September 29, 2003
Volume 1, Number 4

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Public Sector Selling
Be A “Customer Service Machine”

There are some who think government can return to its “glorious days of yesteryear” by derailing the A-76 process. But, no matter what comes of the wrangling between Congress and the White House over competitive sourcing and A-76, the fact is there is no turning back.

Declining employee numbers mean the U.S. Government of the future will be run more by the private sector. Guiding it will be a new breed of government manager who is as much skilled in the managing of contractors and business communications, as actually having the expertise to carry out his or her agency mission.

This means more opportunities to do business with Uncle Sam. To succeed you need to invest in training to make you and your company are a finely-tuned “customer service machine”.

Secrets To Good Customer Service

According to Marti Talbott, a customer service supervisor, contact with a rep is often the deciding factor between keeping and losing your best customers. Below are her few simple rules for providing perfect customer service:

1. Product train the rep.
   
   Spend time making sure your reps know all the answers and can explain them well. Keep them in the know about changes in policies as well products.



2. Teach reps to be good listeners.
   
   Never interrupt a customer even if he's angry. If he is allowed to get it off his chest, he'll be more receptive to the solution.



3. Require that your reps take notes.
   
   A busy rep means forgotten requests and an unreturned call equals a lost customer. It also assures the customer that the rep is listening.



4. Teach them to slow their speech a little when answering questions.
   
   Statistically, people cannot hear and process information as quickly as others speak. This trick also keeps the rep from having to repeat instructions.



5. It might not be fair to other employees, but pay them well and give your reps more breaks, even if it's just a switch in duties.

Learn to spot the signs of stress (raised voices, clinched fists, tightened jaw muscles, etc.) and offer time to adjust. They'll handle the next customer better and work for you longer, which in turn will keep you from having to spend all your time training new Reps.

Customer service and other public sector selling topics will be part of the agenda during the 2004 Fed Channels seminar series. Visit www.fbcinc.com/fedchannels for details.

Homeland Security Strategies wants to know what topics you would like to know more about. Send us your ideas at feedback@pubsector.net.

Photo courtesy government of Australia