Leaders Who Establish Excellent Customer Service. (#225)
The Confident Leader
BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
One of my LinkedIn posts recently got major traction. As of today, it has been viewed over 36,000 times. For us, that’s “viral.” Read on to find out why we think it performed so well.
“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it.”
― Peter Drucker (Austrian American management consultant, educator, and author)
This Week’s Edition
Are you prepared to turn your customers away if that’s what’s best for them?
Clarify Your Thinking
I took our monthly PEER Group (of CEOs) to dinner. When I left the restaurant, I found that my car had been broken into. They smashed the back passenger window, apparently looking for anything to steal.
Thankfully nothing was taken. The next morning I drove straight to the local collision center, Sewell Automotive Companies. I gasped at the repair estimate—$1,200 bucks. What?!?
Then my service agent said, “Of course we want your business, Mr. Pou, BUT I’ve got a guy on the side. His name is Richard. He can do it for less. Here’s his card.”
Richard’s mobile unit was at my office within 4 hours; the window was fixed, and the broken glass was removed. The repair cost was $350–75% less than the Sewell estimate.
Sewell may have turned away revenue that day, but they earned my business for life. #loyaltyforever
It’s hard to turn away business. We want to support our customers no matter what. But sometimes supporting our customers means sending them to someone else–sacrificing today’s revenue to serve the client the best way possible.
Old Thinking: I want to help my customers even if what they are asking me to do isn’t a good fit. I don’t want to lose a customer. I need to maximize my revenue opportunities in such a tough economy.
New Thinking: I want to be my customer’s guide. I’m here to help them solve their problem even when we may not be the best solution.
Thoughts Lead to Actions
As leaders, we support our employees in serving our customers effectively. Without our customers, we have no business. Therefore, leaders, focus on how to serve your current customer base well, all the while attracting new customers. This is the whole game.
Therefore, it would seem counterintuitive to turn business away. To do so would defeat the point if your goal is to win the transaction.
For employees, when they know their boss is genuinely grateful for them, it boosts their morale, motivation, job satisfaction, and overall productivity, leading to a more positive work environment, increased engagement, and higher loyalty to the company.
My rep at Sewell wasn’t thinking about the transaction. He was thinking about his role as a guide for me, someone in need. In the role of guide (vs. salesman), he sought to understand my problem, source the best solution, and offer his recommendation.
Turns out his recommendation was not in his short-term interest. He lost the sale. Yet, he had my best interest at heart, which means I will return to him to guide me in my next dilemma. While it did not pay off for him in the short term, it’s likely to pay dividends in the future.
Consider the following steps to move your sales team from transaction to trusted guide:
Step 1: Train your team to be the relational guide who:
- Assesses the situation
- Defines the problem to be solved
- Understands what is driving the customer’s decision
- Determines what the customer truly needs
Step 2: Empower your team to do what is right in the situation even if it costs a few dollars.
- Tim Ferriss recommends setting a pre-authorized budget that can be used
- Will Guidara recommends appointing a team to surprise and delight
Step 3: Recognize team members when they do things that are above and beyond the standard customer support.
- My Sewell rep’s boss called me to thank me for letting them know about the above and beyond service. They said it will be recognized in the upcoming team meeting.
Play the long game. Do right by your customers, and they will do right by you!
Boost Your Performance
Watch this week’s video for the rest of the over-the-top customer service story.
What’s Your Opinion?
What is the best customer service you’ve experienced? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com
If you are going to be a leader, you might as well be a good one. Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!
Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist
We live to make bad leadership extinct so forward this newsletter to others who strive to be confident leaders.
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What is “The Confident Leader”?
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.
