TANTO

Sales Executive Customer Service Skills

Introduction In

trod

uctio

n

1. The SAD Model

2. Service, Service Delivery and Beyond

3. The Customer’s Journey

4. The Customer’s Reception – Warm and Friendly

5. Building Trust from the Word Go

6. Displaying Empathy

7. Taking ownership of a customer’s concerns

8. Keeping promises

9. Advanced trade service techniques

10. Negotiating Win-Win close to a sale

In this advanced session on customer service, the following topics will be covered:

Intro

du

ction

Objectives of SAD Behavioural Model SA

D M

od

el

Objectives

•Understand and apply the SAD behavioural model.

•Identify customer interpersonal needs that must be satisfied during any customer interaction.

•Name the behavioural elements that one can use to satisfy each of these needs. •Diagnose the customers need during interaction with the customer.

Interpersonal Skills to Satisfy Customer’s Needs

When we are dealing with other people, for instance on a one-to-one basis, or in a group context, we all have

certain needs which we would like to have satisfied.

The customer’s, with whom we associate, also have the same needs.

We can use the SAD model to understand the three most important of these needs.

SAD

Mo

de

l

Need One: Supportive

Ne

ed

on

e:

Sup

po

rtive The need to be handled in a positive manner. How can we satisfy this need in a customer?

Supportive action consists of the following

behavioural elements:

How can we be supportive? By using the tools of

acknowledgement and offering assistance.

1) Recognition and encouragement

This is any behaviour which credits (praises) a

good suggestion, deed, idea, or any particular

achievement. It is aimed at motivating the other

person to exhibit the same positive behaviour in

future.

Examples of recognition:

•"That is a good suggestion."

•"We have always done good business with your

organisation." •“I like your thinking.”

The aim of supportive behaviour is to promote

mutual trust between you and the customer and

also to build his/her self-esteem (to make him/her

feel good about him/herself).

By acting supportively

towards our customers we

will satisfy their need to be

handled in a positive manner.

2) By offering assistance

This includes any behaviour which shows that a person

is willing to offer assistance and will in fact help where

he/she can do so.

Examples of offering help:

•"I would like to help."

•"To help you I will arrange that ..." •"I'll do the following ..."

Ne

ed

s On

e

Need Two: Accommodating

Ne

ed

two

: A

ccom

mo

datin

g

By being accommodating we can satisfy this customer’s need. The aim of accommodating behaviour

is to bring about mutual understanding between us and our customer, as well as to get the customer

involved in the discussion.

The need to be involved (or to contribute.)

1) By inviting opinions and suggestions

This is any action which invites a customer to express

his opinion or his feeling about something. It is aimed

at getting the customer involved in the dialogue.

Examples of inviting an opinion or suggestion:

•"What do you think we can do?" •“What is your take on the matter?

•“What are your feelings on the issue?”

•"Have you any suggestions or ideas about how we

can solve the problem?“

2) By showing understanding or interest

This will be affected by any behaviour which shows

that you are really interested in the customer and in

trying to understand his/her position. This can

contribute towards an atmosphere of trust and

complete understanding between you and the

customer.

Examples of understanding and showing interest:

•"Tell me about it, I'm listening."

•"I have got time if you want to talk about it."

•"I would like to understand the situation better, tell

me more.“ 3) Creating an opportunity to converse

This is creating an opportunity for the customer to express their needs

and or concerns. Examples of creating an opportunity to converse:

•“Go ahead and tell me, I’m listening.”

•“I have time if you want to talk about it.”

Ne

ed

Two

Accommodating action consists of the following behavioural elements:

Need Three: Directive

The need to know what is happening (or to understand the process).

Directive behaviour on our part can satisfy this need in a customer. The aim of directive behaviour

is to introduce purpose to your and the customer's discussion. This kind of action not only promotes

joint problem solving, but more particularly structures your discussion.

Directive action consists of the following behavioural elements:

1) By providing suggestions or opinions

These are any actions which show how you feel about an issue or how you think a

problem should be solved.

Examples:

• “I think we can do it by ..."

• "I would like to suggest ..."

• "One way of solving the problem is to ...“

Ne

ed

Thre

e

Need Three: Directive N

ee

d th

ree

: D

irective

3) By summarising

This consists of any action whereby you, as an employee of the dealership, present your own position

regarding a matter, or when you clarify something for a customer regarding rules regulations, procedures,

etc. It is often also necessary to summarize at the end of a discussion or to consolidate during a discussion

what has been discussed.

Examples of summarising:

•'To ensure that the handover is on time we must ..."

•'According to regulations we have to offload the vehicles right here."

•"Let me explain again."

•"I would like to summarise everything we have discussed."

•"To summarise ...“

To help make more sense of this, let’s put it in a table format.

2) By asking for clarification

This consists of any actions which show that you would like to clarify ambiguities or

uncertainties by means of specific questions. In other words the aim is to gain information

from the customer about a certain matter.

Examples of asking for clarification:

•"I don't understand fully; could you please explain again?"

•"What exactly do you mean by what you have just said?"

•"What happened there?”

Ne

ed

Thre

e

Unacceptable behaviour frame

Step Behaviour

1) Explain to the other person exactly what you have noticed, and

the reason why it is unacceptable.

Directive

1) Ask for and listen openly to the reasons given by the other

person for his/ her unacceptable behaviour.

Directive/Accommodating

1) Explain the rules and regulations to the other person (if

necessary).

Directive

1) Offer to help the person to comply with the rules and

regulations.

Supportive

1) Decide which steps each of you will take. Directive

1) Set a specific follow up time and or date Directive

Unacceptable behaviour frame

Be

havio

ur fram

e

Objectives of service, service delivery and beyond se

rvice d

elivery

and

be

yon

d In this session we will be looking at the definition of service quality and we will be discussing the

customer’s expectations against their experience and how to go beyond these.

Objectives

• Understand what service quality is.

• Know the moments of truth for a customer.

• Know what customer’s expect.

• Know how the sales staff should behave.

• Understand the support that is needed.

• Identify opportunities to go beyond customer expectations.

By understanding and knowing the above you will develop loyal customers for life who come back

again and again ensuring retention, dealer profitability and prosperity for all concerned.

Service

de

livery

Definition of a service quality se

rvice q

uality

Δ= 0

Needs

Promise

Expectations

Product

/ service

CUSTOMER

COMPANY

Service Quality is the absence of a gap between the Brand's promise and the service

delivered to the Customer

Service

Qu

ality

Customer Needs and Expectations C

usto

me

r ne

ed

s an

d exp

ectation

Identify the 8 service customer’s needs and the customer’s expectations unique

to your sales department.

Cu

stom

er N

ee

ds

1. Greet me if I am the first and only customer.

2. Really listen to me and establish my specific needs.

3. Qualify my buying intentions after you have establish my real needs.

4. Sell me the right vehicle with the specifications I wanted.

5. Keep me updated regarding my order during the entire buying process.

6. Provide me with a clear and thorough explanation of the sales process.

7. Call me within a reasonable amount of time after I have taken delivery to ensure that I am

completely satisfied.

8. Be responsive to my questions or concerns and follow through on commitments

Expectation vs. Experience Exp

ectatio

n vs.

expe

rience

H H

M

L

M

L

Expectation Perception

Satisfaction

Expe

ctation

vs. Exp

erien

ce

Objectives of the customer’s journey Th

e cu

stom

er’s

jou

rne

y

Introduction

In this session we will discuss the importance of customers and revisit the moments of truth in order to

view these against the interpersonal customer skills required of you.

Objectives

• Understand the customer’s journey.

• Identify the Interpersonal Customer Skills (ICS’s) required.

In any business today customer retention is critical to future success and the way customers are treated creates loyalty, retention and a profitable business.

“Customers for Life” a customer of a motor dealer, will over a 25-year period

spend $332,000 with a dealership. This he will spend on vehicles, servicing,

parts, accessories, insurance products and so on.

Source: Customers for Life – Carl Sewell

Cu

stom

er

Jou

rney

A moment of truth M

OT

MO

T

Any exposure your customer has to your sales department where they can make a

positive or negative judgement

Some of what we have to do to win customer loyalty is to make all these moments of

truth positive...

Sales Department MOT’S

Greeting the

customers

Establish needs and

qualify customers

Kept informed

Handover and

delivery of vehicle

Contacted after the service

Interpersonal Customer Skills In

terp

erso

nal

Cu

stom

er Skills

Warmth and friendliness Saying “hello” and holding good eye contact while displaying a relaxed, open style,

reducing the customer’s anxiety and making him feel truly welcome.

Trustworthiness Build rapport by dealing with the customer as they want to be dealt with right from the

start while understanding the customer’s point of view.

Empathy Develop empathy by adopting a more open attitude and listening to others’ points of view,

listening in an active way and identifying with the customer’s world.

Responsiveness This is the attitude and skill of being action oriented and creative – taking ownership of a

customer’s concern and coming up with a mutually beneficial solution.

Keeping promises This is about displaying a high degree of integrity, honesty, truthfulness and reliability.

Inte

rpe

rson

al Skills

The customer reception – Warm and Friendly C

usto

me

r re

cep

tion

Introduction

In this session the behaviours required to greet the customer in a warm and friendly way will be discussed.

We need to build trust from the

start. Every first customer

contact has the potential of

being a customer for life.

CREATING THE BEST 1ST IMPRESSION

"We never get a second chance to make a good 1st impression".

We very quickly realise that a simple "hello" can reveal our mood.

Behind our words, customer’s perceive our emotional state.

This "hello", our 1st contact with the Customer, is a vital moment.

It merits very special attention: it sets the tone of the relation.

The first “Hello”

Cu

stom

er

Re

cep

tion

The customer reception – Warm and Friendly C

usto

me

r re

cep

tion

"We never get a second chance to make a good 1st impression

One of the pillars of communication

The eyes are the 1st key to communication

A radar to "read" others' emotions

A laser to convey your emotions

"Making eye contact with Customers gives meaning to their approach as purchaser"

Eye Contact

CREATING THE BEST 1ST IMPRESSION

Cu

stom

er

Re

cep

tion

The customer reception – Warm and Friendly

CREATING THE BEST 1ST IMPRESSION

"We never get a second chance to make a good 1st impression’’

The face is fundamental to the encounter. To create the contact, the face must be:

Open.

Expressive.

Relaxed.

Smiling.

The face says it!

Cu

stom

er

Re

cep

tion

The customer reception – Warm and Friendly

You never get a second chance to make a good 1st impression. Some gestures improve and reinforce your message. Open gestures (arms and hands uncrossed) reflect a kindly attitude, frankness and availability. High gestures (at and above shoulder level) express conviction, a winning attitude and success. Gestures turned towards others reveal closeness.

CREATING THE BEST 1ST IMPRESSION

Cu

stom

er

Re

cep

tion

Avoid:

Low gestures (at stomach level),

Gestures turned towards the self

and not towards others,

"Barrier" gestures,

"Spurious" gestures,

The 4 interaction

areas

The customer reception – Warm and Friendly

Public area,

beyond 3m

Social area:

1m20 to 3m

Personal area: 60cm –

1m20

Intimate area:

0 – 60cm

The 4 interaction areas

Keeping your

distance

CREATING THE BEST 1ST IMPRESSION

Cu

stom

er

Re

cep

tion

The customer reception – Warm and Friendly C

usto

me

r re

cep

tion

You never get a second chance to make a good 1st impression.

Sales exécutives are " mood conductors. "

A first and vital contact.

Greeting a customer means creating a good atmosphere.

In excess of 70 % of our communication is non-verbal

The words only account for 7% of communication

A sincere warm

welcome

Cu

stom

er

Re

cep

tion

Building trust from the word GO! B

uild

ing tru

st Introduction

In this session we examine the trust model and the concept of the

emotional bank account as well as the ability to establish rapport with the

customer by evaluating his or her personality style and adapting your own

to suit. We will also come to understand the customers’ stress levels.

Objectives

•Acquire the skills to build trust from the

outset of the relationship.

By winning the trust of the customer at the

outset of the relationship we immediately

open the door to a more free-wheeling,

open and productive relationship. This

leads to a more relaxed environment –

friends doing business with friends!

In the People Dynamics you covered the

DISC profile in detail. Use the knowledge

acquired and complete the activity below.

Bu

ildin

g Trust

Adapting your style to be more effective P

erso

nality Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organised set of personal traits and patterns of behaviour.

Personality includes:

• Attitudes

• Modes of thought

• Feelings

• Impulses

• Strivings

• Actions

• Responses to opportunity and stress and

• Everyday modes of interacting with others.

It is the distinctive pattern of your psychological functioning - the

way you think, feel and behave - that makes you definitely you.

Used appropriately, psychometrics and personality tests can be

hugely beneficial in improving knowledge of self and other people -

motivations, strengths, weaknesses, preferred thinking, working

styles together with strengths/preferred styles for communications,

learning, management, being managed and team-working.

Personality style is apparent when these elements of personality are expressed in a characteristically

repeated and dynamic combination.

Your personality style is your organising principle and it propels you on your life path. It represents the

orderly arrangement of all your attributes, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behaviours and coping

mechanisms.

Understanding personality - of yourself and others - is central

to motivation. Different people have different strengths and

needs. You do too.

Effective

Style

Understanding people

Understanding people

There are 2 basic forms of

behaviour which allow us to

categorise people:

•Assertive behaviour;

•Responsive behaviour.

Perception of the

Ask Assertive Behaviour

Perception of the

Tell Assertive Behaviour

Reserved Aggressive

Observes and listens Directs and tells

Acts deliberately Acts quickly

Minimises risks Takes risks

Wants appreciation Wants visibility

Makes suggestions Makes demands/required

Responds Initiates

Assertive behaviour

Assertiveness is the degree to which a

person is perceived as being outspoken

and states opinions openly or reserved and

keeps opinions private.

The more assertive one is the more they tell

people what to do. The less assertive a

person is the more they ask things of

others.

Un

de

rstand

ing

Pe

op

le

Understanding people U

nd

erstan

din

g P

eo

le

Responsive behaviour

Responsiveness is the

degree to which a person is

perceived as being in

control as opposed to

displaying feelings openly.

Perception of the

Controlled Behaviour

Perception of the

Emotive Behaviour

Control (self-contained) Emotive (open)

Serious/reserved Expresses freely

Monotone voice Uses intuition

Thinks Feels

Relies on facts Wants collaboration

Responds carefully Responds spontaneously

Wants response

Controls expressions

Protects feeling

Un

de

rstand

ing

Pe

op

le

Understanding the customer’s stress level

The Anti Stress Matrix The anti stress Matrix is a tool which will assist you in selecting a

response to the customer determined by:

The customers stress level Gravity of the incident A customer's stress level can vary, independently of the level of gravity of the technical or material incident.

In each case, it is clear that after having shown empathy, identified the customer's stress level and the gravity of the incident, you have adopted a different type of behavior, adapted to suit the situation and the person opposite you. This enabled you to be more efficient when dealing with the customer (from a technical and psychological standpoint).

Un

de

rstand

ing

Cu

stom

ers

Understanding the customer’s stress level

Understanding the customer’s stress level can also help us to build rapport by understanding the

customer’s situation a lot quicker and responding appropriately.

The anti-stress matrix is a tool which will assist you in selecting an appropriate response by the customer’s

stress level on the one hand and the gravity of the incident on the other.

Directive

When the customer shows a high level of stress and the problem concern is of a low nature (can be solved easily) your

response should be:

• Key attitude: re-centre the customer

• Once the customer is ready to listen "openly", show that the incident is a minor one. • Non-verbal attitude: "strong and clear”

Objective

When the customer shows a high level of stress and the concern is of a high level of gravity your response should be:

• Key attitude: make a precise diagnosis and project the customer immediately towards the "problem solving" mode

• Make a diagnosis and adopt a positive approach

Un

de

rstand

ing

Cu

stom

ers

Understanding the customer’s stress level

Pleasure

When the customer’s stress level id low and the gravity of the concern is also low your response should be:

•Key attitude: don’t forget that although the stress is low the concern has not gone away

•Adopt a warm non-verbal attitude and derive mutual pleasure out of the incident for example make

yourself the butt of a joke relating to the incident and laugh together with the customer.

Un

de

rstand

ing

Cu

stom

ers

Teaching

When the customer shows a low stress level

and yet the concern is high in gravity your

response should be:

•Key attitude: making the customer realize the

gravity of the incident without making the

customer look like a fool or suddenly stressing

him or her.

•Adopt a precise non-verbal attitude.

Displaying Empathy

Introduction

In this session we will discuss the nature of

empathy and acquire the skills to display

empathy.

Objectives

•Understand the nature of empathy.

•Practice the ability to display empathy.

When we first seek to understand before

seeking to be understood we display

tremendous maturity and respect for the

other individual and this produces high levels

of trust and cooperation.

The Nature of Empathy

Empathy is the ability to appreciate and understand someone else’s feelings while not necessarily agreeing with

them. It is summed up in the saying “To walk a mile in another man’s moccasins”. One wouldn’t want to walk in his

moccasins for the rest of one’s life but, to understand another person one needs to take the time to be in his or her

shoes for a period of time.

Three Phases of Empathy

There are three phases of empathy:

•Adopting an inner attitude •Active listening •Temporary identification

Disp

laying

Emp

athy

Attitudes, active listening and identification

Adopting an Inner Attitude Adopting an inner attitude is the process of always keeping an open mind – there is always something to be gained from

understanding others. While this is an innate or inborn quality in humans it does not happen immediately when talking with others. It

has to be worked at.

Active listening

Active listening is the discipline of listening, really listening to what the other person is saying both verbally and non-verbally. • Giving undivided attention • Asking open-ended questions • Listening for meaning and not only content • Observing and interpreting the non-verbal • Paraphrasing and reflecting back one’s understanding of meaning

Temporary Identification Temporary identification is the discipline of suspending one’s own point of view and agenda for a period in order to be able to fully

see and understand the feelings and point of view of another. It is the opposite of listening with the intention of relying!

Active

Listen

ing

and

Attitu

de

s

Exercise: We see what we see

We

see

wh

at we

se

e

What do you see?

We

see

wh

at we

se

e

Taking ownership of the customer’s concerns

Responsiveness – What is it? Responsiveness is the action orientation one has to adopt to

take immediate ownership of a situation, to commit to

resolving the situation, to think creatively and resolve the

situation, and to follow up and make sure it is resolved.

The RATER Model and Responsiveness The RATER model puts responsiveness into perspective.

According to Dr. A Parasuraman of the ServQual organisation

responsiveness is one of the five critical needs of the

customer when buying any product or service.

This module will be discussed in more detail during the next

customer service module.

Introduction Let us now examine a vital skill – that of responsiveness and how important this is to the

customer as well as a model to resolve customer concerns which includes creative problem

solving.

Objectives •Understand responsiveness and its importance.

•Use a model to respond to customer concerns.

Research has shown that up to 96% of people, if their problem is resolved to their absolute

satisfaction, will come back and ask for you by name and become loyal customers. Too few

people take ownership of resolving customer concerns.

Taking

Ow

ne

rship

Handling objections and concerns As long as there is doubt in a customer’s mind,

he will not agree to extra’s to be added.

Objections often arise because the customer

does not see the value of the vehicle been

purchased, maintenance work or accessories

that you have been suggesting.

Objections take the form of statements or

questions, and can happen at any time during

the walk-around or the summary of the sales

conversation. It is important that you deal with

the objection as it arises, and that you do not see a customer’s objections as a failure on your

part, or take them personally.

•Listen

This shows the customer that you are interested. It also allows you to isolate the real concern.

•Restate or refine the objection

This proves to the customer that you have listened and also allows you to confirm your understanding of the

objection. “So what you are saying is that ……..”

•Qualify the objection or concern

This allows you to see whether there are any other concerns. “Other than your concern with fitting window tinting, is there anything else that may be worrying you?”

Han

dlin

g O

bje

ction

s

Handling objections and concerns

• Answer the objection This allows you to restate the benefits relating to the customer’s

buying needs and motives.

“You said that safety was important to you. If you remember,

we discussed the lack of dual airbags on the competition

vehicle. This is a passive safety feature which will assist

during an accident and can prevent serious injuries.

• Trial close

This question tests the water to see how ready the customer is to

buy. “Wouldn’t you agree that your safety, as well as that of your

family, is important enough to need the extra airbags?”

• Close the sale

Here you would use one of the closes that we have dealt with. “When would you like us to deliver your new car”

(assumptive close)?

Valid and invalid objections

An invalid objection is a smokescreen, and may simply be an attempt by the customer to get out of the transaction. He might say something like, “I need to think this over”, or “I don’t have the time right

now.” A non-objection is a statement or a question – “I don’t need it right now.”

A valid objection is one that must be answered before the customer will buy. This might mean that you

have created the need in the mind of the customer, but he is still not convinced that he needs what

you are trying to sell him.

Han

dlin

g O

bje

ction

s

Keeping promises Introduction Let us now examine the nature and importance of integrity and the impact of not keeping one’s

promises.

The objective of this session is to: •Understand the impact of broken promises.

Keeping one’s promises is part of your

personal brand. Your brand is what

people remember about you.

As I believe, so I think and thus I act!

Integrity is a concept of consistency of

actions, values, methods, measures,

principles, expectations, and outcomes. In

ethics, integrity is regarded as the quality

of having an intuitive sense of honesty

and truthfulness in regard to the

motivations for one's actions.

We do it simply because it is the right thing to do!

Ke

ep

ing

Pro

mise

s

End

End

This concludes the e-learning module Customer Service Skills for

Sales Executives

Thank you for your participation

End