10 Ways to Break it to them Gently - Diplomacy tips that keep customers
10 Ways to Break it to them Gently - Diplomacy tips that keep customers
Employees facing these scenarios worry that the customer might become defensive, offended, or worst of all, simply take their business elsewhere. Employees get stressed, absenteeism and turnover increases, and customer retention plummets. In other words, everyone loses. So, in our training programs we equip potential "bearers of bad news" with valuable tools to help make the process less painful for everyone. Here’s a sampling:
1. Warn in Advance
When you realize that you may not be able to give the customer what they’re expecting, give them some advance notice. Example: An insurance underwriter or broker calls his customer. “George, I’ve been looking at your application and it’s not looking very promising in terms of coverage. I’m wondering if I might have missed something...”
You can actually turn giving- advance-warning into a selling opportunity. “Martin, you’re an important customer so I thought I’d better inform you about this right away. Our energy costs have almost doubled over the past year so we’re forced to put through a 10% price increase effective July 1st. As you order items regularly, I thought I’d better check with you to see if it would make sense to reorder now to save you money and prevent any unpleasant last-minute surprises."
2. Accept Responsibility
While serving as President of our professional speaking association, I received a ‘bad news’ call from one of our event organizers: “Jeff, I wanted to talk to you about a situation that has just come to my attention. I want you to know that I accept full responsibility for the foul-up. It was a stupid mistake that I shouldn’t have made and I will do everything that needs to be done to fix the error. What happened was...” Since he was already berating himself, my response could only be magnanimous. Accepting full responsibility, while recognizing the consequences of the error, shows that you’re prepared to “take your lumps” like a grown-up. People respect that.
3. Tone it Down
Literally. Lower the tone of your voice and your rate of speaking. Generally when people get excited or emotional about ideas they tend to raise their voice pitch and pace. When you’re giving bad news you want to give the impression that you are thinking clearly, logically and reasonably – not emotionally – and certainly not irrationally. You can do this easily by slowing down the rate you’re speaking and lowering the pitch slightly. That way, you come across as the calm, quiet voice of reason.
4. Begin with the Good News
When you have both good news and bad, start with the good. When people hear bad news they have an internal stress reaction that causes them to tune-out other information. So, to ensure that the customer fully comprehends and appreciates the entire message, make sure you give the good news first.
5. Express Empathy
Empathy helps soften the blow. A claims adjustor attending my seminar explained that she used to have difficulty telling clients, whose vehicles had been stolen and damaged, that they still had to pay the deductible – even though they weren’t to blame. Ironically, she´s had much better impact dealing with these customers since her aunt had a similar experience with her vehicle. Now she shares this personal experience and her clients now feel less like they’ve been singled-out and victimized. Sometimes misery does love company.
6. Avoid “Trigger” Words
Two words that act as hot buttons - “It’s policy.” A better approach is to explain why a policy exists. Compare the word choices of two driving examiners who are dealing with a customer who rolls through a stop sign. First examiner: “You rolled through a stop sign and our “policy” is to fail anyone who doesn’t come to a complete stop.” Second examiner: “The fact that you rolled through a stop sign is a safety concern that we just can’t overlook. So you didn’t qualify this time.” Same information, but the second examiner’s word choices made her sound more reasonable.
7. Express Negatives as Positives
Rather than saying, “Your order won’t be here until Tuesday.” Instead try, “Your order will be here as soon as Tuesday.” Same information, but wording it positively enhances customer perception.
8. Help them Find an Alternative
If you’re out-of-stock when the customer’s rushed, recommend your competitor. They’ll go there anyway. When you help them find another supplier, the customer associates your service with solving their problem. So, there’s a chance that they may return. In other words, you have nothing to lose and something to gain when you recommend a competitor. Besides, it’s the decent thing to do.
9. Remind them of the Bigger Picture
Sometimes customers don’t realize that the ‘bad news’ is in their own best interest. In the example of children swinging on the coat rack, you might say to their parent, “You seem like a nice person and I’m sure you wouldn’t want your children to get injured. Perhaps we can give them some paper and felt pens so they can draw while they wait.”
10. Follow-up
With some incidents, a well-timed phone call after the bad news goes a long way in proving to the customer that you’ve gone the extra mile. “I just wanted to check with you to see how things are going with that replacement item we provided…” That raises the perceived value of your service without spending more money.
10 Ways to Break it to them Gently Diplomacy tips that keep customers - To learn more about this author, visit Jeff Mowatt's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
When corporations ask me to train their employees on enhancing customer retention, I find one skill-set that is frequently weak - how to diplomatically give customers bad news. Unfortunately, the task of giving bad news goes with almost every job. You may have to inform your customers of a price increase, of a product being out-of stock, or that their children aren’t allowed to use your coat rack for rappelling practice.
Employees facing these scenarios worry that the customer might become defensive, offended, or worst of all, simply take their business elsewhere. Employees get stressed, absenteeism and turnover increases, and customer retention plummets. In other words, everyone loses. So, in our training programs we equip potential "bearers of bad news" with valuable tools to help make the process less painful for everyone. Here’s a sampling:
1. Warn in Advance
When you realize that you may not be able to give the customer what they’re expecting, give them some advance notice. Example: An insurance underwriter or broker calls his customer. “George, I’ve been looking at your application and it’s not looking very promising in terms of coverage. I’m wondering if I might have missed something...”
You can actually turn giving- advance-warning into a selling opportunity. “Martin, you’re an important customer so I thought I’d better inform you about this right away. Our energy costs have almost doubled over the past year so we’re forced to put through a 10% price increase effective July 1st. As you order items regularly, I thought I’d better check with you to see if it would make sense to reorder now to save you money and prevent any unpleasant last-minute surprises."
2. Accept Responsibility
While serving as President of our professional speaking association, I received a ‘bad news’ call from one of our event organizers: “Jeff, I wanted to talk to you about a situation that has just come to my attention. I want you to know that I accept full responsibility for the foul-up. It was a stupid mistake that I shouldn’t have made and I will do everything that needs to be done to fix the error. What happened was...” Since he was already berating himself, my response could only be magnanimous. Accepting full responsibility, while recognizing the consequences of the error, shows that you’re prepared to “take your lumps” like a grown-up. People respect that.
3. Tone it Down
Literally. Lower the tone of your voice and your rate of speaking. Generally when people get excited or emotional about ideas they tend to raise their voice pitch and pace. When you’re giving bad news you want to give the impression that you are thinking clearly, logically and reasonably – not emotionally – and certainly not irrationally. You can do this easily by slowing down the rate you’re speaking and lowering the pitch slightly. That way, you come across as the calm, quiet voice of reason.
4. Begin with the Good News
When you have both good news and bad, start with the good. When people hear bad news they have an internal stress reaction that causes them to tune-out other information. So, to ensure that the customer fully comprehends and appreciates the entire message, make sure you give the good news first.
5. Express Empathy
Empathy helps soften the blow. A claims adjustor attending my seminar explained that she used to have difficulty telling clients, whose vehicles had been stolen and damaged, that they still had to pay the deductible – even though they weren’t to blame. Ironically, she´s had much better impact dealing with these customers since her aunt had a similar experience with her vehicle. Now she shares this personal experience and her clients now feel less like they’ve been singled-out and victimized. Sometimes misery does love company.
6. Avoid “Trigger” Words
Two words that act as hot buttons - “It’s policy.” A better approach is to explain why a policy exists. Compare the word choices of two driving examiners who are dealing with a customer who rolls through a stop sign. First examiner: “You rolled through a stop sign and our “policy” is to fail anyone who doesn’t come to a complete stop.” Second examiner: “The fact that you rolled through a stop sign is a safety concern that we just can’t overlook. So you didn’t qualify this time.” Same information, but the second examiner’s word choices made her sound more reasonable.
7. Express Negatives as Positives
Rather than saying, “Your order won’t be here until Tuesday.” Instead try, “Your order will be here as soon as Tuesday.” Same information, but wording it positively enhances customer perception.
8. Help them Find an Alternative
If you’re out-of-stock when the customer’s rushed, recommend your competitor. They’ll go there anyway. When you help them find another supplier, the customer associates your service with solving their problem. So, there’s a chance that they may return. In other words, you have nothing to lose and something to gain when you recommend a competitor. Besides, it’s the decent thing to do.
9. Remind them of the Bigger Picture
Sometimes customers don’t realize that the ‘bad news’ is in their own best interest. In the example of children swinging on the coat rack, you might say to their parent, “You seem like a nice person and I’m sure you wouldn’t want your children to get injured. Perhaps we can give them some paper and felt pens so they can draw while they wait.”
10. Follow-up
With some incidents, a well-timed phone call after the bad news goes a long way in proving to the customer that you’ve gone the extra mile. “I just wanted to check with you to see how things are going with that replacement item we provided…” That raises the perceived value of your service without spending more money.
10 Ways to Break it to them Gently Diplomacy tips that keep customers - To learn more about this author, visit Jeff Mowatt's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Jeff's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 10 Areas of Differentiation Elevating Your Business Business and Income The Small Picture Networking Online |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top Political Blogs of 2009 | |
 |
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||