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>>Need
skills to negotiate with gold-digging customers
We
are finding that many customers today are savvy
negotiators and they are tough to deal with. Do you have
tips for how to negotiate with customers who are bent on
taking the company to the bank?
Myra's
answer to Need
skills to negotiate with gold-digging
customers
I remember a time where it wasn't even
necessary for customer service professionals to have
negotiation skills. But we are living in different
times. Today, customer service professionals must be
astute negotiators, able to reach resolutions that
balance the interests of the customer and the
company.
Here are 4 quick negotiation skills to
help your team keep both the company’s customers and
money when dealing with "gold-digging"
customers...
1. Ensure the decision makes good business
sense. All resolutions offered should not only
retain the customer, but also be smart business
decisions. For example, does it make good business sense
to waive $125 in NSF charges for a bank customer with
one personal account? Would it make good business sense
if this were a customer who kept an average balance of
$35,000 in the bank?
2. Consider different levels of resolutions for
different levels of customers. Perhaps waiving
$125 in NSF fees for a customer with only $50 in an
account isn’t a good business decision, but is it
smart if the customer also has 2 car loans, a mortgage
loan and an annuity with the bank? (In our How to Keep
Customers in Love After a Mishap seminar, we help
clients develop a service recovery matrix for different
levels of customers. For example, resolution strategy
‘A’ would apply to a customer holding one account
and strategy ‘C’ would apply to a high net-worth
customer with multiple accounts.)
3. Know when to give in. USA Today
carried a story that headlined, “Bank gets $2 million
lesson.” It began when a customer tried to get his
parking slip validated at a bank in Spokane, WA to save
60 cents. A receptionist refused, saying he hadn’t
conducted a transaction. The customer asked to see the
manager, who also refused to stamp the ticket. Appalled,
the customer went to the bank’s corporate office
vowing to withdraw his 2 million plus dollars unless the
manager apologized. No call came. “So the next day I
went over and the first amount I took out was 1 million
dollars,” he says, “But if you have $100 or 1M,”
he says, “I think they owe you the courtesy of
stamping your parking ticket.” Breaking the “no
stamp” rule here would have led to a loyal
relationship with a high net worth customer. Part of
negotiating is knowing when to give in.
4. Don’t let customers push you into a corner.
Never agree to a resolution you’re uncomfortable with.
Get comfortable with saying no when that’s the right
answer. One of my favorite responses to upset customers
when I’m up against a wall is, “We see this
differently, and I am going to have to put more thought
to the perspective you have shared with me. It’s
helpful for me to understand how you see things. In the
meantime, here is what I can do to solve the immediate
problem.” Equip your team with negotiation skills and
you’ll put less revenue at risk, keep more customers
and build the esteem of your employees in the process.
See also
7 Questions (and answers) about
negotiating with customers with Myra Golden
Free Negotiation
Skills Articles and
the
Negotiation
Skills Bookstore
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I
was very pleased with Myra' presentation, but even more
so, I was left with a sense of new energy and desire to
put her recommendations to use. I
can't wait for Monday!
Tim
O'Laughlin
The
Coca-Cola Company
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