Teleseminar Notes of 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers

Transcription

1 Teleseminar Notes of 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers with Mike Kubasak and Robin Heppell Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 1 of 8

2 12 BIGGEST MISTAKES MADE WHEN DEALING WITH PRICE SHOPPERS 1) Assume it is a price-only call. In general, consumers know very little about our business. They are unaware of any routine or critical elements that must be taken care in dealing with a FH. It is my belief that consumers often ask how much or what is your charge because they do not know what else to ask. It s not like purchasing a refrigerator we know certain questions to ask because we are familiar with that item. But when you don t know about something, it s difficult to ask relevant questions. It often makes the shopper unsettled. In an attempt to come across as a confident buyer, the caller can have an aggressive approach. They can believe that all FH s are the same. Our role is to help the caller and this means we need to clarify that issue with them. While price is important, they may not be just asking about price. They may want to know other things but do not know what to ask. 2) Poor Telephone Etiquette Don t put callers on hold unnecessarily or for a long period of time. It s always best etiquette to ask, May I put you on hold? Eliminate all background noise. People can hear the television or other conversations taking place, etc. Eliminate distractions that can cause your mind to waver, such as signing a check when on the telephone; handling a flower delivery. Distractions impede your thinking. Poor diction, poor vocabulary. Have you ever recorded yourself talking to see what you sound like? It s a good idea. Listen to playback in private. Are you talking to quickly, which is often taken as a sign of being slick?. Is your diction clear? Do certain words/phrases cause you trouble? Sometimes we just have the wrong people answering the phone. Do you come across as impersonal or uncaring? Even if you think the family does not care. I only want the person cremated and I don t care what happens. Funeral Professionals cannot be perceived as detached from the caller. If you key on the high quality of your personal service, it must come through in a warm, helpful manner. What does personal service really mean? If you want to give personal service, you must get personal! You are only kidding yourself if you fail to get personal with clients. In this course, you will be taught how to become personal with clients. 3) Do not allow sufficient time for the call We rush ourselves through a call because we dread dealing with a price shopper. FH are busy places and we get a call when we are in the midst of doing something else. Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 2 of 8

3 We then fail to regard the call as important and as an opportunity to gain a client family. I mean think of this: That person is calling your FH this means that somehow they have gotten your phone number from a source maybe the phone book, the Internet, a referral from a friend it means your advertising and promotional efforts are working. Don t kick that away by not giving the caller time. Recognize the call not so much as a call about price but as if the caller was saying to you: Help me. We don t explore possibilities with the person on the phone. We become an mere order taker. Ex: A conversation; Has someone died? Yes, my father died. I m trying to get the price of cremation. Ok, cremation costs $ Do you need something else?. The funeral director is not only rushed but comes across as rude, as an order taker, as a person I don t think any of us would want to do business with. Instead of taking time to have a conversation and seeing to the call you rush it and just like the low-ball operator down the street, give price and price-only information immediately. 1. What is wrong with the consumer calling? People who call are potential customers. You may think they are rude and you may call them cheap or uncaring or whatever the case may be. Remind staff that in addition to any adjective you might associate with price shoppers, they also represent the paycheck. 2. We become inattentive and do not completely understand what the caller is saying. When someone says they do not spend a lot of money. Have you ever had anyone call who said I m calling because I want to spend a lot of money? No one wants to spend a lot of money on anything they buy. You want the best value for the buck, no matter what service or product you want or need. Clarify often by saying, tell me more about what you just said, please. 4) Poor communication skills I ll say it as plain as I can: Your ability to earn money is directly related to how well you communicate. If your skills are lacking, you can do something about that it demands study, reading, practicing, and more. It requires devotion to your professional responsibilities. There are many excellent books covering this topic. It s not if we will communicate our message, but that our customers expect us to communicate well. Most people choosing a personal service provider choose according to how well that person communicates with them and by the quality of their questions. I know you do, too. Forbes magazine did CEO survey of Fortune 500 companies. They received 80% and Forbes Magazine asked each one the question. With your personal money, how do you determine which financial planner or money manager to use to help you manage and grow your personal funds? 78% all responded by: they chose the financial planner according to the questions they ask. This is the same for funeral-cremation consumers. When you become a student of personal Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 3 of 8

4 service as I have over the years, you learn that questions are the basis of personal service not your GPL, list of options, or lowest price. Calling a FH is foreign to many people dealing with a death or impending death can be scary to people it s not unusual for them to wonder about your motives they may have heard some horror stories they don t know what they don t know can even wonder if a funeral is necessary isn t disposal all I need? People in general determine most things by asking questions. Asking Questions is a sign of a curious mind a way to say I care about you. Questions are covered in-depth in the Course. Instead, we ask irrelevant or dumb questions, like, What type of cremation would you like? I don t even know what this question means. Oh, I can assume to know but assuming usually proves self-defeating. We ask this question without finding out what they know. The caller asks: How much is your charge for cremation?...respond, I m glad to provide that information, while I m gathering my price list, tell me, what other information would be helpful? May we have permission to embalm? This is not the most appropriate question to ask early on in the conversation. I recommend asking the caller if they are familiar with the professional care that is rendered to deceased persons by you. There is plenty of time to ask for embalming authorization later on. I suggest that you write down the questions you typically ask when taking a shopper call and carefully review them. If you need help, contact me personally. We assume we know what the consumer wants. I don t want to spend a lot of money. We only want the body cremated. We then think it s merely a cremation with no celebration. We assume to know what the caller wants. PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST SAID. This powerful, yet simple question can tell you just what you need to know about the caller and where they are coming from. Ask it and ask it often Unless you have a crystal ball. You will fail as a professional if you make assumptions. You may discover that they want more information than just price or be surprised to learn they are not seeking the lowest price only. Remember this: The majority of callers want more information just than price, they just don t know what to ask for. 5) Relying on the answering service too much When they are not answered by a live person but an answering machine. When you have an answering service, there should always be a funeral director on duty. The funeral home needs an experienced answering service that has been trained by the FH even answering services experienced in handling FH calls. Our business is totally different than most other businesses. Our callerscustomers think differently. They are facing issues, that for the most part, are new to them. It s not a call to the doctor s office not a call to your attorney not a call to Direct TV not a call to your plumber of AC repairman. Without providing adequate training, the answering service may not know it s critical for us to call a family back right away. In a death or impending-death situation, most decisions as to which FH to use are made within a short period of time minutes. If you fail to respond quickly, you will miss out. Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 4 of 8

5 Too much authority and leeway to the answering service personnel. We feel the answering service can handle it and I only need to get the important calls. How does answering service know what is important and what calls to prioritize? What s more important than winning a new call? What s more important than gaining a CF? 6) Fail to establish and communicate value Have you thought of this it s okay for you to ask the caller some questions? Communication is a two-way proposition. When you are asked, How much do you charge? why not respond like this: I am glad to answer that for you as I gather my information, please tell me, have you selected cremation before or is this your first time? You can then say, Let me tell you about our cremation services. Asking them a question can open a door for further communication and a conversation about the value of choosing your firm. What is the value of your cremation service or is it just like the other company down the street? How do you provide real value? Some firms pick up the family on the day of cremation and drive them to funeral home for a procession to the crematory. Some firms offer a 100% service guarantee and we ll talk about this more later on. They offer these, and other items as a way to differentiate themselves from the competition. What is it about the firm that makes one different? Have you written your firms strengths and weaknesses down on paper? Ask staff to list out the strengths of the funeral home. Choose 10 things that set you apart and then communicate these value differences to callers. Have you ever listed 3 reasons why I should do business with you? Why not make this a staff exercise? You can then communicate these reasons to callers. Tell me why I should not call someone else. Help the consumer make a decision Communicate your value when on the telephone. Ex; My father has died and he wanted to be cremated. How much do you charge for a simple cremation? Answer: My name is --- can I ask you your name? I m very pleased to share this information with you about costs and our cremation services. Can you tell me, is this the first time you are choosing cremation for someone in your family? You can be surprised as to what you might hear. You may also say Can you tell me more about the cremation service you want? What this does is gives you time and usually the consumer tells you more. Sometimes we will get shot down some people won t let us help them won t let us explore but more often than not, you ll experience a favorable response. To be frank, there is no magic formula or secret phrase that will convert every price shopper into a CF. But sometimes, a simple question like, What is your biggest concern at this time? turns the conversation away from price to other things on the mind of the caller. This question Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 5 of 8

6 helps uncover the consumer s hot button, and so, so often, it s not solely about lowest price. It can open the door to providing more information. 7) (Mistake) Sell instead of Educate. Consultative sales process is a form of educating the consumer by asking powerful questions. Not ordinary, boring, questions. Customer friendly questions. Questions that engage the caller. Questions that show you are not just an order taker. Give information without focusing on yourself but focused on the client family. Tell them what is important to them not necessarily that we have a nice facility. Let them know that many people have questions about cremation. What is the funeral to the family instead of the FD s version of the funeral? Are we knowledgeable about what our role is? Some people may only see you as a disposer. Take the time to educate. We fail to explore what is important and we give them the funeral director s spiel. (ex: family does their own farewell without the funeral staff) Families are doing them on their own. American FS has made cremation a non participatory event. Many client families do not know who does cremation, where it takes place, when it occurs or how it is performed. They do not know how long it takes. All these questions are done unanswered. People are not involved in the cremation process. The funeral professional can offer their cremation with a different element of dignity. We encouraged a procession from the FH to the crematory as a way of adding ceremony and recognizing the uniqueness of each deceased person. The first year, 35% of our cremation clients participated in the procession. Most of them rented our limousine. We wanted to make cremation a more participatory event. Do not put focus on being a funeral director instead become the funeral educator. Think back to the best teacher. How did they educate? What made you not want to miss the class? We need to become good educators 8) Lack of product knowledge What is your product? Your product is not urns, caskets and markers? What is the essence of what you do? More than the FD s version of the funeral, we help people say goodbye. Isn t that what we are about? When they do not want your version of a funeral church, minister, public viewing, embalming, a casket how do you explore what is important to them? Some people even think, if I don t want a funeral, why should I call a FH? It s a legitimate question. How clear is your message to your community about what you do? Helping people say goodbye is the essence. What is your elevator commercial? Ex: Scenario is on a plane What do you do? Many people do not know what to ask you once you tell them your profession. Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 6 of 8

7 9) Lack of prospect knowledge Who is the client?. What is my market area? Why are they calling? Do we ever say I m very pleased to share this information with you. While I m getting this information for you.how did you come to call my firm? You may find out that it may not be a price only call. They don t know to ask, can you tell me about your education or the 3 reasons why I should do business with you. We must communicate this. Understand who died, when and where? Are there particular circumstances. Can you tell me what the primary concern is at this time. Some do not know what to do because the person has died at home (bathtub, coroner is home etc my kids are coming home.) You need to know what primary concern is Is it an at need or future planning? What is the relationship of the person who is calling? 10) Funeral Director fails to indicate benefit of the firm What is in it for me (WIIIFM) ~ A benefit statement. W e provide refrigeration. Let me tell you what that means to you. We have the state of the art crematory we personally see to each cremation and guarantee you ll get the cremated remains of your father we bath, sanitize and dress each deceased person whatever it might be. We often get stuck on the features this is solid copper.. what this means to you is that it is non-rusting. For each feature offer a benefit.. You must present the benefits. When we go to the crematories, we welcome a representative or the family to be present. We provide transportation and what this means is that the family will be together and can say goodbye. This add to your peace of mind. When you talk about a feature give them the benefit.we have state of the art video equipment and what this means to you (the consumer) is Communicate the benefit. 11) Funeral Director fails to ask for business Start out with a summary such as I ve spent some time on the phone with you and hope I ve answered all of your questions and confirmed the benefits of selecting our firm. Our entire staff is ready to serve you and that you will be gaining the resources of the finest professionals who can handle all of your needs. Any time you call our funeral home, you will have a knowledgeable and caring FD to take your call. I would like to be your family funeral director, may I? Do not be afraid to ask for their business. It s obvious but funeral professional forget to ask. We give data, facts and figures. W are focused on us and not them. Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 7 of 8

8 If they have called other FH s, ask them What are some of your fears or obstacles at this time what is one thing you haven t learned that you would like to know in calling around, what do you dislike most? 12) Funeral management fails to make Price Shoppers a priority with staff Oh its just another shopper on the phone This can be an attitude of some management professionals Even some people in ownership/management may not recognize that price shoppers represent a potential paycheck. They are not people who don t care. Do not degrade them because they are calling in reference to price. Management needs to make it a priority which may require an additional training. Recording calls after business hours with a data journal to review together the next day on how things were handled. Check to see if the call has been taken care of. Etc. Management listeners make people answering the phone accountable to you. Before you give out price you have to ask the caller three questions. This was a policy that implemented that has proven to work. Mike Kubasak and Robin Heppell would like to thank Lori Diaz of Gary Memorial Chapel, Columbus, Ohio who originally compiled the notes from the teleseminar. Mike Kubasak & Robin Heppell 12 Biggest Mistakes Made When Dealing With Price Shoppers Page 8 of 8