Imagine you have a customer on the phone or right in front of you and they are not happy. This customer is looking for someone to help them. You feel that you are on the edge of a potential scene if you do not handle this correctly but you are not sure what steps to follow to bring a calm positive resolution to the situation.

Following these simple steps will not only give them great customer service but also give both parties a solution that is acceptable.

• You can’t out yell a yeller.

Beware of the situation escalating into a war of egos. They want you to understand their point but you also want them to understand yours. Neither of you will give an inch so the volume goes up and up and now it becomes a personal matter. Woah!!! Slow down.

Take your cue from martial arts. If someone comes at you with strength, move aside and let them pass. In this case, let them raise their voice and you lower yours. Become still and focus on them. This will have the effect of raising their awareness that they are the only one yelling. Once they realize they are the only one screaming, they will immediately drop their volume to match yours and don’t be surprised if they apologize and now you have control of the situation.

• Acknowledge their problem.

People want to be heard.  First tell them that you are sorry they encountered this problem and how you can see how this would be frustrating. By telling them you heard what they said and repeating back their issue, it gives the customer a sense of comfort that you understand and that puts you in control of the situation.

You have gained a first level of their trust in being someone who can solve their problem. 

• Tell them what you can do not what you can’t do.

In some instances when I hear people use the word can’t, I think they really mean they won’t. I wonder if the company’s processes have hindered employees from being able to solve problems or am I dealing with someone’s laziness and unwillingness to help.

Telling people what you can do keeps the situation in a positive light. Even if it means you have to contact a manager, tell them why you have to contact them and what will happen.

“I have to reach out to my manager so they can put in your credit. Can I put you on hold for a minute? I will be right back.”

Focusing on what you can’t do increases the frustration of the customer because now they are focused on their time being wasted by someone who cannot solve their problem.  Keep it moving forward by focusing on what you can do.

• Outline the solution.

When people know what is happening they are more relaxed. Uncertainty fuels emotions. Once you have a solution for the problem, take the time to outline what will happen, especially if the customer is required to do something.

Too many times a business will just say, “ok, it’s taken care of.” But this still leaves a sense of uncertainty in the customer’s mind. Make sure they walk away happy because they have a resolution that they understand.

• Apologize that this happened and offer your contact information.

As you close the conversation, take a moment to apologize for the company that the customer had to take time out of their day to deal with this. Most of the time businesses apologize for the product or service, but in reality, the customer is more upset because this is taking time from doing things they would prefer to do.

Lastly, take ownership of the solution and give them your contact information.  You will stand out from other businesses who would just send them back to a support line with someone who does not know their case.

Solving a customer’s issue can do more for your future business than just having happy customers. Let people share with others that you stand behind your product and are willing to do whatever it takes to fix a problem.

Glenn Pasch is the current COO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer. He will be presenting at the upcoming 2012 Driving Sales Executive Summit. 

As a trainer, I am often asked if you should focus on your top performers or your bottom ones to improve business. Many ask how much time should be spent on either group. I will lay out the arguments for both and then give my answer with an extra tip for success.

The Bottom 20%:

Here are the groups who are not delivering results. This is a group that you would think to focus on because bringing them up in terms of performance will make an impact immediately. Or will it?

This group contains usually contains three types of performers.

1.Newer employees

2.Previously good performers who have slipped

3.Those who cannot perform the job

Group # 3 needs to be either moved to a different job that matches their skill set or they need to be let go. I feel that if you have trained properly following a solid coaching process, then spending too much time hoping they will improve will waste resources from your team.

Group #1 needs time. Make sure training continues in an orderly fashion and expectations are clearly set out. You should be seeing progress or else they may slip into Group #3.

Group #2 is an interesting group. You need to sit with these members and find out what is going on. If they performed previously, what has changed? Are you working on a new project that may not suit them? Are you requiring a new process to be followed and they are in an adjustment period? Or is it something where they have just lost the passion to do the job?

In either case, keeping those from Group #2 who have lost their passion will spread unrest amongst the rest of your team. It will look like you are setting different rules for each group. I am all for giving time to those who have given to you, but be honest with them and set them back on track or else as a favor to all, you need to part ways.

The Top 20%

These are you best performers. They may not follow your processes step by step but they find a way to get things done. I think that this is the group you need to cultivate. I believe it is easier to get this group to increase their performance than the bottom 20%. This group understands competition and goals.

Getting them to increase their performance by 10% has a bigger impact than getting the bottom 20% to increase by 10% or even 20%.

Your time has more of an impact on these “racehorses.” I think half of your time should be spent with top performers. Ask them questions on what is working and what is not. Ask them for feedback on how they close deals or perform their best. Take this feedback and look for things you can teach the rest of the team which then can help performance.

One thing I do not recommend is having these top performers do the training. My reasoning is that many of them are not able to communicate clearly what they do in order to be successful. Certain aspects of the job come easy to them and they may not understand why others cannot accomplish things as easily as they do.

Remember that keeping your top people engaged is one of the most important aspects of a successful company.

Now my extra tip:

Design your processes in such a specific manner that the middle 60% can improve incrementally. If you have a good amount of training and focus on the middle group and  move the whole up by a few percentage points, you succeed. For the top performers, set them up and get out of their way. Give them guidance, but let them do their job.

For the lower 20%, as we said, I would spend no more that 15% of my time there. That means a third of my time will be spent with the middle 60%, finding that next top performer and keeping the rest from falling into the bottom group.

Looking at where you are spending your time as a leader and making sure it is spent with the right people can impact your company’s performance in a much more effective way.

Glenn Pasch is the current COO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer.

Hi all. I know this is a different type of post but I am reaching out to share what PCG Digital is doing to support it's charitable ventures starting with my son's charity. Hope you can help if you choose. 

The Children’s Tumor Foundation will be holding the Central Jersey NF Walk on Sunday, October 14, 2012. Taking place in Holmdel Park, the walk will benefit children with neurofibromatosis (NF) by raising awareness and funds. PCG Digital Marketing, an Internet marketing agency in New Jersey, is proud to sponsor a team and participate in the walk.

Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere on or in the body. NF is one of the most common genetic disorders, affecting 1 in 3000 kids.  There are many possible side effects to NF including bone abnormalities, learning disabilities, blindness, tumors, deafness and cancer.

The Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by NF.  Their mission is to advance research to develop treatments and cures for NF, offer patient and family support and create more awareness of NF.

Team Pasch, proudly supported by PCG Digital Marketing, will walk in honor of COO Glenn Pasch’s son Alex Pasch, who was diagnosed with NF when he was just six months old. After multiple doctors’ visits and MRIs, it was discovered when Alex was only 2 1/2 years old that he has two brain tumors.

“Of course, my wife and I were devastated, but the people at CTF (Children’s Tumor Foundation) connected us with other families that were going through similar situations as well as doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)” said Glenn. ” We would have felt completely lost and helpless without the support of CTF.”

In May 2010 at the age of 3, Alex started a daunting 15 months of chemotherapy at CHOP, underwent 2 brain surgeries and 2 chest surgeries to implant and remove a port device used during the chemo treatments. The treatment was successful and his tumors are, for the moment, stable.  He is now an active, happy 5 year old who just started Kindergarten this September. But the family lives with the constant dread that further NF complications will arise.

“We’re thrilled that Alex now has an active, normal childhood. Although we struggle with other obstacles like low muscle tone and the side-effects of chemo, we know how lucky we are to have him with us and we are grateful everyday that we get to watch both our boys grow up together.  We are huge supporters of CTF and welcome any opportunity to give back to this amazing organization that has given us so much,” explains Glenn. “My wife calls CTF her life line.  Every family dealing with the chronic illness of a child needs one. Thanks to CTF, we do not have to walk this path alone. We encourage everyone to come out for this worthwhile cause and spend the day with some pretty remarkable people. Come meet our heroes.”

Thankfully, the research that is made possible from these walks and other events are helping to shine light on effective treatments for those struggling with NF.

To donate on behalf of Team Pasch, click here.

Central Jersey NF Walk Supported By PCG Digital Marketing

Many families and locals are expected to walk through Holmdel Park on the morning of October 14. Donations and money raised will be given to help children who are fighting this debilitating disorder.  The Children’s Tumor Foundation will take the money that is donated and use it for medical research, patient support and public education programs.

Not only will there be supporters in the walk, there will also be enthusiasts running in a 5K as well as families participating in a “stroller derby.” Throughout the day, refreshments will be available and kids will have access to their own races and other fun activities.

If you’ll be walking in the Central Jersey NF walk with PCG Digital Marketing and want to tell all of your friends, join the Facebook event.

The team at PCG Consulting, Inc. has always been one to share relevant information regarding issues that affect dealerships. We have been writing and teaching about the importance of your online reputation and ways to not only grow your presence but to market it as well over the past few years.

Due to the many changes with the switch to Google+ Local we have seen and heard many issues that dealers have been facing and because of this Brian Pasch and the PCG Consulting team have been working on this white paper over the past few days to give dealers a revised Google reviews strategy.

Some of this new information may contradict earlier strategies that we as well as other advocates for reputation management shared with dealers based on previous information we received.

Please follow this link to download your free copy to read the most updated practices that we feel will deliver future success.  

http://www.pcgconsultingservices.com/resources/google-reviews-whitepaper/

I had an interesting conversation this week in regards to customer service, which then led to a big impression from an offhand comment.

I was participating in an interview for a podcast for an automotive magazine focusing on customer service. One of the question asked was where I thought customer service ranked in the mind of a typical dealer or GM and where I thought it should be ranked.  My answer was that I felt it was top of mind for most every dealer I have spoken with, but I felt how their vision of customer service rolled out to the staff might have room for improvement.

The interviewer mentioned that I had written an article called “Looking Outside of Your Industry for Inspiration” and he asked me what types of things could someone learn   outside their industry to improve their performance. I listed some of the things that I have seen in hospitality, such as checking in with guests that are waiting for a service, making sure to make eye contact with them when speaking and walking them out to their car instead of pointing to where they should go.

We wrapped up the interview and as I was speaking to someone about the podcast, they said, “well, you could have talked about the Second Thank You.” This comment almost passed me by, but I stopped and asked what they meant.

They said that in their previous business they made sure to reach out to each customer so they could thank them again for their business. They said that most customers were surprised with the follow up, but also grateful that someone called to make sure everything was okay and to thank them again.

In a world where we are moving at a million miles an hour, we cannot miss opportunities to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace. A simple thing that our grandparents may have done if they had a business, asking how things were going and syaing thanks for doing business with me, seems so out of place now.

Being in the digital space I am surprised by how many people think the rules of common courtesy that applied previously don’t apply today. I wonder if we all took the time to embrace the power of the Second Thank You how much better our business would be.

I can think of many ways to do this throughout the year. Just calling previous customers to check in and thank them. Notice I said to call, not send an email or a mailer. If you want to send something in the mail then send a handwritten note or an article you read that made you think of them or something out of the blue.

Your customers will appreciate the effort of the Second Thank You and I bet it retains more customers long term. My caution is this thank you cannot become a standardized process that takes the heart out of it. It has to always be sincere because we all can tell fake gratitude when it is right in front of us.

A simple idea: The power of the Second Thank You.

Glenn Pasch is the current COO of PCG Digital Marketing as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer.

I have worked for many different people in my time but one of my first mentors was a very successful restaurant owner. I was relating this story the other day in a workshop of a staff meeting he led where he was talking about missed opportunites we had as waiters and I thought it is appropriate for our industry. 

He said,  

“What I have provided for each of you is an opportunity to run your own business here. You need to look at your job this way. I have invested in all of the things we need to run the restaurant. I have given you each tables with which you can run your own business. Now you can do the minimum, ask the customer what they want and deliver it in a most basic way for which you will receive basic tips or compensation. But you could take that same number of people and lead them through the experience. Using the training we have given you offer them appetizers; explain the menu in a way that gets the customer seeing the food in their head, explain what wine works best so they will order a bottle and then get them to close out the meal with a dessert or after dinner drinks. Then you will have larger checks, thus larger compensation from the same number of people.

My question to each of you is, what kind of business do you want to run?”

I can see If these words came from an owner to their sales and service staff, it could have the same meaning.

Each of us every day should ask ourselves if we are looking at what we do as running our own business and following our processes in order to deliver the customer experience the company is offering – or if we doing it our own way.

Funny how something so simple at the time, over 20 years ago, will impact you long term. I have never forgotten this meeting and continue to pass it's wisdom on during all of my training workshops.  

Let me know your thoughts.