Effective Work with Customers by Telephone
Ieva Vaine Communication skills – the ability to come to an understanding with the most diverse people, to distinguish their needs and to find the best solution for them - is a universal tool enhancing every professional’s productivity. Customer service by telephone requires particular attention and empathy, so that irrespective of the topic of discussion and its emotional intensity – whether it’s informative, or helps the customer or reminds the customer about unfulfilled obligations - good service can be provided.
This course offers a deeper understanding of customer oriented service, focussing on the features of telecommunication. As part of the course, you will receive the answers to: What really is good service? What is common to all difficult customers? What sort of communication strategies should be used and how, when dealing with them? How can one’s personality be developed so that interaction with difficult customers, rather than being a problem, becomes a challenge for you to accept constructively and solve?
Target audience: Customer services specialists who communicate with customers daily by phone.
Aim of the course:
- Develop the skill to successfully serve customers and communicate with different types of customers by telephone;
- Increase participants’ effectiveness in managing emotionally heavy discussions when encountering difficult customers and in resolving conflicts;
- Learn new knowledge and skills which can be applied in practice for overcoming stress. These will assist in solving the challenges of professional life in a more constructive way, particularly when working in a situation with intensive customer contact.
Gains:
- Knowledge about various types of contact partners and communication strategies for dealing with them;
- Understanding and knowledge about how to conduct customer service by telephone;
- An understanding of one’s personal reactions and discovering individual resources for managing stress and emotions;
- A better understanding about one’s strengths in communication and how they can be developed in everyday situations.
Duration: 2 x 3 hours.
Programme:
Activity 1. (3 hours)
During the first activity, we will examine the basic principles of effective communication by telephone, participants will examine themes and problems that are important to them, and we will discuss solutions together. Participants will receive a small homework task.
Themes:
1. Attendance to and service to the customer which is customer-focused:
- Customer oriented service principles and their importance in long-term collaboration;
- The visible and hidden factors in communication;
- Customer expectations and their rational and emotional needs;
- The importance of communication and attitude in providing good service.
2. Initial customer service by telephone, basic principles:
- Opening the discussion and first phrases;
- The use of intonation as the main instrument of telecommunication;
- Basic principles for conducting a structured discussion (how not to forget to mention the most important things, avoiding verbosity and maintaining control of the discussion);
- Concluding discussions (without superficiality and carelessness).
3. Participants’ difficult communication situations:
- Specific, difficult customers;
- Confusion, bewilderment and anger on receiving unjustified aggression, complaints or criticism from customers;
- How to behave correctly when receiving unsubstantiated reproaches and poor behaviour from a customer;
- Advice, development of an action plan, developing diplomatic and correct phrases for specific situations in discussions.
4. Summary of the activities, feedback and homework.
Activity 2. (3 hours)
During the second activity, acquired knowledge will be consolidated and feedback will be provided on homework. There will be in-depth discussion on important themes according to the needs of participants, some practical skills will also be acquired for maintaining one's personal resources and for managing stress.
Themes:
1. The “difficult” customer:
- Various complex types of clients;
- Direct and indirect factors which provoke conflict;
- The skill of recognizing a conversational partner’s “difficult” customer potential and transforming the destructive energy into collaboration.
2. Conflict situations, risks of them occurring and solution strategies:
- Factors which influence a customer’s perception of good service;
- Our personal motivation, attitude and stereotypes;
- Five conflict resolution strategies;
- Recognizing and evaluating one’s usual conflict resolution skills;
- The skill of managing emotionally intensive discussions, tolerating customers’ negativism and maintaining a constructive approach;
- How to achieve collaboration in conflict, and the benefits of this strategy.
3. Maintaining personal resources, stress management:
- The importance of breathing in stressful situations;
- Basic principles of stress management.
Conclusion of the course: participants’ conclusions and ideas for further work, feedback.
Venue: TRIVIUMS training centre, Blaumaņa 11/13 - 12, IV, Riga
Participation fees include handouts, coffee breaks and lunch.
For company training, the programme can be adapted for the specifics and needs of the company.
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Main conclusions from the training or 3 things you will definitely use from now on:
- Motivating oneself before a call from a difficult customer. Introductory phrases for discussions with difficult customers.
- Psychological facts and factors in communication with the customer.
- Suggestions and analysis for how I can resolve specific situations better, myself.
- Phrases. Restoring my emotional condition. Resolving conflict situations.
- Short phrases which make people understand emotions.
- To understand how the customer feels, one has to have a discussion.
- Obviously, these here phrases. Firstly, to identify customer information. Each of us is an iceberg :)
- Replacing keywords (however, simultaneously etc.). Making one’s talks simpler, recognizing people types.
What did you like best in this seminar?- The course was interesting, with real examples. I liked the fact that many things were not just about communication with customers, but about motivating oneself on a daily basis.
- Exchange of opinions.
- I liked the captivating presenter, who actively engaged everyone in the training.
- The organization, interaction with both colleagues and the presenter.
- I liked the fact that the training was conducted by a qualified psychologist.
- I liked everything – great organization, the practical part, the video analysis.
- In my opinion, everything was very organized and the free atmosphere – pleasant! :)