This just happened to me on the phone. Don’t let it happen to you.
I was calling a WEB DESIGN place to try and do business with them. Here’s how it went:
ME: Hi, yes this is Nancy Friedman. I’ve been given your name as someone who can help me update my website.
THEM: UMMM, OK. Hang on.
ME: I timed a 3 minute wait.
THEM: Ok, can I get your name and number and someone will call you back.
ME: Wait. I just said I’m trying to do business with you. I waited 3 minutes and now someone is gonna call me back? Um, I don’t think so.
THEM: Okie dokie. (Honest!)
ME: Thank you. Bye.
NANCY NOTE: OKIE DOKIE? I don’t even wanna go into all the things that are wrong here, but the worst is turning away business with “okie dokie.”
Make okie dokie a NO, NO at your office.
Give your team the tools to master these communication concepts:
- 4 steps to handle & defuse angry, upset and irate customers
- Recognize & capture cross-selling opportunities
- How to compose an effective customer service email
- Business communication for phone, email, face-to-face & chat
- How the power of attitude helps resolve challenging situations
- Essential office etiquette & workplace manners strategies
- Effectively managing differences between the generations
- Replacing Five Forbidden Phrases® w/ Positive Alternatives
- Best practices for email subject lines and address fields
- Handling ethical dilemmas the moment they appear
- The six cardinal rules of customer retention and loyalty
- The importance of delivering Business Friendly℠ service
- How to respect & communicate effectively with co-workers
- Contrasts between passive, average & proactive service
- 6 ways to improve listening skills and deliver better service
- The personal philosophies of six service superstars
- How service after the sale builds customers for life
- When to use open-ended, closed-ended, probing & echo questions
- Deploying the Power of You during interviews & appraisals
- Why bringing an ‘observable level of enthusiasm’ is so important
- The distinction between features and benefits
- To be truly sensitive and empathetic to customer needs
- Management skills to better lead, coach and mentor others
- How to conduct more effective & engaging meetings
- Avoiding weak, wimpy words in business communication
- The relationship between internal & external customer service
- plus hundreds more skills, strategies & techniques!