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A year ago I had someone I didn’t really know approach me and offer me advice I really didn’t want. To be respectful I agreed to a free consultation which I also didn’t want and certainly believed I didn’t need! I responded to her suggestions by giving her a list of those things I was not willing to do. Shall we say, I was difficult? And defensive. I wanted to control what was happening to me. She was patient and respected the boundaries I was setting. She negotiated with me and was able to get my commitment to add a few key things to what I was already doing that would give me results I didn’t even know I wanted. She knew the results of making a few changes would motivate me to look at those things on my “do not touch’ list in a different way. I can honestly say that the feedback she gave me has changed my life. So why was I so difficult at the start? I believed her feedback pointed out my failure.

Within your offices there are opportunities every day to receive feedback that can improve you as an individual person or the operation as a whole. Maybe the feedback comes in the form of a Tooty secret shopper evaluation, a co-worker pointing out a data entry error or a customer commenting on service. It is easy to feel that the feedback given is pointing out failure when it is really offering productive and constructive information to help you (and others) grow, recover, improve, prosper or excel.

Julie Staszak, Operations Manager at Tooty Inc. shares her recent experience receiving feedback. “I just started playing golf and today I did a horrible job on the first three holes. I got frustrated. I had someone I trusted give me feedback on how I was swinging the club. I listened, adjusted what I needed to fix and what do you know? I crushed the ball like I know I can! Criticism isn’t meant to put you down, point fingers at what you did wrong or blame you for a bad result. It makes us take a look at what we are doing so we can focus on the areas we need to improve and apply changes.”

How can you be more receptive to feedback and have better results using it to improve?
1) Ask others for feedback. Keep in mind that veteran workers, those who are less experienced and those in different job positions will have different input. Those differences can be valuable. Clarify the areas you want critiqued, too. Example: Mary would you please let me know if I sound tired? I am really trying to work on my voice. Or, I am trying to shorten my talk-time. Can you tell me if there is anything I need to eliminate or abbreviate?
2) Listen to the feedback and take notes. Voice tone and wording choice used by the one providing feedback may not be to your liking. Don’t react to the feedback or the person giving it. Thank the person and say that you would like some time to think about it. Then, review the feedback and see if there is a way you can use it to grow, recover, improve, prosper or excel.
3) Insist upon listening to your Tooty call and ask your manager if there is anything you can do in the future with that type of scenario to better serve the customer.
4) Use the feedback to add something to what you are already doing well. Focus on being better tomorrow than you were today.

My friend and the author of Sticking Points, Hayden Shaw, has done extensive research on the different generations and how they feel about feedback and training. He writes, “People want more feedback but aren’t getting it. Managers feel guilt rather than excitement, because they struggle to squeeze in time for feedback while they juggle the rest of their workloads.”

What

My first sales position involved me selling a hair loss product for men door to door. I would stop men in the elevator or at the mall and open with, “Excuse me sir, I noticed that you are thinning on top and I have a product that will help grow your hair back.” My boldness on a sensitive topic was effective. More often than not the prospective customer was quick to buy without caring about the price. Once the deal was done, quite honestly, I didn’t care to ever see the customer again. There were plenty of balding heads waiting for me. Many customer service and sales people fall into the same mindset. It’s about a quick sale or a short call versus a relationship. However, when it comes to selling an ongoing service the relationship can be as important as the price to the customer. But, starting a relationship with prospective customers can be awkward especially when they want to focus on price.
In order to better understand how you are doing when it comes to starting a relationship with prospective customers and how your team handles price objections you need to take a look at what prospective customers experience when they call you and your competition. The Tooty secret shopper program can help you gain valuable insight in order to change the approach your representatives are now taking. Would you be surprised if any of your representatives used the following responses to a customer who says, “I got a better price.”
• Can you tell me what you’re looking for in a price?
• We can match that.
• Okay- good-bye

Your team may be doing some nice things in their efforts to win a new customer. However, a great CSR or sales rep can ask great questions and add in personable comments, but still not be effective in winning the customer. Have you ever considered asking a prospective customer, “What do I need to do to earn your business?” It will elicit a response and start a conversation with the customer. It is part of building a relationship. Without knowing what the customer is looking for, you may lose your target and may offer things unnecessarily. When we ask all the right questions and don’t know what to offer in response the opportunity is lost. To use a line from Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank, the prospect will say “You are dead to me!”
What can your organization do now to win the price shopping battle?1) Make sure every CSR and sales rep knows exactly what they are allowed to negotiate with prospective customers and new opportunities. CSRs work best with exact scripting versus a concept. Talking about margins and percentages is white noise so focus on exact offerings allowed in order of preference. (Tooty is happy to help you with this.)
2) Have your representatives document the responses they get from a customer when they ask, “What do I need to do to earn your business?” You will gain great insight into your market and the responses will allow you to craft a more effective negotiating strategy.
3) Role-play to work out the kinks and help your team gain confidence. Sales reps and CSRs need practice.

The very next phone call into your office may be from an existing or prospective customer who is price shopping. A small investment now in evaluating your current approach and then providing training will make a difference in the outcome of the call.

This year I found myself in the middle of a challenging situation that involved two people who were totally irrational. Their mean spirit, ruthless tactics and harsh words made me want to lash out. I began to plot their demise and calculate how I could triumph. I rehearsed clever zingers that would put them in their place and practiced my response to their eventual apologies. And then I woke up! I knew I had to be a calming influence in a tough situation even though every bone in my body wanted to react. Trying to endure verbal assaults without having your own emotions come through is as hard as it gets. Sometimes a difficult customer can get the best of us so understanding what is behind the negativity and having a strategy to deal with difficult people will allow you to stand strong, keeping your emotions intact.
During the month of July my team at Tooty posed as irritated and impatient customers as part of ongoing evaluation and training for our customers. CSRs do admit that the customer’s tone of voice and mean comments make them sweat. The goal of the calls and evaluations was to determine if a gruff voice, snarky comments or an uncomfortable service challenge deterred the CSRs from providing positive solutions. The Tooty call results showed that we are most likely to take a short cut on assessing the issue in order to get the customer off the phone and in our haste the solution given may not solve the issue.

In a recent survey of our customers, 85% of the customer service representatives and their managers stated they were more intimidated by tone of voice than the words a customer uses. They also shared that in some of the markets they serve over 50% of their customers use profanity in the conversations. The first few words from a customer often determines the direction the conversation will go. What can you and your CSRs do to handle difficult customers more positively?
1) Remember that your customer’s bark may be worse than his bite. Behind every gruff voice is a nice person waiting to come out! A kind word can cool a hot head.
2) The way you sound when you answer will either set off an already unhappy customer or bring calm.
3) Go the extra mile to address your customer by name and use please and thank you to be respectful. A little oil of courtesy will save a lot of friction.
4) Show empathy by using some comments such as; you understand their position, you can see how they’d feel the way they do, and they’ve got a great point.

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you, not because they are not nice but because you are nice. You can’t change human nature, but perhaps you can improve it!