Professional Development

Customer Service

Workshops | Speeches| Articles

Positive Power Customer Service: Overview

This integrated customer service training program transforms your employees' outlook on serving customers. No more reluctant customer service, instead:

Employees will WANT to deliver the BEST customer service!

This is the first customer service training I've ever had that was about ME!

Wish class had been longer-Need more time!

I can easily point out the employees who have had this training-and those who haven't!

It works! The training works!

Positive Power Customer Service participants

Ordinary customer service reps focus on doing things right to keep their jobs.

The extraordinary Customer Service ACES , who complete our Positive Power Customer Service series, focus on doing the right things to serve the customer.

Providing excellent customer service truly is the most cost-effective way for a business to increase productivity and customer satisfaction and to distinguish itself from competitors.

When employees lack skills in customer service and communication, it costs organizations in many ways.

Sadly, most customer service training programs essentially point a finger at the customer service associate and say Just Do It! You should do this, this and this for our external and internal customers, for the organization's sake and to keep your job.

These typical training approaches NEGLECT to address the question each customer service associate wants answered: What's in this for me?  

This unique program allows participants to assess where they are, to see what they can do to make their work environment better, and to discover that providing excellent customer service can be easy-even FUN . It inspires your customer service employees to WANT to do more!

Throughout the program they learn and practice the attitude and thinking skills, communication skills, people skills and problem-solving skills that customer service work requires. Some of the skills taught are components of what is known as emotional intelligence .

Organizations may choose which workshops in the series they want to offer employees, based on their goals and the needs that we can help you to identify. Wizard Workforce Development customizes each workshop accordingly, taking into consideration all of the participants who will be involved. Reaching each individual through a fun, interactive, practical approach is important to the success of each program, and is what Wizard is known for.

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Positive Power Customer Service Workshops

• The Power of a Winning Attitude
• The Power of Customer Care
• The Power of Positive Communication
• The Power of Telephone Excellence
• The Power of Investigative Listening
• The Power of Speaking Professionally
• The Power of Problem-Solving
• The Power to Deal with Challenging Customers
  

Each program:

• Offers unique, proprietary content.
• Can be delivered in a time frame ranging from 3 to 6 hours.
• Is content-rich, interactive and entertaining.
• Can be tailored for virtually any association, industry, small business or organization.
• Will benefit anyone who deals with internal or external customers.

Supplemental services and additional workshops:

The Undercover Customer - By posing as a customer or client, we can identify customer service deficits, weaknesses and strengths. We can check any avenues of customer contact you would like examined.

Assessments for employees and managers identify skills, interests, strengths and whether or not an individual will thrive in a particular position.

Other Workshop Options Include:

• The Power of Continuous Customer Service Excellence (testing and goal-setting)
• The Power of Building Long-Term Customer Relationships    
• The Power of Managing Stress
• The Power to Lead a Customer Service Team (training, coaching and positive management for maximum performance)   

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The Power of a Winning Attitude

How can anyone who deals with customers remain positive, enthusiastic and energized? Why should they bother? In this workshop, participants discover the secrets to creating enthusiasm and energy and how this can transform their work, and even their personal lives. For those who work in environments where morale is low and negativity is high-even if it is with internal customers-the skills that produce a winning attitude can still be applied effectively. Topics include: using the power of primary focus; employing patience, empathy and courtesy and thinking about serving customers in a whole new way!

Participants will learn to:

• Identify their individual strengths and apply them when serving customers.
• Target and begin to overcome individual weaknesses that stand in the way of customer service excellence.
• Boost the morale of co-workers.         
• Create enthusiasm on demand.
• Enhance service to customers through applying the NEW golden rule.
• Become more proactive as they overcome reactive habits.
• Develop the characteristics of self-motivated individuals who demonstrate a winning attitude.

The Power of Customer Care

Building customer loyalty is the key to competitiveness. It also determines the effectiveness of public sector organizations. It is vital that customer service associates know the answers to: What do customers want and why do customers behave the way they do?   Through an eye-opening, independent assignment, participants are able to evaluate the elements of excellent, good, fair and poor customer service.              

Participants will learn to:      

• Identify the many "hats" a customer service ace wears.
• Recognize what customers really want.
• Appreciate the rewards of providing top-notch, personalized service.
• Visualize what customers are really looking for.
• Demonstrate interest in the customer, without feeling it first.
• Understand the value of customer complaints and the importance of how mistakes are handled.

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The Power of Positive Communication

Master the moment with the customer through targeted communication. Respond with diplomacy and tact to every customer's communication style. Participants learn to think on their feet to remain in control of customer communication.

Participants will learn to:

• Demonstrate a positive attitude to customers through simple changes in words and phrases.
• Employ patience and empathy when dealing with customers.
• Develop increased skill in targeting questions to achieve desired results.
• Convey courtesy to customers.
• Use the tools of diplomacy- the art of letting someone have YOUR way .
• Begin to build a tool kit of communication tools, including Positive Power T Lines.
• Demonstrate increased confidence to customers.

The Power of Telephone Excellence

Professional telephone behavior is a crucial skill for anyone who has phone contact with customers-either internal or external. It is far too easy to communicate sarcasm and rudeness over the phone, even when it is unintentional.

Participants will learn to:

• Take control of every call-while applying the power of courtesy.
• Develop an effective voice mail message to transform it into a positive link to your organization.
• Establish rapport quickly and make every caller feel important.      
• Put callers on hold and transfer them in such a positive way they'll say thank you .
• Improve vocal qualities to sound more poised and professional.
• Handle foreign accents, long-winded callers, and speed-talkers.
• Say "no" with a positive spin, to avoid customer resentment.
• Employ a simple greeting to warm up every call.
• End calls with a consistently positive closing.

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The Power of Investigative Listening

Learn to employ the skills of an investigative listener to get correct information the first time. Speed-reading customers is challenging, but necessary. Customer service employees must watch and listen for key cues and not just respond to the words customers say. The skill of investigative listening helps employees get to the heart of each issue more quickly, more effectively and more positively.

Participants will learn to:

• Demonstrate empathy through positive listening skills.
• Reflect what the customer says by using the mirroring technique.
• Employ focused concentration-even when it's been a long day.
• Clarify information with the confused customer.
• Avoid assuming what the customer wants, while quickly determining customers' needs.
• Pose targeted questions to gather information from callers, without putting them on the defensive.

The Power of Speaking Professionally

The essentials of professional communication, appropriate grammar and enunciation, are easily forgotten. However, every word counts when communicating with customers. Customers judge individuals and organizations in part, based on the speech habits of employees. The basics of grammar and enunciation are easily learned once an employee gains awareness of careless habits.

Participants will learn to:

• Recognize the problems associated with incorrect speech.
• Identify their professional pitfalls in grammar and enunciation.
• Practice their speaking skills with an individualized program for improvement.
• Overcome confusion about basic grammar rules.
• Develop an ear for professional speech.

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The Power of Problem-Solving

Serving customers effectively often requires solving problems. Overcoming the natural tendency to make assumptions or to view the customer as the problem, requires focusing on the issues the customer raises and generating options for them. Successful problem-solvers build rapport with customers and prevent or defuse customer anger.

Participants will learn to:                    

• Evaluate their customer service problem-solving skills.
• Master the steps to customer service problem-solving.
• Apply the elements of effective problem-solving to achieve clarity and understanding in communication with customers.
• Move from emotion-based reactions to outcome-focused thinking.
• Examine strategies to increase their resourcefulness, resilience and flexibility.

The Power to Deal with Challenging Customers

The frustration that can come from an inability to handle irate customers causes job inertia and stress for many customer service associates. In fact, it leads to high levels of turnover in customer service jobs. Participants practice, through role-play exercises, ways to handle anger as well as proven strategies to prevent angry customers.

Participants will learn to:

• Recognize what anger is and the various ways in which it is expressed.
• Identify common traps and pitfalls to avoid in heated encounters.              
• Prevent angry customers by using specific verbal strategies.
• Avoid becoming angry-even when verbally attacked.
• Use Positive Power Lines to defuse a variety of tense, angry, or emotionally-charged situations.    
• Deal with aggressive individuals, without feeling belittled or intimidated.
• Follow eight steps to defuse irate callers and "phone rage."  
• Handle other communication challenges, including fast-talkers, foreign accents and long-winded customers.

Other Workshop Options Include:

The Power of Continuous Customer Service Excellence (testing, goal-setting and wrap-up)

The Power of Building Long-Term Customer Relationships

The Power of Managing Stress

The Power to Lead a Customer Service Team (training, coaching and positive management for maximum performance)    

Click here for a printable version of Positive Power Customer Service Workshops>>

If you are having trouble viewing the pdf's, click here to download a copy of Acrobat Reader>>

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Customer Service Speeches

Each program:

• Offers unique, proprietary content.
• Can be delivered in a time frame ranging from 45 minutes to 3 hours.
• Is content-rich, interactive and entertaining.
• Can be tailored for virtually any association, industry, small business or organization.
• Will benefit anyone who deals with internal or external customers.

Adventures of The Undercover Customer

There are interesting, funny, inspiring and amazing stories that come from the world of customer service. With each story, there are lessons about how organizations can build leadership that inspires and delivers the best customer service. Take a light-hearted look at challenges that everyone who serves customers faces and learn how to meet these challenges with less stress and positive outcomes.

Are Your Customers Buying You?

Why bother to give excellent customer service? Do customers really care? Even if they didn't, giving your best is actually good for you! Look at customer care and service in a new way. Become more convincing by learning how to sell customers on your solutions and suggestions. Prevent angry and agitated customers with targeted communication strategies. Or deal with angry customers in a way that allows you to give your best, without giving it all.

Are Customers Making You Sick? Defeating Workplace Dragons

Faced with the demands of customers, clients and co-workers, how can anyone remain positive, enthusiastic or energized? When hit with constant interruptions, distractions and change, is it possible to develop a more flexible relationship with time? Learn powerful new strategies and practical tactics that will build self-motivation, energy and ultimately, self-mastery that reaches far beyond stress management. Your attitude is the music behind the words you speak. Therefore it affects every encounter in your personal and professional life. Building an attitude and outlook that overcomes and defeats these workplace dragons is key to your effectiveness and ultimately, your well-being.

Click here for a printable version of Customer Service Speeches>>


If you are having trouble viewing the pdf's, click here to download a copy of Acrobat Reader>>

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Customer Service Articles

• Politely Hurrying a Customer Encounter
  Customers! You can't do business with them and you can't do business without them! One of the challenges facing those of us who serve clients or customers is: How do you speed up a conversation with someone who is long-winded? Sometimes the customer is confused about an issue. They begin talking in circles, repeating the same thing over and over.
  Click here to read more>>
  
• But and Can't - Two Little Words That Can Lead to BIG Problems
  When dealing with customers, clients and co-workers, do you ever wonder why something you said was like the match that lit the short fuse? Why do people sometimes get angry or frustrated so quickly? Usually it's the little things we're simply unaware of, such as those two little words: But and Can't. Even skilled communicators don't always realize how these words create negative feelings.
  Click here to read more>>
  
• Steps to Success with Angry Customers
  You pick up the phone and a customer says, YOU PEOPLE! All of your senses jump to attention as you wonder: Why couldn't I get through one day without one of these calls? Phone rage, like other rages in the news, is on the rise. We know the old saying is true: The surest sign you haven't got any sense is to argue with someone who hasn't. However, when you must resolve a problem, how can you reason with an angry person, when they're frustrated, confused and pushing you to give in to their demands?
  Click here to read more>>
  
• Upgrade Your Voice Mail Message
  Have you listened to your voice mail message recently? Your customers, clients and co-workers have. When your voice mail message stands in for you, what do they hear? Almost every client I work with, large or small, needs to make changes in their voice mail messages. Part of my job is to help them to develop messages that line up with their goals.You don't need to be a skilled writer to create an effective outgoing message. In my Positive Power™ Telephone Tools workshop, rewriting voice mail messages is the most popular exercise.
  Click here to read more>>
  
• Making the Most of Voice Mail
  Do some people still hate voice mail? I think it's one of the greatest innovations ever. It has virtually eliminated busy signals and allows you to leave information for others when they are not available at the time you call. Of course, I've been frustrated when a big company expects me to somehow get an answer through their voice mail system that the system is not equipped to handle. But voice mail itself is not to blame. Voice mail's effectiveness depends on how it's used.
  Click here to read more>>

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