LEADERSHIP COACHING

Industry Content Supporter:
Marc Carriere
Managing Director
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marccarriere/

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. If you don’t effectively serve them, your company will have no purpose and eventually cease to exist. That’s glaringly obvious. Yet, one of the biggest mistakes many businesses make when training their call center team members is not explaining who their ideal customer is, what problems keep them up at night, and how their business solves these problems for them.

At the end of this article, you’ll know the key areas about your Ideal Customer that you need to share with your team members so they have a crystal-clear idea of who your Ideal Customer is and how they can best relate to and communicate with them. Your team members must have a crystal-clear idea of your Ideal Customer. In many cases, team members are the first human contact or have most interactions with your Ideal Customer. Not to mention that effective engagement with your existing or prospective customers is the cornerstone of achieving higher contact and conversion rates, which drives growth and lowers sales costs!

The key to more effective engagement is knowing everything you can about the person you’ll be speaking with so you can understand who they are, how best to talk to them, and quickly find common interests you both share. Because of this, team members need to know who your Ideal Customer is and what problems they’re trying to solve. They also need to know how they like to be communicated with, so team members can empathize with your Ideal Customers or prospects, relate to them as individuals, and engage with them in a way that is both meaningful and appreciated by your Ideal Customer. An obvious starting point is sharing your Customer Avatar, or what some people call the Buyer Persona, which your sales and marketing departments have likely created.

This not only includes Demographic Information like:

• Gender
• Age group
• Where they live
• Whether they’re married or have a spouse, life partner, or if they’re single
• If they have children, and if so, how many, and their ages
• Types of professions and jobs they do
• Their job title
• Education level
• Annual income

But also psychographic information that applies to your Ideal Customer like, for instance:

• Types of books, magazines, and newspapers they enjoy and read
• Types of movies and Television shows, what do they watch 
• Hobbies or interests they have 
• Where they like to hang out online and offline 
• What they like to do for fun.

Team members also need to know your Ideal Customers' goals and values, their challenges and pain points, what they want, and how your products and services help them solve their problems. Also, if you have different Customer Avatars for other products and services you provide that your team members are involved with, you need to follow the same process. I promise that if you share everything about your Ideal Customer with your team members, they will clearly understand who they’re dealing with and be better able to engage with them more effectively while positioning your brand in the most favorable light.

Industry Content Supporter:
Marc Carriere
Managing Director
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marccarriere/

Far too many businesses are missing a key link in their sales funnels by not coaching team members on where they sit in the sales chain and the importance of their role. And, because of this, sales quality and targets can suffer! Whether your team members are making outbound calls to generate leads, making sales, or taking inbound sales calls, they need to understand your sales funnel to help you hit your sales targets.

First, they need to be coached on who you’re targeting. This will help them better understand the people they’ll speak with and be better prepared to engage with them. Team members also need to know basic demographic and psychographic information about the people you’re targeting, especially what problems they are trying to solve and how your products or services can help them solve them. You should also cover what happens in your sales funnel before your team member engages with your target audience.

For example, suppose your team generates leads for the sales team to follow up on or makes outbound sales calls. In that case, they should know relevant information about the lists they’re calling, specifically how they were generated. At the beginning of outbound calls, team members often hear something like: "Where’d you get my number?" How your team members handle this question is very critical. If they don’t know or seem unsure when they respond to that question, it comes across in their voice and creates uncertainty in the prospect’s mind about whether they can trust them. Without trust, you cannot develop rapport to generate a good lead or make a sale! If they’re handling inbound sales calls, obviously they need to see any ads or offers prospects have seen that motivated them to call. They also need to understand the strategy behind the ad to be clear about the key elements they must be aware of and cover with callers.

Last, you should coach team members about what happens in the sales funnel immediately after their part. In the case of lead generation, team members need to understand how the lead will be used and how best to position it for a sale. The lead may be sent an email, a sales letter, or a sales call. Regardless of what happens to the lead next, they must set things up properly for that activity to get the best sales outcomes.

This can be done simply by briefing them on any emails or letters that will be sent, or by listening to a few sales calls about the leads they generate. However, when you do this, you must ensure that team members do not preempt any follow-up activity by using sales bullets, the sales team needs to engage with the lead. Team members are only human, and when they feel under pressure, they often jump ahead in the sales chain, sharing information they shouldn’t because they’re afraid they’ll lose the lead.

If team members make outbound or inbound sales calls, they must know what happens after a sale to manage customers' expectations appropriately. This might involve product delivery timelines or follow-up calls from other departments. Regardless of what happens after the sale, the sales process isn’t finished until the customer is happy with what they bought.

If the product or service is delivered when it is supposed to be and helps the customer the way they think it should, you’ll have a happy customer who will be open to buying from you again and referring you to their family and friends.

Industry Content Supporter:
Marc Carriere
Managing Director
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marccarriere/

Team members struggle with customer engagement because they tend to describe product features instead of emphasizing how those features genuinely resolve the issues that trouble customers. This occurs when team members lack effective coaching in explaining how your products' benefits align with customers' key interests and inquiries. 

As customers, we seek to make purchases that address problems we want solved promptly. With limited time and numerous daily tasks, efficiency is key. The last thing we want is to hear someone drone on about all the features of a product or service that don’t interest us. We don’t care so much about what a product or service does… what we want to know is how well it can solve one of our problems.

It’s the same for the customers and prospects your team members speak with daily. I've used this straightforward process worldwide to run marketing departments and call centers, I consult with businesses, coaching and mentoring their call center managers and team leaders.  It’s so simple. It should be used when training new hires and continuously coached by your team, especially underperforming ones.

Now, assume your team member has conducted a good Discovery call and understands the customer’s problems and the solutions they’re looking for. When they move into the presentation phase of the call and start describing the features of your product or service, they must focus only on those features that can solve the customer’s problems or that the customer expressed interest in. Most team members review their Call Guide without listening to the customer during the Discovery phase. They then preview all the product features instead of focusing on those that solve the customer’s problems.

First, you must coach them on listening to the customers' answers in the Discovery phase to understand what they want clearly. Then, in the presentation phase, you should only focus on features that can help solve their problems. What’s the point of droning on about features that don’t interest customers or help them solve their problems? Doing so only puts them off, and you risk losing them. Team members can do this by sticking to the relevant features and saying something like:

"From what you’ve shared with me, one of the key things our (product or service) does is… and then describe the feature."

Immediately after they’ve described the feature, have your team members silently say to themselves:
So What!… which triggers them to say:

'So what this does for you is help you do X because it will do Y for you."

Then get them to Tie Down the benefit by saying something like: 

"That would be an excellent way of helping you fix your problem, wouldn’t it? And, then wait for agreement."

It’s a straightforward process you can easily coach. Learn what problem the customer wants solved, then focus on the key benefits of what the relevant features deliver to solve it, and then get agreement that it does. 

Industry Content Supporter:
Nicole West
Senior Director of Marketing, LMS and Operations Administration
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ngiambrunowest/

A robust call structure consists of several key components, each of which is essential to the call's success. Here are the fundamental elements to consider when crafting your call structure:

1. Greeting and Introduction

The start of the call sets the tone for the entire conversation. A warm and friendly greeting and a clear introduction establishes rapport and professionalism. Ensure your team members succinctly introduce themselves and their purpose to capture the customer's attention from the beginning.

2. Establishing Connection and Building Rapport

After the initial introduction, building a connection with the customer is crucial. Encourage team members to engage in small talk or ask open-ended questions that show genuine interest in the customer’s needs. This step is vital to building trust and making customers feel valued.

3. Identifying Needs

Understanding the customer's needs is the cornerstone of any successful call. Train your team members to ask targeted questions that help uncover the customer's pain points and motivations. Active listening is key in this phase, allowing the team to effectively tailor its approach and solutions.

4. Presenting Solutions

Once the customer's needs are precise, team members can present solutions that directly address those needs. This part of the call should be informative and concise, highlighting the product or service's benefits and features. Ensure your team is equipped with up-to-date product knowledge to answer questions confidently.

5. Handling Objections

Objections are a natural part of the sales process, and handling them effectively can make or break a deal. Provide your team with strategies to address common objections, emphasizing empathy and understanding. Please encourage them to view objections as opportunities to clarify further and demonstrate the value of the offering.

6. Closing the Call

Closing is not just about sealing the deal; it's about ensuring the customer feels satisfied and confident in their decision. Train your team to recognize buying signals and to ask for the sale assertively yet respectfully. If the customer is not ready to commit, set the stage for future follow-ups.

7. Follow-up and Feedback

Following up after the call is crucial for maintaining the relationship and ensuring customer satisfaction. Encourage team members to send a personalized follow-up message thanking the customer for their time and reiterating key points discussed during the call. Additionally, feedback from the team should be gathered to improve the call structure and training methods continuously.

Implementation and Training

Once the call structure is established, it is essential to train your team to follow it consistently. Conduct regular workshops and role-playing sessions to reinforce and adapt the structure based on real-world feedback. Encourage team leaders to monitor calls and provide constructive feedback, focusing on areas for improvement.

Benefits of a Coachable Call Structure

Implementing a coachable call structure offers several benefits:

• Consistency: Ensures every call is conducted with the same level of professionalism and thoroughness.
• Efficiency: Streamlines the call process, reducing time wasted on unproductive conversations.
• Scalability: This feature makes it easier to onboard new hires, as they have a clear framework to follow from day one.
• Improved Performance: Leads to higher conversion rates and better customer satisfaction.

By investing the time to create and implement a coachable call structure, you equip your team with the tools necessary to excel in their roles, ultimately driving the success of your organization.