As you read this, businesses across the country are taking the first tentative steps toward “reopening” – though the definition of what constitutes this varies from company to company.
In most cases, “reopening” refers to the restoration of operations that involves some level of human-to-human contact – a dicey proposition given the ongoing desire by most to social distance.
To ensure the public’s safety as we take these first tentative steps, your sales professionals may continue to have limited access to customers and their facilities. However, your customer service representatives, parts and repair teams, and service technicians serve essential functions in keeping your clients up and running in the near term, whether through in-person or virtual means.
So, given that we are counting on our colleagues to be our eyes and ears to the needs of our clients, how can we best prepare our non-sales-oriented workers to leverage their visibility, to the benefit of our buyers, and our bottom line? And how can we ensure that we embrace our role of trusted advisor to ensure our clients have what they need, right now, to maintain their own operations?
Here are a few thoughts that can help your service-oriented team members:
- Communication is Key: First, ensure there’s alignment between your sales team and your service teams, so they understand the expectations going in. Perhaps they will encounter an opportunity for a capital sale when they go out – for example, if a repair would only serve to provide temporary relief from a larger problem. Your service personnel need to be able to translate this back to the organization in an impactful way.
- We All Want the Same Thing: Most service or technical personnel embrace their roles because they want to help, and to share their expertise with people. Interestingly, that’s not that far off your mission as a professional, either. Though your service personnel may not see themselves as “salespeople,” they certainly understand the concept of doing what’s best for our customers. Prepare them by having them ask good questions, make suggestions, and follow through on expectations.
- Trust is Critical: In these times when our buyers are making hard decisions about expenditures, it’s important to be seen as genuine and trustworthy. That’s why it’s important for all team members to be seen as supportive of our clients’ realities. Trust will arise from clear communication, empathy, and a focus on how to provide the ideal outcome for your clients’ current needs.
- We’re All in This Together: Ultimately, our mission in these uncertain times is to help people to the greatest ability in this environment. Remember – our success is directly tied to that of our buyers, so now is the time to make sure those buyers have what they need to fulfill their mission, for the greater good.
How is your company leveraging cross-functional resources to ensure you are delighting your buyers? We’d love to hear from you.
