2018-12-10

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 27 DEC. 10-16, 2018 NEWS O ne topic getting too little attention is how to handle customers or pro- spective customers who waste the company’s time. On one hand, time spent with cus- tomers is frequently productive. Customer commu- nications help foster positive relationships, build trust, increase loyalty and gain future revenues. Un- fortunately, if it’s permitted, some customers also will waste significant amounts of your time. Some of the most common customer time wast- ers are excessive small talk, discussions not fitting your offering, debating company purchase or ship- ping requirements, routine price shopping and un- certain timelines. Let’s be honest, cus- tomer time wasters oc- cur because we allow it. What’s more, many, if not most, employees aren’t trained how to handle these situations. How much time or dollars does the average business lose from time wasters? That’s hard to say. Clearly, the cost to a business can accumulate quickly. For example, if an employee wastes 20 min- utes a day on small talk, it will accumulate to over 80 hours a year. Think about that, two full weeks of productivity potentially gone. Now, multiply 80 hours by the number of employees likely to experi- ence time-wasting customers, and then multiply by an average hourly rate to see what it’s costing your company. I’ve asked audiences to do the math during speeches or during client coaching sessions. Many are shocked, while others aren’t surprised. And yet, virtually no one is doing anything about the prob- lem. Why? One possible rea- son is because getting time with a customer or prospect is what ev- ery prosperous com- pany desires; it’s their lifeblood. Since no one wants to risk losing a good customer when trying to handle a tricky sit- uation, it’s often easier to avoid the problem by do- ing nothing. Here are five ways to manage customer time wasters while still giving friendly service. 1. Communicate your limitations of time. Whenever customers engage in endless small talk, offer a legitimate reason for needing to end the con- versation quickly, such as, “I have a customer ap- pointment in five minutes.” This helps smooth over the customer’s feelings and lets you juggle multiple customer needs.  2. Ask if you can set a follow-up conversation. When it’s not possible to help them, as in the pre- vious “appointment” example, ask for a convenient time to have a follow-up conversation. This leaves customers feeling like you really want to help and builds goodwill. 3. Find out the urgency. Try asking something like, “Are you placing an order for this right now? Or is it something you’re just thinking about and want some ballpark prices?” This allows you to es- tablish the priority, determine whether you should handle it yourself or if referring it to someone else would be better. A side benefit is it may accelerate the customer’s desire for your product.   4. Set the expectations. Explaining how you operate, how to best reach you and your normal working hours may seem unnecessary, but they set helpful parameters for customer expectations. 5. Use customer-benefit language. To avoid giv- ing a customer the feeling you are putting them off or don’t value their business, use verbiage like, “To provide you with excellent service, let me …,” or, “Your business is very important to us, can I have Tom call you tomorrow morning?” This helps con- vey a strong interest in your customer’s business, while providing a way to control your time. Time is money and wasting time means wasting money. It’s essential to limit time wasters caused by customers, but also do it with friendly service. Consultant and professional speaker Mark Holmes is president of Springfield-based Consultant Board Inc. and SalesRevenueCoach.com. He’s also the author of “The Five Rules of Megavalue Selling.” He can be reached at mark@salesrevenuecoach.com. OPINION Staying engaged and connected makes our city better Smart Ways Series How to handle customers who waste your time C heers, Springfield. You rocked this year’s midterms. Our Queen City increased voter turnout by an impressive 27.6 percent compared with the last midterms in 2014. It was the highest turnout increase among cit- ies of the same name in Illinois, Massachusetts and Oregon. The friendly competition to boost Election Day turnout, Springfield Votes!, was put together by the League of Women Voters. The local campaign targeted primarily young professionals in social posts and a video with famil- iar faces from “The Mystery Hour.” It was a plea to millenials, typically the slackers among voting groups by age, to get informed and get to the polls. Hard voting data broken down by age isn’t avail- able; Census data estimates voter turnout based on self-reporting. A report from the Pew Research Center found 51 percent of eligible millenials na- tionwide said they would vote in the last major election, the lowest among the voting population’s generations. As I guessed in my last column, millennials helped vote ourselves out of that slacker label with last month’s turnout in Springfield. Voting is, or at least should be, what levels the playing field of our democracy – one voice, one vote. It’s a tremendous civic duty and privilege, and this notable increase in turnout can be added to the list of what makes our city great. Being an informed voter is truly just one way to benefit our fair city. The next elections will be here before we know it, but in the meantime, here are some other ways we can stay engaged in communi- ty betterment. 1. Give and volunteer. The holiday season is a great entry point into vol- unteerism and giving back, but it’s not the only time to be generous. People in our community need help paying for groceries year-round, kids need to visit the dentist even in the summer months and women fleeing situations of domestic violence need a safe place to rest their head all year. We know this, but many of us still concentrate our generosity around this time of year. A survey from the nonprofit Insider Network shows much of the funds raised by nonprofits are concentrated in the fourth quarter, as nearly 30 percent of charities raise almost half of their annual operating budgets in year-end donations. Let’s continue with year-end giving, but consid- er also creating an annual day to give back as an of- fice or a family in January or February. Generosity of time and treasure is more impactful when given regularly. 2. Don’t zone out. As much as I love listening to NPR on the way to and from work, some days it’s tough to keep it on. Lately, national news seems like a track on repeat. But we only work well as a country when we stay informed, and not just for the sake of elections. The power from civic engagement goes beyond one day. Numerous boards, commissions and committees need citizens to lend their voices. A Rosie panel last winter with city, county and state representatives specifically encouraged women, young profession- als and people with diverse backgrounds to get in- volved. 3. Enjoy local offerings. Each time we go out to eat, grab a coffee or buy a gift, there’s a choice to shop local. Springfield has no shortage of businesses to chose from. Certainly some items could be found with a lower price tag, but what’s the larger cost? The Business Alliance for Local Living Econo- mies finds that for every $10 million spent at a lo- cal business, 57 jobs are created. The same money spent with Amazon creates 14 jobs. Spending local- ly matters economically, and it creates a richer ex- perience personally when you know your spending habits are helping fuel a neighbor’s dream. We all get the same 24 hours each day to spend. Let’s commit to devoting our most precious com- modities to civic engagement and supporting our community. Springfield Business Journal Features Editor Christine Temple can be reached at ctemple@sbj.net. Send letters and comments to sbj@sbj.net BUSINESS SHIFTS Mark Holmes Let’s be honest, customer time wasters occur because we allow it. TRUTH BE TOLD Christine Temple