Gaining confidence as a CSR

[kwinfrey]

Hello! My name is Kimberly and I have been working for Bowman's Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning for the past 4 months. I've been trying to gain more confidence when I answer phone calls but I still seem to be very hesitant when speaking with customers eventhough I worked in retail for years. What can I do to be more confident in my position?

[Steveng · Accepted solution]

For me, confidence is broken up into a few areas that if they are strong then I noticed my confidence was strong.  Competence, did I know what I was talking about?  I remember memberships were revamped and I wasn't confident until I really understood the process and felt I could explain it from multiple perspectives.  That helped.  Feeling like an imposter, was another big one for me, I felt like it was just fake lip service that I was regurgitating.  I created a script in my own words that covered all the points in our main scripts and immediately saw improvement in my attitude because the words I was using were mine.  Lastly, don't compare yourself to others, sometimes you can limit yourself by pacing with someone below your ability, or the opposite, you try to compete against 10+ years experience with 4 months experience.   Best of luck to you!  

[MirandaMel · Accepted solution]

I definitely understand that!  It's hard over a phone without getting the visual cues from who you are speaking with.  

Difficult customers...try to be kind to yourself and remember that these customers are mad at the situation and not at you personally.  99.9% of the time they just want someone to listen to their issues and concerns and know that they have been heard.  The other 0.1% are the ones that nothing anyone can say will do any good...but luckily they are very few and far between!

A number of vendors have training academy sessions on their websites that can help you get familiar with the products.  If you have the ability, ride alongs are a great training tool!!

And remember...your 10+ years of experience in retail is so incredibly valuable...you managed that and you 100% are able to manage this!  

[Rachel_Young · Accepted solution]

Such great input here!
And honestly @kwinfrey  the fact that you took time to come here and ask this question tells me you're likely doing better than you give yourself credit for. Confidence does come with time and experience, but you can also have confidence in your company as a whole or your technicians and teammates abilities. And it sounds like you have quite a bit of experience to draw from yourself, so perhaps it's a matter of understanding the differences in these roles, retail to CSR.

For example in retail, you may have been expected to answer most questions from customers on the floor but as a CSR in the trades, I can assure you that is not the case. The best leaders will help empower their CSRs to have confident responses ready, not necessarily immediate answers or solutions. Some customers will speak to you as if you are a master technician of over 20 years who can solve their problem blindly over the phone in minutes and tell them the exact price to resolve it .... and any true master technician will give you many reasons and experiences why not to, even if you could.

Empathy and enthusiasm go a looooong way here, and coming from retail I'm willing to bet you were likely hired for those skills. Ultimately customers want to feel heard and know you understand what they say and need. The ability to create this trust is why CSRs are critically important and deserve much greater respect than they've been given. Customers that feel understood are more patient and calm, and see far greater value in your company's services. Even the most difficult customers can often be won over with true empathy, and if they aren't then don't sweat it for a second because you likely saved the rest of the company the pain of dealing with them 😉

More constructively speaking here, were you provided with any scripts, manuals, or booking parameters? I very much agree with @Steveng as I disdain rigid scripting. And @MirandaMel  makes a strong point about familiarizing with the industry and lingo.
If you need I have some "how to answer common questions" for HVAC CSRs I'd be happy to share. 😊

[kwinfrey]

Thank you so much @Rachel_Young. Sure I would love to see what you have for answering common questions.

[egamby84]

I can relate to this. Plumbing was intimidating to me since I came from a dental profession prior, so this was all very new! I have found a lot of people don't expect the CSR to know a lot about plumbing. If there is something that comes up that I am unfamiliar with, you can get their number and tell them you want to give them the most accurate information and can call them back once they speak with a technician or someone who knows the answer!  I also took lots of notes when I started and had post it notes everywhere. It only feels hard now because it is so unfamiliar but you are growing & learning! Hang it there it will get easier! 🙂

[MirandaMel]

I agree with Steven...it could just be you being more sure of yourself with knowing what you are talking about and the confidence of your answers.  That takes a bit of time, but you are well on your way!  

You might want to ask yourself if there are other areas your are hesitant about?  Do you struggle with outbounding calls or maybe having to deal with difficult customers?

Also, @AngieSnow has some incredible videos geared towards CSR's that are an amazing asset to anyone in a CSR position.

[kwinfrey]

I would say its dealing with the difficult customers and being able to sound like I know what I am talking about. I worked in retail for 10+ years and I had no problem answering questions but it feels different when it is over the phone. I have post it notes everywhere about what do to but I want to feel more comfortable in my skin with what I am doing,

[MirandaMel · Accepted solution]

I definitely understand that!  It's hard over a phone without getting the visual cues from who you are speaking with.  

Difficult customers...try to be kind to yourself and remember that these customers are mad at the situation and not at you personally.  99.9% of the time they just want someone to listen to their issues and concerns and know that they have been heard.  The other 0.1% are the ones that nothing anyone can say will do any good...but luckily they are very few and far between!

A number of vendors have training academy sessions on their websites that can help you get familiar with the products.  If you have the ability, ride alongs are a great training tool!!

And remember...your 10+ years of experience in retail is so incredibly valuable...you managed that and you 100% are able to manage this!  

[Steveng · Accepted solution]

For me, confidence is broken up into a few areas that if they are strong then I noticed my confidence was strong.  Competence, did I know what I was talking about?  I remember memberships were revamped and I wasn't confident until I really understood the process and felt I could explain it from multiple perspectives.  That helped.  Feeling like an imposter, was another big one for me, I felt like it was just fake lip service that I was regurgitating.  I created a script in my own words that covered all the points in our main scripts and immediately saw improvement in my attitude because the words I was using were mine.  Lastly, don't compare yourself to others, sometimes you can limit yourself by pacing with someone below your ability, or the opposite, you try to compete against 10+ years experience with 4 months experience.   Best of luck to you!