New Year, New Attitude!

You may have heard Rich talk about three signs that hang in our office conference room:

When times are bad things change.

When times are good things change.

10 percent of your business changes every year.

Change is good – and important to your business – no matter how it finds you. It certainly found us.

After 18 years in the same offices we decided we needed a change. Okay, that isn’t entirely true. Our idea of change was buying new furniture and rearranging the joint; our landlord’s definition involved a new lease that was absolutely unsignable. Our only option was to move, and fast. We had to be out in less than 60 days.

Our old office was in a 100 year old, very cool (and haunted!) office building. We were surrounded by small business service providers; nice people but definitely non-creative types. The best time was when the Special Olympics team down the hall brought kids in to get ready for some event; otherwise, it was a pretty quiet place. This daily lack of stimulation was affecting our attitudes; we were in a rut and we knew it, so if we had to move, it wasn’t going to be to a similar office environment.

We wanted to stay in St. Charles but we wanted to be where all the action is, so that meant being downtown. (A little St. Charles trivia: in 2011 it was named the best city in America to live in by Family Circle Magazine. We stumbled upon it when we stuck a pin in a map right between the two cities where we live. Voila! St. Charles.) We looked at plenty of spaces that we loved but couldn’t afford, took a deep breath, and kept on looking. And then, almost by accident, we found the perfect space, in a great location, with a private entrance and floor to ceiling windows. Or maybe it found us; the space had been empty for over a year. Before the ink was dry on our new tenant-friendly lease, two other companies tried to grab it, too.

We decided that we were going to throw away everything in our storage room. We hadn’t looked at most of it in years anyway. In the office, we tossed old files, video tapes – junk we didn’t need. And we sold our big cherry office suites in favor of sleek new furniture.

One of the joys of owning or running your own business is that you can make positive changes whenever you want. That’s the easy part; the hard part is deciding to do it. The other hard part is convincing your staff that sometimes in order to grow your business change is necessary.

In our travels we’ve visited well run stores, and we’ve visited stores where things have gotten a little out of hand. We’ll never forget the retailer who had three absolutely rotten associates on her team, but was afraid to confront them about their bad behavior. Other associates complained, customers complained, and she had witnessed several nasty incidents herself. But she was afraid to let them go for a number of reasons, one of which was “What would I do without them?”

Sigh.

This retailer needed positive change and she needed it fast. We said, “You cannot afford to be afraid of the people who work for you. They work for you.” We needed to convince her of the damage these employees were doing to her business, because that was exactly what was happening.

Several years ago we had the opportunity to conduct an in-store study.  We interviewed each of the store’s associates and made a list of those we felt had a positive attitude about their jobs, and a list of associates we felt were on the negative side.  Next, we chose three associates with positive attitudes, and two who were just the opposite.  We asked the store owner to assign these five associates to work together in the same department.  Three weeks later we returned and interviewed the five associates again to see if their differing attitudes would affect one another. In this phase of the experiment we were happy to find that the positives won – the two negative associates had substantially improved their attitudes. But the experiment wasn’t over yet.

Next we reversed the chemistry and placed three negative attitudes with two positive attitudes in the same department.  At the end of this three week study, the associates who started out with a positive attitude had crossed over to the dark side.  But our study wasn’t finished yet.

In the third phase, the store owner assigned three positive sales associates to work with three negative sales associates. All things being equal, we waited to see what would happen.  At the end of three weeks time we had six associates with much less than positive attitudes, proving that people with negative attitudes are likely to have a more powerful effect on others as those who think positively.

Yet, even in stores where positive attitudes prevail, sometimes things just don’t feel all that positive. You may have noticed how “up” your associates are on days when the sales floor is packed. On busy Saturdays, associates are engaged, customers are happy, and you’re selling lots of stuff. But on a slow Tuesday afternoon, you’re likely to find that everyone is just a little less enthusiastic.

What’s the difference? Actions drive attitudes. If you find your associates dragging their feet or feeling lethargic on slow days, then assign tasks and responsibilities that will keep them busy when they’re not helping customers. You’ll find that their attitudes will improve. You can’t change a person’s attitude, but you can control their actions, and that action will fire up attitudes.

You want to talk change? If you own or manage the store, the attitude of your company and all who work there, falls directly in your lap. Your store has your personality. So be the daily example, the positive attitude everyone can count on. When you walk onto your sales floor, shine. New year, new attitude! Make some changes. Get organized; kick the negatives to the curb, and good things will happen in 2012!

  

© KIZER & BENDER  .  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

6 Training Tips to Grow Your Greatest Assets

These days it’s easy to get too involved working IN your business, instead of ON your business. Yes, inventory is important, daily store operations are important, planning events and promotions is important, yet none of them matter if your people aren’t up to snuff. Consider a retail study that looked at why customers leave a store and never return to shop there again:

15 percent of customers leave because if price;

15 percent of customers leave because of product; and 70 percent leave and never return again because of the quality of the interaction with the people who work there.

Pretty scary stuff.

The good news is that the 70 percent statistic is fully in your control – you alone decide how customers will be treated in your store. You may have a store full of wonderful people who are good at what they do, but could be even better if they attended training sessions on a regular basis.

On the other hand, you may have a few associates who are doing your business no good at all, yet you allow them to stay. As unpleasant and uncooperative as they are, it’s easier to keep them than it is to deal with letting them go and starting all over again with a fresh face.  Don’t ever let this happen – it’s a proven fact that when four positive people work along side just one negative person, sooner or later, all five will have a negative attitude.

We once met a retailer who had lost his number one associate.  He was stunned when he heard customers say, “Thank goodness that guy’s gone, he was such a jerk!” and “I heard so-and-so left; I’m so excited that I can shop here again!”  The retailer hadn’t a clue how negatively this particular associate was affecting his business. Now, he has a strict set of customer service standards and he has an on-going training program in place. You should, too.

How important is consistent training in your store? How much do your people know about what’s really involved in running your business? Associates want to do a good job, and they want to be involved, yet in focus groups 80 percent claim they have no idea what the owner’s or corporation’s goals for the business are. They aren’t even sure what’s really expected of them, so they make it up as they go along. Mission statement? If they’ve seen one it’s because it’s hanging on the wall in the lunch room or lobby, but that doesn’t mean they understand why it was written or what it stands for. Look at it this way: If 80 percent of your people could make the same claims, then eight out of ten people working in your store have no clear idea of what you have in mind when you open for business each day.

Training Strategy # 1:

Every Associate Needs to Feel Comfortable from Day One

Start each new hire off on the right foot with a New Associate Orientation Program. This lets your trainees feel comfortable and productive from their very first day on the job.  Assign the trainee a simple task that he or she can do well, and turn them loose. Set aside ten minutes at the end of the shift to review how he or she did on their first day.  Let your trainee know that you appreciate his/her hard work – a sincere “thank you” and a “job well done” from the boss goes a long way in making a new hire feel comfortable.  Continue your ten-minute meeting each day of your trainees first week.

It’s also a good idea to implement The Buddy System where each trainee is assigned a buddy – a partner the new associate can go to ask the so-called “stupid” questions they may be too embarrassed to ask you. The Buddy System not only takes pressure off of the new hire, it elevates the Buddy to the new status of trainer, so it’s motivating to both associates.

Training Strategy # 2:

Every Associate Benefits from Continuous Training

Obviously, you will need training classes for your new hires that include just about every aspect of working in your store, but don’t forget about your seasoned associates. It’s easy to assume that someone who has been with you for a number of years knows all there is to know about a particular product or technique. Trust us, they don’t, and assuming that they do will only hurt your business. Regardless of skill level, everyone in your store, yourself included, will benefit from continuous training.

Each month devote one store meeting to associate training. Provide books, DVDs, and CDs associates can study on their own is a good idea as well. Some retailers allow their trainers and top performers to attend classes offered at trade shows. (If yours can’t attend, then buy the DVDs while you’re at the show.) Others have set up an in-store university where associates are rewarded with raises, and even promotions, each time they earn a new “degree” in their in-store training. However you decide to structure your training classes these customer service topics need to be at the top of the list:

* How to “break the ice” with greeting techniques that make customers feel at home.  Focus on how to greet customers without ever saying “May I help you?” a greeting that almost always invites a “No-thanks-I’m-just-looking” response from the customer. (It’s okay to ask that question only when you sense the customer is in a hurry.) Instead discuss questions that are sure to get the customer talking.

During the ice breaking stage it’s okay to talk about anything but the store. Ask about the customer’s kids, the weather, or a current event. This schmooze time is important because it makes the customer feel welcome. After a little schmoozing, you can move onto why the customer came to the store.

* Demonstrate how easy it is to offer your hand and introduce yourself in a manner that encourages the customer to volunteer their name. Continue the role play with the proper way to use the customer’s name: If the associate says, “Hello, my name is Mary.” and the customer says, “I’m Mrs. Alice Scott.”, then she must be called Mrs. Scott until she tells you that it’s okay to use her first name. If the customer says, “I’m Dr. Smith” or “Captain Smith”, then that’s what he should be called until he says otherwise. Encourage associates to offer their hand and introduce themselves to at least five customers a day.

* Every customer should be acknowledged by every associate each time the associate comes within seven feet of the customer.  We call that our “Seven-Tile Rule™”. A simple smile or nod is often enough – with proper ice breaking training; your associates will know when more conversation is needed.

Training Strategy # 3:

Every Associate Must Have a Working Knowledge of Everything the Store Sells

Every person working in your store needs to have some knowledge of everything that you sell so they can intelligently answer customer questions. Some will need to be experts. We know that not everyone can be an expert in every product or technique, but they do need to know where, and who to go to, for help when they need it.

We’ve all experienced poor customer service due to lack of product knowledge at one time or another. How many times have you entered a store, with a specific purchase in mind, only to find that you knew more about the product than the store associate? Don’t let this happen in your store.

* Make product knowledge an important part of your monthly training. Focus on new product but don’t forget about the basics. Choose a particular item or product line, and then discuss what’s important about it.

* Take your training out onto the sales floor and conduct product training right in the aisle. Here you will be surrounded with an entire product category, plus all the additional items the associates can add-on to the sale. Hold up an item and ask what could be added-on to increase the sale. Remember that add-ons are not a cheap attempt to sell more; adding-on is a service to the customer. Add-on selling saves a customer valuable time because they don’t have to run back to the store to pick up the accessories they need to complete a look, but didn’t purchase on the first trip to the store.

* You don’t have to do all of the training yourself.  If an associate knows a product line or excels at a particular technique, let that associate teach the session.  Like wise the associate who is good at presentation and display, or store operations.  Give yourself a break and let them learn from their peers.

* Splurge on fancy pastries and gourmet coffee and make one session a quarter a “Brag Session” where associates get to brag about cool things they did for a customer. This is also a good time to share the notes and positive comments you receive from customers.  The first Brag Session might start out slow with associates hesitant to brag about themselves, but soon your team will begin to store up things to share at the next meeting.

* In addition to your more formal monthly meetings, hold ten minute “JOG” (Jog Your Memory) sessions every other morning, and during slow times of the day.  JOG sessions can be held in plain view of customers right on the sales floor.  Use them to discuss one product or policy at a time. JOG sessions can also focus on current and upcoming classes, crops, and special events and what’s involved in each one.  There should never be a time when a customer knows more about what’s going on in the store before the associates know, yet we see it happen all of the time.

* Video tape your training sessions and make them a part of your in-store university training library. They will be invaluable for both new hire training and refresher courses.

Training Strategy # 4:

Every Associate Must Feel a Part of the Team

Your commitment to training will ensure that your associates are all on the same page in the same book; still, it’s important to create ways for them to interact with one another. If your associates are used to working independently then team interaction may be a big change, and people generally do not like change when it is dictated to them. They will be far more accepting of change when they are involved in its creation. Here are some team building ideas for you to try:

* State a goal, or name a situation that the store is currently facing, then ask our favorite employee question: “What would you do if you owned this joint?” List all of their answers on a flip chart and discuss the merits of each one. Together, eliminate the ones that are not workable, then discuss how you will implement the changes you’ve agreed upon. Divide your associates into teams and charge each team with a unique set of changes and goals to implement the changes.

* Dub one team the “CDIB Team” – that’s short for “Customer Driven Idea Bank”. This important team’s responsibility is to interact with customers to find out what they would like to see happen in the store. Customers will share amazing ideas when sincerely asked, and your CDIB team will work like mad to implement their suggestions.

Training Strategy # 5:

Every Associate Must be Up-to-Speed in What it Takes to Run the Business

Set aside a few minutes each morning to make a “Pre-Opening Checklist” that shows everything that’s planned for the store that day. This list should include the daily overall store goal, departmental goals, item of the day, in-store specials, classes and crops, up-coming sales, events, and promotions. In short, anything and everything associates need to know.  Make additional copies to place at each checkout and service counter.

Training Strategy # 6:

Every Associate Must Feel Valued

According to a Gallup Poll, “the number one reason most Americans leave their job is because they don’t feel appreciated. 65% of the people polled said they received no recognition for good work last year.” Associates who feel appreciated have been proven to be more productive, stay longer and attract better co-workers. Only you can praise your people to success.

* Give every associate a stack of business cards printed with his or her own name and title.  Cool titles. Instead of “Cashier” try “Customer Service Specialist.” You can buy five hundred business cards at most instant printers for around $12.00. Your associates are worth the investment.  Encourage them to pass out their cards – each one is a mini-advertisement for your store.

* Our C.I.T.A. Card is a great way to show your appreciation.  CITA could be the first four letters in the word “citation” or it could stand for “Caught In The Act”, as in “You’ve been Caught In The Act of Delighting Customers!” CITA Cards celebrate an associate’s going above and beyond the call of duty. Each card has a place inside for you to list what the associate did for a customer, plus a place for you to add a personal message.

Make a big deal when you present a C.I.T.A. Card. Do it on the sales floor in front of everyone. You’ll see grins from ear to ear, and a renewed enthusiasm. Don’t be surprised to find that even years later, the associate still carries her C.I.T.A Card. Drop us an e-mail and we’ll send you our easy to customize C.I.T.A. Card template.

Make training an important and on-going part of your business. Don’t be like the retailer said, “Why should I bother to train my people? They’re just going to leave anyway.” Yeah? Well what if you don’t train them, and they decide to stay? The customers who walk in your front door each day are counting on your associates to be nice people who know the store and product inside and out. And the competitor down the street, who wants to steal your business, is counting on them to be just average or worse.  So, what’s it going to be?  How good your associates are is completely up to you.

© KIZER & BENDER  .  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Telephone Etiquette 101

After a frustrating attempt at making a reservation at a famous department store restaurant this week - three transfers, one full voicemail box (voicemail box?!) and a conversation with the store manager before and finally getting through to someone actually IN the restaurant - we thought it would be a good idea to revisit telephone etiquette.

According to the infamous "They" who seem to know everything, as in "Well, they say there are two definites in life: death and taxes." "They" are wrong. If you work with customers, there are three: death, taxes, and the telephone. And how you work the telephone can either mean money in your pocket or customers who simply hang up and call one of your competitors.

Then there are the experts who spend millions of dollars each year studying how people communicate without saying a word. When face-to-face, we pick up 55% of our cues from body language, 38% from tone of voice, and just 7% from the actual spoken words. But over the telephone, those statistics go right out the window. On the telephone, 86% of a caller's cues come directly from the answering person's tone of voice, and just 14% are picked up from the words he or she chooses to use. Over the telephone, callers make an impression of a business in just four to six seconds – they can tell exactly which mood the associate answering is in, because it comes through loud and clear in the associate's tone of voice, and the associate probably doesn't even realize what he or she is revealing.

The perceptions customers take away from a phone call to your store become their reality. For this piece, we decided to do an informal survey of our own, so we called 50 craft industry retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers just to see how they answered the telephone. Some did a great job, but far too many left us wishing we'd called someplace else. We coupled what we found with what customers have told us they like and dislike about doing business over the phone. No matter what business you are in, these guidelines will help make sure your customer service over the telephone as great is as it is face-to-face.

1. Answer the telephone within three rings.

The telephone in one of the stores we called rang 16 times before someone answered it. The owner is lucky that we weren't real customers. Then again, if this is how the telephone is always answered, we doubt that he cares.

Most telephone answering machines and voice mail systems are programmed to answer the phone within three rings, making this the standard acceptable time in which to answer the phone. If you don't answer within three rings, customers are likely to think that your business is understaffed, or worse, out of business.

You might be thinking, "Yes, but what do I do if I am alone and I am waiting on another customer who took the time to come in?" Good question. Try this: Ask the customer's permission to answer the phone. Say, "Would you mind if I answered the telephone?" How the customer responds will tell you what to do next. If the customer says it's okay, then take the call. You can ask the caller if she would like to hold for a few moments while you finish with a customer, or you can offer to call back within a specified amount of time. If the customer says no, then let your voice mail take the call. Your voice mail message must be current, upbeat, and pleasant. It must also reassure the customer that they will get a call back within a specified time frame.

A word to the wise about voice mail: Voice mail is a tool to help you manage your business. If you are one of those people who use voice mail to duck calls, you are not fooling anyone. We all know what you're doing, and we don't like it.

And if you have voice mail answer your main line during business hours, then you'd better be sure that the caller can by-pass the greeting and the menu options to get to a live person. Too much time pressing buttons without being connected to where you want to go is called "Voice Mail Jail" and it leaves customers with a bad impression of your business.

2. Know what you are going to say before you answer the telephone.

Do you have a standard greeting that everyone must use when answering the telephone? Does everyone know and use it? If you have associates who answer the phone in their individual offices, then they need a standardized greeting as well.

Speaking clearly and slowly, you need to greet the caller, give your name, and ask the caller how you can help. Here's a good example: "Good afternoon. Thank you for calling Kizer & Bender Speaking! This is Kathleen. How may I help you?" Or "This is Kathleen at Kizer & Bender Speaking! How may I help you today?"

Rich is well known for how he answers the telephone. In fact, people often call our office just to hear him answer the phone. His enthusiastically delivered standard greeting is: "It's a great day at Kizer & Bender Speaking! This is Rich. How may I help you?"

Rich's enthusiasm is important because customers can "hear" whatever mood he's in. The lesson here is to take a deep breath – and SMILE – before you answer the phone. Callers can tell when you are smiling because it changes your voice. If you are often curt when you answer the phone, then you might want to hang a mirror near your telephone. The the-phone-is-driving-me-nuts look on your face will be the visual you need to remind you to smile.

You might also want to do spot checks when you are away from your business. We had an office assistant once who was wonderful around us, but not so nice when we were out of the office. We discovered this by following our own advice. We called several times over a three-day period and, at best, our assistant was less than helpful, at worst, she was outright rude. She was also replaced.

Caller ID can be a helpful tool, but it can also get you into trouble. We were up against a big deadline one morning and the phone was ringing off the hook. Three times in a row the Caller ID read "unknown" and each of the three times it was a telemarketer who hung up on us. The fourth time the phone rang the Caller ID also read "unknown." Assuming it was another telemarketer, Georganne didn't answer with her normal enthusiasm. Big mistake. The call was from a long-time client who fortunately laughed when George explained why she answered the way she did. Nowadays we try to forget we even have Caller ID.

3. Place a caller on hold with finesse.

Don't you hate it when you call a company, only to hear "Thank you for calling. Please hold," and being placed on hold before you can get a word in edgewise? Your goal should be to avoid placing callers on hold, but when you have to, always, always, always ask their permission first. Say, "Good afternoon, thank you for calling Kizer & Bender Speaking! This is Kathleen. May I place you on hold for a moment?" Then wait for the caller to respond.

If the caller says yes, then you may place the call on hold, but you must get back to the caller within 60 seconds. This is important because 60 seconds feels more like five minutes to the customer on hold. If the caller says no, ask if you can take a name and telephone number and call them back within an agreed upon time frame.

There will also be times when you must place a caller on hold to look for merchandise or to find the answer to a question. You should give the caller a choice here, too. Say, "This will take a few minutes. Would you like to hold or would you prefer I take your name and number and give you a call back?"

Another thing to consider is what the caller is listening to while on hold. According to Ear Glue, a company specializing in messages and music on hold, 85% of on-hold callers will wait if there is a message on-hold; but 70% will hang up if there are no on-hold messages; and among those who hang up, 34% will not call back.

4. Efficiently connect callers to the right person or department.

There will be times when you are unable to help the customer and you will need to connect them to the right person. Notice that we said "connect" and not "transfer." Customers who are "transferred" frequently feel like they are being passed off. They also complain that having to tell their story to more than one person is just a waste of time. And the word "connect" just sounds a whole lot friendlier than the word "transfer."

Say you need to connect the caller with the shipping department. In this case you would say, "To get the information that will answer your question, I will need to connect you with the shipping department. Would that be all right?"

Then make sure that someone is there in the shipping department to take the call. When the shipping department answers, be sure to introduce the caller, and explain the reason for the telephone call. Stay on the line for a moment to be sure that the caller is being helped.

5. How to tell a caller that a person is not available.

It's not enough to tell a caller that a person is not available. Here the words you choose create a perception in the caller's mind. Remember that office assistant of ours? She was fond of telling callers that Georganne was "out getting her monthly dye job." Who knows what she said about Rich?

When a person is not available, it is perfectly acceptable to politely say, "She is out of the store/office at the moment. May I take a message for her?" If the person has voice mail you can also offer to connect the caller the person's voice mail box.

6. The fine art of taking a message.

This one is easy. When taking a message always ask for the caller’s name, telephone number, and reason for the telephone call. You will also want to include the date and time of day the call came in. Before ending the call, repeat the caller's name and verify that you have spelled it correctly. Also repeat the caller's telephone number to make sure that you have not inadvertently transposed any numbers.

Office supply stores have a variety of telephone message books that you can buy. Ours makes a carbon copy of each message so we always have a permanent record of each call. This book also helps us keep track of potential clients.

7. How to politely end the call.

When you sense the conversation is over, repeat what you promised to do, and ask the caller if there is anything else you can help them with. Wish them a nice day, thank them for calling, and always let the caller hang up first. Immediately write down any important information you'll need to complete the caller's request.

E-mail us and we will send you our "Rate Your Company's Telephone Skills" quiz. Have everyone in your company take it individually, then make it the topic of your next staff meeting. You work hard to make sure every aspect of your customer service is top drawer, so make sure that telephone etiquette is part of your ongoing customer service training.

Remember, the way you handle potential customers on the telephone leaves the door open – or closed – to future business.

COPYRIGHT KIZER AND BENDER . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED