Yesterday was Mother's Day...

Did you remember to not only tell, but show your mom how important she is?

If you are a mother, did you get some much-deserved attention from your loved ones?

Customers, like moms, appreciate our undivided attention. So when the phone rings...

Try this tip:

• Swivel your chair away from the computer screen and focus on the caller as you greet them.

Remember, those callers are the reason we have money to spoil our mothers!

Give your customers the gift of your attention.

Good with Words

We all know that your tone of voice speaks louder than your words, but words matter too.
Consider this study from Harvard Business Review:

One CSR said, “You can’t transfer funds until you go through these steps to authorize the account.”
The other CSR phrased it differently, “let me walk you through these steps to authorize the account.”

Which do you think customers preferred?

Yes, CSR #2. In fact, customers rated that call's quality 82% higher.
Why?  The words sound more helpful.

Consider your calls today.  Where can you choose more helpful language?
“You need to” can become “let me help you.”
“I can’t” can become “here’s what I can do.”

Share an expression you plan on re-writing today.

Want more from Ward Certified? Check out our program of the month, Managing the Mix.

Do you trust me?

In the first minute of your calls, your customers are making a decision about you. They are deciding not just if you know your stuff, but if they can trust you. 

How do I know?

Amy Cuddy, a psychologist at the Harvard Business School, and her colleagues found that we make snap judgments about other people that answer two primary questions:

• Can I trust this person?
• Can I respect this person’s capabilities?

According to Cuddy’s research, 80% to 90% of a first impression is based on these two traits. Subconsciously, you and the people you meet are asking yourselves, “Can I trust that this person has good intentions toward me?” and “Is this person capable?”

Cuddy tells us that, “A warm, trustworthy person who is also strong elicits admiration, but only after you’ve achieved trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.”

Here are some tips for sounding trustworthy and competent over the phone.

1.    Sit up for better projection. Slumping in your chair or straining towards the computer blocks your airflow and your energy.
2.   Add some inflection. Punch up the keywords of your greeting. "Good Morning, you’ve reached Awesome Co., this is Ann."
3.    Slow your pace down. Focus on moving your lips as you say your greeting, or air-write your name. Either one will help decrease your pace.

A great greeting doesn’t solve everything, but it does set the stage for a better interaction.

Want to get more tips? Check out our Featured Webinar of the Month: The Write Stuff.

Choose Wisely

Last week we talked about using white space to make emails easier to read. 

Did you know the day of the week impacts your writing and in turn your email effectiveness?

As you can see, Monday morning emails are usually written in a negative tone. That's no good.

Tip:  Choose to be extra careful of your writing if you're grumpy on Mondays or use technology to help. Try a plug-in like Streak that allows you to compose your masterpieces in advance.

Write On!

Psst! Did you like these tips? Then you might be interested in our Featured Webinar of the Month, The Write Stuff. Learn more here!

Easy on the Eyes

If you’re like most American workers, you receive over 80 emails a day and chances are your eyes are tired. But you need your email to be read! Let's compare these two emails.

Subject: Bad Email
Hi Customer, we got the order you sent in and this confirms that we got it but we can’t get started on it because you didn’t tell us some of the specifics that we need to process the order.   I’m not sure if you got the memo about our intake process or not but it has changed and now when you send in the orders you need to tell us upfront about the number and when you need it so we can start to work on it.

---

Subject:  Order 123 – Awaiting further instructions
Hi Customer,
Thank you for your order.  

We will get to work once we have your answers to two questions:
1.     How many do you need?
2.     Do you prefer single or double-sided?

Waiting for your reply,
CSR-Superstar

Ahhh... that’s better! Make your emails easy on your customers’ eyes. Use bullet points. Keep it simple. Aim to have more whitespace than words.

Who's there?

Think about the last time you called a business (cell phone, health insurance or power company) or even, rare as it may be, the last time you went into a store.

Do you remember what they said to you? Probably not.

Do you remember whether you felt good when you left?  Probably.

Today, think about making your customers feel good. Try to make them laugh.
Idea 1:  If they mention a vacation - ask to come along!
Idea 2:  If you are in front of clients and need to get something behind the counter, pretend you are walking down the stairs.

Share your stories, what did you say that got your customer to chuckle?

When Easter falls on April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day landed on a Sunday this year, which robbed many offices pranksters of the opportunity to mess with their colleagues.  If that's you, did you find a way to fool your family?

And you might have been fooled into over-indulging; food, beverages, family and friends.  If you're feeling a little sluggish today then it's time to get moving!

Today, aim to walk as much as possible:

• Offer to pick up someone else's printing or fax.
• Offer to go get a coffee refill for a colleague.
• Walk that email up to Accounting.
• Walk that special order over to Dispatch and explain in person what your text was trying to convey.  

The goal is simply to move. So go on, and hope that non of your coworkers decided to keep pranking today, like this office: