You might think your success depends on your products or your branding or your
flawless execution or even your reputation for quality. But make no mistake, more than anything else, your success depend on who you are.
Your customers decide whether they will return to you, and your customers decide whether they will tell their friends and family to also buy from you based on how they feel when they are with you — or, more specifically, on how they feel when they are with your customer
service representatives.
And again, make no mistake, your success depends on whether your customers return. It depends on how many people they refer to you.
Now, you may be wondering, “How do I attain the level of customer service that pulls customers to return and refer?”
Consider for a moment two customer service representatives —
● THE FIRST CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: The first CSR has been taught the paramount importance of smiling, always speaking with a “smile in your voice,” and always saying “thank you.” In fact, she is surrounded by signs on her phone and banners in front of her desk to ensure she never forgets any of these things. She has studiously memorized all the scripts for responding appropriately to every possible comment,
objection, or emotion expressed by the customer. She has learned how to appear
professional and poised. And she is even armed with a list of experts and authorities within the
organization so she can connect her customer to the person who will best take
care of the customer’s needs.
● THE SECOND CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: The second CSR doesn’t have a lot of scripts. She has no banners or signs around her, reminding her
to smile or say “thank you.” And although she has a list of experts and authorities within the organization,
the list is strictly for her own use. Right from the first moment she picks up
the phone, her priority is not to impress the customer but to understand and connect with her customer. Instead of a canned script, the customer gets a genune human being. The CSR often laughs and cracks
jokes, but not because she’s been instructed to do so. She wouldn’t dream of handing her customer to anyone else within the organization because
she understands how upsetting this would be to the customer. So, she takes the time to gain as much expertise
about her organization and product as possible, not because she has been
instructed to do so, but because she knows this is how she can best service her
customer. Most of her customers remember her by name.
Which of these individuals do you think will cause customers to return and refer you?
There is no contest, is there? The second person, without a doubt.
What's interesting is that when you start reading about the first person, she sounds very well
groomed as a CSR. Any individual so up-to-speed on what it takes to be a good
CSR is worth her weight in gold. You are not even aware that something crucial
is missing until you start reading about the second person.
It's only in contrast that you can see that the first person is mostly on an intellectual path to CSR
success. She has a great grasp of all the scripts and techniques—what to say, what to ask, what to do. But she operates mostly from the head. She
doesn’t even realize how far she is off the mark. She isn’t even aware that she is hurting herself — and most importantly, your entire organization.
If you want your CSRs to change from the first type to the second type, you won’t find the answers in traditional books or courses. That’s because they focus on teaching you what to do and what to think and what to say — all of which lead your CSRs to becoming a person of the first type, the very
thing you want them to graduate away from.
What your CRSs need to learn is to change their worldview — and one of the best ways, I’ve found, is through small group gatherings, where everyone collectively learns not what to do or say, but about who they are and how they see the world, especially their customers.
Start a Service Group Now!
SCHEDULE: Use this site to Create a Service Group for your CSRs. If you want to limit visibility of your Group to
those who are part of your organization, you have the option to do so. The ispreadchange.com site has been designed to let you network with your CSRs, send them schedules
and reminders, make announcements, exchange notes.
INVITE: Invite your CSRs to join the Group. Encourage them to keep track of the event
on ispreadchange.com.
POST: Invite other people in your company who come face-to-face with your customers
to pull together Service groups of their own. To promote and inspire such
groups, tap into our resources for a flyer that you can personalize.
MATERIALS: For your Service Group Gatherings, the most important thing you’ll need are discussion questions to focus the gathering and maximize the
learning. You will also need Sign In sheets. Both can be accessed through the resources page.
Congratulations on bringing your CSR together to attain new levels of service and success!
Congratulations on the difference you make in the world.
Aman Motwane
Yes, You Can Change the World
