What if there was a way to respond to your customers correctly in every conversation? Can you answer someone's question without knowing the proper answer? The answer is — YES!
Over the years, I have developed a system for acknowledging customers on the phone, in-person, and through video calls. Many companies train their employees how to communicate with customers, but they forget to train their employees how to respond to questions that they don't know.
When I supervised in the Admissions Office at Trevecca University, I had the opportunity to build and implement a new recruitment system from the ground up on how to increase prospective student enrollment at the university and increase morale in the office. I'm going to share with you one of the steps to building morale with customers and making a sale through the phone.
When a customer asks you a question, the moment that you realize that you don't know the answer, you use this 3-step process to respond to them.
1. Name - Say the person's name
2. Validation - Affirm them. Ex: "Great Question"
3. Solution - Give them a solution to their question. Even if you do not know the answer, you can send them to a person who can help you figure out the proper answer. The solution is the hardest because you can respond in many ways. If you are trying to make a sale on the spot, I do not recommend sending them to another person. However, if you are just building morale, sending them to a new person is fine. Believe it or not, there is a way to acknowledge your customer and make the sale right away without knowing the answer. As you read along, I will explain in greater detail.
The way that I like to remember — name, validation, solution — is with the an acronym Not Very Smart. Because you are Not Very Smart if you don't use this! The acronym isn’t perfect, but it has worked for me and my employees for the past eight years. If you have a better one, I'm open to suggestions.
Let's get started with a couple of examples. We will do three different examples for learning purposes.
1st example is a simple scenario that many companies deal with day-to-day. This is an example that doesn't take a lot of brainwork.
Scenario One — Simple Answer: Pretend with me for a moment. Bobby is interested in buying a toothbrush from my premier dentist company. He calls Rachael, my employee, to get a price for the toothbrush, but he is still not sold. Rachael answers the phone and doesn't know the price of the toothbrush. There are a couple of different ways that she can respond to Bobby, but we will keep it simple. Remember - Name Validation and Solution.
Answer: “Hi Bobby, great question. Do you mind if I put you on hold while I confirm the price of your toothbrush?”
That was good! Okay, so what she did was give him a simple response. First Rachael responded with his name (Bobby), validated him by telling him that his question was great, and gave him a solution on the price. Some employees are not able to get past scenario one, and that is okay. As long as they can perform the simple answer, customers will feel good. The key is to not put Bobby on hold without communicating first. Many people end the conversation promptly by saying "one second" and then put the customer on hold. That is not a way to make a sale or build morale. You want your customer to feel good and like you care.
The 2nd example is a medium scenario that I recommend you/your employees learn. This is an example that takes a couple more steps, but you will sell more products.
Scenario Two — Medium Answer: Bobby is interested in buying a toothbrush from my premier dentist company. He calls Rachael to get a price for the toothbrush, but he is still not sold. She answers and doesn't know the price. This is where Rachel will make the sale on the spot. Bobby will buy the toothbrush from her on the phone today.
Answer: “Hi Bobby, great question. Let me help you figure out the price and show you some different features of your toothbrush. Are you on your phone or at your computer? If you go to www.dentist.example.com, I would like to show you the different toothbrush styles (small talk for a moment with Bobby). I would like to help you purchase your toothbrush today, so you don't have to do it by yourself later.”
This was better! What Rachael did was push Bobby into buying a toothbrush on the spot.
You literally have him buy the toothbrush on the phone or on the website with you. That is a better option if you and/or your employees are capable.
3rd example is THE BEST ANSWER scenario that I recommend for skilled communicators. This is an example that takes practice but is possible.
Scenario Three — Best Answer: Bobby is interested in buying a toothbrush from my premier dentist company. He calls Rachael to get a price for the toothbrush, but he is still not sold. She answers and doesn't know the price. This is where she will make the sale on the spot, but Bobby will not be buying a toothbrush, he will buy a full premier package from Rachael today.
Answer: "Hi bobby, great question and thank you for calling. We have many different toothbrush options and I want to help you find the best option for your teeth. Tell me, have you ever used a premier toothbrush before? (small talk for a while) Our premier toothbrush package sounds like the best option for you because it is all-inclusive…"
She did it! What Rachael did was take Bobby’s focus off the toothbrush and onto the best package option. Here is how that is done.
You ask him questions about himself, his passions, his teeth, etc. What you are doing is building a relationship with Bobby. You want to make a friend so that he is no longer buying a toothbrush, but he is buying from a friend. I like to look for common ground with that person. What happens is Bobby will talk with you for 5-10 min and forget why he called. In the end, you make a premier package sale by presenting it to him (as a friend) and sign him up on the spot. Then you thank him and send him a thank you card. This method works 9 out of 10 times for me. Remember to use Name Validation and Solution and you will be successful.
Now that you know the different ways to answer customers on the phone, go practice and make a sale. I recommend starting with scenario one and work your way down. It takes multiple tries so if you find yourself frustrated, keep practicing until you feel confident to move to the next level. Remember, the key is to make your customers feel like you care —Name, Validation, Solution.
Happy calling!
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