» Business Methodologies

Welcome to the secret shopping blog.

I heard a great presentation on customer service at the ICCM conference last September. ON of the presenters talked about the four Sees ( Not the four Cs)

SEE yourself as the customer.

SEE yourself as the owner.

SEE the customer you rare dealing with as your only customer.

SEE yourself on T.V.

If you see yourself as the customer, won’t you make the experience as pleasant as you’d like it to be? Seems simple, no?

If you see yourself as the owner of your company, won’t you try to make things go “right”? Won’t you focus on the growth and stability of your company?

If you see your current customer as the only customer you will ever have, won’t you make sure that customer gets treated well and tells everyone lese how well it went?

If you see yourself as if you were on T.V., wouldn’t you act in a way that would get you good reviews?

Maybe the four Sees aren’t too bad a way to look at things.

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, our diary of the secret shopping world.

At this time of the month, we are trying to finish up the last undone shops. There are always a few employees we need to shop that are next to impossible to track down. We sometimes have to call multiple times and ask for the subject over and over in order to get through. It makes me wonder how effective these staff members are in dealing with customers if they are next to impossible to find.

If they are building rapport with any customers, it must not last long. Once the customer has had a few minutes of frustration trying to catch that specific employee, they get annoyed and turn to another employee for help. Maybe you have it set up so that every employee is equally good at developing and keeping rapport with customers. In this case, it may not hurt you to have a few employees that are not always easily available. But you might also be annoying a lot of people who end up spending their money elsewhere.

Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog. We like to post our experiences in the world of secrets hopping, mystery shopping and sales and customer service training.

Many times we take an issue and turn it into a test or pop quiz. We use it to learn the item. Then we coach and review. Then we pull our recordings of calls or make secret shopping calls to our reps and see how well the training stuck.

In this case we are reviewing how to handle current storage customers who want to rent an additional unit, what holiday hours will be for the Labor Day weekend and a general question about current tenant calls.

As you develop quizzes and training material, you will find some interesting results. Sometimes you find your approach and your training is good. Sometimes not.

Here you go:

PhoneSmart Newsroom Name _____________________
Date ______________________

Please return to the Pop Quiz folder ASAP. Thanks.

1. Which of the following specials can you offer to a current tenant who is looking for a 2nd storage unit?

A. Student Discount, Military Discount OR a Senior Discount.
B. A long term pre-pay special IF they pre-pay for 12 months or more.
C. A Permanent special noted in the operator notes no matter what they are always available to any caller.
D. Answers A AND B are available because they are current tenants.
E. You can NEVER offer more than one special to anyone at anytime.
F. Other

2. Which are the following are correct?

A. All Stores are closed on Monday Sept. 5th for Labor Day.
B. Only stores in Canada are closed on Monday Sept. 5th for Labor Day.
C. No stores are closed on Monday Sept. 5th for Labor Day.
D. Refer to your store screens only (i.e operator notes).
E. Only stores in the United States are closed on Monday Sept. 5th for Labor Day.
F. All stores are closed for the entire weekend for Labor Day weekend.
G. Other:

3. What do you consider to be a reasonable time length to spend with a caller on the phone regarding an issue other than a rental inquiry?
Why?

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What Now???

Here in the Secret Shopping Division at PhoneSmart we make your calls and complete the evaluations each month. Once we send them to you, the ball is in your court. However, we still want you to know that we are here to coach you through the entire process. We realize that just making calls and sending evaluations alone won’t give you the outcome you’re looking for. Secret Shops are a tool, and like any tool, they must be picked up and used in order to build your profitable business.

We understand that each of your employees may be at a different level in their sales training. In order to level the playing field and get everyone on the same team, we have a few ideas that can make secret shopping a fun tool.

First determine the method you will use to implement your secret shops. Then identify what level your employee may be on and put some of these suggestions into play.

Methodologies:
• Will your shops be used as bonus?
• Will secret shopping scores be part of annual reviews, pay rates, etc.?
• Will your shops be used to monitor and maintain company standards?
• Will you set goals for each employee or property?

If you’re happy with your scores?
Congratulations!!! It takes a lot of hard work and determination to reach your goal. In order to maintain this high level of efficiency we recommend:
o Rewarding employees with consistently high scores
o Using your star employees to teach others
o Promoting or giving more responsibility to encourage company loyalty

If you see consistently middle scores?
It isn’t uncommon to get stuck in a rut. We often do things out of habit, repeating our action but expecting a different outcome. The key to advancing is to identify what techniques are working for you and which ones aren’t. Your facility may stay at a certain level of capacity just because of the location, it’s your goal to drive revenue and boost your bottom line. Here are a few suggestions that can help develop your selling skills:
o Try our Role Playing Helpline
o Focus on one aspect of your sales presentation at a time
o Refresh your employees with a training program
o Set a realistic goal and celebrate when you’ve achieved it

If you have consistently low scores?
Don’t’ fret; you’ve taken the first step in the right direction! Secret shopping is a great way to increase sales knowledge and maintain a level of consistency. There are numerous ways to improve your scores which in turn will directly affect your profit.
o Have you given your staff a sales training course?
o Repeat your training, or use the PhoneSmart training packet
o Use our Role Playing Helpline
o Set goals and make sure your staff is aware of them
o Do your employees hear their shops and see their evaluations

Training Ideas:
• Use our Role Playing Helpline
• Try our Training Packet
• Make it fun!
• Offer an incentive for scores that improve
• Have a pizza training night (Who doesn’t love pizza?)
• Ask your best employees to share what they do that gets positive results
• Start small
• Work on one item at a time, then build on what works
• Keep staff refreshed with pop quizzes or surprise visits

Incentive/ Bonus Ideas:
• $$$
• Have the owner/ supervisor detail the winner’s car
• A day of paid vacation
• Tickets to the movies
• Dinner at a favorite restaurant
• Display awards
• Create a “Wall of Fame”
• Mention a great employee’s name in newsletters
• Display everyone’s scores
• Be creative!!!

Are you missing a piece of the puzzle???

As a result of client demand, PhoneSmart has developed the complete sales solution! Please take this opportunity to explore our winning sales solution.

We’ve broken down basic consumer needs into these four categories. Which areas are you most concerned with?

Missed Calls

Sales Training

Generating More Leads

Increasing Conversion Rates

Call or email us today and we can help you achieve great success in any or all of these areas.

We appreciate your business!

Natalie Thomas Sarah Little
866-639-1715 866-639-1715
nthomas@phone-smart.net sarahlittle@phone-smart.net

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, our window on the world of mystery shopping and secret shopping.

Technology is certainly making the monitoring and training of staff an interesting situation. With call recording and micro video cameras, you can record intimate details of transactions. Even if your technology is top notch, you still have to make sure your evaluations are “real world’ and pertinent. Your evaluators have to have enough knowledge and good judgment to put themselves into the situation and get beyond simply reporting what apparently happened and make constructive comments to help move the project forward.

Do your evaluators know the emotional state of your customers and prospects? Do your evaluators know the challenges your staff is up against? These issues are even more important than the state of your technology.

Bye for now, Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, our diary of our mystery shopping and secret shopping experiences.

Many businesses deal with some sensitive issues. Don’t leave these issues to chance. Create some protocols and structures for handling them and then shop the situations.

For instance we deal with a lot of self storage facilities. They sometimes deal with people who are fleeing abusive living situations. So our clients need to be sensitive while not getting caught up in the situation. Here are a few phrases PhoneSmart uses to try to empathize without getting involved and while still making the sale.

Handling confidential situations i.e. abusive spouse:
Be as sympathetic and as calm as possible. Let them know you will do what you can as quickly as you can to help them out.
Stress in managers notes as much as information that is useful to keep information confidential.

***Note in the manager notes – Confidential Situation – Do not give out any info. – and any other helpful notes.

“Sounds like you’re making a good first step and moving on! Let’s hurry up and get you out of there…”

“I’m sorry to hear that… let me get some information so we can get you a unit …”

“I’ll let the manager know that this is a confidential situation so they do not give out any information to anyone else other than your self.”

“Well, let me get some information so we can get you set up quickly, o.k.?”

“Let me get a safe call back number so in case you need to get off the phone and you call back later, we’ll know who you are, o.k.?”

“Is there a message phone number that we can reach you at or get in touch with you at?”

“I’ll make sure that we do not call your home number, o.k.?”

“I understand your situation and I’ll help you in any way I can. Let’s get this done quickly to avoid them getting upset.”

“I will make a note to the manager about the situation so they do not discuss your storage need with anyone other than you.”

“I am really sorry to hear your boyfriend beat you up. What time do you think you will be here tomorrow?”

How do you prepare and practice for sensitive situations?

bye for now, Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, our diary of the world of secret shopping and mystery shopping. You can set up your next evaluations by prepping your staff with a quiz. After they have completed the quiz and you have reviewed answers with them, do some monitoring or secret shops on the topic to make sure the information stuck.

Here is a quiz we did last year for one of our apartment management companies.

Name:_____________________________ Date:_________________________

Please hand in to the folder by the commission sheet hand in folder ASAP. Thanks.

1. Can you tell the Kitty Hawk apartment manager to call back a customer at 12:30 to answer their questions?

Why?

2. Say it is Friday 9am… Bon Gor apartment Caller wants to schedule an appt. for Monday. What time can you set the appointment for on Monday… 10am? 1pm? Or 3pm?

Why?

3. Say it is Tuesday…At what time can you schedule a Kitty Hawk site visit for on Saturday?

Why?

4. For a Bon Gor caller– needs to leave a message for manager… what is the voicemail 4 digit number that you would transfer them to?

5. What is the total, excluding any possible taxes, would a Kitty Hawk renter need, to move in if the caller…

-rents a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment
-will bring their cat to live there
-has their own apartment insurance coverage
-has 1 other adult moving in with them

*** Bonus question…
How many birds can fit into a 1bedroom apartment?

This was a great way to make sure we were not confusing callers on a number of issues. You can break down your requirements into small bits and pieces too, and quiz, review and shop the topics.

bye, Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, where we look at issues surrounding the world of secrest shopping and mystery shopping. As you develop your team, consider this law of sales and service.

The Chuckle Rule
By Tron Jordheim

There are many mathematical formulas and behavior theories that one must consider when crafting a sales program and projecting out a sales cycle. None of these rules are more fun than the Chuckle Rule. There are very few basic drives that steer humanity. Once the basic needs food and shelter are taken care of you are left with fear, greed, sex drive and the love of laughter. Some behaviorists might disagree with me. They might place laughter in a completely different category. But I think it is indeed one of the most basic drives that determine human behavior. It also appears to be one of the healthiest and most enjoyable activities a person can participate in. When laughter is used in the selling process, it becomes a powerful tool.

Most selling situations can get a little tense. There are a lot of emotions involved in any buying process. Certainly people do not find the need for storage to be a happy circumstance. Most selling situations involve two companies or two sales people competing for business. This can bring the pressure to a boiling point. If your occupancy is a little off or if you feel threatened by a new competitor in your market, you might feel the need to fight for your next rental.

So there you are at the counter not wanting this rental prospect to slip away. There is the rental prospect walking in your door wishing he was hitting his thumb with a hammer rather than having to spend the day shopping or buying. Yes, the use of all your best sales technique and all the newest and coolest methods will help seal the deal and get a signature on the lease. But there is a simple and fun way to dramatically increase the likelihood of doing business with that prospect. Share a few chuckles.

Here is the small print on sharing a chuckle. The chuckle has to be appropriate and has to fit the situation. So you need to listen to the prospect, assess the prospect’s mood and then find something to laugh about or find something to poke fun at. With the first chuckle you will see the stress on the prospect’s face melt away and the shine in his or her eyes start to show. The second chuckle will give the person even a deeper release and the third chuckle will make the two of you friends for life.

In fact the power of the chuckle is exponential. Two chuckles shared increases the likelihood of doing business by a factor of 2. Three chuckles increase your success rates by a factor of three. There is a point of diminishing returns somewhere around the 3rd to 5th chuckle depending on the situation and the people involved. So 17 chuckles does not insure you will do business. It may, in fact, give someone a heart attack if that person has not had enough laughter in recent weeks and is all of a sudden overloaded with laughter.

You may find in your quest to share a few chuckles that the prospect you are dealing with has no sense of humor. . It is sad that such people exist. But you still may be able to do business with them if you fall back on your well-honed selling skills.

There are some ways to prime a person for a chuckle. Find some clean and funny cartoons to post where everyone can see them. Learn a few good jokes and tell them to people while you are walking them to the unit you are going to show. My personal favorite is the Far Side series. If you have one of these silly cartons where people can see, you may get a chuckle without even saying hello.

You may find that your current customers will come to see you in your office just to tell you a joke or show you a cartoon they cut out for you. What a great way to keep your customers coming back for more. Give them chuckles and they will be there.

bye for now,
Tron

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Welcome to the secret shoppng blog, our diary of the secret shopping world.

How do you rate your feelings? Sometimes when you are on a shop, the person you are rating may make technical mistakes and ignore important policy proceedures but still give you a good experience. You got good feelings from the person and liked him or her.

How much is this worth in your evaluation? How much is it worth in real life? If you get bad feelings from a subject, it may not mater how well he or she followed a script or proceeedure, you will still have a bad experience.

Now if you can get someon to follow the “plan” and give out good feelings, then you are in business. How do you give out good feelings? Maybe this is the job of customer service people. Don’t give out cookies or business cards, give out good feelings.

bye for now,
Tron

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, where we loook at the mystery shopping and secret shopping business.

Here is the big question:

How does your staff sound to your callers?

With secret shopping, you will know.

Secret Shops help you with:

-Sales Training
-Improving customer service
-Quality controls
-Meeting anti-discrimination standards

Here are a few pointers to make it work.

-Present this as a training aid and a way to help the staff members improve performance.
-If staff members view it as a spying mission set up to punish them, it will fail.
-Start with small goals.
-Set specific performance goals to start. For instance…a smile in the voice, two standard qualifying questions, one standard closing question. Then after you see these standards being met well, add something a little more complicated.

Try to keep it simple, so your staff can find success with secret shopping and so they can feel as if secret shopping helps them become better at their jobs.

bye for now,
Tron

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