My friend and colleague, Nick Miller, of Clarity Advantage, Inc. emails “Weekly Sales Thoughts” to his vast list of impressed followers. This week, he captured a subject I have been dancing around as I tell everyone about the value of membership in SOCAP - an organization where people connect and collaborate and help one another solve problems. With Nick’s permission, I am sharing with you his ideas about connecting.

I’m standing in the low ceilinged, dimly lit, stuffy-aired classroom of a driving school - a company owned by brave souls who make a living teaching 16 year olds to drive dangerous objects. My daughter is taking her road test with a State Police officer, her last step before qualifying for her license. I’m waiting, idly watching the TV in the far corner of the classroom. 

The movie, Shrek II, is playing. While I haven’t followed the story line very closely, there is a moment in which Shrek-the-green changes into Shrek-the-handsome-human. Instantly, several young women appear, pushing each other out of the way to gain his attention. They are ATTRACTED to him by his size, good looks, and witty tongue. (This was, after all, a CARTOON movie.) Shrek seemed unaffected by this. (This REALLY was a cartoon movie.)

This story would have played out very differently if Shrek, upon assuming human form, immediately chased the women. The scene would have degenerated into the usual Thursday night at most singles bars. “Hey, ladies, va-va-voom, come along, you’ll have really good time with me, yes”? 

Most prospecting, in its current form, is a variation of this Thursday night singles bar “me push.”  We sales people launch ourselves at prospects with snappy chatter, hoping we can overcome prospects’ resistance or their impossible schedules, thinking that, if prospects would just invest a few minutes, they would understand how wonderful we sellers are and how powerful our products. High frustration. Low success rates. At the singles bars, too.

What would we do differently if we changed the prospecting paradigm from “push” to “attract?”

Attraction involves appealing to natural interest or emotion, arousing hope or desire, or lighting a spark of possibility.  In the “attraction” paradigm, prospects and customers want us to talk to them and be part of their work because they see or experience that we have an insight, an expertise, or an energy they want. (That’d be some Thursday night at the bar, eh?)

How do we convey this? Following the Shrek model, we substitute other characteristics for his.

1. We become resources. When we network, we figure out what is challenging our conversation partners and we find people in our companies or our networks, articles or other resources that can help them. We become known as providers, interested in helping everyone be more successful.

2. We position ourselves as experts in addressing our clients’ problems and complaints. We develop more and broader knowledge about their challenges and potential solutions than they have. We share this perspective by writing, speaking at business or community events, and developing and sharing best practices and success stories. We give away some of our value in the form of articles, podcasts, stories, best practices, network connections, and advice without asking anything in return at the time.

3. Remembering Shrek, we do all of this as if it’s not a big deal. We can’t feel or be “needy.” Needy is NOT attractive. [Refer back to Thursday nights, poor results, above.] Instead, we engage our prospects, draw them out, and warm them up with Shrek’s easy nonchalance that communicates confidence (remember, we are experts), “whole-ness,” and the ability to engage peer to peer.

So, here are my questions to you on the subject of attracting business rather than pushing to get it.

In this world where service and sales lines are being crossed; where everyone is being asked to find more business and keep it; at a time when up-selling and holding back competition is a top priority, how easy will it be to teach your staff to give more without looking for an immediate transactional payback? Are there some success stories in your company about sales leaders who model this behavior and can show its power?

Consultants have been using this model for many years. But I don’t see it being taught to sales folks in any other industry. And, perhaps, the timing is right to take a look at “the attraction paradigm according to Nick Miller”.

Technorati Tags: Ronna Caras, Nick Miller, sales prospecting, law of attraction, sales training

As much as I try to take a day off from work, even a trip to the paint store sparks a realization about why customer service folks need to do a little selling in order to give really good service. Here’s what happened:

Memorial Day Weekend is a big clean-up spruce-up time here in New England. This year we had perfect weather - 70 degrees with nary a cloud. Not too hot for heavy lifting and a pleasure to be outdoors. My contribution to the “make it pretty again” efforts was to repaint my black front door and all its shiny white trim. To make sure I got everything I needed, on Saturday, I went to the best paint store I know, Walls of Décor on Lowell Street not far from my house.

The gentleman got me the right paint for the black door and casement, not too shiny, not too flat. He knew just what I needed as soon as I asked. He found me the white trim paint and I got a gallon so there’d be plenty for the trim around the garage doors too. I asked about brushes and he helped me select a thin angled brush for tight corners and a wider brush for large surfaces. Here’s where my problem started.

“I can use the same brushes for the black and the white, can’t I?” I asked him. “As long as you clean them well,” he replied and carried my merchandise to the counter to ring it up. $90 later I was on my way.

If you are an experienced painter you already know what happened.

On Sunday I painted the door black and gave it three good coats. Then I tried to clean the brushes. I washed and washed and of course, their once-beige bristles still looked blackish.

“Why didn’t I spend another $10 on more brushes?” I wondered. And with my annoyance growing, “Why didn’t the nice gentleman at Walls of Décor warn me how difficult it would be to change from black to white?”

Obviously, trying to re-use the brushes would be more hassle than it was worth. But now it was Sunday and Walls of Décor was closed. Good bet they’d be closed on Memorial Day Monday, too.

Have you been to a home maintenance super store on Memorial Day weekend? 15 minutes just to park and another hour to find the brushes and get through the checkout line. Not exactly the delightful shopping experience that had made me choose Walls of Décor in the first place.

But what of that initial customer service? In this day and age, when businesses fight to increase their sales by just a few percent, wouldn’t an additional $10 sale have been a good thing?

It certainly would have improved this customer’s experience to have been warned by a pro that black paint and white paint deserved their own separate brushes.

So what can retailers do to make sure they are capturing the business they deserve and making their customers loyal at the same time?

1. Coach their staff to think big. When a customer describes a project or a need, they should be offering suggestions for all of the supplies that will save a customer time and make sure the outcome is right.
2. Coach their staff to identify customers who need extra help. “I came here because you folks always help me”, was my obvious cue. That’s a request for expert advice.  Staff should not be afraid to give it.

Forcing customers to go elsewhere for the rest of the stuff they need reduces profits and long term loyalty. Just a bit of coaching here can go a long way.

Technorati Tags: customer service, customer service training, Ronna Caras, sales training

Coupons and rebate programs bring customers into stores and onto websites. Marketing knows the give-away is typically spent on a much larger purchase. Management signs off because they see how well their generosity yields customer loyalty and larger orders at the same time.

But sometimes, the message is not filtered down to the front line. A recent post at consumerist.com caught my attention because it applauded Staples (our wonderful client and friend whom we love) and criticized another large office supplies chain. The topic? The $3 rebates for turning in empty or unwanted printer ink cartridges.

The story is simple: A computer repair business owner was accused of stealing the ink cartridges he is turning in because his volume is so high. He was threatened by a front line employee and told his activity “has to stop”. The employee went so far as to threaten to circulate his picture around so he could no longer acquire hundreds of dollars in merchandise credit coupons through the cartridge recycling program.

This is not the first time I have heard front line staff acting as though the use of a coupon or discount should not be allowed. In environments where dimes are watched closely and raises are practically non-existent, employees can mistakenly associate customer incentive programs with their own inadequate paychecks.

Companies can fix this problem by doing 3 things:

1. Encourage generosity. Toward customers and toward each other. Teach staff to err on the side of kindness and to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Organizations create more customer loyalty and a better image when they empower the front line to accept an expired coupon or to give a customer a slightly larger credit than the customer expects.
2. Coach employees to mention coupon programs or special promotions to their customers. Marketing spent a lot of valuable time creating the offer so everyone should be promoting it. When your customers start looking in the newspaper or on line for the coupon your team member mentioned, you get a repeat visit and that is always a win. Why shouldn’t an office supply store with an ink recycling program tell customers about it whenever the sale includes a printer or ink?
3. Don’t make customer #2 live without a discount they saw customer #1 receive. Sometimes coupon offers get lost in the mail or lost in the pile. We consumers know the stores that keep this week’s 20% off coupon behind each cashier stand and we shop them more frequently. Their employees get to act like heroes and save us from overpaying. It feels good to everyone and that atmosphere improves every aspect of the customer experience.

It may be too late for the offending store in the ink cartridge story to fix what they have done. They’ve already closed in my neighborhood. But there’s plenty of time for consumer relations and marketing and sales to bond together to make special offers a winning experience for everyone. And it’s easy.

Ronna Caras 

Technorati Tags: 10 tips for better sales and service, sales, customer service, coupons, consumerist, marketing, ronna caras

I am trying to stay at the Manhattan Club in NY the night before I speak at a SOCAP meeting that is being held right on their property. The property is a timeshare resort in such great demand that RCI told me even my prestigious Aruba timeshare as trade would not help me bypass a 4-year waiting list. I don’t have 4 years. I need to be there May 21.

So, I used their website and booked 2 nights at a very low rate. I should have noticed the requirement to take the 90-minute tour but I guess I blocked it out somehow. That’s why the call from their salesrep came as a surprise. Well maybe it wasn’t the fact of the call that was a surprise. Actually it was the content of the call that shocked me.

According to my colleague who answered the phone, someone had called from the Manhattan Club to “qualify me” to stay there. “Do you know how much money Ronna earns?” she asked the first contact she made at my business. When the answer was “no”, she left a message on my voice mail. Did she really expect a different answer from someone who answered the phone at an office?

Her message let me know she was calling to qualify me for my stay. I was required to provide information about my income, marital status, and job description. I was also expected to take the tour on one specific day during my stay.  Not exactly friendly, warm or engaging.

Those of you who know me, are already shaking your heads. I do not like to be told what I must do to meet someone else’s requirements. I am aware companies have rules. I just don’t care to have those rules imposed upon me. Especially when I am the customer. If this woman thought her call about “qualifications” would bully me into compliance she was very wrong. I wanted to tell her in the most condescending tone I could muster, “If you want to sell something, dear, you should be reeling people in with features and value, not screening them out with rules and requirements.” But I didn’t. I just never called her back.

So she sent an email that was a subtle version of her obnoxious voice mail message.  And an exchange ensued that caused me to go back to their website, see my error and read the disclosures.

On the reservations page it clearly states I agree to attend a 90-minute presentation. And in a legal details box, it says as thanks, I will receive Broadway theatre tickets or a gift certificate for dinner dependent upon availability. Not a bad deal, I thought.

But here’s the question: Why on earth didn’t she lead with what she could do for the prospect (cool free stuff, features and value of property) instead of what the prospect could do for her? So, in my happy sales trainer mode, I am sharing with the salesrep we now refer to as “Morticia”, the way to turn her initial approach into one that brags about her great product and makes it easier to sell.

Here’s her email:

Dear Ms. Ronna Caras,

Thank you for booking a reservation with us through our online service. I just need to get some additional information from you to complete your reservation.

First I need to know if you are Single, Married, Divorced or have an Adult Partner. Please tell me their name if applicable. Second I need to know your occupation and your spouses’ occupation if applicable. And Third I need to know your annual taxable income for the year. If you do have a spouse it would be both of yours combined. If you have any questions please let me know. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

Here’s what a professional salesperson should say instead:

Dear Ms. Caras,

My name is [name] and I am going to be your concierge for your stay at the beautiful Manhattan Club on [dates].

I am looking forward to showing you around our property during your 90-minute tour so you can see the great value our members enjoy. There are many reasons why RCI counts the Manhattan Club as a timeshare property nearly impossible to trade for. There is just nothing better than our prestigious and convenient address and amenities and I can’t wait for you to experience all of it.

There are a few things I need to do for you to make your stay perfect:

1.  In order to accommodate your needs, I would like to understand the time during your stay when you prefer to do the tour.

2.  We are also happy to provide a “thank you” gift of Broadway Theatre tickets or fine dining at a New York restaurant. So, I would like to learn about your top choices and try to secure those right away.

3.  I need to verify that your household income is $75,000 a year or more. And if you have a spouse, I need to be sure she or he will be joining you on the tour.

Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. You can reach me by telephone at [phone number]. Or, simply provide the information by email if that is easier for you.

I am looking forward to meeting you and helping you enjoy New York.

Cordially,

Morticia

Technorati Tags: timeshare sales, manhattan club, new york timeshare, aruba timeshare, effective selling, bad sales approaches, sales training, sales strategy, sales coaching, ronna caras, caras training, ronna 

14 years ago, I was a Customer Service Manager in a small, privately owned company.  Of course it was not small to us. My team of 10 supported $12 million each year in sales, but in 1993 we still had no voicemail.

You may remember those days (or perhaps you are too young). Receptionists answered the phone. You gave a clear, detailed message so the person you needed to reach had the facts and could call you back with a solution. The receptionist filed her nails while you spoke writing only your name and number when you finally gave it. Not exactly the “world class customer service” I had hoped to offer our clients.

Because the receptionist did not work for me I had no authority over her abrupt manner. She was a local hire. Probably someone’s friend’s niece like many of the folks we employed.  I wasn’t allowed to teach her how important her contact with our customers could be to the company’s bottom line.

So instead, my creative approach was to ask her to transfer all client calls directly to Customer Service. She was thrilled to have fewer names and numbers to write on those little pink message pads.

And the training of my staff began. Please understand that they were locals too.  If asked, half my team would tell you they chose their job because the bus stopped right out front.  Now they would be handling every inbound client call.

We drilled on empathy, caring tones, thorough note-taking, and commitment to making sure the clients felt heard and helped. My team rose to the challenge. The sales staff started to get complete messages detailing the client’s issues.  They got fewer messages in general because my staff was able to handle many of the client’s immediate needs without involving the sales rep at all. And they got more sales. A quick increase in repeat business.

All because customer service took over reception duties.

I was brought back to old times today. I called a business and reached “customer service” according to the woman who answered the phone. I asked for the President who was at lunch.  But in this company no one asked if they could help me.

“Do you want his voice mail?” was all she offered. And I was stunned. Although I wasn’t an angry customer calling with demands, isn’t it customary to at least ask about the nature of calls to the President?  Shouldn’t someone that answers the phone with the words, “Customer Service” care even a little about the customer or the service?

So I ask you today, to share your thoughts about voice mail. Is voice mail making it harder for companies to provide real service to callers?

Technorati Tags: customer service, voicemail, reception, training, quality

 I keep finding myself disagreeing with Margery Weinstein, associate editor over at Neilsen  (formerly VNU Learning) as she posts blogs on Training Day. Sorry Marge but you keep missing the point of Training when you write on Training Day. And it’s really bugging me.

In her March 25, 2008 post “Those Weird Customers”, she asserts “as companies consider how to encourage employees’ engagement in the desires of buyers or clients, the strategy should focus on how you assembled that collection of workers in the first place. What if you hire individuals who not only are able to do their assigned tasks, whether IT or marketing, but who have something in common with those you serve?” She goes on, “Is this obvious solution to the problem of workers not caring about the needs of customers too hard to implement or have you just not thought of it yet?”

I can see it now:  Pitney Bowes hiring 26,000 people who had already developed  a passion for postage meters.  Staples, Inc.  hiring 3000 customer service people drooling over office supplies… and packing supplies… and computers… and gps systems… and window cleaner… and all the other 250,000 products in their catalogs.

Reality is that training plays the role that hiring cannot. When I was a new hire at Pitney Bowes I had only seen a postage meter once and I had never been in a shipping room. But through brilliant training I learned to love the features and the solutions they offered customers.  I learned to see the manual tasks of weighing parcels and rate shopping for the best shipper as a workload my customers should not have to endure. My team and I sold the products easily because in training, we learned to love them. More than 20 years later I have to admit I am still a little turned on by a good mailroom… maybe it’s all that folding and inserting…

Trainers must develop programs that make the company’s products or services come alive. Features and functions are important to know but not nearly as important as the value the features bring to their users. Because people all value some subset of the same 3 things - saving or earning money; saving time or improving convenience; and comfort which can include security, peace of mind or enhanced image. It will always be the basic human values that connect us to our customers.

In her post, Margery uses camping equipment as an example. She assumes companies should hire passionate campers as opposed to people with other skills who prefer fine hotels.  I don’t think it’s true.  

Great training can teach anyone how the products meet the 3 basic human values. That lets everyone connect. The tent with special features to keep users dry and warm just like our hotel-stayer prefers to be. The mattress made of unique materials that feels like a big soft bed so users get a comfortable night’s sleep after a day doing what they love to do… the stove that lights easily and boasts a warming tray for gourmet sauces for delicious meals… every product has value. And it’s the training department that creates the vocabulary for sales and customer service folks to use.

If you’re reading this post you probably know that I am a trainer and consultant. This means I walk into different businesses every year whose products are often unfamiliar to me. VOIP technology; high end running shoes; securities and investments; and air purification are just a few of the marketplaces that were brand new to me. I did not understand the products or the users. But that changed quickly. Now I “get” them and talk enthusiastically about them with current and prospective customers.  And so does everyone else who participates in highly effective training.

Technorati Tags: Training Day Blog, Neilsen, VNU Learning, Margery Weinstein, Training, The importance of Training, Selling Value, Customer Service Training, Product Training

Companies are obligated to make their front lines successful. Not the other way around.

A major wireless company has changed the sales goals and compensation for their retail kiosk staff. I know this because someone I love is a rookie salesrep. He’s been at it seven months and he loved it - the company, the products, the customers. Even the retail hours that had him coming home long after his baby was in bed. He was sold on his sales job. And he was sold on the corporate ladder he saw open for climbing.

And now the game’s changed - they’ve added a requirement to sell a certain mix of products and customers. The bar has been raised. But that’s not really the problem.

The problem is that his Manager told him the new goals are impossible.

“I need to get better at calling current customers and getting them to come in for new phones. What can you suggest?” the kid asked. “You’re already doing it just fine,” was the reply.

“How am I going to hit these new goals?” the kid asked. “I have no idea,” was the reply.

Too lazy, too greedy, too shortsighted?

It’s hard to say why this company introduced a new program without getting their front line Managers on board first. Maybe someone tried but was not given the training budget. Maybe the word leaked before the tools were designed to help the supervisors help the salespeople.

Either way it was a terrible way to treat people you have screened, hired, and trained. A certain amount of baby-whining is expected from salespeople when quotas are raised - even a first year Director can see that coming.

This company’s leadership should have prepared for it in advance. It was an expensive, lazy mistake that would be discussed in B schools and laughed about in the years to come if it weren’t so common. “X” is not the only company making this error.

Your front line staff deserves to be led by people who are worthy of being followed.

There’s a lesson here for every company. Every company makes changes in their sales targets, expectations and compensation. This means every company needs to know the steps for getting it done right. It’s simple. Teach managers how to present and coach to the new standards before the new standards get launched. If the job requires a new daily action plan, then the front line Managers had better be able to show their teams how to do the work.

When a salesrep goes to his manager and asks, “How are we going to do this?” he deserves to be reassured that the person he trusts can and will teach him to succeed.

What is your company doing to address changes in sales targets this year? Is the management team getting the tools they need to make the changes work? Or, are changes in sales programs being used to cause attrition in a slow economy?  Please share your thoughts and experiences with our community.

Technorati Tags: wireless, sales, sales training, causing attrition, slowing retail sales economy, sales managment, coaching tools, goal setting, impossible goals, retail management, retail kiosks, ronna caras, sales leadership mistakes

In Spring 2004, when my husband’s job changed, we found ourselves looking for homes back in Massachusetts. It was the peak of the market. Houses sold in a matter of days and prices were exorbitant. Sellers were arrogant and unflinching. Especially the builders.

I had never dealt with builders before and I did not want to this time either. Our plan was to find a beautiful old antique like the one we’d left behind but we found hideous old wrecks instead. It had to be new and it had to be now. Not exactly a case study for negotiation.

So we started to visit new neighborhoods and finally settled on one with 13 homes in various stages of construction. No sales representative could be found. No one answered the builder’s number. Our realtor became a stakeout expert and finally ambushed the owner 60-Minutes style. She got us a meeting to talk about the one available lot.

The builder graced us with his presence. And the presence of two other couples also interested in this property. The other people seemed docile and willing to go along with whatever the builder offered at any price. They had been looking longer than we had.

I asked provocative questions like “How many electrical outlets do you put in the bonus room?” He answered, “Those are extra - $185 a piece,” without looking me in the eye. “If you add them yourself you void the one-year warranty.”

I asked about countertop materials and styles. He made a slight gesture toward a mud and concrete covered book. I was allowed to look and touch the book at no charge. Lucky me.

If you were a buyer at this time you know that we bought the house from this nasty man paying more than he asked and adding an embarrassing amount of $185 outlets. Hundreds of thousands of dollars to a man we wanted never to see or hear from again.

But we did hear from him again. Three years later when the hot housing market had cooled to the point of frostbite he sent a postcard…”Thinking of some upgrades?” it asked. “Let us make your house new again.” Another came two weeks later, “Do you know anyone looking to buy a house? We are offering a referral fee. Call me!” it encouraged. “I can think of a few things to call him,” my husband commented.

Of course we haven’t called him and we never will. The first impression he made can never be erased by a marketing campaign or a referral fee.

Economic downturns happen in cycles. Most of us have seen a few already and will see a few more during our careers. That’s why it’s so important to have solid relationships with our clients and prospects. Even when we’re busy and it seems we have no time for “tire kickers”, we must be patient and available. Even when we have more customers than product to sell, we must take care of our relationships with people even if we cannot satisfy them today. They are our customers and referral sources of tomorrow. They are our network.

Real estate sales consultant Matthew Ferrara says in his blog, “things like prospecting, following up on visitors to your open house, being organized, calling customers back, … Sales, my friends. Good old fashioned sales. That’s what everyone is “suddenly discovering” is missing in the (real estate) business.” A smile, a handshake and a warm welcome can be remembered for many years.  Regard for basic human dignity and a little empathy for the customer’s needs can overcome any objection or buying obstacle. 

When business people say that customer service is the “new marketing” they miss the point a bit.  Customer service has always been an essential part of marketing. It’s simply that now a company’s marketing dollars are being spent in the customer service realm - paying for training and monitoring quality. Consumers have a louder voice than ever before.  Now you don’t just tell a friend or two about bad service, you tell a whole community of listeners with podcasts, YouTube videos and blogs.  I just did.

Technorati Tags: customer service, selling, real estate, Matthew Ferrara

Recently, Starbucks announced their new “interactive community” called My Starbucks Idea. In 2 days they had tens of thousands of hits at their site. Some obvious recommendations, such as the introduction of a loyalty program, have 50+ comments and variations per entry. There is no doubt that the Starbucks community of consumers wants to be heard. In fact, I had to laugh at all the people taking their valuable time to write and complain about how much of their valuable time it takes to wait for coffee with 11 ingredients… (AdAge has a few opinions about customer posts as well.)

For those of you with service or sales experience, the posts at Starbucks will hold no surprises. After reading 200 comments from the 13 categories, I can state with total confidence that there is no new information here. Use your imagination and every CSat survey or customer complaint you have heard in any job, anywhere, and you already know what people are writing about.

So, if the customer demands are not new, this means the solutions are not new either. But they do have heightened urgency. Now that Starbucks, like many retailers, is inviting consumers to ask for stuff, these retailers are obligated to give at least some of what was asked for. Even though it involves the same “best practices” we’ve been talking about for years, it will feel like a win to the consumer.

So how do the consumer demands translate to real action at the retail level? Three simple things:

1. Get the on-site manager out from the back office and focused on coaching people to a higher level of quality. Including:

• Stopping the gabbing between employees and getting them to give full attention to customers.
• Demonstrating how to engage customers with a smile and eye contact.
• Routinely watching and tasting to be sure barristas make each coffee as taught so customers receive the product they want.
• Creating contests that will polish staff’s speed and accuracy skills so they can do more in less time.
• Opening up another line when more than 3 people are waiting. (Okay, so they’ll need more registers for this - but I had to include the thing that bothers me the most. Get rid of some merchandise and make counter space for checkout… USA Today has an interesting article that talks about “cutting the clutter”.)

2. It’s not just the local management that needs to put more skin in the game. Get the corporate trainers into the stores to observe and correct. If things don’t look, sound or taste their best, then trainers need to design in-store activities to improve the performance level. Shutting down for 3 hours for training is an expensive and exciting event - as widely reported by every US news outlet. Take a look and listen to the video interview from Elliott Masie called “Venti Learning with Foam” to hear what other corporate trainers thought about Starbucks’ 2/26/08 program.

Here’s the bottom line: events are rarely enough to develop skills unless they are reinforced at least once a week for a few months. Well-designed in-store activities run by top barristas or skilled managers will get genuine learning transfer at a much lower cost.

The customer-friendly dialog we are seeing and hearing about is all wonderful. Empowering consumers and making them feel heard is helping marketing departments worldwide to write better copy and design superior campaigns. What it is not doing, yet, is improving the real world customer experience. But it can.

3. When leadership steps out from behind the writers’ desks and onto the front line they will be showing genuine support for the faces of their business. The faces who make or break their business.

It takes hard work to get more results, not hard copy.

Let leaders in Operations, Marketing, Distribution and Finance go into stores and observe, demonstrate, and re-train to get the product they expect - hard skills and soft skills alike. Let them “walk the talk”.

Bond top line to front line.

Satisfying consumers requires the same investment now as it has always required. Though only the few truly great companies in the world are doing it.

Invest in the thousands of employees who have entrusted their rent money, car payments or family meals to you. Three small but essential acts. Then quality, consistency and profits will soar.

Technorati Tags: starbucks, retail training, customer service, leadership, coaching, quality assurance,

Have you noticed recently that when you are on the phone speaking to one of those customer service people about your credit card bill or your appliance repair that when you say that you don’t understand, he/she simply repeats exactly what was just said over again sometimes more slowly and emphasizing certain words? It reminds me of years ago, before the term politically correct was invented, when someone would say, “No Habla Ingles” and we would repeat the sentence we had just finished louder and slower than the first time–like suddenly THAT would make the difference. In the same way when we say, “I’m sorry but I don’t understand” we are asking for an explanation not just reiteration.

For instance, I called my credit card company a little frantic because my statement for January showed my bill from December was unpaid. I had incurred a late fee and a finance charge. You have to understand that I am one of those people who pay all my bills in full every month because I don’t want to end up on Oprah talking to Suze Orman in front of a live studio audience. I am very careful to not spend more than I can afford every month, making me a nerd in the eyes of the world. So after ripping my husband up one side and down the other for not paying the bill on time, I find that in our checkbook is indeed a check written on December 17th, a full 10 days before the payment was due, for the full balance on the card. I also see that other checks written on the 17th have been cashed.

I am now convinced that in the rush of Christmas mail at the Post Office my envelope containing my precious card payment was lost. Either that or the credit card company was sick of not making any money off of me and conveniently tossed my check. So I dial the elusive 800 number on my statement and after pressing the seemingly endless configuration of prompts required to speak to a customer service representative, I am finally connected to a what I believe is a live person. She was pleasant enough and listened to my tale of woe, explaining that if I pay in full over the phone she will waive the late fee this one time but cannot waive the finance charge. I accept her terms and then she launches into her pitch to sign me up for a payment deferral service for this card. It costs $.89 per every $100 charged to the card per month but I can defer my payment and pay anytime I want to. Now, I’m from the school that “if it sounds too good to be true there has to be a catch”. So I start asking questions, one of which is, “How will this service help me to avoid the situation I was just in with the lost payment?” This is where the live person on the phone turned into what sounded like a prerecorded message. She repeated her sentence! I said, “I’m sorry, maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I didn’t understand you. If I buy this service and my payment gets lost in the mail again, how does the service work?” She then repeated her sentence again–something about having to activate the service for payment deferral. I then explained that I had no intention of not paying my bill ever but in the unfortunate incidence that a payment is lost again, how does this service help me? Would you believe that she repeated the same sentence again only more slowly and louder? Now I understand English perfectly well but this was getting ridiculous. Then the light bulb went off over my head! This representative did not have a clue how the service she was trying to sell to me worked–she was reading from a script! The credit card company had not trained her to understand the service nor how to sell the service just how to read about it. Can you effectively sell a service that you don’t understand?

Now I’m a client services manager at a training company but I am not a trainer. I don’t begin to understand all the nuances involved in training nor coaching but I have to say that as a consumer in this case, there are questions that I need answered before I buy. For instance, what is so great about this product? What’s in it for me-will it make me more secure, save me time or money? And why should I buy it now? I still don’t know any of the answers to these questions and apparently the representative I spoke with doesn’t know them either. If anyone can answer these for me, let me know and I will buy.�

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