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A Tale of 2 Auto Mechanics – Which One Would you Prefer?

customer service expert Jim Baston

Like us, our customers are in competitive industries and are struggling for a business edge. They want more than just good customer service that makes them feel good. They want GREAT customer service that also helps them gain a competitive advantage. The tale of 2 auto mechanics below, is indicative of the choice we have as service providers. Which one would you prefer?

Our technicians play a major role here. Their value comes from going beyond doing great work. They must also understand the goals their customers have and the challenges that they face and make recommendations based on their knowledge and expertise that will help the customer succeed. Those companies that don’t engage their technicians in this way are at risk of losing business in the future.

Imagine two scenarios. Read more

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How Proactive is Your Field Service Team? – Take the Test

service technican training expert

Just how proactive is your field service team? Perhaps the best way to find that out is to take a test to evaluate your performance against the Proactive Service® best practices.

As service leaders, our long-term success will be determined by our ability to deliver an exceptional service that our customers value and are willing to pay. As importantly, it must be a service experience that differentiates us from our competitors. Engaging our technicians in proactive business development is one such strategy that can deliver on these prerequisites because, if approached correctly, it can help our customers be measurably better off for having engaged us. Customers that recognize the unique value we provide, reward us with more business, with their recommendations to others and with their loyalty.

The question becomes, how well are we doing in our efforts to differentiate our business in this way and what additional steps can we take to become even better? The answer can be found by:

  • Comparing our business to industry best practices
  • Realistically evaluating our performance against each practice
  • Identifying actions and timelines to make improvements where needed

We have created a self-evaluation checklist that will allow you to evaluate your progress against Proactive Service® best practices. It is available for anyone who would like to download it from our website. It covers six key areas of performance measurement. These are: Read more

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I-CARE – 5 Steps to Work Orders that Shout “Value”

service tech training expert

During our workshops, we discuss the importance of the quality of the written word and how it helps the customer recognize the value that we provide in the work performed. This easy acronym – I-CARE –highlights the 5 steps to create work orders that shout “value”.

When I have the opportunity to speak with service managers, one of the discussion points that inevitably comes up is about the quality of the work order summaries written by their service technicians. It seems that in many organizations, the quality of the written summaries of work is all over the map – from very poor to excellent. When I ask if they have clear and simple guidelines to help their busy technicians to consistently write well, they often admit that those guidelines are still on the “to do” list.

The quality of the written work order summary is important for a number of reasons. One reason is that the customer relies on the summary to give them a sense of the quality of the work that was performed. Because of the nature of our work, it is unlikely that our customers will be able to objectively assess the quality themselves. A clear, concise and comprehensive summary will communicate more value than a simple “fixed unit” on the report. Another reason for complete and concise reports is that the report may become an important document if there is ever a dispute about what work was actually performed. Yet another reason is that a complete and concise report will save time in the long run. Think of your own organization. How many times has the technician had to be interrupted in the field to answer a question about the work performed that could have been prevented if the work order summary description was more complete? Read more

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4 Steps to Turn Service Teams into Enthusiastic Business Promoters

service tech training expert

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. Read more

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Give Your Customers Your Heads as Well as Your Hands

service tech training expert

If you want to clearly differentiate your business and earn your increased revenues and customer loyalty, give your customers your heads as well as your hands. Help your technicians realize the service that they provide when they bring to the customers’ attention those things that your firm can do to help that customer be better off.

The last several blogs have been dedicated to discussing the role of the service technician when they take the initiative to identify and discuss actions that they believe the customer could or should take to improve their operations in some way. When the technician brings to the attention of their customers, those actions they can offer that will measurably help the customer be better at what they do, they provide a valuable service. It is a service that is every bit as important as the technician’s ability to repair or maintain things. Read more

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Position Technician Promotion of Services as a Valuable Service – 4 Steps

service technician selling program

Many firms perceive and describe this role as “selling”. In my last blog I explained why this perception can limit the success of the initiative. In this blog, I would like to discuss why we should approach technician promotion of services as a valuable service and the 4 key components that will help ensure our success.

When a technician recognizes an opportunity for the customer to make an improvement and takes the initiative to speak to the customer about it, he/she is performing a valuable service – a service every bit as important as that technician’s ability to fix or maintain the equipment. When a firm perceives and describes the technician’s role as part of the service, many good things happen. The technicians more readily buy into the role, customers experience a higher level of service and the service firm can create a substantial and sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors. Here are 4 things that you can do to ensure that everyone approaches product and service promotion by technicians as a service and not a sale. Read more

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The Limiting Reality of Getting Technicians to “Sell” – 4 Reasons Why

service tech training expertHow we define the world impacts our perception of it.  How we define our technicians’ role in promoting our services is no exception.  This blog post is about the limiting reality of getting technicians to “sell” and the 4 reasons why this is the case.

Maslow is attributed as saying, “If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”  This sentiment applies to how we view the role of service technicians.  If we see the proactive efforts of technicians to identify and speak to the customer about our services as that of a “salesperson” then everything they do in this regard looks like “selling”.  Unfortunately, this viewpoint greatly limits our imagination to capture the real value in what our technicians are providing.  This constrains our ability to capitalize on these efforts as a valuable and differentiated service offering. Read more

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Want your Technicians More Proactive in Promoting your Services? Your Perspective May be Getting in the Way

service tech training expertMany service managers I speak to see value in encouraging technicians to be more proactive in business development. Although many of those are taking steps to implement a formal plan for their service teams, many fail to achieve the results that they seek. If you want your technicians to be more proactive in promoting your services, check out your perspective. It might be getting in the way.

When it comes to engaging technicians in promoting services, many service managers see the role of selling as different from the role of service. They often describe selling and service as distinct and almost unrelated activities. With this view, when someone is selling they are not serving and when someone is serving they are not selling. The chart below illustrates this view of the relationship between selling and service activities.

The Distinct Activities of Selling and Serving

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Technician Sales Training – Inverse Relationship Between Trust and Technique

technican sales training expertIn my last blog I talked about the 4 questions to ask when evaluating “sales” training for technicians.  In this blog, I would like to look more closely at the inverse relationship between trust and technique when it comes to promoting services to customers.

I feel that the technician is in a unique position to identify opportunities that the customer can act on to help them operate their facilities and/or processes more effectively. In fact, I believe that technicians have an obligation to reach out to the customer to discuss these opportunities to help and to assist them in making informed decisions. To me, this really isn’t selling at all, but rather an important part of the service.  And, this approach has a significant benefit. My experience indicates that service firms that engage their technicians in this way will create a sustainable competitive advantage and be rewarded with more business, higher customer satisfaction and unprecedented levels of retention.

Read more

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4 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Technician “Sales” Training Programs

service tech training

Are you thinking of providing “sales” training for your technicians on how to promote your services? Before making a decision, consider what you want the training to achieve. Below are 4 questions that are key when evaluating training programs that can help you ensure you get a higher ROI.

Those of you who have read my book and subscribe to this blog know that I feel that the technician is in a unique position to identify opportunities that the customer can act on to help them operate their facilities and/or processes more effectively. In fact, I believe that technicians have an obligation to reach out to the customer to discuss these opportunities to help and to assist them in making informed decisions. To me, this really isn’t selling at all, but rather an important part of the service.  And, this approach has a significant benefit. My experience indicates that service firms that engage their technicians in this way will create a sustainable competitive advantage and be rewarded with more business, higher customer satisfaction and unprecedented levels of retention.

Read more