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Hi Reader,

Have you ever felt hopeless while trying to serve a customer?

One team did. Customers called the accounting department, furious about their bills. There was nothing reps could do.

Or so they thought.

We did an exercise to refocus the team on what they could control. It immediately worked. They found new ways to defuse customer anger.

More customers ended the call happy.

That small victory led to another victory. And another. Soon, reps realized they could do a lot.

They got proactive. The team found ways to prevent customer anger. Reps felt happier and more confident than ever before.

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Expand Your Influence

Think about a customer who was frustrating to serve.

You'll have two options the next time you encounter a similar situation:

• Option #1: Handle things the same way. (Prepare to be frustrated again.)
• Option #2: Expand your influence and try to get a better result.

Option #2 is a variation of Stephen Covey's Circle of Influence concept from his book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.

How option #2 works:

1. Draw a circle on a piece of paper.
2. Write a list of things you can't control outside the circle, such as what your customer had for breakfast (Angry Jerk Cereal, perhaps?).
3. Write a list of things you can control inside the circle, such as how you respond to a difficult customer.
4. Brainstorm items to add inside the circle and expand your influence.

You can expand your influence by doing two things:

1. Stop worrying about things outside the circle.
2. Experiment with changing your behavior to see if you get a better result.

Bonus info: LinkedIn Learning subscribers can learn how a team used this technique to cut customer wait time by 50%.

Have a great week!
Jeff
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Jeff Toister
The Service Culture Guide
619-955-7946
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