Well, it happened again… I got a voicemail this morning from a prospective customer that wanted to discuss executive coaching with me. The gentleman spoke clearly, and was even so kind as to do the three actions I request in my voicemail (What… you don’t make a similar request for three items in your voicemail? Let me guess, you’re still saying “You’ve reached (Your Name), sorry I’m not in to speak with you, but please leave me your name, number and a brief message and I’ll return your call as soon as I can. Have a nice day!” You’re missing sales is you do…Send me an email and I’ll send you an article titled “Sales Saving Voicemail Scripts”).
I took good notes from the message he left and reached for the phone to return his call. That’s when it happened… Let’s just say that her name was Lola (Sing along with me, “Oh my Lola, la la la la Lola!”) Lola was not having a good day, it was apparent over the phone in the first three seconds of our conversation. That’s all it took for me to get the wrong mental picture of her, this prospect and his business! So I wonder, are you losing sales because of your first impression? In other words, are the people that are on your front line representative of you and your operation, or are they totally misleading in the wrong way? The following then is a list of 5 techniques you can “review” with your “first impression” staff so that the right impression is left every time!
Technique #1 – Smile – You can hear how someone feels through the phone! So if you are answering the phone with a frown on your face… smile. You might not be on candid camera (i.e., Punked!), but your customers will certainly feel the warmth.
Technique #2 – Serve – Why are you there? You are there to serve others, otherwise you should be in a backroom office with no phone in sight and far from the customers. If you are in the front of the customer experience line, you’ve got to have a serve mentality.
Technique #3 – Refresh – We all get in a bad mood… we’re human! However, when the phone rings or a customer walks in the front door, it is “Showtime” for those frontline employees. So adopt a “Showtime” mentality, but see if you can’t carry that mentality over when no customers are present!
Technique #4 – Clear – Clear the thoughts of workers that you can identify as struggling. It’s natural to want to help, so lend a hand and help them out. I think this is called teamwork or something…
Technique #5 – Get Real! – If you have associates that are not interested in putting your best foot forward, you’ve got to part company with them. There is only so much training and development that you can offer someone. If you notice that nothing is sticking from these sessions, part company with dignity!
I hope that these five techniques will allow you to stop losing sales because of those bad first impressions! If you’ve got other ideas, send me an email at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com .
Sam Palazzolo
Pathos Leadership Group – Home of the Influential Edge!
www.pathosleadershipgroup.com
I took good notes from the message he left and reached for the phone to return his call. That’s when it happened… Let’s just say that her name was Lola (Sing along with me, “Oh my Lola, la la la la Lola!”) Lola was not having a good day, it was apparent over the phone in the first three seconds of our conversation. That’s all it took for me to get the wrong mental picture of her, this prospect and his business! So I wonder, are you losing sales because of your first impression? In other words, are the people that are on your front line representative of you and your operation, or are they totally misleading in the wrong way? The following then is a list of 5 techniques you can “review” with your “first impression” staff so that the right impression is left every time!
Technique #1 – Smile – You can hear how someone feels through the phone! So if you are answering the phone with a frown on your face… smile. You might not be on candid camera (i.e., Punked!), but your customers will certainly feel the warmth.
Technique #2 – Serve – Why are you there? You are there to serve others, otherwise you should be in a backroom office with no phone in sight and far from the customers. If you are in the front of the customer experience line, you’ve got to have a serve mentality.
Technique #3 – Refresh – We all get in a bad mood… we’re human! However, when the phone rings or a customer walks in the front door, it is “Showtime” for those frontline employees. So adopt a “Showtime” mentality, but see if you can’t carry that mentality over when no customers are present!
Technique #4 – Clear – Clear the thoughts of workers that you can identify as struggling. It’s natural to want to help, so lend a hand and help them out. I think this is called teamwork or something…
Technique #5 – Get Real! – If you have associates that are not interested in putting your best foot forward, you’ve got to part company with them. There is only so much training and development that you can offer someone. If you notice that nothing is sticking from these sessions, part company with dignity!
I hope that these five techniques will allow you to stop losing sales because of those bad first impressions! If you’ve got other ideas, send me an email at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com .
Sam Palazzolo
Pathos Leadership Group – Home of the Influential Edge!
www.pathosleadershipgroup.com
