179
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MANAGING CUSTOMERS AND CLIENT COMMUNICATION
AND SALES
Objectives
Identify reasons why client-centered and customer-centered organizations are more
effective
Describe the most common problems and barriers to managing positive customer service
Indicate steps for improving customer and client service
Improve communication in dealing with customers
Deal effectively with angry and upset customers
Help an organization develop plans to improve customer service.
Identify concepts and principles that lead toward sales purchases
Develop skills to implement techniques associated with sales communication
Utilize a model of steps for working through a sales presentation
Understand how to handle objections
Key Words
Customer service, customer/client communication, client-centered communication skills,
customer relations, organizational culture, sales communication, motivation, diffusion of
innovation, integrated marketing communication, relationship selling, interviews, knowledge
basis, potential clients
agencies, relating particularly to air pollution)
http://www.workforceinc.com/customers.htm
(offers businesses customer service training
sessions)
http://www.saleshelp.com/guestservices/destinations/sdqframe2.htm
(an approach to customer
service training)
www.impomag.com/0599rpt.htm
(developing customer service skills)
http://www.epa.gov/customerservice/training.htm
(EPA scustomer service training policy)
180
Chapter Notes
I. Introduction: Definition/model of Customer Service
II. Models of Customer Service
A. Old Perspective operations centered
2. Outlook serves the corporation
4. Sales focus on product features
B. New perspective customer/client centered
2. Outlook serves the client
4. Sales focus on customer benefits
C. Communicating to enhance Customer Service
2. Welcoming statements
4. Responsiveness and help
6. Respect and Dignity
8. Apathy
10. Wrong information
11. Being stereotyped and patronized
III. Develop client-centered listening
skills
A. Active listening means to make responses that show you understand what the customer is
saying
B. Paraphrase meanings and feelings
C. Engage the conversation take notes, identify facts, offer responses and facts in return, take
your turn
D. Be aware of listening distracters
IV. Develop customer-centered messages – avoid irritating phrases
A. Communicate to handle recovery of loss and mistakes
V. Communicating with angry
customers
A. Think of the problem as an opportunity to grow
B. Acknowledge and discover the source of dissatisfaction
C. Offer feedback and summary paraphrase
D. Apologize for the problem
E. Make a plan jointly to meet expectations
VI. Telephone communication for customer
service
181
B. Identify your name
C. Use a friendly, non-monotone voice
E. Indicate the time frame for a later response when they can expect something
VII. Changing the Organizational Culture for Customer
Service
A. The root problem may be the organization
B. Create a cycle of system change
2. Find a way to measure the cornerstone outcomes developed in the goal
4. Implement policies and skills
5. Developing measures for customer service
VIII. Approaches to Sales
Communication
A. Sales as motivation find and develop trainable sales people
B. Diffusion of innovations – decision process model
2. Step 2: Persuasion reduces uncertainty
4. Step 4: Implementation making the product or service match the customer need
5. Step 5: Confirmation providing reassurance
C. Marketing perspective
1. Increased sales is a result of effective marketing
2. Fundamentals of marketing strategy:
a. Conduct audience research
b. Develop marketing strategy
3. Integrated marketing communication
D. Relationship selling
1. Solution focused, consultant role
3. Friendship development
E. Sales Communication Interviews
2. Organizational knowledge
a. Benchmark comparisons
b. Organizational plan
F. Sales Communication Steps
1. Step One: Understand the customer background find answers about them
3. Step Three: Establish the need AIDA (attention , interest, desire, action)
5. Step Five: Asking for a commitment close the sale:
182
Class Exercises
1. Objective: Create an understanding of customer service operations in the local community.
Time: 45 minutes out of class, 50 minutes in class
Directions: Have students call a number of larger stores and companies in your area
(department stores are good because they often handle these situations) and set up an
interview with a customer service representative. Have the students interview that
representative to find out the following things:
a. What does your job consist of?
b. What types of situations do you handle?
2. Objective: Create an understanding of customer service operations in the local community.
Time: 60 minutes
Directions: If your school is located near or in a larger urban area, check and locate a
Nordstrom department store. Nordstrom department stores are known as one of the most
3. Objective: Improve active listening to customer issues
Time: 15-30 minutes
Directions: Have students pair up. In this activity, they simply get to visit with each other
(which will be a big hit), but they must take turns talking for a few minutes each, while the
other practices active listening skills. Have them specifically focus on correctly paraphrasing
4. Objective: Handling mistakes. Practice with handling mistakes and loss. (Worksheet
available)
Time: 25 minutes
Directions: Have the students form pairs. One student will read the scenario, role-playing an
upset customer, while the other student role-plays the part of a customer service agent. The
agent must respond to whatever the other student, the customer says.
Student #1 role-play information (read through all of this before beginning)
183
situation. Do not agree to anything until you believe that your partner has done an excellent
job of handling the situation according to what you have learned in the text and in class.
Customer: Three days ago I came in to pick up my air conditioner from the repair
center because I was told that it would be ready. When I got here (twenty minute
drive from my house!) they told me that it wasn t ready. They explained that they had
been very busy and someone had not gotten to it yet. I am mad because it has been 90
degrees every day and I do not have an air
told me to come in yesterday and it would be sitting by the door ready to go at
3pm. When I arrived yesterday no one here knew what I was talking about. They
Student #2 role-play information
The scene: An air conditioner retail store and repair center. You are the manager of
the repair center while your partner is a customer.
5. Objective: Create understanding of the marketing perspective.
Time: Varies
Directions: Ask students to work in groups to analyze a major product brand according to the
marketing perspective. They should research the product itself, the company, the
advertisements used, its competition, and target audience. (Follow the outline of marketing
perspective given in the book.) They should then write up a final paper outlining their
6. Objective: Gain perspective on the knowledge basis for sales interviews.
Time: 60 minutes outside of class, 45 minutes in class
Directions: Have students research to find out what they would have to know as a knowledge
184
7. Objective: Understand the process and be able to complete a sales interview. (Evaluation
forms available)
Time: A trip to Wal-Mart for research, 60 minutes in class
Directions:
Two days before, put students in groups of three. Explain that students are going to role-play
the parts of the customer and the salesperson within their groups. The person selling is going
to be trying to sell a new line of greeting cards, a new line of electric hair care
equipment
(hair
dryers, curling irons, etc.), or a new line of toddler toys to Wal-Mart. Each student
in
At the same time, the student needs to be aware of their role as the customer the Wal-Mart
sales representative. If the person selling to them is going to try to sell them greeting cards,
the student needs to know what types of greeting cards Wal-Mart already carries. All students
The day of the activity, have students meet in their groups. Two students will role-play
customer and salesperson while the other student in the group observes and takes notes.
After 20 minutes, they will rotate sets until everyone is done. After everything is complete,
students should type up a final summary of their experiences.
185
Sales Interview Role-play Evaluation Form
Student name:
Product Development:
Research into competitive products
Quality of created product
_/20
Role of customer:
Quality of role-play
Asked appropriate questions
Well-prepared
Other
/30
Role of salesperson:
Quality of role-play
Asked appropriate questions
Well-prepared
Other
/30
Discussion Questions
1. What is an experience that you have had demonstrating excellent customer service? What
about poor customer service?
2. Can you think of an instance when the operations-driven perspective might be a better
choice for an organization than the customer-driven perspective?
3. What was your experience the last time that you went into a store looking for a specific
product? How were you treated? Were your expectations met? If not, what would you
have changed?
4. How could the use of irritating language by an employee affect the outcome of an
interaction with a customer? Is this type of language ever appropriate to
use?
5. Have you ever been the upset customer in a store? How did the employees handle your
situation?
6. How far do you think a manager should go to make a customer happy?
7. What kind of telephone etiquette do you generally use? What kind of message might that
behavior be sending to others?
8. Have you ever been involved in a sales meeting? What happened? What approach was
used?
186
9. The text states that a common myth is that marketing and selling are equal. Do you agree
or disagree? Why?
10. If you were the customer, how would you feel about the relationship selling approach?
11. Have you ever been involved in a sales interview? What happened?