Here are some great top tips from me for you to create the best rapport on the telephone. Check out the link below to see my article on behalf of Beyond The Box posted on callcenterhelper.com.

http://www.callcentrehelper.com/top-tips-for-building-rapport-on-the-telephone-2646.htm

This topic should be of particular interest to all in the business world.  Do let me know your own thoughts on the subject,  perhaps from your own personal experiences!

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Rapport building is an integral part of the communication process. Lack of, or absence of rapport can fundamentally affect the outcome of any conversation. Isn’t it true that sometimes we just ‘click’ with some people and get on really well with them? In such instances the conversation runs smoothly, it is enjoyable and the results are so much better than when the communication is strained and we fail to ‘gel’ with the person we are talking to. 

Telephone conversations in call centres are a prime example of how rapport can help the outcome. You may have a limited time to allocate to your caller so you need to maximise that time effectively to get the information you need to be able to provide the best service. Good rapport will get you there faster. 

Good rapport isn’t about ‘making best friends’ with your caller it means that a comfortable ‘state’ where all parties converse freely and comfortably is created. The extra benefit is that it makes the time you spend with your caller more enjoyable. Here are some tips for creating good rapport. 

1)     Open the call with a smile – believe it, a smile can be heard and a ‘smiling voice’ is more welcoming and relaxing. Your caller will subconsciously appreciate it and like you. 

2)     Start the conversation with a ‘warm up’, a simple question that will let your caller know you are human! This could be ‘how is your day so far’, or ‘how is the weather where you are today, better than here I hope!’. Most people will respond to you in a friendly manner and it helps to relax you and your caller by ‘breaking the ice’. Reply to their answer with a relevant but positive response and then move the call forward such as:‘That’s great, I’m glad you are having a good day. How can I help with your call today, or ‘So the weather is as bad as it is here, never mind, the sun could be out tomorrow for us. ‘How can I help with your call today’.     

3)     Listen well – avoid distractions and allow yourself to concentrate on your caller and their conversation.   

4)     Let the caller know you are listening by responding with gentle and soft ‘ums and ‘ahs’ as they speak.   5)     Allow the speaker to finish what they are saying – practise this with every call. If you interrupt your caller could become frustrated. 

6)     Use words that your caller uses in their conversation, especially any adjectives – the words they use to describe something. They have chosen to use the words, so they have a relevance to the content, an alternative word may not have the same meaning for them. Example: your caller says ‘The results were excellent’. In this instance the word ‘excellent’ was chosen because it reflects what the speaker felt. To build rapport use the same word back at any relevant time. Example: ‘I agree with what you said earlier, the results were excellent’. If you were to reply with: ‘I agree with what you said earlier, the results were ok’, it will subconsciously confuse your caller because they didn’t say ‘ok’; their chosen word was ‘excellent’.  7)     Show empathy with your caller, to show empathy means to share in  another’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings, and is a great way of building rapport. Empathy can be shown by using phrases such as: ‘I understand what you mean’. ‘I can see where you are coming from’. ‘That must have made you feel really good’, ‘I understand why you would think that way’. 

     Be yourself and relax. If you are uptight or trying to be someone or something you are not, it will act as a barrier to building rapport.  9)     If you read a script as part of your job, put your own personality into it so that it sounds as though the words are your words and that you are not reading from a piece of paper. Use inflection, modulation and pitch to help make the script interesting for the listener. Your caller will thank you for it, isn’t it true that we sometimes ‘switch off’ when we hear what sounds like a script being read to us? 

10) Be friendly, it is possible to remain professional and courteous and still be friendly. This is easily achieved by using good inflection and modulation in your voice, by showing an interest in your callers conversation and by sharing laughter and lighthearted moments when the opportunity to do so arises during the call.  Enjoy your rapport building it will make your calls more productive and pleasant for both you and your caller.

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Be specific Make sure your feedback is clear and focused on the performance and don’t personalise it. Explain what the problem is, why it important that the employee achieves the performance expected. If you have raised your concerns before about the same problem, remind the employee when you have pointed out the offence in the past. Simply telling them what was wrong won’t help them change their behaviour, discuss how the employee can improve or avoid the mistake in the future, get their input. Make sure you add a time frame when you want to see the improvement by.  

Give timely feedback. Make the individual aware of what they did as soon as you can after the event, so they can recall what as happened. However be aware of their emotional state, before you give the feedback, perhaps you may need to wait until the employee has calmed down and can think clearly about what has happened. But don’t wait days or weeks, to provide feedback, when the problem has become a distant memory and don’t save telling the person until you have your next meeting, this could turn your meetings into a negative event.  

Check understanding. When summarising back to the employee, avoid asking ‘Do you understand’ they may merely say ‘yes.’ Ask them to summarise back to you, what you want them to do to improve, and when you want to see the improvement by, this way you know that they have understood what was said.

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Does the channel or business model make any difference to the level of acceptable customer service?

Jeremy writes that online stores should not bother with an extensive customer support service and offer a simple return service only. I.e. if you don’t like it, send it back.

In my opinion, it depends on a number of factors…

• How competitive is the market?
• Is your business model cut price self service or luxury?
• Is the item a low value commodity or a high value purchase?
• What channel are you using for the sale?
• Are you hoping for an ongoing customer relationship?

In the case of an online store - the majority of the work involved in achieving the sale and completing the order is automated. The customer can browse the store without a member of staff checking whether they need help or if they are shoplifting. Detailed product information and even reviews or customer feedback is available to help the customer with the decision. The purchase processing is automated, confirmation emails and estimated delivery dates or tracking can be automated. And depending on the nature and set-up, much of the logistics can be automated.

So when customer has a query - I would be inclined to agree with Jeremy - it may be simpler to continue the theme. With an automatically generated returns slip and refund procedure.

On the other hand - a retail store would need to staff a store with a number of people to complete a sale, so whereas a customer services team would need to be specifically employed if you wanted to offer support for an online sale, the existing retail staff needed for the original sale could help with queries - as long as they were trained correctly.

The customer expects different service levels based on the positioning of your brand - in his podcast, Steve Humphrey describes the decision making process and different levels of service required depending on the nature of the purchase. He uses the comparison of buying at Primark compared to Prada.

Customers also expect different service levels if buying a high value product - for example a car. Even in the case of online ordering, you would expect a certain amount of aftersales service.

Marks and Spencer offered a no quibble exchange policy regardless of how long ago the purchase was made, this was promoted as a selling point in the past.

This has now changed to a 90 day return policy for unwanted goods - presumably to reduce exploitation and cut costs.

Jason from good customer services blog suggests that the level of service you provide in retail stores depends also on your behaviour. I would agree that sales staff are likely to be happier to go the extra mile for polite customers.

Let me know your experiences -

• Have you been surprised by exceptionally good or bad service?
• Do you think companies should be able to get away with low customer service if they offer a lower priced product?
• Would a return only policy please you or is it not enough?
  
• What customer service do you offer?
• Have you seen examples of customers exploiting good customer service?

Listen to Steve’s Marketing podcast using this link - I would recommend episode 13 The decision making process, and 7 The Marketing Mix and the scope of Marketing.

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I read an excellent example of how good customer service training can change the outcome of a bad customer experience. The example was written on the Marketing Beyond Blog, under ‘retail training’.

He describes situation 1 where the customer service assistant goes through the motions of returning a phone and cancelling his contract with limited conversation; and situation 2 where the assistant delves deeper, to understand the reasons behind the return and suggest possible solutions.

The good service described is hypothetical, but if you were faced with the second situation, I’m sure you would agree that he’s right in saying you would give the network another try.

It is becoming more common, particularly in telecoms to be transferred to the ‘retention department’ when you call to cancel a service. It demonstrates how important it is to train staff well, and ensure they are aware of service improvements, and product benefits.

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