How to see customer objections as an opportunity
BusinessHappens.
You’re not going to make 100 percent of people happy 100 percent of the time.
In my business, when we’re faced with a challenging customer, we call it an “opportunity.” That’s literally by the way.
I’ve been in business for decades and in sales since I was a kid, and one of the key things all good salespeople learn is that you want to know the top objections because as you address complaints, you get closer to yes. . But sometimes you also need to address the issues of a customer who isn’t happy with your company. Once again, this is an opportunity.
Customers want to be heard
The most critical piece of advice that I am going to share with you in this post is to listen. Listen, listen, listen. I get it. No one wants to be on the other side of a customer complaint, and often what happens is that the person hearing the criticism feels they have to respond. They may feel personally attacked for their inexperience, but sometimes that happens. They may think that they have to defend the company because the customer, in their opinion, is wrong or wrong with the alleged facts. Or maybe they want to try to fix the situation quickly and start talking.
do not speak
The hardest thing you can do, but most importantly, is to train yourself and your team when they hear customer complaints to keep quiet. Allow the customer the space to express themselves. And, when the inevitable moment of silence arrives, hold back and don’t jump right in with an answer. Sometimes a pause in the conversation is because the customer is thinking. You need to give them the space to express themselves, and depending on how upset the customer is, you may need to listen for more than a minute or two. Wait.
By training yourself and your team to listen and pause, you’ll know when the customer has said all they need to say about the problem. And most of the time, especially if you are one of those people who gets angry easily, you will have used up the accumulated energy and you will feel more relaxed. You have to let them get the emotion out before you can start to address the problem.
The other very important thing that happens when you provide a customer who is dissatisfied with your company’s service or product is that they will have a sense of appreciation for you because you did what very few people in other companies do: you listened and allowed them the space to express yourself.
How to get involved to find out the facts
Once the client has fully expressed themselves, you can start asking questions. I tell my team to always ask open ended questions. You’re not looking to prove or disprove anything at this point. All you’re doing is listening to find out the facts, based on how your client sees them, not your team. Remember, people can view the same situation differently, so it is important to understand how an angry customer views the circumstances of the situation that upset them.
When you interact with them at this stage, especially if this is the first time you’ve heard about this complaint, you should try to get the facts as they see them. You want to carefully research and break down what their experience is with your product or service, and you also want to understand how your team handled it because it can be a teachable opportunity.
Get the facts and come back
You will most likely have to do your internal research and then contact the client. Generally speaking, your inquiry should be done within the day. If your fact finding is going to take longer, be sure to tell the client that you will get back to them in (give them an exact number of days). If you don’t have an answer for them because you’re still in the middle of the investigation, then be sure to email them and learn.
People want to know that you (or a manager) are dealing with whatever their problem is and will usually give you the space to understand what happened. However, to ensure that you keep the customer on your side as you help them with the problem, be sure to keep them up to date. It’s one of the best things you can do besides listen.
A question for resolution
And finally, once you have all the facts and while you are looking to resolve the issue to your satisfaction (even if it takes a bit), ask the customer how they would like you to approach the situation. People like to be committed to the solution and a client most likely has in mind what they would like the outcome of the matter to be. If you can satisfy them, you will see your angry customer turn into a happy customer because you handled their challenge to their satisfaction.
If the suggested solution is not something you can do, then consider whether there is some form of compromise. Be sure to explain why you can’t comply with the way they would like you to approach the matter, but compromise if possible. In other words, let them become your partner in finding a mutually beneficial solution. And when you and your team address customer complaints in this way, you’ll discover how a stressful situation can become an opportunity.