Customer Service – Understanding

It’s about understanding. A few weeks ago I wrote (or ranted) on customer service, and I’m continuing to expand on the points I briefly mentioned. One such point being understanding.

You have to understand and find value in your product. If you don’t believe in it then how are you going to convince others to believe in it?

I’ll step away from the business world for a moment and apply this to my personal life. We are in the throws of finding what type of discipline works best for our 3-year-old. I haven’t found one that is completely successful because I haven’t found a solution I truly believe will work – yet. So with each tantrum we continue to try things that will deter the behavior.  It’s a learning process. It takes time, but it begins with us – the parents.

This is true in sales as well. If you are a business owner and you have a product to sell or a service to provide, it starts with you. Do you believe in it? If you don’t, then odds are you probably aren’t going to be successful at selling it or training someone else to sell it. Of course it does take time to learn products and services, so give yourself (and your sales people) some slack at first. How much slack is up to you, but if they are commissioned, you’ll find people will be motivated to do their homework and learn at a much quicker pace knowing their knowledge will be directly reflected in their paycheck! But, do encourage them to believe in what they are selling. It will be reflected in their performance (and your bottom line).

— Chellie Thompson, Cofounder, Monarch Media & Consulting, Inc.