A.E.P.

Sales
&
Customer Service

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand and implement effective call

handling etiquette - rapport building and
empathizing

Enhance learning towards effective call

handling through active participation in
role plays

Interact with the clients/customers

effectively

. Call

AGENDA

Flow

. Hold,

Mute and transfer procedure

. Voice

mail

. Call

handling techniques questioning &

paraphrasing
. Tips

on call handling

. Rapport

Building

. Empathizing
. Role

Plays

. Questions/

inputs

Call Flow
Call Opening

Identify the
Need

Greet! With a smile.(Smiles can be

heard & felt over the phone)
Introduce self & the organization
you represent. Offer help.
Listen to the customers need.
Identify the customer. Probe - Build
rapport & empathize.

Identify
Process

Paraphrase the issue. Echo

questions can be asked to
identify the reason for the call.

Provide
Solution

Offer solution. Explain the solution

in sequence. Offer alternate
solution.
Check for satisfaction. Close the
call courteously, thank the
customer for their business.
4

Close the Call

TAKING A CALL
Good practice in call
handling
.

Introduce the company name &

yourself to the customer and thank
them for calling.
Ask the customer for their name , if
name is difficult. Ask the customer if
they can pronounce it for you .
Type while talking & listening to the
customer.
Listen without interruptions. Use
customers name.
Summarize what has been done .
Thank customer for choosing 1800.
Flowers. Close call.

Bad Practice in Call Handling

Inconsistency. Not staying the same

throughout the call.

Not addressing complaints seriously. Not

Empathizing with the customer.

Placing calls on hold without asking the

customer if he/she is willing to hold on
the line. Always provide a time frame.

Interrupting the customer while he/she is

speaking.

Avoid Dead Air between the agent and

the customer., as well as wasted time
during pauses.

Placing calls on hold

.

Ask permission before placing a caller on

hold.

Return to the line periodically.

Ask callers if they want to continue

holding.

Indicate how long the delay could be.

Never leave a customer on hold for

longer than two - three minutes.

Use customers name and thank them

when you come back from hold.

Be courteous, respectful and

professional.

AVOID MUTE unless you need to cough,

sneeze or need to talk to someone. Do
not be on mute for more than 3 seconds.

TRANSFERRING CALLS
.

Transfer calls only if you are unable to

help the caller.

Ask permission to transfer calls.

Give names and complete telephone

numbers to the caller in case the call is
disconnected.

If the caller complains about being

transferred, suggest having the call
returned instead.

Give the new party any helpful

information before completing the
transfer.

Never transfer a caller more than two

times.

Stay till verbal handshake before

TO LEAVE A VOICE MAIL

MESSAGE

Leave your name, phone number, and a brief

message

Speak slowly & clearly

Make the message short & to the point

CALL HANDLING
TECHNIQUES

Speak clearly and fluently

Without the visual clues, it takes more
time to understand what is being said.
Enunciate you words clearly and
precisely
Breathe

Speak with enthusiasm

Customers enjoy talking to you if you
are energetic and speak with
enthusiasm.

Smile with your voice

A smile on your face is reflected in your
voice.
Always smile when you are on the
phone .

CALL HANDLING
TECHNIQUES CONTINUED
. Use

body language
Be confident when speaking on the phone
Sit up tall or stand and speak confidently.

. Use

simple language
Dont use difficult words when explaining
to customers .
Be courteous, professional,
understanding, helpful, and friendly.
If the customer requests to have you
explain it once more, reply courteously
and repeat the previous statement.

. Respond

promptly
Always ensure you respond promptly.
Focus on your customer.

10

Be Sensitive and Empathetic

Try to understand callers anxiety, and

situation.
Do not interrupt.
Do not waste time by putting them on
hold unnecessarily

Be patient

CALL HANDLING
TECHNIQUES
CONTINUED.

When customers call again and again

for product information, be patient in
answering queries.
If a caller does not understand the first
time, repeat the information.

Be Attentive
Always be attentive while taking a
call, do not do anything else while
talking on the phone.
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Call handling techniques

.

Probe

Ask open and close ended

questions.
Ask Direct & indirect
questions.
Do not ask personal questions
that may invade the
customers privacy.
Build RAPPORT.

Be Prepared

Always have your headsets

on.
Keep Notepad open to take
notes about the call and
customers information
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Tips on call handling

.

Always identify yourself when receiving a call.

Address people by their names and titles, as

appropriate.

Do not talk with food or chewing gum in your mouth.

Let the caller hang up first.

Have a friendly tone of voice

Get to know your customers.

Place yourself in your customers shoes.

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Inflection
Inflection: Is putting emphasis on a specific word.
Example; How can I help you today?

86% of the message

is from your tone of
voice

14% is grasped by
the actual words

Rapport Building
.

Establishing trust and rapport

is essential to building a
working relationship.

Helps in Problemsolving.
Helps in getting agreements &
win-win solutions.

Rapport is the presence of

agreement or alignment.

Enhances approachability.
Its about getting to know your
customer and letting them
know you are a person as well
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Rapport building
Four common rapport building mistakes &
how to fix them
Pretending you
are
interested

Fix it

Disliking the other

person

Fix it

Be honest, if not interested say so

Change the subject/ postpone it
Be polite & assertive
Ask questions to understand expectations

Ask yourself -what could I like about this person?

Look for things you have in common

Deal effectively with the individual

Stay calm, and keep your cool.
Manage your body language

Your customer is
aggressive.

Fix it

Not speaking
their
language

Get good at spotting, which modality other

people use!
Fix it Use visual, auditory and feeling words accordingly
to make sure you appeal to the other person

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Tips on Building Rapport

.

Create a memorable first impression based on your communication

style & attitude.

Establish your credentials as an expert in your field of work during

the initial meeting.

Look for common ground like hobbies, sports, weather, etc.

Listen attentively & actively & resist the urge to interrupt,

criticize , or argue. (DO NOT Argue with the customer.)

Be yourself, allow your personality to show but do it in a

professional manner .

Understand tone of voice.

Empathize.

17

Empathy

Ability to fully understand the other

persons unique personal situation

The secret of empathizing lies in active

listening.

Pay attention to your customer, pay close

attention to their tone of voice. Do they
sound nervous, stressed, worried.

Express that you are here to help.

Something to Remember

A person may forget what you

say. A person may forget what
you do. But a person will not
forget how you made them
feel.

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ACTIVITY

Role Plays

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UPSELLING
What is upselling?
is asales techniqueused by a seller to persuade thecustomerto
purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt
to make a more profitable sale.
Effective upselling strategies
Assumptive is the key. Youve got to assume that the customer will naturally want
this. Begin upselling with:
Brief benefit

Add something unique

Avoid sounding pushy
Elaborate
Describe it

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UPSELLING CONTINUED..
Right way to up sell
The Wrong way to upsell
Imagine dining at a restaurant where
youve just finished a big meal. The
server asks, Would you care for
dessert? If you say Yes, you might give
the impression of overindulging. So
many customers refuse out of
politeness. Result - no sale.

So the savvy server doesnt ask if the

customer wants dessert. The
professional just assumes that when
people go out for a meal they are
treating themselves. So of course theyll
want to treat themselves to dessert. In
this case, the server pulls up the dessert
tray and says, To finish off your meal
with a little something sweet (thats the
benefit,) I brought the dessert tray over
for you. Would you like to hear about the
most popular ones? (asks permission
to proceed)

When the customer agrees to hear about the desserts the server doesnt just list
them by name; he describes their benefits. So rather than saying, This is
chocolate mousse. Instead hed say something like, If you like chocolate youll
love this. Weve got a chocolate mousse that melts in your mouth and makes
you wonder what the ordinary people are doing today.
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UPSELLING CONTINUED..
UPSELLING SHOULD BE EASY
The best part of upselling is that its practically effortless. Since its
done after the customer has decided to go ahead with a major
purchase, the hard part of the sales conversation has already been
done. Youve already established rapport, identified needs,
summarized, presented benefits, asked for the order and handled
objections. Upselling is just presenting the information in a by-theway assumptive manner.
Now that youve already decided what you wanted. Let
me tell you that we have a special going on that gets you

It sounds like ____ is very special to you. What would you

say to getting this person something above and beyond
special. Something that will definitely blow their socks
off.

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Activity

Role
Plays

24

Thank You

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