This one-day course has been designed instill an ethos of ‘looking after the needs of the customer and exceeding their expectations’ whilst maintaining the objectives and core values and of the organisation.
Course Aims and Objectives
- The aims and objectives of the training will enable delegates to:
- Have a good understanding of customer care issues
- Develop a consistency of approach when answering the phone
- Deal with customer enquiries in a friendly and professional manner
- Deal with queries and difficult/demanding and angry customers calmly and efficiently
- Develop an attitude of ‘ownership’ when dealing with customer queries
- Project a positive image with each call they take or make
It’s designed for organisations who believe their customer service staff would benefit from an injection of valuable tips and techniques when handling difficult customers (such as rude, angry or aggressive customers) as part of their daily duties. We also provide a Customer Service and Customer Care training course that deals with these types of customer. It also covers handling customer complaints; tips for retaining customers and how to diffuse customer conflict quickly and efficiently.
More and more companies are increasing their use of the telephone as the quickest and most convenient way of establishing customer contacts. Call centres and mail order are the fastest growing operational departments for UK organisations. It is essential that all employees represent their organisation in a professional and friendly way. Clear and effective communication is essential to ensure that the business is not lost. If your staff are not trained properly on telephone skills, how much business are they losing your company?
Every customer calling your organisation should receive a positive and seamless service that is professional, efficient and responsive. Customers who are handled well will notice the good service, bring more business and hopefully build a long term relationship with you. Customers who are not handled well damage your reputation and take their business to the competition.
Course Programme
Our one-day course will include the following subjects:
- Introducing your organisation in a professional manner
- Understanding the importance of customers to the organisation
- Essential telephone tips and building instant rapport with callers
- Creating great first impressions
- Listening skills and note taking
- Inputing information and keep the flow of the conversation with the client
- Asking for information in a calm, friendly and professional way
- Questioning skills to uncover both facts and needs
- Summarising conversations and confirming details.
- Maintaining client rapport, conveying support and building trust
- Understanding customer ‘wants’ and ‘needs’
- Managing customer expectations
- How to give negative news in a positive way
- Ways to handle abusive/hostile callers
- Why customers complain – and how to please without over-promising
Pre/Post Course Support
Prior to conducting a course your training co-ordinator will have had the opportunity to liaise with one of our lead trainers who will begin to breakdown your companies objectives.
A key part of their process is understanding what led to your decision to improve your team.
We will incorporate all your current training materials to build in effective role plays and discussions suited specifically to your organisational needs.
Before each course delegates will have completed:
- The pre-course questionnaire (Including personal objectives for the session)
- A 5 minute training session that will be delivered during the course.
After the course each delegate will receive:
- A CPD Accredited Certificate
- A Comprehensive course manual
- Additional resources beneficial to your continued learning
- Video analysis and critique (Depending on delegate numbers)
Your organisation will receive:
- Constructive feedback on the delegates progression
- A roadmap for continued learning specifically to your needs
Proposed One-Day Course Agenda
This is a proposed agenda for the course.
Morning – 9.30-1.00 / Afternoon – 2.00-5.30
Understanding the importance of customers to the organisation
Customer worth – how much is one customer worth and how that impacts on the organisation. Customer needs and what they expect from an organisation.
Managing Customer Perceptions
“Our realities are merely the perceptions we place around our experiences”. Understanding customer perceptions is the ‘key’ to ensuring excellent customer service and a real focus on the wants and needs of the customer. We will examine many situations relevant to the organisation and look at ways of reinforcing or changing the client’s perception of your organisation as being one of ‘the best’.
Essential time management and organisation
One of the essentials for increased productivity is organisation. We will show effective time management tips and techniques and how each person can achieve more in an average day.
Professional telephone tips
The telephone is the most used business communication tool. Understanding the power and the pitfalls of telephone communications enables the telephone professional to be perceived as both confident and competent.
Positive under pressure
Maintaining a positive approach to customer contact is essential for the telephone professional. We will show ways of keeping a confident attitude and approach at all times.
Communication skills
From discussion and role-plays we will develop questioning sequences and scripts which will develop awareness of client needs. By paraphrasing and summarising (the keys to effective communication) delegates will learn to stay on track with the client and understand fully; the customer, the message they are conveying, their needs and the situation at that point in time.
Creating a good first impression and projecting your personality
Because you lose up to 50% of your natural personality on the phone, building rapport and showing a professional image in the first crucial first few minutes of each and every phone-call is essential. This session is designed to give simple tips and techniques to sound businesslike, professional and friendly on the phone.
Internal telephone techniques
Putting customers on hold and transferring their calls internally can be the most frustrating time for them if not done correctly. Getting hold of the correct information and/or the right person can put you in a bad light in the client’s eyes. We will demonstrate the most effective way of using the telephone internally to create a high customer satisfaction rating.
Essential telephone time management and organisation
One of the essentials for increased productivity is a highly organised team. We will be teaching the tips and techniques for the smooth running of a tele-operation and how each person can achieve more in an average day.
Influencing skills for non-sales people
The ability to influence the customer is a skill that can reap rewards in increased customer satisfaction and profits. There are several proven methods of influencing buying decisions which are easy to learn and can produce major results.
Saying no to customers
There will always be times when we have to say no to customers. We will show delegates how to assess each situation and handle difficult situations without upsetting the customer.
Managing talkative, demanding and angry customers
Using tried and tested techniques delegates will learn how to control calls with these types of customer. The training will focus on conversation skills and staying ‘one step ahead’ of the customer in order to produce a positive outcome to each call.
The Power of ‘Following Up’
“Good follow up is the breakfast of champions”. Perceptions of an organisation are developed after a problem has been identified and handled to the customer’s satisfaction. How quickly and effectively you follow up is one of the primary factors in building customer loyalty and makes good business sense. Delegates will also investigate the effectiveness of surveying customer perceptions and how to keep on top of their existing customer’s wants and needs.
Managing complaints
Handling complaining customers well is one of the most effective methods of building trust and creating a long-term relationship with your clients. Delegates will learn from proven methods of calming the situation, understanding the customer and giving them what they want without breaking any company rules.
Communication skills for difficult clients
Dealing with assertive, angry and talkative customers requires different strategies and techniques. Delegates will learn how to handle these different types of callers and maintain control in a calm and professional manner.
Giving bad news to customers
Whilst others may shun this type of call the telephone professional will welcome the opportunity to problem solve, provide options or just let the customer know what the organisation can realistically do for them. We will train techniques that allow delegates to enjoy dealing with this type of difficult call.
Role-play of difficult situations
The final activity of the day is a role-play in a ‘real life’ situation. The delegates will be given true scenarios of situations they encounter and dealing with different types of personalities. Each role-play will be audio-taped for full analysis and evaluation
Our training is carried out in a risk free environment which encourages delegates to practice the skills needed for successful appraisals. We use a number of training methods including role-play, video, audio, workshops and group exercises to enhance the learning process.
Course close and paperwork
All delegates will complete an action plan that can be used to evaluate the skills learned from the day.
Why choose Total Success for your training?
- our lead trainers have over 18 years experience in training
- a maximum of 8 delegates means more time spent on individual needs
- we guarantee to run the course and will never cancel at the last moment
- free subscription to our monthly training newsletter
Who will benefit from the course?
This course will ensure your staff always project the correct image to your potential customers and clients to make your company stand out from the crowd. It is designed for anyone who uses the telephone and is written with both the customer and the organisation in mind to maximise service and customer care.
