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SMART Meeting Requests

40751886 - close-up of a businessman using calendar on digital tablet in office

As managers and field service professionals, we are often in a position to arrange meetings with customers and co-workers.  Using meeting requests are an excellent way to get the meeting synchronized in everyone’s calendar.  However, meeting requests often lack key information and this can cause extra work for all participants.

It doesn’t have to be this way.  We can borrow from the SMART Email concept and write meeting requests that save time and add value.

SMART Emails

Several months ago, I wrote a blog on SMART emails.  You may recall that SMART is an acronym intended to help us to write emails that stand out and that communicate professionalism and value.

S = Subject Line
M = Message
A = Action
R = Response
T = Timeline

You Can Use the SMART approach for Meeting Requests

We can use the same approach to create meeting requests that communicate relevant meeting information and help attendees come prepared.  This will also reflect positively on our professionalism and competence.

Sample Scenario

Let’s assume that we have arranged to have a conference call with a customer next month to review an upcoming project.  Specifically, the call is to discuss the site preparations needed to employ a large crane to lift a piece of equipment (let’s call it a “widget”) onto the roof of the customer’s building.  There are to be three participants in the meeting, namely the customer (Mary Smith), the representative from the crane rental company (John Doe) and ourselves.  A conference number and password has been arranged.

In a situation like this, it is not unusual to receive a meeting request like the one below:

Initial Meeting Request

When Mary and John accept the invitation, their calendars are populated with the above information.  Five weeks from now when they see that they have a conference call on their calendar, there is very little information that will assist them.  As a result, they may have to spend time and energy just to understand the exact purpose of the meeting.  Chances are they will likely not attend the meeting fully prepared and valuable time will be wasted.

Applying the SMART Approach

Now let’s consider what we can do to apply the SMART email approach to this meeting request.

S = Subject line:

 

 In an email, the subject line is like the headline in a newspaper.  It should garner attention and provide the reader with an idea of what the email is about.  The same can be true of a meeting request.  Although our calendar invitation may not actually have a “subject line”, the headline should be included in the event description.   This is where you can put a few summary words that will communicate the key purpose of the meeting and provide attendees with an understanding of what will take place before opening up the calendar event.

There is also a field typically dedicated to “Location” where contact details can be included.  In a face-to-face meeting it will likely be the meeting location.  For conference calls or web meetings, it should include phone numbers, passwords or other connection instructions and information.
M = Message: Most calendar invitations have a “notes” section.  Here you should include important details for the meeting, including the agenda.
A = Action: Like emails, you want to be clear of any actions that you expect participants to take in preparation for the meeting.  For example, if Mary is to distribute electronic copies of the site map, or if we are to make inquiries with the city regarding a road closing permit, this should be clearly indicated in the notes section.
R = Response: Responses that are required before the meeting should be identified, including how the response is to be provided.
T = Time Line: The time line for the response or action requested should also be requested in the meeting request.


Revised Meeting Request Using the SMART Approach

Let’s consider rewriting the meeting that we are organizing with Mary Smith and John Doe using the SMART approach.  The meeting request might look like this:

Revised Meeting Request

A meeting request of this nature provides all attendees with the information they need to be prepared and productive participants to the meeting.  Notice some actions that can be taken to make the meeting request more valuable:

  • Our Events Summary makes a reference to the notes below.
  • We have included a reminder seven days prior to the event. This can remind us to send a confirming SMART email to the meeting participants and follow up on any actions not yet completed.
  • Although we did not use this feature, in most if not all calendar programs, meeting requests can also include attachments that may be referred to in the meeting. If this is the case, refer to the attachment in the notes so that they do not get overlooked.

SMART meeting requests provide us with the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and convey our professionalism and competency.  It may take a little more time to set up, but it will save everyone time in the end.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. 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 Baston

“When you go to meetings or auditions and you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

– Paula Abdul

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Four Simple Steps Technicians Can Take to Uncover Opportunities

If you are encouraging your technicians to take proactive steps to recommend your products and services to your customers, you may be looking for ways to help them to explore for opportunities to help.  Here are four simple steps that your technicians can take to uncover opportunities to help your customers to be better off.

1. Ask a simple question.

At the beginning or end of each maintenance service call, get your technicians in the habit of asking, “Is there anything else that we can do for you today?”  This simple question will often result in new opportunities that otherwise might go to someone else or go unfilled.

Other questions you may wish your techs to ask include, “Have there been any changes in the building/process/operations since the last time I was here?” or “Have there been any issues or concerns related to the building/process/operations since last time?”

2. Take the customer on a tour of their own facilities.

This approach was shared with me by a seasoned HVAC technician who regularly took his customers on tours.  He used it as an opportunity to showcase the work he was doing, point out equipment that was not under contract and suggest new ideas to make improvements.  His customers appreciated the opportunity to learn more about their systems and he used the time to learn more about the customers’ goals and objectives.

3. Follow up on previously quoted work.

No doubt you have several proposals that have been sent to customers that have not had any follow up.  To the best of your knowledge, no action has been taken by the customer, but you are not certain of the status.  In many cases, it will be because the customer has forgotten about them.

Encourage your technicians to speak to the customer about those outstanding proposals.  The customer will appreciate their interest and they will thank the technician if their follow-up prevented something from falling though the cracks.

4. Offer to demonstrate a new technology or software.

Technology is changing at a rapid pace and it is almost impossible for our customers to keep on top of what is going on.  When there is a technology or software that you offer that can help customers get a competitive edge, then you will be providing a valuable service bringing it to your customer’s attention.

By taking the initiative to proactively explore for opportunities to help your customers to be better off, not only will you generate more revenues, but your technicians will actually be delivering a higher level of service.  Your customers will appreciate the added attention and see great value as you help them achieve their business goals.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. 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 Baston

“I learned that you don’t get anywhere by sitting comfortably in a chair.”

 – Conrad Hilton

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Help Your Technicians Handle Customer Objections

One of your technicians has just made a recommendation on a critical piece of equipment.  It is old, parts are hard to find and a failure will have catastrophic results. The customer hesitates and says something like, “Leave it with me and let me think about it.”  Underlying this statement could be an objection.  It is for times like these that it makes sense to help your technicians have the skills/tools ready to (or be prepared to) handle customer objections.

You might be wondering why I am using sales terminology when I insist that the technician’s act of making recommendations is not a sale but a service.  It is because in situations like these letting the matter go without investigating the customer’s reason for their hesitation does not fulfill our obligation to serve the customer in the best way possible.  Let’s examine why.

Why the customer may hesitate

The customer may hesitate for several reasons.  Perhaps they really do want to think about it, do the math and make a financial determination and that will take time.  Perhaps they need the approval of someone else or have another company that they would have do the work.  Maybe they are sceptical of the solution or don’t fully trust the technician. Or maybe they do not fully understand the risk of not taking action or the benefit of moving forward and therefore cannot make a fully informed decision.

Regardless, if the stakes are high, then the technician should be prepared to explore the cause of hesitation further and try to address their concerns if appropriate.  By not doing so, they are letting the customer make a choice that he/she may later regret and they certainly won’t thank us if they do.  And, it certainly won’t be helpful if we say something like, “You should have listened to me when I told you to …” when things do go as the technician predicted.

What we can do

  1. Ensure your technicians are aware of and expect that the customer may have concerns about any recommendation.
  2. Help your technicians be prepared to explore any concerns and have a plan to address them if they do arise.
  3. Have a backup plan if the technician is unsuccessful.

“Do you mind if I ask the reason for your hesitation?”

Let’s go back to the example of an imminent equipment failure.  The risk to the customer is high and yet they may say, “Leave it with me and let me think about it.”

Keeping in mind that the customer may genuinely wish to think about the issue, your technician can ask a simple question to help them get to the underlying concern.  “Do you mind if I ask the reason for your hesitation?” Chances are, the customer will answer this question with underlying cause for their hesitation.

By exploring the apparent concern of the customer, the technician will be in a better position to help the customer assess the recommendation and make a more informed decision.

Here are just a few examples of what to expect:

  • Hesitation based on scepticism: “My last service company never mentioned this” (often happens when you win a contract from a competitor and the technician has not had time to build trust) or “You guys have been looking after my equipment for the past 10 years, how come you’re just bringing this up now?”
  • Hesitation based on current buying habits: “I already have a company that can do that work for me.”
  • Hesitation based on uncertainty: “I am not sure if it will …”
  • Hesitation based on pricing and/or budgets: “We don’t have any reserve in the budget.”

With these examples in hand, you can help spend some time during your safety/service meetings with your technicians to help them develop a professional response to each of them if they do arise.  The customer may still say “no” despite your technician’s best efforts but at least the decision will be a better informed one.

Have a back up plan. 

What if the technician was unable to deal with the customer’s underlying concern and the matter is of some urgency?  An equipment failure for example could be catastrophic.  Should they push harder?  My answer is that they should not.

However, they should not drop the matter either.  I suggest that you have in place a process where in these circumstances, the technician can alert management so that a responsible follow-up with the customer can be taken by the manager or the sales team.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. 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 Baston

“He who hesitates is last.”

 – Mae West

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Is it Time to Stop Paying Technicians for Leads?

I recently read Daniel Pink’s book, Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, and found that the conclusions from the book are directly relevant for those managers who are looking for ways to encourage their technicians to proactively promote their products and services.  These conclusions made me question, “Is it time to stop paying technicians for leads?”

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Rewards

In Drive, Pink presents compelling evidence that extrinsic rewards for completing certain tasks – for example, external rewards such as commissions, lump sum payments, etc. – do not always work and can even cause harm.  According to Pink, this is particularly true where the task is not routine and when it entails thinking and creativity.

The evidence suggests that creative tasks, such as evaluating and presenting the best solution for addressing a particular need, provide their own rewards in the doing.  These are called intrinsic rewards because the reward comes from performing the task rather than from an external source.  In situations like these, it is the reward of actually completing the task itself that largely motivates the employee to continue.

This last point is consistent with what I have experienced in my work with technicians.  There are many field service professionals who naturally bring ideas to the customer without any prompting or incentives.  They do this because they see it as part of the service they provide.  They get satisfaction and take pride from the fact that they are truly helping the customer.  They don’t need extrinsic rewards to get them to act; their reward comes from the act itself.

The Problem with Extrinsic Rewards

The problem with extrinsic rewards is that they can diminish intrinsic motivation for doing a task and turn that task from an interesting part of the job, into a menial chore.  But that is not all that Pink found to be problematic about extrinsic rewards.  Diminishing intrinsic motivation is just the first of the “Seven Deadly Flaws”[1] as described by the author.  The other six flaws of extrinsic rewards are:

  1. They can diminish performance.
  2. They can crush creativity.
  3. They can crowd out good behaviour.
  4. They can encourage cheating, shortcuts and unethical behaviour.
  5. They can become addictive.
  6. They can foster short-term thinking.

What Can Be Done?

So, what can we do if we want to encourage this proactive behaviour on the part of our technicians?  Here are some ideas:

  • Ensure that the baseline compensation is fair and adequate.
  • Constantly reinforce the fact that the act of identifying opportunities to help and speaking to the customer about them is an integral part of the service provided. As part of this, showcase examples of where technicians have acted in this way and how it specifically has helped the customer.
  • Openly praise and provide feedback to reinforce desired behaviours.
  • Offer rewards that are not contingent on the individual act of promoting services, but which recognize group-wide achievement. Pink calls these types of rewards “now that” rewards – as in, “now that you have achieved this, here is a reward to recognize that achievement.”  These are rewards that are not typically communicated in advance.  Pink cautions that this approach can lose its effectiveness if the “now that” rewards become expected (or contingent) rewards.

In the end, I think it all comes down to how we think about the task of making recommendations to customers.  If we see this task as part of the service, then we should treat and support it like we do all other services.  If we don’t provide extrinsic rewards for completing routine repairs for example, does it really make sense to do so for making recommendations?  The evidence suggests that offering extrinsic rewards may have the opposite effect to what we intend.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. 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 Baston

“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what
you want them to do because they want to do it.”

 – Dwight D. Eisenhower

[1] Daniel H. Pink, Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (New York:  Riverhead Books, 2009), p. 59.

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The One Question Every Field Service Technician Should Ask

What is a simple question that delivers exceptional service and generates profitable revenue? It’s the one question that every field service technician should ask.  So, why isn’t every field service technician asking it?

In our workshops, we discuss the value that field service professionals provide by bringing opportunities to our customers’ attention that can help them operate their facilities/processes more effectively.  One way to uncover these opportunities is to ask this question, “Is there anything else that I can help you with today?”

Strangely, only 10% to 20% are asking this question

When I ask how many in attendance ask that question, I am amazed that typically only 10% or 20% put up their hands.  And I am further amazed at how enthusiastic those who do ask the question are about the value that they are creating by asking it.  To drive the point home of how valuable this question is for the customer, I simply ask those who do use the question a few questions.  The discussion usually goes like this:

Jim: Tell me, when you ask the question, how does the customer respond?  Do they tell you that it is none of your business?

Tech: [Chuckle] Of course not.  Actually, they appreciate the question.  I often get one of three responses:

  1. Can’t think of anything.
  2. Thanks for reminding me.  We have been having …
  3. You guys don’t happen to do [some service need], do you?

Jim: Do you think your customers appreciate the fact that you ask that question?

Tech: Sure do. It reminds them of something that they intended to speak to me about.  Sometimes we get opportunities to provide services that they didn’t previously buy from us because they didn’t know we did it.  It also provides clues to potential underlying problems that we can help with.

Jim: Can you think of any reason why you should not ask the question?

Tech: No.  It’s a great question.  It’s good for the customer and it’s good for us.

Why don’t more service managers ensure their field service teams asks?

If this question is of such value and is appreciated by customers, why don’t more of us as service managers ensure that everyone on our field service team ask it?  One reason I suppose, is the one given to me by some of the attendees.  They tell me that they don’t ask the question because they will not have time to respond to the customer’s request if it does arise.  They have other customers to attend to and don’t have a lot of “spare time” to address additional issues.  Although I can see their point, does it have to be a reason not to ask?  And, if we don’t ask the question, who will the customer turn to to get any outstanding issues resolved?

Make asking the question a part of your service technician’s routine

My suggestion is to make the question part of the service discussion at the end (or the beginning) of each service call, and then teach the technicians how to address the three typical customer responses (see above).  We can clarify with our field teams what our expectations are for “having a quick look” and what they can say to delay any follow up without giving the impression of putting the customer off.  If time is really an issue, we can provide clear steps the field team can take to get another team member to deal with the issue.

This questions provides great customer service and may help your bottom line

By asking if there is anything else that we can do for the customer today, we provide an excellent service to the customer by reminding them of issues they wanted to talk to us about, uncovering larger issues that may be underlying the customer’s response and informing the customer of other things we do as a service organization.  No doubt we have some on our team that provide this level of service for our customers.  Why not all?

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. 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 Baston

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”

– Eugene Ionesco

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Do You Tell Your Customers?

Your field service team can add tremendous value to your service relationships when they recommend products and services that you can provide that will help your customers be better off.  They are in a unique position to do this; they have the knowledge of the technology, an inside understanding of your customer’s current processes and equipment and, hopefully an appreciation of your customer’s goals and objectives.  They also have proximity to the customer.  The question is however, if you engage your technicians in promoting your services, do you tell your customers?

Do You Tell Your Customers?

I recently spoke at the Field Service Forum in Amsterdam.  I asked how many of the attendees either formally or informally encouraged their technicians to proactively recommend their services to their customers.  About 60% of the room raised their hands.  I then asked how many of those who raised their hands told their customers that they were engaging their technicians in this way and not a single person responded that they did.  This is entirely consistent with other discussions that I have had.

How about you?  Do you tell your customers?  Do you tell them that you are encouraging your technicians to look for products and services to recommend to them?  If you are not, you are missing out on an important opportunity.

Why Not?

Let’s examine one of the reasons why we seem so hesitant to let our customers know about the promotion of products and services by our technicians.  I believe that underlying our reluctance is that we tend to see the actions of our technicians as a “selling” activity.  And, it’s hard to promote “selling” as a benefit to our customers.

Where is the value for the customer in a conversation that goes like this?  “Mr./Mrs. Customer, I want you to know that we have encouraged our technicians to look for opportunities for us to sell you more services so that we can increase the revenues we receive from you.”  It’s hard to see any value in this statement, regardless of how noble our intentions or those of our field service team are.

Remember, It is a Service

The key is to keep in mind that we want our technicians to use their expertise and proximity to look for opportunities to help the customer and raise these with the customer when they find them.  This is valuable because the actions of our technicians can truly help our customers to be better off and to achieve their business goals.  Their recommendations therefore, are a service.

Yes, as service providers, we do benefit from this proactive activity through increased service revenues, but those revenues are our reward in return for the value of the service that we provide.  By regarding the proactive activities of our technicians through a service lens, it becomes easier to promote their activities just like we would any other service that we provide.

Have this Conversation with your Customers

An excellent way to promote the proactive actions of our technicians is to have this conversation with our customers.  “Mr./Mrs. Customer, we have provided direction and training to our technicians to encourage them to look for opportunities to help you operate your facility/processes more effectively while they are performing the service.  Would you have any objection when they find something that will help you achieve your business goals, if they bring the opportunity to your attention?”

By explaining the actions of our technicians in this way, we are able to communicate the value of their efforts for the customer.

If you formally or informally engage your technicians in business development activities, I encourage you to tell your customers – and let them know why it is of value for them.

Promote their efforts to your customers as a point of difference.  Let them know that you are providing your “heads” as well as your “hands”.  When they recognize the value of these efforts and benefit from the resulting recommendations, they will be delighted that you have engaged your technicians in this way.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. 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 Baston

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”

– Woodrow Wilson

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Disappointed with Technician Efforts in Making Recommendations to Customers? Teach Them the “5 Ps”.

In his book, Coaching for Improved Work Performance[1], Ferdinand Fournies notes that, although there are 16 reasons why employees do not do what they are supposed to do, 99% of the time it is because of only two – they either don’t know what they are supposed to do or don’t know how to do it.  If you are disappointed by your technicians’ efforts in making recommendations to your customers, try teaching your technicians the 5 P’s for making recommendations.

The 5 Ps refers to the five steps technicians can use to effectively communicate their recommendations to the customer for those product and services that they feel will help their customers to be better off.  This simple approach addresses why the customer should take action. It is easy to remember and it works as follows:

Permission:  Every recommendation should start with asking “Permission” from the customer to proceed.  It is as simple as stating the topic of conversation and then asking if they have time for that conversation now.  For example, “Mrs. Customer, I just completed the maintenance service and I have a recommendation that will eliminate these unexpected failures and significantly reduce your energy usage.  Would you have just a few moments to talk about this now?” Asking permission shows empathy for the customer’s situation and, if the customer is too busy, allows them to reconnect at a more suitable time.

Problem:  The “Problem” is simply a statement of what has been found that would benefit from your recommendation.  Ideally the problem statement can be reduced to a few simple sentences.  For instance, “Mr. Customer, both of your units are over 18 years old and at the end of their useful life.  As a result, you will continue to experience unexpected failures and parts will be increasingly hard to come by.  It’s only a matter of time before you experience an extended and costly breakdown.”

Proposal:  In this context, “Proposal” simply means a statement indicating what can be done to address the problem.  In our case, our proposal might look like this, “This would be a good time to consider replacing the old units with new higher efficiency units.  Because the existing units are working now, we can schedule the replacements at a time which will cause the least amount of disruption.”

Payoff:  The fourth P, “Payoff”, refers to the benefits the customer can expect by taking action.  Continuing our example, we might say, “The new units should give you years of trouble free operation and will significantly reduce energy consumption.  Not only will the energy savings pay back your initial investment while your tenants enjoy a more comfortable workplace, but you can relax knowing that you are contributing to a greener environment.”

Pose:  The fifth and final P is “Pose” as in “pose a question”.  It is simply the call to action at the end of the conversation.  Here are some examples:  “Would you like us to put a proposal together for you so you can evaluate the options?”  “Would you like me to arrange to have someone call you from our office to discuss this further?”  “Would you like us to go ahead with this recommendation for you?”

I encourage you to introduce the 5 Ps to your team and look for opportunities for them to practice.  Set aside a few minutes at each safety/service meeting for the team to role-play for example.  As the field team becomes more comfortable with the approach, they will become more comfortable in using it to make recommendations to the customer that will motivate them to take action.  And, by proactively making more recommendations to customers, your field team will be offering a higher level of service.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. 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.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

 – William James

[1] F.F. Fournies, Coaching for Improved Work Performance, McGraw-Hill, 2000