Hey Listen -- is that the phone?

posted on: February 14, 2008

Listen (v.) to hear; pay attention

Listen. It's something we've all heard before, starting from the time we are little. My mom was famous for saying something like "Will you listen to me when I'm talking to you?!" Of course I'm going to listen....you're standing right in front of me...I don't have a choice. But conversations by telephone are a different story. Just because you're on the phone with a customer, and hear what they are saying, it doesn't always mean we are listening.

We live in a world of multi-tasking -- reading email, sending email, talking with our co-workers, but are we really listening to our customers?

Here are a few reasons why it's so very important for us to listen, I mean really LISTEN to our customers on the other end of that phone.

1. Troubleshooting. If a customer is calling with a complaint or problem, a good listener can troubleshoot and triage the issue quickly. Get to the heart of the issue quickly and advise customer appropriately. This decreases call length and increases productivity.

2. Increasing Sales. If you listen carefully to a customer's needs, you may be able to upsell or cross sell the customer. Let's look at two scenarios between Annie Airfilters and Sally Shopper. 

Scenario 1:
Annie: Thanks for calling, how can I help you?
Sally: Yes, I'm calling to order more filters for my CleanAir 2000.
Annie: Ok, let's get your information and we'll have them shipped off to you...

Scenario 2:
Annie: Thanks for calling, how can I help you?
Sally: Yes, I'm calling to order more filters for my CleanAir 2000.
Listening Result: "I'd like to place an order for more..." sets off a little alarm in Annie's head.
Annie: Oh, have you ordered this before?
Sally: Yes -- The light goes on to "Replace Filter" every three months or so.
Annie: Let's see -- I could easily set that up on our auto-ship program. You'll receive a filter every three months, and we'll automatically bill your credit card and ship it without your having to call in. Let me pull up that screen and we can set you up.

Sally agrees, and you set up the auto-ship. She's happy because she doesn't have to call any more to order her product. You've done something merchants dream of – recurring revenue at little or no expense. Sally won't be calling again taking up your customer service rep's time.

3. Upsell and Cross-Sell
Good listening will also help you to upsell the customer as well. Listen to what the customer is ordering initially and take a moment to offer the appropriate additional items. Fast food joints are great at this… how else did "Would you like fries with that?" become a phrase ingrained in our culture? Remember, you don't get what you don't ask for!

4. Close and Paraphrase
After you've taken care of the customer and you are about to end that call, take one more moment to summarize with the customer what you have accomplished during your time with them on the phone. It doesn't have to be a detailed list, just paraphrase with the customer. Be simple and straightforward. It lets the customer know exactly what occurred during the course of their call and makes for a great close.

If you take the time to really listen to your customer, you will maximize your opportunity to assist your customer with what ever need prompted them to call in the first place.

Hey, LISTEN......is that the phone?

Alison Wydawski, Solid Cactus Call Center Shift Supervisor contributed to this entry.