Coaching Session 2: Knowing Yourself and Your Customers

Lesson Notes

Time Stamps:

00:05 Video Introduction

00”15 Coach Introduction

00:54 Knowing yourself and your customer

01:42 Learning Objectives

02:20 Types of Personality thru DISC

06:28 What type of learner are you?

Visual
Aural
Read/Write
Kinesthetic

11:56 Different Customer Types and How to Deal with them

20:01 Customers Needs

26:15 Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

31:32 Typing Test

33:36 Portfolio 2

I. Types of Personality thru DISC

Before we offer ourselves to help, we first must know who we are and what we can bring to the table. It is important for us to determine our personality type so we can identify our strengths and problem areas.

In customer service, this is imperative for everyone to deliver and effect efficiency as how our customers are expecting us to deliver.

The DISC theory is often visualized as a quadrant where the top/bottom and left/right sides represent specific behavioral tendencies. People who score high on Dominance and Compliance tend to be more task-oriented where people scoring higher on Influence and Steadiness are more people-oriented. Those scoring high on Dominance and Influence are generally more assertive and active, higher scores on Compliance and Steadiness give rise to calm and more cautious behavioral styles.

DISC Personality Test – https://www.123test.com/disc-personality-test/

Interpret your results based on these profiles https://www.123test.com/disc-profiles/

Your Strengths & AOIs. Based on the result interpretation, you can function within your strengths and improve your identified AOIS.

Truth is, the result is not definitive and it should not and will not restrict you to explore and get out of the definitions. The test and the results are tools to identify the baseline. Some of you have already done this before and have already gone beyond the profile definitions. Eventually, the goal here is to know who you are and use that as an asset to help the team be more productive.

II. What type of learner are you?

https://learningstyles2014.weebly.com/learning-styles.html

Neil Fleming, a New Zealand teacher established the VARK model. He believes that every person learns differently, so he developed a model that identifies different learning styles. The style helps learners absorb information better and retain these pieces of information in a way that fits their personal needs.

VARK model of enumerates:

1. Visual – people who prefer information are visually presented. Rather than giving the information verbally, students better understand a discussion if there are graphs, charts, tables, pictures, visual aids.

2. Auditory – people who respond more to sounds and able to retain information when listening.

These learners benefit from lessons that involve listening and speaking. It helps if they read aloud what they are reading.

To improve their learning experience, it helps if:

-they listen to music by providing an emotional connection

-rhymes spoken out loud

-listen to audiobooks

3. Read and Write learners are people who love to read and perform well in written assignments. To further help them, have them described diagrams or charts using written statements.

4. Kinesthetic learners learn best when they can use tactile experiences and carry out a physical activity to practice applying new information. They prefer to connect learning thru reality either thru concrete personal experiences, examples, practices or simulations.

III. Different Customer Types and How to Deal with Them

https://www.livechatinc.com/blog/types-of-customers/

1. Potential Customers – a type of customer that is at the very beginning of your sales funnel. Technically, the potential customers are not your customer yet. However, you should never look down on them and give them the full treatment and hopefully change that quickly.

How to deal with Potential Customers:

Show them value: You can capitalize on their interest by clearly showing them what they can get from your product. You can do this yourself or point them to a resource like a landing page or a case study that will do it for you.
Reveal yourself: Make sure to let the potential customers know that they can ask for help or advice at any time. Even if the customers won’t need it immediately, they will appreciate the offer.

2. New Customers are the fresh customers that just bought something from you. They are still learning the ropes of using your product. You need to do everything in your power to make that adoption period smooth.

How to deal with New Customers:

Guide them to success: You can earn a long-lasting customer by investing a bit of your time into explaining how your product works and making sure the new customers know how to use it. You can do that with a proper onboarding process.
Leave a contact option open even if you offer automated onboarding to customers, have a live customer service option available. It will go a long way in situations when customers have questions not covered in the onboarding.

3. Impulsive Customers

These are the type of customers that can make a buying decision in an instant, provided that the conditions are right. Impulsive customers don’t need much convincing to make a purchase. You don’t need to warm the leads up with a value proposition too much.

How to deal with Impulsive Customers:

Clear the way to check out: Make sure nobody needs a manual to make a purchase on your website. The fewer clicks and information needed to make a purchase, the better.

Quick and concise help: If you get a question from Impulsive Customers, make the answer short. Stick to the brass tacks. You also need to provide the response quickly. If you take too long, the buying impulse will fade, and the Impulsive Customers will leave your website.

4. Discount Customers are the type of customers that see value in your product but won’t buy it at full price. Upselling your product to Discount Customers is nearly impossible.

How to deal with Discount Customers:

Explain the deal: Provide all the necessary details about the deal to avoid any confusion. The Discount Customers may also require help with entering a discount code or using a coupon so make sure your team knows the deal’s details.

Offer added value to make sure the Discount Customers continue being one of your customers. You need to go beyond your initial offering. Add the cherry on top of the deal. Something that they can’t get elsewhere. Stellar customer service can be one of such advantages that will help you keep the Discount Customers as a customer.

5. Loyal Customers keep coming back for more. Apart from having a significant impact on your revenue, the Loyal Customers will also be your brand’s ambassador.

How to deal with Loyal Customers:

Give them a platform: You can help Loyal Customers spread the love and feature them in case studies. A bit of social proof like that will make your landing pages much more appealing to potential customers.
Learn from their experiences: See what turned the Loyal Customers into loyal followers and make sure that happens more often with other customers.
Don’t mess it up: Whatever you do, make sure that the Loyal Customers stay excited about your product and business.

6. Angry Customers have been inconvenienced or dissatisfied by the product or service. They can get emotional, so they must be dealt with cautiously. They will not be the most patient people when you are faced with this type of customer.

How to deal with Angry Customers:

- Calm them down and listen patiently to what they are saying.
- Get to the root cause of the issue.
- Apologize and empathize regardless of who is at fault.
- Attempt to resolve the issue.

7. Difficult Customers come in different personality. They are considered difficult for various reasons because they are demanding/aggressive, complain a lot, confused/indecisive, impatient, or know-it-all.

How to deal with Difficult Customers:

Patience is put to test.
Understand what they want.
Communicate clearly.
Address the issue right away.

IV. Customer Needs

https://loyaltylion.com/blog/the-four-needs-of-a-consumer

Fair Price – pricing is to be transparent, whether you’re above or below the market rate, let your customers know why this is the case and exactly what they get for their money.
Good Service – having a strong customer support team increases the level of trust your customers have for you. They understand problems will be addressed and fixed in a timely manner and they’re more receptive to when things do end up going wrong.
Good Product – creating a solid product is obviously a major need for the consumer, and a major need for you too. Be confident in your product, be open to improvement suggestions, and always aim to give the customer exactly what they need, not what you think they need.
Feel Valued – your customers need more than just a good product in order to keep their loyalty with you. Ensuring you think about ways to provide for your customers’ four main needs, will increase the number of sales you make, and promote a loyal customer base.

As CSRs, we need to know these needs by heart and ensure that we always deliver. Understanding these can be the difference-maker in the customer experience we are delivering.

V. Hard Skills v. Soft Skills

https://learn.g2.com/customer-service-skills

https://www.helpscout.com/blog/customer-service-skills/

The most important customer service skills cover a range of abilities, from being able to communicate clearly, to organizing work efficiently, and beyond. Some skills are possible to develop as an individual, while others can be aided by using the proper tools along the way.

2 Categories of Skills:

Personal Skills
Professional Skills

Personal Skills – These are commonly called soft skills, people skills, or interpersonal skills. These skills relate to the way you relate to and interact with other people.

Examples:

Professionalism – a sign of maturity and a high level of discipline
Honesty and Integrity – doing what is right even when no one is watching
Adaptability and Willingness to Learn – ability to welcome changes and learn new things every day
Problem-solving – taking accountability for a situation, analyze and explore possible solutions and take the best course of action
Reliability/Dependability – ability to consistently perform and follow schedule adherence
Loyalty and Passion– strong devotion to the company and to the work
Positive Can-Do Attitude – optimism towards work
Self-Confidence – believe in one’s self, skill set, education, and abilities
Self-Motivated – ability to work independently with minimal supervision
Leadership – take charge and manage co-workers
Multicultural Sensitivity – considerate to colleagues’ race, ethnicity, religious denomination, sexual preference
Planning and Organization – ability to design, plan, organize and implement projects and tasks
Teamwork – ability to work harmoniously with colleagues
Patience/Self-Control – ability to stay calm and keep from taking things personally
Proactive – taking control of things/situations by doing something rather than responding to it after it has happened

Professional Skills – These are teachable skills from classroom, training, and workshops, or on the job. They are quantifiable skills. They are also known as hard skills which are:

A degree or certificate/diploma – Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate, Certificate III, etc.
Language Proficiency – Bilingual, Multi-lingual
Computer Handling – Typing speed, G Suite, MS Office
Program navigation/operation – Role or Skill-focus app

Social Media Management: Hootsuite, Buffer, Canva, Hubspot

Accounting: Quickbooks, Xero, MYOB

Graphic Design: Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, Canva

Computer Coding/Programming – Python, Java, Perl, Ruby

VI. Typing Test

Typing test is essential for any job, whether in the corporate world or freelancing. And with everyone moving to digitize everything, computer literacy is a must. Typing test is one of the many literacy tests. The ability to speed type makes documentation easier. (typingtest.com)

Portfolio

Task 1: Using the Soft Skills discussed, rate yourself from 1 to 10; 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Which skills are your Top 5 and which ones are your Bottom 5? How can you improve on your Bottom 5 Soft Skills? Write down your answer and submit when you have completed this. No need to record.

Task 2: Determine which type of customers you have in the given scenarios and give your reason/s. What questions are you going to ask him to get to know which type of customers they are.

Mr. Pu asks a lot of questions about your product and whether it is compatible with the new product he just bought.
Ms. Ling cannot log in on your website to pay her monthly recurring bill which is overdue. She never had this issue before, and she needs to make the payment to avoid service interruption.

Task 3: Do a 1-minute typing test for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Story Typing). Send a screenshot of your typing test result. (https://www.typingtest.com/)

Portfolio submission template:

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