Telephone Doctor’s Script for Agent Success
by Maria LenhartHow you answer the phone can make or break your next sale, and the future of a client relationship may also hinge on your next phone call.
More business is lost to poor customer service than to bad product – and phone skills are an essential part of customer service, according to Nancy Friedman, president of the Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training.
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“We will pay more for good service,” Friedman told travel sellers at the recent Signature Travel Network conference in Las Vegas. “How many times have we gone to an overpriced restaurant and came out saying ‘Wasn’t that service great?’”
Friedman advised agents at the conference on ways they can polish their phone skills to increase sales.
Place a mystery call
A first step toward better customer service is to know what kind of reception customers get when they call your agency.
“Working with customers is not new for you – I know you’re all good at it,” said Friedman. “But do you know how many others in your agency are good at it, too?”
How frontline agents answer the phone is a key indicator of their customer service skills, she said.
Friedman challenged agents to place a mystery call to their own agencies and, in a disguised voice, ask for themselves.
“See how they handle it. You can’t fix what you don’t know.”
Putting agencies to the test
During the seminar, Freidman phoned several agencies at random to get an idea of the quality of phone responses at travel agencies.
She was dismayed.
“I made a few calls where I asked about a cruise and told them my budget,” she said. “No one was rude. They told me what they have available. But, incredibly, no one took my name.”
Establish rapport first
Instead of answering her questions right off the bat, the agents should have first established a rapport with her and made sure they had her contact information, Friedman said.
“A much better response to my question would have been something like, ‘Well, you came to the right place!’”
Don’t multitask on the phone
Always give clients your undivided attention while on the phone, Friedman advised.
“We all multitask these days, but you really can’t do two things at once,” she said, “Don’t check your email while on the phone.”
Any computer keyboarding while on the phone should pertain to the client’s business. “They will hear the typing, so make sure to let them know that it has to do with their account.”
Keep it personal
The personal touch has taken on new significance in this age when consumers get multiple emails daily, according to Friedman.
“Sending a thank you note to a client by email is OK, but who wants to be just OK?” she said. “Always send a personal note.”
Form letters enclosed with travel documents don’t cut it either. Even a Post-it note with a handwritten message is better than a form letter, according to Friedman.
“Items received without any note or any mention of the transaction are perceived as cold and rude,” she said. “A simple ‘thank you’ on company notepaper will do the trick.”
An efficient way to provide handwritten notes is to set aside a block of time to write several at once, perhaps 10 a week.
Another personal touch, Friedman said, is to write a Christmas card right after each sale – putting it aside to send at the appropriate time.
Feel the client’s pain
Good customer service is also about feeling the client’s pain when something goes wrong – or at least giving the impression that you do, according to Friedman.
“Don’t ever argue with a customer. If they are upset, commiserate with them,” she said. “Don’t just give a quick ‘I’m sorry,’ but say, ‘I apologize for what happened’ or something that will allow the customer to feel you are apologizing.”
Low fences make loyal customers
While all businesses, including travel agencies, need to have rules and guidelines, Friedman cautioned about letting them become an obstruction.
“Keep your fences low enough for customers to step over,” she said. “When you explain the rules, keep it simple and positive.”
As an example, instead of posting a sign in the agency that says “No out-of-state checks accepted,” post one that says, “We gladly accept in-state checks.”
Checking it twice is nice
Even if you’re certain a cruise line has sold out every balcony stateroom, double check, Friedman advised.
“Double checking exceeds the customer’s expectations – and sometimes it pays off. Maybe there was a last-minute change.”
