4 Steps to Turn Service Teams into Enthusiastic Business Promoters

click to enlarge

Getting technicians engaged in business development adds a valuable service for your customers. Here are 4 steps you can take to turn your service team into enthusiastic business promoters.

1. Treat the promotion of products and services as a service and not a sale.

Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I have spent a great deal of time recently expanding on the importance of treating your technicians’ proactive conversations with customers as a valuable service. If we want our technicians to be enthusiastic about this role, then we need to show them through our words and actions that this is a service for our customers. The reason we do this is to add value to our relationship. The fact that it generates more revenue is an important bi-product.

2. Sign up your customers.

We can make it easier for our techs to initiate these conversations by asking our customers if they would appreciate our technicians taking a proactive role in identifying and promoting products or services that they felt would help the customer. Our conversation with the customer my go something like this: “Mr. Customer, our technicians are experts in their field and they have a unique opportunity to observe your business. We have asked them to keep their eyes open for opportunities to help you. If, during the course of their work here, our technician identifies an opportunity to help your business be more effective in some way, would you have any objection if they bring this idea to your attention?” I am sure that you would agree that there would be very few customers who would answer “no” to that question. If the technician knows that a particular customer would want them to bring ideas to help to their attention, then they will be more likely to do so.

3. Deal with the elephant in the room.

From my experience, technicians as a whole do not see themselves as salespeople and object to being put in that position. It should not be a surprise, therefore, if they are not enthusiastic about a company initiative that expects them to take on a larger business development role. This concern should be acknowledged and addressed, yet many managers act as if this concern does not exist. This is a mistake. It is important to let technicians know that we understand their reluctance and that they are not being asked to “sell”. They are merely being asked to use their knowledge, proximity and good judgement to bring ideas forward that they believe will be of value to the customer. The technician must understand that they are not asked to promote their company’s services unless they feel, given their experience and expertise, that it is in the best interest of the customer.

4. Show that you are serious.

Starting this initiative with great fanfare and wall posters will not be enough. Team members will be looking closely to see if this initiative is here to stay or just a passing fad. They want to know that you are serious. You can show that you are serious in several ways.

• Talk about the initiative at every opportunity and keep referring back to the value it brings to your customers.
• Provide training and other resources to encourage and assist the field team and the support staff in the office to act in the manner that helps the customer to be better off.
• Make sure that your systems that are in place support rather than hinder the technicians’ efforts.
• Celebrate successes and discuss them in a manner that emphasizes the added service the initiative has provided to the customer (rather than the increased revenue enjoyed by the company).
• Measure the customers’ feedback on the initiative.
• Take the time to coach and develop the team on skills and approaches that will help them to be more successful.

One of the greatest values that we can provide to our customers is to help them to recognize that they are better off for having hired us. We can be most effective when our team recognizes their role in making this happen and enthusiastically embraces their responsibilities in bringing new ideas to the customer. By taking these four steps, we can ensure that our team members are enthusiastic business promoters.

As always I welcome your questions and your feedback. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson