Growing up, we all dreamed of becoming superheroes. We pinned towels around our necks and pretended they were capes. We pretended we could fly or had super strength. But most of all, we dreamed of saving the day.
But that dream doesn’t have to go away just because we’ve grown up. Everyone, including your CSRs, can be superheroes in everyday life.
How? Think about your favorite superheroes. What do they have in common? They care about people, they solve people’s problems, and they go above and beyond the call of duty. These are principles you can put to work in your home service business, starting with your CSRs. Your clients call you with problems, and your CSRs can solve them. That makes them heroes.
When a CSR saves the day for your customers, it creates a powerful connection with your business — feelings of respect, loyalty and trust that can’t be replicated in a simple monetary transaction. And the real magic lies in the fact that your CSRs already have the power to achieve superhero status. Here’s how to get there.
Care About People
As the first contact with your customers, your CSRs have an important role to play. People need to feel heard and cared about, so your CSRs must listen and react with caring and empathy.
Sit in on their calls. CSRs should sound happy and smile while speaking with customers. Are they treating people like people, or are they treating people like dollar signs? If it’s the latter, it’s time to shift your focus as a company away from profit-driven tasks and towards the mission of caring about and serving people.
Your CSRs should express empathy and compassion in every interaction. Their genuine concern will create an emotional connection with your customers, turning your team into their own, personal superheroes.
Solve the Problem
Every CSR has a superpower — it’s called problem-solving. Elevate your CSRs to a higher status. They’re not just order-takers. They’re superheroes who can save the day for your customers by solving their problems.
It can be easy to lose focus as a CSR. Once you’ve fielded so many calls for malfunctioning HVAC systems, the work can start to feel ordinary or boring. But remember, for your customers, an HVAC system that isn’t working right is a tragedy. When they call for service it’s likely they’re having a rough day. They’re worried about their family’s comfort on a hot or cold day. If a CSR treats every call every day with attention, urgency and compassion, they’ll create WOW moments and win customers for life.
Go Above and Beyond
Superheroes don’t just fly in, hit the bad guys, and go home. They follow through and make sure the problem they solve stays solved. Your CSRs should show the same amount of follow-through. Extra attention and follow-up calls show the customer how much your company cares about them.
This is another area where a CSR’s empathy shines through. Going above and beyond takes the service call to a higher plane. It lifts the customer relationship out of the realm of dollars and cents and into a powerful, emotional connection. Make follow-through a priority, and you’ll create even more WOW moments.
Genuine caring and compassion is a trait your CSRs — and you — can cultivate every day. With the right mindset and focus, they will swoop in, save the day, create WOW moments and be the superheroes your clients need.
For a deeper dive into mastering customer service, and driving customer satisfaction, repeat business and overall revenue in the process, download a free training package that includes an online course, industry research, call center scripts, and much more at EGIA.org/CBS-Customerservice!
Brigham Dickinson is president and founder of Power Selling Pros (www.powersellingpros.com), a leading coaching and training firm dedicated to teaching businesses to WOW more customers. Brigham is also a founding faculty member of EGIA Contractor University (www.egia.org/university) and the author of “Patterned After Excellence: Pursuing Truth in Work and Life,” a leadership and development book intended to help business owners learn to overcome human tendencies that hold them and their team back and adhere to universal truths in both their professional and personal lives.