Steve Coscia
Contributing Writer
Coscia Communications, Inc.

A few months ago, I conducted a customer service seminar for a client. The company owner’s daughter works the phones and I trained her on how to transform “price shopper” calls from Transactional to Relational.

This transformation occurs when a CSR asks open-ended questions that invite the caller into a relationship, not a transaction.

The cost of training is always less than the cost of ignorance.

On Tuesday, I phoned the company owner and asked for seminar feedback.

“My daughter sold a hot water heater this morning,” he said. “It was a price shopper call and my daughter asked the relationship-building questions. The caller told her that he liked how she handled his concerns.”

My client is elated. He received ROI within 24 hours.

How do you ask relationship-building questions?  Start your question with a brief and therapeutic phrase, such as: “We can help you with that, I just need to gather a little information first.”  The word “gather” is intentional and descriptive.

Then ask about their street address.  Say, “May I have your address?” Then when the customer says their address, you say: “Oh, we serve lots of families in that neighborhood.”  Callers like to talk about themselves.

I feel good when my clients apply the techniques and strategies that yield improved results.

This reinforces something I learned many years ago: The cost of training is always less than the cost of ignorance.