What do your clients know?
Why is it important to set the customers expectations?
Your customers have no idea what you do and what you are capable of doing. They know two things….
1) They have a problem
2) They are paying you to solve their problem
With that said, can we agree that it would be a good idea for all concerned to know EXACTLY what the problem is and how it is going to be solved?
The best way to identify the problem is to ask questions. There are two types of questions that we use as service providers.
1) Probing questions
2) Closed ended questions.
To discover the real problem we need to probe the client by asking open ended questions….”Can you tell me what happened?” “What else was going on at the time that this happened?” “Can you tell me anything else that was out of the ordinary when this happened, ie; did someone move something, any new people in the house, what has changed since this happened?” etc. Get them talking to gather as much information as possible. Remember they do not know what information you need, so use probing questions to get that information.
When we need direct answers asking closed ended questions will work best. “When did this happen? Has it happened before?” “Will that be cash or credit card?” :~). The best time to ask closed ended questions is when you are trying to control emotion or need yes/no type answers.
Let’s assume this is a call back and the client is upset, Do you think it is a good idea to ask “can you tell me more about that?”? Probably not. That is the perfect opportunity for the client to go off and re-live the horror again! No Thanks! To diffuse the situation you would ask direct closed ended questions. “When did that happen?” “Was the _______ on when this happened?” and so on. It is a lot easier to control the emotion and get the information you need by asking closed ended questions. No need to add fuel to the fire. When the client is calmed down you can ask more open questions to get the additional information you need.
TIP: Lower your voice when talking to an angry client. It forces them to listen more carefully and often they will in turn lower their voice. It will help to calm them down.
So now our client is calmer…we have the information we need to get the service call started. So we go and troubleshoot and then fix the problem right? WRONG! We troubleshoot…then we go and talk to the client again. Based on your findings from troubleshooting the issue you now have a good idea what is wrong with the XXXX. So go back to the client and say “based on my diagnostics, testing, observations, whatever it is, I believe the XXXX is faulty and needs to be replaced. That will fix the XXXXXX and keep XXXXX from happening. Is that what the problem was? Great! I will check to see if I have the part and start the repair. That part usually costs in the neighborhood of $$$ just so you know.” “They say that’s great. Fix it”
OR YOU COULD BE LIKE THIS REP
The service person that comes in says where is the XXXXX? The client tries to tell them what is wrong. The service person says yeah yeah whatever, (thinking I know what is going on here, they are just a client) And they slide off to look at the problem. They return 20 minutes later with an old part in their hand and a bill for $500.00. And proudly say “here is the part I replaced, should be fine now”. “Cash or check?”
You are the customer, how does that feel? And what if the problem that the service person fixed wasn’t the client’s problem? Now What? A call back for sure…….. and probably from a very irate client. Is this a client you will get referrals from? Will you get repeat business from this client?
Lots of opportunities missed!
Taking the time to talk to your clients and LISTEN to them will make you a winner. The client will become a champion referral source and you and they will both live much happier lives. Your Biz will succeed!
