Customer service: rules and standards, principles and methods

At the present stage, a lot of time is devoted to customer service. Time goes ahead and, accordingly, the level of service should increase. For this to happen, you need to adhere to the standards of the customer service business.

general information

In any store comes a few hundred people a day. And the seller’s task is precisely to adjust to the mood and guess the needs of each person. It is an individual approach to each client that provides good sales. But still, there are general techniques that work. They are time-tested and therefore work almost always. These are the rules of customer service . Such standards allow the seller to behave correctly and not make mistakes, as well as sell the maximum possible amount of goods.

But this does not mean that the employee cannot behave in this or that situation as he wants. Simply, all his actions should be within the framework of these rules and in no case harm the work. A seller by vocation will not act with all customers according to one scheme, because he needs to leave a pleasant impression about himself and customer service in general.

Important point

You can not ignore the person who went into the store. You need to approach him and try to start a conversation or offer help. And even if he doesn’t make a purchase, he can subsequently recommend the store to friends and acquaintances.

But this is not all that needs to be remembered. There is such a thing as a classic sale. He will be discussed further.

Classic sale

There are a lot of customer service methods, but the classic version to this day remains the most productive. It has seven stages, each of which is very important. To represent what we are talking about, we will examine each step in detail separately.

Sales preparations

This is a fairly universal step, because each method of customer service begins with it.

First of all, you need to set yourself up for a friendly wave and a good result. After all, it largely depends on the mood. When a person is open to the world and energetic, he is perceived as successful and confident. There are several methods to set the right mood. They can be used both at the beginning of the working day, and in the middle to maintain the necessary emotions.

For example, you can remember the moment of your victory or good luck, your best sale. Or think about the fact that a good result from work can subsequently provide a decent rest or fulfill a dream. Work transfer to the game also works. This means that you can imagine yourself and the buyer as players, but the buyer is not the professional in the game. It helps to respect the interlocutor in advance and wish him well.

If the seller is sincerely convinced that he is selling a really useful and necessary thing, then he is unlikely to miss the customer. It is worth remembering that in the culture of customer service, absolute respect is assumed. It does not matter how a person looks in front of the seller, but you can’t talk with him without respect.

Again, it is worth remembering that the aggression of the buyer is not aimed at the identity of the seller, but at the role that he chose for himself. This does not mean that if there were some other seller in your place, then the buyer would behave differently. This is what is worth remembering when a difficult situation arises.

Contact setup

To establish contact with the buyer, you need to start talking. The culture of customer service, as well as the chosen style of communication affect the outcome of the sale. It is very important to get a person to yourself. And this will take only a few seconds, as well as in order to ruin everything. This means that you do not have to skimp on positive emotions from the first moment. If the seller smiles, has the right attitude, he has a positive facial expression, he adapts to the client, then with a high probability the contact will be established. It is the light atmosphere in communication and sincere friendliness that will give the result.

To achieve this, the seller needs to actively establish contact. He can not be limited only to the duty greeting phrase. To know how to behave correctly in the process of customer service and make contacts, you need to apply special techniques. If, according to their results, eight out of ten attempts were successful, then this is an excellent result. In the case when the contact is not established, do not impose your services. It is best to keep an eye on the client and, if necessary, help him.

Anything can happen in the customer service process. But do not abandon attempts to win over a person. This does not mean that you need to be imposed. The continuation rule works here. When the client did not make contact, the same seller should offer his help again within three minutes. It is unacceptable if several employees approach one person. In this case, the reaction may be aggressive, or the client will simply turn around and leave. It is also not worth making frequent attempts to establish contact in a short period. It is better to be nearby and wait for the client to mature. But all these points concern only shops where there is no entrance group of employees. That is, at the entrance, sellers with duty phrases do not meet. If such an element of the service is present, then you need to establish contact only after the person has passed this group.

At this stage, the seller’s positive attitude is no less important. Buyer service should begin with a greeting. Best wishes for a good day or evening. During the greeting, the seller needs to smile, at the same time try to establish eye contact with the person. Only a cheerful attitude will help to draw a person to yourself. The same applies to a smile, which should be sincere. Remember, people feel fake.

Trading customer service is based on an individual approach. If a person notices how the seller communicates equally with everyone, then the potential buyer has a feeling that the staff wants to receive only money. But as soon as people open up, show keen interest, there will be scope for improvisation. It is these features of the employee that determine how successful he will become in his activities. It is difficult for a seller to work as an uncommunicative and private person.

The seller has two main goals:

• sell goods;
• create a pleasant impression of service.

And in order for both goals to be achieved, it is necessary to establish contact. For this, you can use all kinds of techniques, because the main thing is to achieve a result. But first you need to remember what you can’t do.

Firstly, you should not use phrases like:

• Anything to suggest?
• Interested in something specific?
• Can I help you?

These phrases have already become annoying. In addition, the phrase: "If something interests you, then contact." This is regarded by a person as closing a contact.

Secondly, you can’t start communication without greeting or smiling.

Thirdly, there is no need to become exactly opposite to the buyer. At such moments, he may not feel comfortable, especially if he wants to continue moving. The best position would be slightly to the side or left.

Fourthly, categorically it is impossible to stand behind the client. This causes vague concern. Therefore, you can’t follow the buyer on the heels.

Fifth, do not close yourself from a person. This means that you should not cross your legs or arms during customer service. The same applies to leaning on any furniture. These gestures do not make the best impression on potential buyers.

Needs Identification Moment

Any customer service technology should ultimately help identify their needs. This is one of the highlights of the sale. But, oddly enough, not every seller recalls this. This stage obliges the seller to find out what the client needs, what he expects from this or that product. And to understand all this, you need to talk with the buyer and ask him questions.

The seller’s task is to best reveal all the needs of the person, whether it is thoughts about a particular product or vague guesses that he needs. That is, the employee must squeeze as much information as possible for himself to help the client solve his problem. The best option will be when a person acquires not only the main product, but also additional, as well as all kinds of after-sales service.

The surest decision to achieve mutual understanding between the seller and the buyer is a conversation that is understandable to two. In any training on customer service management, this point is given quite a lot of time. After that, the management requires clear explanations from employees with customers. What does it mean? When using terminology, it is necessary either to give explanations or to replace incomprehensible words and phrases with generally available ones in advance.

Do not forget about the initiative in the conversation. For sales to be good, it must be in the hands of the seller. It is the one who asks the questions in the conversation, and is the initiator.

You also need to remember what to do is prohibited:

1. You can not go to another stage of sales if the needs are not fully clarified. This means that you do not need to offer goods before the customer’s desire is clear. If this is done, then the client can give a negative reaction, or even completely leave. The problem is that the contact that was interrupted will be very difficult to restore.
2. Do not ask about the money that the buyer can spend. This is because everyone wants to get the maximum set of functions or services for minimal money. By persuading the buyer for a large amount, the seller simply spends his time in vain. During this period, it will be much more effective to convince a person to get something better.
3. Another mistake during the provision of customer service is the offer of outdated models. It is best to offer a product that meets modern requirements. As a rule, it is best to start offering products with the model that is the most expensive. But this does not mean that it should be the only one proposed. The client must be given the right to choose so that he can compare the price and the set of functions.
4. It is strictly forbidden to ignore this stage. Even if a person came with the desire to buy a certain product, it is still necessary to find out his needs. In the case when a person is looking for a product, but it is not in the store, the employee should ask why the buyer liked the particular model. When the product is in the store, it will even more help to find out all the needs and expand the range of offers.
5. Whatever form of customer service may be, any of them prohibits the interruption of the buyer. At a minimum, this behavior is regarded as rudeness, and as a maximum, if you behave this way, the seller will not complete the tasks of this stage.

You need to find out a person by asking specific questions. They have their own classification:

1. General issues. As a rule, they can be set no matter what the person is looking for.
2. Focused questions. They are already aimed at the characteristics of a certain type of product. The answers to them will help to offer the best option that meets all the requirements of the client.
3. Additional questions. Answers to them will allow you to pick up additional equipment or services.

Questions are also classified by type. They are:

1. Alternative. In such questions several answers are supposed.
2. Closed. Rather, these are clarifying questions that can only be answered yes or no.
3. Open. Such questions provide complete information and also involve a person in a conversation. As a rule, they begin with the words: how much, who, why, where, what, what and so on.

We offer a solution

At this stage, it is necessary during the seller’s service the buyer to offer him the best solution to his needs. The seller needs to explain and show all the advantages of a particular solution. In theory, when the stage is completed, at which the needs of the client are clarified, the seller has the following:

• the employee has an idea of ​​what the client needs;
• the person is perfectly tuned towards the employee and is happy to make contact.

First of all, during the organization of the trading service of the buyer, you need to explain to him the advantages of the product that he needs. And again we return to the fact that you need to find out client needs well. You can focus on those points that are important for each person - price, brand, wear resistance of the goods. This means that, even remembering the needs of the client, do not miss out on promotions in the store or any discounts.

It is important to remember that not always the characteristics of the goods can say something to the client. This is more information for the seller, as he understands the terminology. And for the client, you need to connect in the conversation an element of the characteristic and its practical advantages. For example, we can say that the computer has a powerful video card, this means the ability to play any games.

To increase sales is a demonstration of the merits of the goods. According to customer service standards, it is best to let the customer test some of the features themselves. For example, a person himself can try to photograph something on the camera and look at the quality of the pictures. It happens that a client wants to buy a laptop, but does not know how to use it, it will be great if the seller holds a small educational program.

All this is done in order to arouse admiration of the buyer, thereby inclining him to purchase goods. But here it is important not to overdo it. As a rule, the client does not need extra information, therefore it is better to limit yourself to a demonstration of three models. When information gushes over the edge, this pushes the client away, as a result, he takes time to think and leaves. And again, the employee returns to the fact that the determination of the needs of the buyer was carried out incorrectly.

There are also prohibited actions at this stage:

1. You can not poke a product with your finger. The same ballpoint pen will cope with the function, but it will look more aesthetically pleasing.
2. Also, the employee should not use his body to close the windows with the goods from the buyer.
3. Do not negatively comment on any brand or product. The seller should proceed from the fact that everything presented in the store is of high quality.
4. It is forbidden to give implausible information or information at the level of rumors. This behavior, firstly, causes a large number of returns, and secondly, it greatly affects the reputation of the store.

Arguments if the client objects

Organization of customer service can be at any level, but it does not affect the reaction of the client. Whatever the level of service, the client may object, and this is normal. It is important to teach employees how to react to this. In theory, the seller should conduct all stages of the sale so that the client has no objections. But if they do exist, then he must answer correctly. The first thing that the seller must learn is that if the client objects, then he is interested in the goods, but hesitates. Usually, if the seller is behaving correctly, then the sale is completed.

And to behave correctly, there are several rules:

1. No need to argue with the client. The result of such a dispute may be the loss of the buyer. It’s better not to prove your opinion, but to process objections correctly.
2. It is not necessary to agree with the arguments of the client and offer another product only if this is an unreasonable objection.
3. You can not ignore the client in his objections. Any doubt and dissatisfaction with the seller must handle.
4. Also, do not lie to the buyer regarding the quality of the product or its functions.
5. The seller cannot say that he does not know something. Even if he does not have information, he can turn to colleagues for help. And if the employee has promised to clarify or find out something, then this should be done.

It is also important to know how to overcome price objections. When the buyer says that the product is expensive for him, the seller should focus on the advantages of this model over others. Or a person knows a place where the same is sold cheaper. Then it’s worth explaining the benefits of buying in this particular store, whether it’s an additional customization of the product for the buyer or a product certificate throughout the country.

How to get to the purchase

Often, the buyer is not particularly opposed to buying the goods, but something may be missing. It depends on the quality of customer service whether the customer will buy something or not.

In order for the customer to buy something, you need to apply the methodology of summing up the purchase. If after the buyer has been brought to the purchase and all the objections have been processed, there is a pause, then with high probability the client will leave. No need to allow such pauses.

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These are not all the signs, but these are the ones that indicate effectiveness with greater probability.

There are also certain techniques that help to bring to the purchase:

1. A win-win choice. In this technique, the seller provides a choice between two products. For example, he may ask which of the two phones to like more.
2. Direct offer. The seller offers to buy a product. It also happens that a person understands how much he is not ready to make a purchase today.
3. Lost advantage. This technique is caused by the fact that the seller demonstrates all the advantages of buying in this particular store.

End of sale

If you choose a good technique for serving customers in retail, then sales always end well. But it is equally important to leave a good impression about the store and the staff after the service. For everything to go perfectly, you need to follow the rules:

1. Attention to the buyer should not weaken even at the stage of conclusion of the transaction. It is best to continue communication and comment on actions.
2. Most often it is at this moment that the work of the goods is checked. And it is important not only to test it for work, but also to teach the main points of use. This behavior will provide the seller a regular customer for a long time. Only during seasonal sales, you can not demonstrate the product. But the buyer must give consent to this.
3. When a customer needs help, the seller’s task is to help him. And it doesn’t matter if the client asks for it or not. This behavior will indicate a high level of service in the store.
4. No need to dryly say goodbye to the buyer. The more positive emotions the seller gives to the client, the more the latter will have a desire to return to the store. We can also say goodbye that the client has a taste and made a worthy choice. Also, the seller needs to give a business card or, if it is not, then offer to visit the store’s website.

Subject to all the rules, buyers will return to the store and recommend it to their friends and acquaintances.