Phrases that Pay
Simple
Statements that Increase your Perceived Value
Copyright
© JC Mowatt Seminars Inc.
Used with permission of the author:
From the series Influence with Ease ®
Author: Jeff Mowatt
http://www.jeffmowatt.com
23
March 2007
Quick
- name two words which, when frequently used by waiters and
waitresses, increases tips by 12%.
(Hint: it’s not please or thank you).
Give up?
The answer is, ‘for you.’ So,
rather than saying to a customer, “Would you like some more
coffee?”, the savvy waiter would say, “I brought more coffee
over for you.”
The patron thinks, “Gosh, you did that for
me, how thoughtful!” and tips accordingly - on average 12%
more.
That’s what
I call easy money.
If you answered
correctly - ignore the rest of this article. If on the other hand you’d like more phrases and tips
that increase your perceived value, then read on.
It’s OK
to be in a bad mood
I don’t
buy-in to the conventional ‘wisdom’ that an employee must
bubble with enthusiasm to provide great service and high value. In
the real world of upset customers, long hours, and stress, an
employee’s enthusiasm will occasionally wear thin. We all have
bad days. So, front
line employees need to be trained on how to convey a positive,
helpful attitude even when they’re not having a zippity-do-dah
day.
Here are
several situations along with phrases that convey a powerful
positive impression - no matter how stressed you may be.
A
customer asks for something and you don’t know if it’s in
stock.
Without
training: “I don’t know if they’re in. I’ll have
to check.”
With
training: “I don’t know if they’re in, but I’ll be happy
to check for you.”
The trained
employee conveys a better attitude. The irony is that she didn’t
work any harder than the untrained worker - they both checked
inventory. But the trained employee gets a lot more credit because
she used better phrasing. What’s
more - she didn’t have to feel
happy or enthusiastic to get the extra credit. She just used
wording that made a better impression.
A
boss, co-worker or customers asks you to do something.
Without
training (any of the following):
“OK, I’ll try, I’ll do my best, uh-huh, sure”
With
training: “No problem.”
“OK”
or “sure” are adequate responses.
But who wants to be perceived as ‘adequate’? On the
other hand, imagine asking someone to do a series of difficult,
inconvenient, unpleasant tasks, and they respond instead with,
“No problem.” That conveys the impression of a positive, confident
person. Again,
we don’t have to actually feel
excited or want to
do the task, but using the right phrasing creates that
perception.
“While
you can never be too polite
with a customer, you can be too formal.”
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A
customer asks about a delivery date.
Without
training: “We might be able to get it to you by Wednesday.”
With
training: “We’ll deliver it by Friday.”
The guideline
is, underpromise and overdeliver.
In this situation, if the delivery is made on Thursday, the
untrained employee looks incompetent while the trained person
looks like a hero. Keep
in mind that it’s not just your organization’s reputation
that’s at stake - it’s also your personal reputation. So make
promises sparingly, and then keep them - no matter what it costs
you.
You’re
addressing a customer
Without
training: Says, “sir, miss, or ma’me” frequently.
With
training: avoids using sir or ma’me and instead uses person’s
name.
While you can
never be too polite with a customer, you can be too formal. When I ask participants at my seminars how they feel when a
front line employee addresses them as “sir” or “ma’me”
the overwhelming response is, ‘old’.
Not a good feeling. What’s
more, it creates a barrier between the customer and employee. The customer may be starting to think of the employee as a
friend - which we want. But the moment the employee uses “sir”
or “ma’me” the customer is reminded that they’re not
friends, but business associates. Most of us are much more loyal
to friends than we are to businesses. Of course there are exceptions where you may choose to be
more formal; such as when you’re dealing with certain senior
citizens or someone from a conservative cultural background
(anyone from England).
You
want to be believed
Without
training: (Prefaces the statement with any of these phrases):
“The truth is... believe me..., honest..., true story..., I
really mean this...”
With
training: Omits all these statements and just makes the statement
of fact.
Prefacing a
statement with a phrase that essentially says we’re about to
tell the truth, implies that everything we’ve said up till that
point has been a lie! These statements hurt rather than help our
credibility. So trained employees just don’t use them -
especially when having a sales conversation.
The
competitive edge
Having a
technological advantage over the competition is almost impossible
to sustain in today’s marketplace.
Customers can almost always get a similar product to yours
somewhere else. The
easiest way to differentiate you and your organization is by
providing value added service. That doesn’t mean everyone has to work harder.
It does mean you need to speak the language of
professionals. That’s
when using the right phrase really pays.
This
article is based on the critically acclaimed book, Becoming
a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month
by business strategist, consultant, and international speaker Jeff
Mowatt. To obtain your own copy of his book or to inquire about
engaging Jeff for your team, visit http://www.jeffmowatt.com
or call 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288)
Short
summary
Training frontline personnel to use customer-oriented will enhance
the reputation of the organisation and add value for customers.
Keywords and
relevant phrases
Communication, credibility, customer service, frontline
staff, organisational reputation, value.
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