There's not an entrepreneur in business who'd say
customer service isn't important, but how many of them back up
their words with good hiring techniques? The fact is,
entrepreneurs, like most other businesspeople, usually don't
put enough thought into hiring customer service reps. In fact, they
often think of their customer service reps as clerks or sales
trainees--not realizing good customer service people have unique
qualities, and finding the right person for the job could mean the
difference between keeping and losing customers.
"There's often some overlap between sales and customer
service," says Harold Weinstein, COO of Caliper Corp., a
Princeton, New Jersey, human resources assessment and consulting
firm. "But in most cases, you're really looking for two
different types of people."
For example, says Weinstein, customer service reps should be
very empathetic individuals, even more so than salespeople. They
should like problem-solving and get job satisfaction from helping
others. In fact, while most salespeople live to get the order, a
customer service rep lives to hear a client say "Thank
you."
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In addition, says Weinstein, good customer service reps are
well-organized. They have to be able to keep track of an array of
products and services, as well as possible difficulties with their
applications. They must know where to turn to find answers, and be
able to do it with the added pressure of an irate customer on the
other end of the phone.
Also, unlike most people who work in sales, customer service
reps typically enjoy working by the book. They don't feel
stifled by rules and regulations and like to have standards set for
them. "They love to operate within the system," says
Weinstein. "They like that discipline. That's not always
the case with salespeople."
Customer service reps tend to avoid risk, something their sales
peers frequently embrace. They don't mind getting creative to
solve a problem, but they're very company-oriented and
won't typically venture far outside set parameters. Similarly,
says Weinstein, they're very conscientious and usually want to
be liked. "They know if they come up with a solution, the
client will be happy with them," he says. "That's
their motivation."
Patience is also a plus for customer service employees. They
should be able to control their impulses better than salespeople
have to because their job is to keep customers happy and not offend
them, thus losing an order a salesperson worked hard to get.
Bill Kelley is an Arcadia, California, business writer and
former editor of Sales and Marketing Management
magazine.
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