AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Jim Baston

As Jim Baston continues the serialisation of his excellent service orientated book Beyond Great Service our protagonist Charlie begins outlining the solution to the sales and service equation to his team of service engineers...

If you're new to this series then you can catch up on the story so far by clicking here

Last time, Charlie introduced the strategy to the service team. This time he presents the details.

Great, then let’s examine the actual strategy in more detail.” Charlie powers up the projector again and moves to the next slide. The slide says:

Charlie reads from the screen and then advances to the next slide.

“Let’s talk about what we need to do to deliver an ‘exceptional experience that is valued by our customers and differentiates us from our competitors’,” suggests Charlie.

“The first bullet simply means that we have to do our jobs well; like responding quickly to a customer’s needs, fixing the problem right the first time, showing up promptly, doing PMs as scheduled, cleaning up after our work, etc. All the things that people actually pay us to do.”

“The second bullet refers to the interpersonal experience the customer has over and above the technical work that we do. It is the positive attitude, the welcome smile, the way we interface with people in the workplace, and all the tiny but important interactions we have with our customers or their customers/ employees/ tenants/patients/etc. during the course of our work.

The last bullet is a catch-all to remind ourselves of the importance of continual follow-up, and how such a simple act can help reassure customers they have made the right decision to work with us over any of our competitors.“Perhaps the critical bullet here is moments of truth. Each time we have an occasion to interact with the customer: a visit to the site, an email, a follow-up phone call, a casual meeting in a coffee shop, it’s an opportunity to reinforce in the customer’s mind all the positive reasons why they do business with us, through what we say and write and how we act. It’s the moment we have to help the customers say to themselves ‘That’s why I do business with Novus’.”

“The third bullet is the topic of our discussion today. It’s going beyond doing our jobs pleasantly and professionally and in a responsive and attentive manner. It includes our efforts to proactively look for ways that the customer can make improvements to their operations, and then take the time to discuss these recommendations with the customer.”

“The last bullet is a catch-all to remind ourselves of the importance of continual follow-up, and how such a simple act can help reassure customers they have made the right decision to work with us over any of our competitors."

“So, what do you guys think? Can we add real value for our customers while differentiating ourselves from our competitors in this way?”

Angus stands up. Charlie is surprised and more than a little concerned. It looks to Charlie as if Angus is going to walk out of the room. If Charlie can’t get Angus on board, then the whole initiative is lost, or at least, greatly compromised.

“Charlie, in all the time I have worked for this company, this is the first time that management has talked about business development by putting the customer first. Usually, the question is: ‘What other services can we sell to our customers?’ i.e. what can our customers do for us? What you’re asking, that is if I hear you correctly, is: ‘What can we do for our customers?’ The results might be the same—more sales—but the motivation is quite different. I like it!”

Charlie is thrilled. Getting Angus on side is a big step forward. A couple of other people offer opinions, and they’re along the same lines as Angus’. Angus remains standing and Charlie can feel a big “but” coming . . .

“But . . . ,” complies Angus. “Saying the right words is a lot different than doing

the right things. How are we going to make this work?”

“Yet another good question, Angus.” Angus smiles and takes a bow as the room breaks out in applause.

As Angus finally sits down, Charlie says, “We have a lot of work to do. Here is a summary of what we need to do from my perspective. Perhaps you guys might think of some additional things.” Charlie discusses the bullets on the next two slides:

Charlie goes through the steps in detail and answers questions as they arise.

He points out that since this initiative is driving the overall customer experience, then everyone who has contact with the customer must participate, not just the technicians.

Since this initiative is driving the overall customer experience, then everyone who has contact with the customer must participate, not just the technicians.Although the techs play a large role in this, they must be supported by the entire organisation.

Everyone who has contact with the customer; from technician to the accounts receivable person, all contribute to the overall experience and therefore must be in sync. That is why point number four references ‘all customer-facing personnel’.

After answering a couple of more questions, Charlie sums up by saying,

“Thanks everyone for your input today. I am really excited about what we are doing and I sense that you are too. Ken and I will get to work on the next steps. In the meantime, if any further thoughts come to you on this issue, please let Ken or me know.”

“Also, please be proactive in discussing with the customer those things you feel would be in their best interests to implement and work with us to ensure that they are properly followed up until we can bullet-proof the opportunity management system.”

With that, Charlie hands the floor over to Ken to discuss this week’s safety item.

Thinking about your business:

Is your business development strategy clearly tied to your overall plan to provide each customer with an exceptional customer experience?

Does everyone know what they need to do to deliver on your strategy?

Are support functions aligned to facilitate the efforts of the field team?

Next time Charlie seeks feedback from one of his ex-customers.

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Charlie's continued journey towards the perfect balance between service and sales continues as we explore the next section of our exclusive serialisation of the excellent industry focussed book Beyond Great Service.

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Last time Charlie put the preliminary plan together to implement the strategy. First stop, discuss it with the technicians and get them on board. Here we find Charlie as he presents the concept to the technicians.

It’s Charlie’s turn again and he turns on the projector. As it is warming up he gives a brief introduction. “Last week we talked about the idea of getting you guys to be more proactive in promoting our services to our customers, and many of you provided me with your opinions. I think you made it pretty clear that you didn’t see your role as selling and, when you do bring opportunities forward, we don’t have the systems in place to consistently support you.” If Charlie expected a room full of nods, he was disappointed. No one moved or showed any change in expression.

Charlie continued, “I have to tell you that your feedback put me back on my heels a bit. I was a little disappointed frankly, because I felt that you were in the best position to point out to our customers what we can do for them. Fortunately, Ken was able to re-walk me through the meeting and your comments, and help me understand what you were saying. And am I glad he did. I would like you to know that based on our meeting last week, I have come full circle. I don’t want you to sell our services to our customers. That was a mistake!”

Now there was movement in the room. Charlie noticed the techs looking at each other and the shuffling and murmurs. Angus speaks up. “Let me get this right, Charlie. Are you saying that you don’t want us to talk to our customers about our products and services?”

[quote float="left"]If you took your car in for an oil change and the mechanic noticed that your brakes needed replacement, would you not expect him to advise you of the fact and recommend they be changed?

“Good question, Angus. No, I am not saying that you shouldn’t talk to our customers about our products and services. In fact, you should, so long as you feel it is in the customer’s interest. What I am saying is that I don’t want you to act as salespeople for the company.”

 

“It makes sense to me, but what is the difference between what you have outlined here and selling?”

“Another good question, Angus. There is a difference and, although it is very subtle, it is critically important. If you took your car in for an oil change and the mechanic noticed that your brakes needed replacement, would you not expect him to advise you of the fact and recommend they be changed?” 

“Absolutely!” 

“Would you consider it selling?” 

“No, not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because it is an important part of the service he provides. If he did not tell me, I don’t think he would be doing his job. In fact, I think he has an obligation to tell me. It’s a safety issue.”

“Okay. How about this? Let’s say what he observes is not a ‘safety issue’, but instead simply an action you can take that will save you money. Perhaps your particular model of car could be modified to improve your gas mileage by at least 10%. And the cost of the modification could be paid for through savings at the pump in just 9 months. Let’s say that he points this out and recommends that you do the modification. Let’s also assume that if he didn’t tell you about the modification, you would be none the wiser, and your car or your safety would not be at all compromised. Would your answer change? Would his recommendation be selling?”

[quote float="right"]The service we provide is using our knowledge and expertise to make recommendations to help the customer achieve their goals. It’s like offering them our heads as well as our hands

“That’s a harder one, Charlie. I guess strictly speaking it is selling in a way, but I don’t honestly think it is,” responds Angus. “So long as what he is telling me was not a load of bull to pry me away from my wallet, I’d say it was an essential part of the service to let me know about the modification. I could always say no.”

 

“So would you call that selling?” asked Charlie.

“In a way it is and in a way it isn’t. Like selling, he is talking to me about the modification and trying to convince me to take his advice, but he is doing it with the best of intentions. If I had to choose, it is more like a service and an important one at that.”

“Thanks Angus. That’s what I am talking about. We provide a service to the customer any time we use our know-how to help them be better. What I am suggesting should not be mistaken as a ‘service-of-the-month club’. The service we provide is using our knowledge and expertise to make recommendations to help the customer achieve their goals. It’s like offering them our heads as well as our hands. Does that make sense?”

Thinking about your business:

• Have you clearly communicated why proactive recommendations by your technicians are an integral part of the service they provide?
• Do your actions support your words[/unordered_list]

Next time we will see how Charlie presents the strategy to his team.

 

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As we continue our exclusive serialisation of Jim Baston’s excellent service industry focussed book Beyond Great Service, our protagonist Charlie has begun to edge closer to an epiphany in his quest to establish a perfect balance between service and sales...

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Last time Charlie and Ken had uncovered the four hurdles that could sabotage their efforts of engaging their technicians in making proactive recommendations and thereby identified the factors critical to their success.

We join Charlie as he works to put his plan together to implement the strategy.

That evening after dinner, Charlie retrieved his journal and sat down in the study. It was a busy day and Charlie had very little time to reflect on the discussions he’d been having with Ken, although they never quite left his mind. Thoughts kept popping back into his head at odd times throughout the day.

Had they really found the answer to generating more sales revenue through their field service technicians AND improving the level of customer service?

Could management really expect to enhance the customer’s experience by being more proactive in approaching the customer via the techs to do more business with them?

Could they truly differentiate the business through this strategy?

 

It almost seemed too simplistic. After all, managers with a lot more experience in technical services than Charlie have considered this opportunity to engage the technicians.

If it was such a good approach, why weren’t more companies successfully applying this strategy?

Looking at the four hurdles on the page in the journal, Charlie began to feel more confident that he was on the right track. Perhaps the reason many companies were not successfully differentiating their business through this proactive model was because they had not addressed all four of the hurdles.

Maybe they simply sent their techs on training courses on how to sell.

Maybe they did not have the systems and processes in place to support the increase in business opportunities brought in from the field. Perhaps they did not reinforce the training or the strategy on a regular basis. Whatever the explanation, Charlie began to realise that if Novus was going to be successful, they would have a lot of work to do.

Charlie knew they needed an implementation plan if they were going to make this work. He jotted down a few steps that he felt would be important to get the strategy right.

He intended to share these with Ken, fine-tune them as necessary and then create a schedule to put them into action. Charlie wrote:

1. Draft a plan to address the four hurdles.
2. Reduce the strategy to a short summary that could be shared with the technicians and customers.
3. Sound out the technicians to get their perspective and suggestions.
4. Identify some customers to visit to discuss the plan to help hone the approach and the unique service proposition.
5. Fine-tune the plan and put it into action.[/ordered_list]

Charlie then drew a chart on a blank page in the journal:

There were three columns and five rows. Across the top row, Charlie wrote Hurdle, Comments and Preliminary Action Plan. In each of the remaining four rows he put the four hurdles. When he finished a couple of hours later, the chart looked like the one laid out on the previous page.

Charlie looked at the table he had created and smiled. He knew that the hard part had just begun, but he felt good. He had the basic strategy in place, one that he felt would engage the techs and also be valued by Novus’ customers. The next step would be to review this with Ken and reduce the strategy to a simple statement. That would have to wait until another day.

Thinking about your business:

• Do you have a clear and concise plan to implement your proactive business approach with your technicians?
• Have you discussed the matter with your customers to get their input?
• What steps have you taken to fully engage your service team in the process?
• Next time we will touch base with Charlie as he explains the plan to the technicians.

 

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Last time Charlie and Ken had uncovered two hurdles that could negatively affect their efforts at getting their technicians to make recommendations to their customers. These were:

1. The service person’s view of the salesperson
2. The customer’s image of the service technician

They return to Charlie’s office. Charlie is ready to get started, but Ken points out that there are more hurdles to consider.

Ken begins: “…we might have to tighten up how we handle opportunities around here or our efforts could be in vain. Think back to the service meeting on Monday. Remember when Angus spoke about handling opportunities? Do you remember what he said? … when the lead is given, we don’t always follow-up in the timeliest manner."

"Put yourself in the tech’s shoes for a moment. There you are at the customer’s facility, and you see something that would benefit them. You work up your nerve, and as you ask them to sign your work order, you mention that you noticed something that might save them money (or time or improve air quality, etc.), and would it be all right if they arranged for someone in their office to call you."

The customer says yes.

Now the tech writes a note on the work order regarding the opportunity with the request that someone call them to discuss. One month later, the technician is back at the customer’s to perform maintenance, and the customer asks if anyone is ever going to call. How would you feel if you were the tech?”

“Well, I would be a little embarrassed and more than a little ticked off,” offers Charlie.

“Now, let’s suppose this happened again, with two or three different customers. How do you think this will impact your willingness as a tech to continue to speak to customers about additional things that Novus can do?

And, what is Novus signalling to the technician about the importance of finding new opportunities?”

 

“Sometimes following up on opportunities is not enough either,” continues Ken. “It is important that we communicate to keep everyone informed. For example, how difficult would it be for the salesperson to send a note or voicemail to the tech that initiated the lead, to thank them and let them know they’re on the case?”

“I’m starting to get the picture,” says Charlie. “So, if we are going to ask the techs to reach out to the customer to discuss the things we can do as a company to help them, we’d better have a bullet-proof system for handling the opportunity and communicating to the techs our progress along the way.

I also hear you saying that despite the fact we are pretty good at this, it’s still not good enough. “… let me capture this as the 3rd hurdle: Systems and Processes for Handling Opportunities from the Field. Charlie writes this down on the whiteboard. “This is good, Ken. I think we are getting somewhere. Any other hurdles?”

“Yeah. … What we are asking will require some of the guys to change their behaviour and step into a role that might be uncomfortable and cause some uncertainty. To make matters worse, when they try something for the first time, they may not do it very well, which will add to the discomfort. When this happens, the path of least resistance is to revert back to the old ways. To get the results we are looking for, we need to be proactive in providing support and reinforcement to encourage their progress.”

“Why don’t we call it management coaching and support—that is, giving feedback to reinforce good behaviours, and encouragement to adjust behaviours that detract from their effectiveness in serving the customer’s needs?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Charlie writes: Hurdle # 4: Management coaching and support.

“If we are to make this work, we will need to provide ongoing resources to encourage the technician to take the risks accompanied with trying new skills—like speaking to the customer about our products and services and the potential benefits. I read somewhere that skills adoption can be as much as four times more effective when combined with coaching. Training and supporting these new behaviours will also serve another purpose. It will tell everyone that this is an important strategic initiative for Novus—not simply the latest management fad.”

Thinking about your business:

• Are your processes and systems for capturing and tracking opportunities clear?
• Do they allow any opportunities to “fall through the cracks?
• What steps do you take to provide encouragement and support for your technicians as they learn new skills and behaviours to become more proactive in making recommendations?[/unordered_list]

Next time we will consider what Charlie needs to do next to put his strategy into action.

 

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Last time, we saw Charlie come to the realisation that proactive recommendations by his technicians must be positioned as an integral part of the service provided. The challenge now is to get everyone on the field service team to enthusiastically embrace the idea. Ken, Charlie’s service supervisor, is instrumental in helping Charlie uncover two of the possible hurdles that could sabotage their efforts.

Still debriefing the earlier service meeting, Charlie tries to sum up what they have uncovered: “So you’re saying that we need to help our technicians realize that discussing opportunities they feel are in the customer’s interest is a service, and not a sale. In other words, you’re recommending that we not teach our service people to sell, but rather that we should teach them to serve.”

“Right!” responds Ken. “By and large our service people resent being considered salespeople, so a big hurdle to our success is going to be getting our technicians to understand the difference between ‘selling’ and ‘serving’.

The fact that making recommendations they believe will truly help the customer may, at first glance look like selling, but it‘s really one of the most important services they can provide.”

Charlie goes over to the whiteboard in his office and writes: Hurdle – Service person’s view of the salesperson. Solution – Show them that they are serving, not selling. “This is great, Ken. Now that you have explained this to me, it makes sense. It seems obvious, but I have never thought of it in this way before. I can’t wait to get started.”

Ken smiles. “Not so fast, Charlie...while you’re at the whiteboard, put a # 1 beside the hurdle that you have identified, and below it write, Hurdle # 2.”

“You mean there’s another one?” asks Charlie.

“Several. After Hurdle # 2 write: The customer’s image of the service technician.” Charlie writes this down and looks quizzically at Ken. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“The customer trusts the service technician to give them objective advice based on their skill and expertise. As you point out, unlike salespeople who are paid for what they sell, service people are paid for their knowledge and experience, which they use to do their job well—installing, fixing or maintaining things. They are viewed as honest brokers—telling it like it is, with no hidden agendas. It is tempting to exploit those trust-based relationships to build more business, and that’s where the trouble lies.

 

“The logic goes something like this. Our technicians have great relationships and our customers trust them. If we can get the techs to just put a little more effort into selling more of our products and services to those trusting customers, then they will be successful in building more revenues and profits without adding to our overheads. Unfortunately, from my experience this doesn’t work—at least not in the long term. When the customer senses that they are being sold, they become confused—and rightly so—about the service technician’s intent. The technician starts to look like a salesperson.

In the mind of the customer, the technician has just changed from being a ‘trusted advisor’ to just another ‘salesperson’ and the relationship advantage is lost.”

To address these hurdles, Ken points out that the solutions for both of these hurdles are the same.

“Show the field service technician that any new business opportunities they identify should be based solely on solving the needs of the customer—not on the need to sell the services of our company. This directs the field service technician to change their focus from selling Novus and our services, i.e. what we have or do that can be sold—to serving their customers, i.e. what their customer needs and how they can best address it using the resources and capabilities of Novus. Keep in mind that when we encourage our techs to focus on the needs of the customer and discern how Novus can best solve those needs, we are also addressing their concern about becoming a ‘salesperson’. Although we can help our techs by training them on the selling-based skills to engage the customer (such as exploring for customer needs, presenting recommendations and providing compelling supportive information), this approach is not a typical ‘sales’ call. Rather it’s simply a conversation with the customer.

 

Thinking about your business:

• Would your customers say that they are uniquely better off by dealing with you?
• How do you continually remind your customers of the unique value you are providing?
• Does your field service team see their role in speaking to your customers about your company’s capabilities as:
  • A valuable service?
  • A selling task?

What other hurdles exist that would prevent your technicians from providing this valuable service?

Next time we will look at two more hurdles that Charlie will need to address if he is to be successful.

 

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As you may recall, Charlie comes to the realisation that the highest level of service that his company can provide is by helping the customer be better off for having hired them. That will require his field service team to be proactive in looking for and recommending products and services that will benefit the customer and help them achieve their business goals. Charlie’s plan to get his technicians to sell seems to come off of the rails by the technicians’ reluctance to act as salespeople for the company.

Fortunately for Charlie, his very able service supervisor Ken, helps him sort things out. As they sit together going over the details of their service meeting, Ken points out:

“What Angus said Charlie, was that it was not the technician’s job to ‘sell’. He didn’t say anything about the technician’s responsibility to help the customer run their facilities better. Actions speak louder than words and Angus’ actions—as you just pointed out—clearly indicate he believes that serving the customer in this way is very much a part of the technician’s role.”

“Ken, you’re going to have to slow down. I’m getting dizzy. Isn’t ‘selling’ and speaking to the customer about things they should do to run their facilities more effectively the same thing?”

“No. There is a subtle but important difference, and most people get these confused. It’s why there are very few service companies that could honestly tell you they are fully satisfied with the work being generated by the field service team.”

 

Ken continues: “Let’s say you go to the doctor with a headache and you’re prescribed a pill to relieve the pain. Have you been truly served?”

“I guess so. I wanted to get rid of my headache and the doctor gave me the medication to do that,” says Charlie.

“Hmmm. Let’s compare that to an emergency service call. The customer calls complaining of no heat. We go to the site and find a blown fuse. We replace the fuse and get the heat back on. The customer signs our work order and we leave. Is that a comparable situation?”

“Sounds like it to me.”

“Unfortunately Charlie, I don’t think that the customer (or patient in the case of the doctor) was well served. Would you not think that the doctor should at least ask a few questions to explore the possible cause of the headache?  Where does it hurt? How long have you had it? What have you taken so far to relieve the pain? That sort of thing. Would you not expect basic information to be taken, including your pulse and blood pressure, or have your ears or throat checked? If something of concern was found, would you be surprised if further tests were suggested? And, based on the results, would you consider recommendations for a particular medication or a change in diet to help you get better as a sales pitch?”

“No. Now that you mention it, I would expect those basic actions. Without them, the doctor might provide me with temporary relief but overlook  the cause, which could have a troubling impact later on. And as for the recommendation for specific medications or diet, I would see that as part of the process to help me get and feel better.”

“Right!” exclaims Ken. He stands and becomes more animated.

“Let’s go back to our fuse example. I recognise it’s not a perfect analogy, and that most technicians worth their salt would do some basic tests to determine if there is a further cause beyond simply a blown fuse. But that’s where it often ends. We solve the immediate problem and move on to the next patient—I mean customer—without doing an ‘examination’ of the customer’s condition beyond the immediate problem. As a result, we miss countless opportunities to help the customer run their facilities more effectively or, perhaps more tragically, to avoid catastrophic breakdowns.”

 

… “I don’t sell, Charlie. I simply use my expertise and experience, and ask a few questions about the situation and the customer’s goals. Then I bring to their attention the types of remedies they might consider to reduce energy, increase tenant comfort, improve operational performance and so on. The customer then makes a decision on what they want to do. I don’t try to force or convince them against their will. I simply assist them to make informed decisions which will help them operate more effectively.”

It’s now that Charlie stands up and gets animated. “So, if I understand you Ken, what you are saying is that Angus and the rest of the team don’t see themselves as salespeople flogging Novus services, but rather as recommenders of our services when they see that as solving a customer’s problems. The challenge then is to help them recognise the difference and encourage them to speak with the customer about what they feel would be in the customer’s best interest to do. Have I got that right?”

Thinking about your business:

• If you have a formal or informal expectation for your technicians to generate opportunities in the field, how do you position this activity with your field team? Is this a selling activity or a serving activity?
• Does your team fully grasp the important service they are providing?
• Do they see it as important a service as their ability to fix or maintain the equipment?

Next time we will look at some of the hurdles that Charlie will need to address if he is to be successful.

 

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The last time we left Charlie, he was trying to make sense of a comment a past customer made to him.

The comment has helped him to realise that his company is missing a tremendous opportunity to add significant value to its customer relationships. He recognises that asking questions during the contract that gives them more insight into the goals and needs of the customer, will allow them to go beyond simply maintaining the equipment by making recommendations of products and services that could help them address their challenges and achieve those goals. In other words, they could proactively take steps to help the customer to be measurably better off by the end of the contract than they were at the beginning.

This is an important revelation for Charlie as he comes to see the service business as more than a maintenance and repair activity. He recognises that the real value that his company can provide is to use their collective experience and expertise to be a “technical” partner for their customers. Using their unique knowledge and understanding the needs of the customer, would allow them to make recommendations that will help their customers achieve their business goals.

He immediately recognises the important role of the technician in making this a reality. They are in the best position to recognise and make recommendations. They know the technology and the capabilities of their company. They have an established relationship with the customer with typically high levels of trust. They know the customer’s equipment and the challenges they are facing. And perhaps most importantly, they have an understanding of the needs and goals of the customer. These are the critical pieces of the puzzle needed in order to make intelligent recommendations.

 

The challenge for Charlie is that he sees the task for the service people as selling and this doesn’t go over very well with the service team. He introduces the subject at a service meeting.

[Charlie] … brings up the issue of selling by simply asking, “So what do we have to do to encourage you to sell more of our services to our accounts? I am convinced that we could grow our revenue significantly, if you guys would just spend a little time talking to the customers about the other things we can do.”

The group sits in silence for a few minutes. There is a lot of shuffling of feet and a few uncomfortable grins as people look at Charlie, and then around the room at their peers. Finally, Angus speaks up, and Charlie is surprised by his response. “With all due respect, Charlie, it’s not our job to sell. We have a sales person that does that. You need to find a way to get him to sell more. Anyway, I can’t speak for the rest of the guys, but whenever I’ve brought opportunities forward, I’ve been disappointed with the way they were handled—if they’ve been handled at all.'

"Just last week, the building manager at Marsh Estates wanted to know when I was going to get my sales guy to show up to discuss our energy audit program. I brought that to John over a month ago. Frankly, I was embarrassed, and I’m gonna think twice before I make a recommendation like that again!”

John is Novus’ service salesperson for maintenance contracts and small project work. He reports to Lauren Baker, Director of Sales and Marketing. Although John does not report to Charlie per se, he has an informal dotted line of accountability.

Charlie was taken aback. From his perspective, Angus was very good at generating new work. He had the least number of contract hours of anyone in the place, and yet was never one who was short of hours. “How can you say that selling is not your job Angus, you’re one of the best ‘salespeople’ in the place?” inquires Charlie.

Charlie was surprised by Angus for the second time this morning. He did not expect the reaction that he got.

 

Angus smiled and said, “That’s where you’re wrong boss. I’ve never sold a thing in my life. I leave the selling to the guys with the expense accounts and the company cars. I simply keep my customers informed, and keep my eyes open for things that they should be doing to improve the operation of their facilities. I could never be a salesperson.”

… Charlie looks around the room. “What do the rest of you guys think? Don’t you see the value of selling our services to the customer?” … Pete sits forward in his chair and says, “Angus is right—we’re not salespeople. We have no business trying to sell the customer anything. We’d lose our credibility with them.” At this point, the room becomes animated and various techs chip in with their comments. Generally speaking, they are all in agreement.

Now Charlie is in a quandary. He recognises that he can really help his customers by making recommendations aimed at helping them achieve their business goals, but he can’t do that without the direct involvement of the service team. And, based on the reaction from the service techs to his suggestion, he won’t be very successful in getting them to participate.

Thinking about your business:

• Do you have a formal or informal expectation of your field service team to generate opportunities in the field?
• How enthusiastically does your field service team participate in this activity?

Next time we will look at this role of making recommendations as an integral part of the service provided.

 

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Field Service consultant and author Jim Baston continues his new series based upon his excellent industry focussed book  Beyond Great Service 

If you missed the introduction to this series you can find part one here

The book, Beyond GREAT SERVICE opens on a conversation that Charlie is having with a long-time customer. His company has lost the renewal of a large maintenance contract and the customer has kindly agreed to meet with Charlie to explain why they made the decision that they did. Perhaps you have had a similar conversation with one of your customers.

“I just can’t see any difference,” explains Joe. “I think you guys do good work and our building managers really seem to like you. However, I can’t justify the premium for the maintenance contract that you are asking for over your competitors. Can you?”

“Good question,” thinks Charlie. He expected this and has been practicing his response all morning, but it just doesn’t ring true to him.

“Joe, we do great work, pure and simple. We hire only the best mechanics. Our mobile fleet is in constant contact with our dispatch so we can respond quickly to any emergency, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our field service team is polite and courteous and our quality is excellent—we have very few call-backs.” Charlie leans back in his chair, relieved that he was able to get it all out. Before he can decide if he has done a good job or not, Joe is shaking his head.

“Charlie, I know you guys do good work and that your team is friendly. Most of our building managers really like you—even Gus at 2270 Main Street, and that’s saying something. But Barnett Mechanical and 99% of the rest of your competitors can say just what you said. They hire good people too. Barnett for example, has won the Customer’s Select award three years in a row and can show you a ream of customer satisfaction surveys that substantiate their claims. I know ‘cause I’ve seen them. Peter, our newest property manager is very familiar with them from the time he spent at Acme Developments, and he can’t speak highly enough about them.

“Charlie, I guess what I am saying is that I am going to switch my business to your competitor because I think they will do a comparable job for less money. It’s nothing against you or your company. It’s simply a business decision. What would you do if you were in my shoes?”

Regardless of the industry or the service provided, conversations like these happen all the time. The customer cannot see any significant differences between service providers and so elects to patronise the one that provides the most value. Since the competitors are more or less the same in the customer’s eyes, the most value often comes down to the lowest price. This is becoming ever more true as the service business becomes increasingly competitive.

 

For most service firms, any competitive advantage they have is quickly matched or even exceeded by competitors. Customer service levels and corresponding customer expectations continue to rise. Unless reminded, any added value provided is quickly taken for granted by the customer and they assume that all service providers provide similar value.

The question facing most service providers then is, how can they stand out in this increasingly competitive environment? How can they provide a demonstrable difference from their competitors – a difference worth paying for? For the answer to this, we are given a clue by the closing paragraphs of Chapter 1.

Although Charlie thinks that he would probably make the same decision, he just mumbles something about appreciating Joe’s time and thanks him for his past business. As Joe walks Charlie down to the elevator, Charlie strains to make conversation. He asks clumsily, “Rising energy costs and stiffer competition must be impacting your customers significantly. What are you doing to help them?”

Joe looks Charlie in the eye, shakes his hand and says, “You sure picked a funny time to ask that question.” The elevator pings to announce its arrival and Joe turns and walks away.

Joe’s response to Charlie’s question puzzles Charlie greatly.

He discusses the conversation with his service supervisor Ken. They focus on Joe’s response to Charlie’s question and Ken helps him come to the realisation that Joe’s response might be linked to the fact that he felt that it should have been asked earlier in their relationship. During the contract, questions like that would have given the service provider more insight into the challenges faced by the customer in achieving their goals.

With that insight, Charlie could have added great value to their relationship. By understanding their challenges, they could proactively identify and recommend actions that could be taken by Joe’s firm to overcome those challenges and achieve their goals. This would provide a level of service beyond simply keeping the equipment running well.

Thinking about your business:

• What makes you different from your competitors?
• If you asked your competitors this question, how would your answer be different?
• What do your customers value most?
•  How do you know this?
• What is it about “what makes you different” that allows you to deliver on that value?

Next time we will examine more closely the technician’s role in bringing ideas to the customer and why their proactive actions are an important part of the service and not an “add-on” selling activity.

 

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Field Service consultant and author Jim Baston begins a new series in which he has kindly agreed to serialise his industry focussed book Beyond Great Service for Field Service News readers. Here in the first part of this new exclusive series he introduces the series...

Welcome to the first in a series of articles based on my book, Beyond GREAT SERVICE – The Technician’s Role in Proactive Business Growth.

Beyond GREAT SERVICE is written for those who are responsible for field service operations and who believe that the technician’s role is more than maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing equipment. It is for those business leaders who recognise that the proactive effort of technicians to identify and recommend products and services to their customers is a valuable service.

The book is a fictional account about Charlie, a service manager who discovers the secret of successfully engaging his field service team in conversations with their customers about the products and services they provide. As part of his education, he uncovers the pitfalls that will limit his success, and plans a way to address them. Most importantly, Charlie comes to recognise that the proactive efforts of his team are a critical part of the overall service his company provides, not an add-on selling activity. This last point brings clarity of purpose to the initiative for everyone involved and allows his team to move forward with enthusiasm.

 

In this series of articles, I will be following Charlie’s journey and draw on the lessons he has learned along the way. We will see how his perception of the role of the field service team changes and how that change allows him to clearly see the task ahead of him. I will end each article with a series of questions that I hope you will find helpful in analysing your own service business.

The themes that will be covered in these articles include:

• Recognizing the role of field service in business promotion as a service. Here we will examine what we are asking the field service team to do through their proactive efforts and why. Although the field service team’s efforts are often confused with selling, we will explore the importance of ensuring that everyone involved recognizes their efforts as a critical part of the service provided. This is an important concept to grasp, as it will guide the direction the initiative will take and provide inspiration for those involved.
• Understanding the critical factors that will determine success. Here we will consider those factors that will be critical to the success of the initiative. In my experience, some of these are “elephants in the room” (we know they exist but don’t want to acknowledge them) and others may not have been considered. Regardless, these are all factors that, if not addressed, will greatly limit the success of the initiative.
• Involving the customer. As Charlie develops the plan, he seeks feedback from key customers to get their reaction and input. We will examine the value of taking this step and provide suggestions on how it can be accomplished.
• Differentiating based on the field service team’s efforts. If the proactive efforts of the field service team are indeed a service to the customer, shouldn’t we treat it as we would any other service that we provide? We will consider how we can differentiate our service business by promoting the efforts of our field service team to our customers. This is the opportunity for a service company to stand out from its competitors by truly working collaboratively with their customers.
• Measuring, monitoring and continuous improvement. Here we will look at what we can do to measure the effectiveness of our efforts and use that information to fine tune our service offering.

My hope is that these series of articles will be of value to service companies in all stages of engaging their field service teams in business development – from those who have not yet started, to those who have formal initiatives in place.

For those not yet started, my goal is to provide a blue print that you can follow to help you achieve your goals faster and avoid some of the common pitfalls. For those already underway, my hope is that these articles will provide inspiration and ideas that will contribute to the effectiveness of your initiative.

 

The book, Beyond GREAT SERVICE – The Technician’s Role in Proactive Business Growth is available on my website at www.jimbaston.com. There you will also find a copy of my latest book, the Beyond GREAT SERVICE Planning Guide.

The Planning Guide is a step-by-step approach to planning and implementing a strategy to focus the entire field service organisation on identifying and recommending actions that their customers can take to be measurably better off. The Planning Guide is intended to help you to ensure that all aspects of your field service organisation – from technicians to supporting infrastructure - are aligned and focused on delivering a service which is “Beyond GREAT”.

An electronic copy of my book is available for download from www.amazon.com or www.amazon.ca. Just type in “Beyond GREAT SERVICE” in the search bar.

I value your feedback about my articles and insight into your own experiences in engaging your field service teams in business development. You can reach me by email at jim@jimbaston.com.

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