical. So when we decide to handle/resolve a situation with logic only without considering and acknowledging first its emotional origin, it is a recipe to failure.

So let’s take 3 key stages of successful complaints handling which are active listening, paraphrasing and sympathising. The reason why you want your team to focus on these 3 stages first before even thinking of finding a solution is because by doing so, they will positively acknowledge and show care towards the customers’ perspective. Which will therefore make a positive impact on their emotional perception, so you can turn the situation into an opportunity rather than a threat. Only once your team has successfully done this can the complaint be effectively resolved.

Becoming a Master in courageous conversations and objections handling

Let’s start by asking ourselves what is a courageous conversation? A courageous conversation is a conversation you have with a customer on a disagreement. And the aim of these conversations it to stand your ground diplomatically without making it conflictual.?So how to do so?

You need to make it about their needs as the reason behind your argument, so they are more likely to agree with you. For instance, if a client has unrealistic deadlines, your team can make it about the fact that only with your deadline will they get the full value from what you are providing.

But one of the best way to become a Master in courageous conversations is to be prepared before having them. Here are some powerful steps your team needs to follow in order to effectively do so:

·??????? Be prepared: Know exactly what you want to address and what outcome you want

·??????? Anticipate challenging questions and objections by preparing your answers accordingly

·??????? Do not fall into the trap of becoming defensive

·??????? On top of their needs, remember to use your expertise

·??????? Come to a point of agreement, obtain commitment and mention the next stage(s)

And what about objections handling? Well, it is first of all crucial to understand that objection handling is not necessarily about sales objections but also the objections you get in general when dealing with your customers. Though objection handling is a lot for sales, it works amazingly well both for sales and customer service. And sales being also about generating trust, managing expectations and onboarding clients successfully, all these powerful methods you want your team to have with customer service definitely need to cover the selling stage too. ?

Here is the roadmap to successful objection handling:

·??????? Paraphrase their concerns and get them to speak more with open-ended questions

·??????? Acknowledge their objection (“I totally understand where you are coming from…”

·??????? Reminder: Use the “no-why-but approach”

·??????? Reminder: Use their needs as your number 1 argument to justify the “why”

·??????? Give them several alternatives if possible and applicable

·??????? Become an expert in courageous conversations by being prepared

Effectively setting your boundaries with your customers

Effectively setting boundaries with customers definitely starts by knowing your own limits as a business and as a team. And the best way to do so is to get your team to ask themselves the correct questions. Having a list of questions that your people can ask themselves when facing these kinds of clients is crucial to set your limits accordingly as a business. It will also help you find the most important piece of information: why these clients are like this. Last but definitely not least, it is also about getting your people to understand what are those limits. As only with clarity around your boundaries, can your people be consistent in effectively setting them.

So let’s see some questions your people can ask themselves:

·??????? Did we say yes to something we shouldn't?

·??????? Is this client representing a threat to the business?

·??????? Is the client taking things for granted that he/she should not?

·??????? Do I need to re-manage expectations / re-have a courageous conversation?

And here are some key things your team needs to know:

·??????? Know your boundaries when it comes to your offer and the way you provide it

·??????? Have a limit to flexibility while being flexible with the right clients

·??????? What are the 5 things from your T&C you want to send by writing or mention verbally?

·??????? Set boundaries with the ?no-why-but? approach

Regarding this last point, learning to say no to your clients is key. And the “no-why-but” approach is definitely a key method to effectively do so. With this approach, you are indeed saying no without properly saying it (“unfortunately, this is not something we can do….”) while explaining the reason behind (by making it about their needs) and giving them an alternative solution wherever possible.

Understanding your customers’ perspective and situation better

Understanding your customers’ perspective on a regular basis definitely starts with having the correct mindset:

·??????? Something you may see as “secondary” may be a huge priority to your client

·??????? Things that seem obvious to you may not be obvious to your clients

·??????? ?Understand that each client’s need is different – even for the same offer

Every situation where your team deals with clients is different from one another. So what should your people look for in order to understand that perspective effectively? Here are some key perspectives your team should look to understand when dealing with customers:

·??????? Understand the customer journey – related to the information your team should have/ask

·??????? Understand the impact of a situation on the customer and their stress level – related to the urgency and priority of the situation/enquiry

·??????? Understand the customer level of knowledge – related to the information your team needs to give

·??????? Understand the customer’s personality – related to how your team should handle him/her

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In conclusion, I would simply say that when it comes to these 5-star customer service skills everyone in your team needs to have, the key to success in order to apply the above is definitely consistency. And the best way to reach consistency is by having a knowledgeable and passionate team you train on? a regular basis so they take care of your customers in the best manner.

Need more advice on how to bring your team's performance to the next level??Feel free to reach out and book your free discovery call or give a try to my new online assessment fiving you a personalised report on your team's performance!

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