Listening is key in exceeding expectations

When it comes to customer service, a little TLC can go a long way. While we generally associate TLC with "tender loving care," Brad Worthley, author of "Simple Steps to Exceeding Customer Expectations" (Genesis Publishing, 2011), refers to TLC as "Think Like a Customer."

This is one way Worthley teaches company managers, sales people and business leaders to see themselves and their business from the customer's perspective. He suggests "spending some time evaluating the steps that you take each day, with each customer, and see if you can find situations where you may be leaving misperceptions." Then, he says, "Work to remove those misperceptions and seek ways to exceed expectations." Worthley has more than 35 years of management experience and is an internationally acclaimed leadership and customer service expert. He has trained more than a million people in a wide range of industries throughout the world.

"I face situations every day where I help set expectations for customers," says Mike Mulcahy, national sales manager for Global Direct Sourcing. "Whether it's related to pricing, shipping times or product quality, I never want to disappoint a customer. I take time upfront to understand their needs and expectations and provide realistic solutions to meet or exceed their expectations. There's nothing worse than over-promising and under-delivering," says Mulcahy.

The Greek philosopher Zeno wrote, "The reason we have two ears and one mouth is that we may hear more and speak less." Worthley notes that while we should listen far more than we speak, most of us don't. "This is especially true in a sales environment, where you want the customer to do most of the talking," says Worthley. "The more information we can gain from them, the better we can determine their needs."

He urges sales people to avoid "showing up and throwing up" where a sales person throws up everything they know about their company and the products and services they are selling, rather than listening attentively to what the customer has to say. This makes it hard to meet or exceed expectations if the customer never gets a chance to tell you what he really wants or needs.

Asking open-ended questions is the best way to uncover customer needs. Karen Nance, a Customer Care account manager for Byk-Gardner USA, says "Before I even pick up the phone to call a current or potential customer, I'll jot down a list of questions that I want to ask. The instruments we sell are technical in nature and it is important for us to understand our customers' current processes and how they would like to simplify or improve them in the future. It is also important for us to know what has changed or happened to create a possible need for our products.

 
"We have even developed a list of the top 8 questions to ask on every call, such as 'Who is involved in the purchasing process?' and 'What does that process look like?'" continues Nance. "Knowing who our customers sell their products to can also help us recommend the right solutions based on specifications within that particular industry. When we think like our customers and truly understand their situation, not only do we sell them the right instrument, we enable our customers to sell more of their products too."