In today's fast-moving competitive environment, sales are often made or lost on the strength of a telephone conversation or a brief email. This means that not only is customer service everyone's responsibility - so is sales. Customer service staff are failing the customer if they don't think about sales. And sales staff are failing customers if they don't think about service. And anyone failing a customer is failing both themselves and their employer.
Too often, customer service staff feel neither capable nor empowered to recognise or capitalise upon a sales opportunity. Too often, sales people pursue the short-term opportunity at the expense of the bigger picture.
The good news is - it doesn't have to be this way! Sales and customer service skills can be acquired, developed and polished just like any other skill. This tried-and-tested programme shows you how to do it.
As a result of this course, participants will be able to:
Take control of a customer conversation, with confidence
Refresh and polish their customer service and sales performance
Recognise and develop a sales opportunity
Engage the customer and build rapport
Identify a customer's needs
Match the customer's needs to the organisation's products or services
Handle objections confidently
Ask for the order
At the end of the workshop each participant will have developed their own action plan for developing and using their skills in the workplace.
1 Introduction
Course overview, objectives and introductions
2 Serving or selling?
Feelings and attitudes - How we can affect the outcome by our feelings and behaviour
What is selling? - Selling is helping people to buy, identifying the opportunities that exist within the conversation to develop the customer's interest in our products or services
3 Developing the right skills
Communication- The impact of body language, voice tone and words- How to make the best impression on the customer and create a 'buying environment'
Rapport-building- What makes a good working relationship?- What do customers look for when they call us?- How can we match their expectations in terms of our own interpersonal skills?
Relating to different types of people by identifying and matching their communication style on the telephone
4 Making it easy for the customer
Starting it right- Opening the conversation positively- Building rapport- How to develop interest in our products or services
Gaining and clarifying information- Questioning skills and questioning style- What do we need to know from the customer?- How can we use that information in the conversation?
Active listening- The most under-rated skill of all- Picking up on the 'Golden Moments' when a customer shows they may be interested
Presenting information confidently- Knowing the benefits of our products or services- How to tell the customer what they need to know in order to enable them to buy
Closing on a positive note- When and how to ask for commitment
Dealing with the customer's objections and concerns in a positive manner
5 Course summary and action plans
Review of main learning points
Presentation of personal action plans