Why Coaching Is Needed For The Customer Experience

Reason #1: Recruit & Retain Great Customer Service Agents

Agents indicate they want opportunities to grow and learn, and to be shown appreciation for their work. Effective coaching and training is a key in creating a positive atmosphere for agents. Great coaches help agents learn and grow their skills. They can also help agents develop skills for future career goals. Agents recognized for efforts and achievements are more likely to remain with that employer.

According to recent surveys, the customer service agent attrition rate is 27% across all customer service centers. For larger centers, the attrition rate rises to 41%. Finding and keeping skilled agents are keys to great customer service.

Reason #2: Promote Great Attitude

Attitude beats aptitude where it relates to customer service. Customer service agents should possess a sunny disposition and be willing to “go the extra mile.”

It is much easier to enhance someone’s technical skills than their behavior. When hiring, you want to look for those who wish to serve and express empathy when handling upset customers.

This is especially evident when considering that for every customer complaint, there are 26 other customers who have remained silent, per Lee Resource Inc.

Reason #3: Encourage Excellent Communication Skills

Customer service agents need to demonstrate respect and empathy. It needs to be real and in many cases, offer a calming effect. Asking questions to your customers to help with tending to their needs and having the ability to summarize their issue back to them once they have expressed it will also show your professionalism.

Per the American Management Association, 68% of the time an organization loses a customer, it’s due to a rude or indifferent attitude or communication.

FACT: Price is not the main reason for customer’s leaving. It’s actually due to the overall poor quality of customer service – Accenture global customer satisfaction report 2008. 67% reported bad customer experience is the reason they leave a vendor or supplier!

Reason #4: Encourage Honest Persuasive Abilities

Skills of persuasion can reduce the amount of time your companies’ representatives spend dealing with customer objections or complaints, as well as improve sales numbers and customer satisfaction rates.

Keep WIIFT (What’s In It For Them) in mind. For example, rather than saying “I’d recommend the…,” a persuasive speaker will say “Tim, what you’re looking for is….” Or, rather than say “let me play the devil’s advocate and say that…,” you might say “Jackie, as an intelligent person, you know that…”

Also, keep it simple. Customers are more likely to be persuaded by ideas or solutions they can understand. Avoid industry jargon or acronyms. Say “organizations” rather than ASTD or NCAA.

FACT: 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated –McKinsey.

Reason #5: Promote Product Knowledge

Coach everyone in your organization to be a part of customer service. This allows customers to get their questions answered promptly, saving a possible call to customer service. The Harvard Business Review found that having to repeat a problem to a chain of customer service representatives was extremely frustrating for customers. If the person who initially handles the call takes full responsibility for it until the customer’s concern is resolved, it can ease the customer’s mind.

FACT: 55% of customers would pay extra to guarantee a better service – Defaqto research.

Reason #6: Encourage Time Management

Time management is essential in customer service. Knowing how long each call “should” take will help to service additional customers each day, thereby gaining customer loyalty. Managing your time properly as a customer service representative can ultimately mean the difference between falling behind in minimum calls required and excelling in the position.

Knowing how to solve problems, thinking ahead and maintaining composure at all times also allows an agent to reach customers more timely and effectively, as well as allow the customer to feel satisfied and content with the services provided.

FACT: A customer is 4x more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service-related than price- or product-related – Bain & Company.

Reason #7: Help Agents Read Customers

The more an agent is familiar with human psychology, the easier it is to communicate and connect with customers. Picking up on the way clients are speaking can help determine how to steer the conversation, as well as if they are new or a long-time customer. By learning more about human psychology, body language and understanding sounds when speaking, agents can be relaxed and confident with their methods of communication any time they are on the phone with a customer.

FACT: A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs.

Reason #8: Foster Closing Ability

“Closing the deal” for someone who has contacted customer service is as important as how an agent communicates with their customer. Once various solutions are presented to customers, understanding how to close the deal and finalize the call is an essential part of the process. It’s important to know when to transition into the closing of the deal based on each customer individually. Asking the customer if they are satisfied with the offered solutions is a way to confirm the call is on the right track.

FACT: A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10% –Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy.

Contact us today

Tim Hagen founded Sales Progress, a Training Reinforcement Partner Company, in 1997. Tim has authored the Sales Progress Coaching Training System™. This system teaches sales and non- sales leaders how to systematically coach their employees to dramatically higher levels of performance!

Ask About Our “Sales Progress Coaching Training System” “Where We Build Managers Into Powerful Sales Coaches”

Phone: 262-377-5655 Email: tim@salesprogress.com Cell: 262-227-8563 Website: www.salesprogress.com Blog: http://www.salesprogress.com/coaching-leadership/ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timhagen

Schedule a coaching session with me: https://www.timetrade.com/book/21SCJ

Tim Hagen