Smart Ideas
Influence with ease
By Jeff Mowat
Smart Business Cleveland | September 2001
What it is about machines that people like? It's the reliability factor that comes with using something programmed to serve.
It's similar to the new role of front-line employees in today's economy. Their job is to create loyalty experiences, but they also utilize machines to do their jobs.
A key reason e-commerce and automated services are booming is that these machines are predictable.
Where there is predictability, there is comfort. Where there is comfort, there is trust. And where there is trust, there is the willingness to part with money. That means that front-line employees need to be predictably positive without sounding rehearsed or phony when talking with prospects or servicing current clients. Thus, there is a need to develop and teach experience skills to your staff.
Without them, you could be risking that all-important trust factor and leaving your business' sales up to chance.
Jeff Mowatt (jmowatt@attglobal.net) is a 20-year veteran of the service industry who develops training programs and consults to business owners looking to improve their staff's service. He can be reached at (800) 566-9288.
