Effective communication with clients. Simple rules. Psychology of communication with clients Rules of polite communication with clients

Direct communication with the client can be called the most traditional, and, undoubtedly, effective, time-tested method of increasing sales. Oddly enough, over time, we have forgotten how effective and efficient it can be to communicate with the client directly, without a monitor screen or a huge podium. It's time to refresh your memory a little and at the same time add a few new, fresh ideas to this technique.

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A few simple but highly effective communication tactics

How to communicate with clients in order to achieve significant results? The secret is simple: be open, friendly, but do not flatter. A person usually feels his interlocutor on a subconscious level. Therefore, when communicating with a client, first of all, you need to make it clear that you are friendly, open to contact and ready to provide a solution to all his problems. But do without flattery. Perhaps flattery is the irritant that negatively affects any business relationship.

It is also important to remember that under no circumstances should you put pressure or demand anything from a future customer. The offer of cooperation or purchase of products should be extremely easy and unobtrusive. Describe it as a fait accompli, as if the customer had already tried a trial version of the product or used the proposed service and received unique benefits as a result. This method really helps to persuade a potential client to make a purchase.

Many people make several more, quite serious mistakes. The main thing that can also be compromised is giving the buyer full attention. As a rule, when the issue of purchasing a particular item is being decided, the buyer simply expects active participation and attention to his person. In this regard, you can try to use one small secret. It lies in the fact that during a conversation the seller shows the buyer that he is the only and most desirable client for the company. Try to reveal all the buyer’s wishes as much as possible and in full, give him the opportunity to talk about his needs, while spending time usefully and comfortably.

Non-standard ways of communicating with clients

How to actually conduct a conversation? You can, of course, answer in a standard way: “polite and courteous,” but some may simply not be interested in such an attitude. An experienced and qualified specialist always knows how, as if by chance, to adapt to the buyer’s style of communication and behavior. This helps to gain confidence in the potential buyer and induce him to make a purchase.

In conclusion, I would like to note the importance of emotions. Emotional support and a positive attitude can make communication with the buyer much easier and more effective. At the sight of a gloomy, silent and emotionally stifled consultant, the average buyer simply loses the desire for further cooperation. But try to show sincere emotions, a fake smile will not help matters.

Communication with a client is a delicate science; contact personnel leave the client’s most important impression of the company. If communication with your staff brought pleasure to the client, this can eliminate many of the disadvantages in your company or product. Conversely, one wrong word or intonation can deprive you of a client forever. Today we will talk about how to properly conduct a conversation with a client.

How to learn to speak correctly and beautifully

To begin with, I would like to say that there is no more valuable competency in life than the ability to speak correctly with people. Communication skills will help a person in any life situation. Unfortunately, society has now moved very much into online life and because of this, many people communicate little with each other. This prevents them from improving and developing their communication skills. Only true geniuses of their craft, whose work is so perfect that anyone can appreciate it, can achieve heights without this skill. The rest need to be able to build relationships with people, be able to make friends and be able to defend their point of view. History knows many examples when a genius could not gain the favor of society and his works were recognized years after his death. Unfortunately, even the best idea needs to be presented beautifully to the public.

You can learn to speak correctly and beautifully only by constantly communicating with other people. This skill only develops through process. This article outlines tips and recommendations on what you should pay attention to first of all. But just reading the article will not force you to change your behavior; it is you who must do this. If you are a manager or business owner and want to influence the behavior of subordinates. Then only a clearly defined system will help you, it is usually called standards of communication with the client. And most importantly, these standards. The system itself will not force people to change their behavior.

Standards of communication with the client

Any self-respecting company should have a set of rules for communicating with clients. Which clearly states how dialogue can and cannot be conducted. For salespeople and contact personnel who solve the same problems, the easiest way is to write scripts and dialogue scripts. We have already talked about this, so we will discuss the general standards of communication with the client. In fact, using the criteria described below, you can immediately determine whether a person knows how to speak correctly with a client.

Emotional attitude and openness to the client

Often the seller is in a bad mood and shows it to the client with all his appearance. Some employees have such an expression on their face that the client is simply afraid to approach them. There have been cases in my practice that the seller was minding his own business and did not pay attention to the client, and the client did not want to distract the seller, seeing that he was busy. It doesn’t matter who initiates the contact, it is important that the seller demonstrates that he is ready to help the client.

The client doesn't have to wait

Absolutely everyone is annoyed by waiting and the uncertainty associated with it. Often, for good reasons, we cannot promptly answer a client’s question; unfortunately, such situations cannot be avoided. The task of the contact staff is to help the client as quickly as possible. But if the client has to wait for a consultation, then it is important to show concern: say how long he will have to wait, offer options for how the client will spend this time, and apologize in advance about what happened. This applies not only to live communication, but also by phone or email.

Determine the contact initiator

Often companies do not think about who should initiate the contact, from the client or from the employee. Although this is an important criterion when drawing up communication scripts. In addition, these are fundamentally different customer service strategies. You've probably noticed that in some stores, sellers actively approach you and immediately offer their help (Euroset, Eldorado, Tekhnosila), and in some, on the contrary, sellers stand and wait for you to call them (mediamarkt, Mvideo). Each strategy is good in its own way and has a right to exist.

Make contact correctly

Addressing the client by name

There is no sound sweeter than your own name. This simple truth should be hammered home to all employees. The ability to call by name should be brought to complete automaticity. This will not happen quickly, but overall it will serve any person well.

Communicate in the same language with the client

If you need to explain something to a deaf-mute person, you will probably use sign language, take a pen and paper, or type on a computer or phone. But it’s unlikely that you will explain in words; I have often encountered deaf-mute people, there are a lot of them, and I know what I’m talking about. But unfortunately, when communicating with a client, an employee often chooses a language of terms and slang words that the client does not understand. This is a big mistake, the only language worth using is . Every organization should have a list of properties and benefits, and how to tell all this to the client.

Dont lie

The worst thing an employee can do to a client is lie. You lose all the client’s trust in one moment and you will never get it back. Many times I have had to communicate with clients who were lied to by employees and the labor costs to return such a client to the company are very large.

Don't burden the client with your difficulties

For one reason or another, an employee may encounter various difficulties that hinder him. Remember that you should not tell the client about all the problems you encountered. At first, the client doesn’t care (if he does, he’ll ask himself), then big difficulties can scare the client away. I have often heard the phrase “well, if everything is so complicated, then I don’t need it.” All you have to do is apologize for the delay and, if possible, somehow compensate for the client’s losses.

Always do a little more than required

If a person receives more than he expected, then he becomes happy. This simple rule should be your motto. I read several articles on this topic. For example, vending machines selling hawthorn tincture have now become popular; for those who are not in the know, this is a cheap substitute for vodka. So, these machines are configured so that sometimes they dispense 2 bottles instead of one, this allows you to create a stir and start word of mouth among the target audience.

The ability to say goodbye

Few people think about how important it is to say goodbye to a person correctly. There are actually two good reasons to do this right:

1. The effect of not long ago - after parting with you, a person thinks about your last phrases, what happened in the middle of the dialogue is remembered less often. If you say goodbye positively, the client can forget the troubles that he encountered during the communication process;
2. Your psychological attitude for further activities. If the breakup was positive, then it will be easier for you to tune in to the next positive contact. Even if the dialogue was not simple, what was psychologically important was what happened at the end. I emphasized this idea from Wolf and him.

Saying goodbye is not as difficult as it seems. For example, I always wish everyone a good day or evening. If you do this sincerely, then the person is grateful to you and is pleased that you are thinking about his future fate. If there were unpleasant moments in the dialogue, you can apologize again. For example: for the time spent, for the work of another employee, or simply for the current situation. It is important to demonstrate to the client that the client is dear to you personally and is pleasant as an interlocutor.

How to resist arrogance and rudeness

Unfortunately, the culture of our society is not as high as we would like. Working in the service sector, you will often encounter arrogance, rudeness, inappropriate behavior, and sometimes aggression. First you need to learn to take this for granted and stop being surprised by this behavior. This will give you the opportunity to learn to demonstrate to your interlocutor that you are not affected by his behavior. The roots of rudeness and arrogance go back to a person’s childhood and upbringing; it is impossible to change his behavior pattern. The most correct behavior would be to demonstrate that this behavior does not work with you and that the person himself will reorganize the dialogue with you in a constructive manner. How to do it? There are several options that can be used depending on the situation.

1. If you are approached in a rude manner, you may not notice or ignore the request. In general, a policy of completely ignoring inappropriate behavior can often help;
2. You can quickly ask a rhetorical question. The goal is to unsettle the manipulator, make him think and thereby seize the initiative;
3. Laugh it off. Often a boor does not expect you to laugh, he expects your resentment and anger. Hearing laughter, he is lost;
4. Astonishment. You can show your disappointment in the person as an interlocutor. Try to shame him by saying a general phrase like “yes, I see the language of Chekhov and Dostoevsky died a long time ago.” I’ll say right away that this tactic will only work if you are being rude not out of malice (this also happens), this trick will not work with boors, manipulators and insolent people.

In the event business, as in any other service industry, customer satisfaction plays a key role. At the same time, his opinion will be based not only on how the event itself went - the negotiation process itself is of great importance, as well as your ability to resolve conflicts and make a positive impression. What to do if the client turns out to be difficult?

Several types of “difficult” clients:

• "Know-it-alls." They are confident that they have an excellent understanding of any issues and are able to do the job better than you, but the reason why they don’t do this is lack of time.
• "Whiners." People of this type are rarely happy with anything and tend to get upset over every little thing.
• "Polite pests." Extremely polite, obsessively courteous, but at the same time overly meticulous to every detail.
• "Fickle natures." There are only a few hours left before the event, and suddenly the customer decides to make further changes to the program. The event team is rushing around in a panic, but what can you do? The customer is always right!
• "Upstarts." Such people are used to being the best and keeping the situation under control. They will not leave you alone, monitoring and commenting on your every move.
• "Stingy guys." Some clients are firmly convinced that services do not provide any value and are not willing to pay for “air”. Having seen the cost of the project, they immediately begin to reduce the price, and in the future, at every opportunity, they ask for an additional discount.
• "Fighters". Temperamental, emotional people who live by the principle “Life is an eternal struggle.” Their aggressiveness and desire to stand up for their interests turns the negotiation process into a heated battle. And do not be under the illusion that such qualities are characteristic only of men - practice shows that the number of “fighters” among women is no less.

Of course, there are other types - here are the most typical ones. Negotiations with such customers present great difficulty for event managers.

But not everything is so bad: 10 rules will help you learn to manage the situation.

Learn to say no

Usually, already at the first meeting it is clear what the client is like (and only a “polite annoying person” can seem pleasant at first, and only then show his true colors). If you are sure that you will not get along with the customer under any circumstances, simply refuse to cooperate. You can refer to a lack of resources or busyness (“Unfortunately, we have everything booked two months in advance”). And then let fate decide. Perhaps a problematic client will turn to your competitors, and it’s not you who will have to suffer with him, but they.

Listen carefully and record agreements

At the first meeting, extract from the customer all the necessary information. If the client is silent, ask more leading questions. Then retell everything you heard, and during the discussion, record the changes. If your conversation is recorded or recorded on a voice recorder, even better. This way, you will avoid misunderstandings if something goes wrong.

Unfortunately, this method may not help if the client is a “changeable nature” and likes to make changes at the very last moment.

Set rules of communication

Don't let the client sit on your neck. It is advisable to include all the details in the contract - this will be much more reliable. For example, the following points are subject to strict regulations:

• no calls after 18.00 and on weekends;
• signing the acceptance certificate at all stages of service provision;
• If the agreement is signed, its terms can be violated only in the presence of force majeure circumstances (natural acts, martial law).

Each of you will add important details to the list, and the client will have to decide whether he is ready to play by the established rules. Of all types of clients, this approach will appeal to the “fighters” - with your specificity, you will most likely earn their respect.

Exceed Expectations

The ability to listen to the customer will help you understand his nature. Gradually, during communication, you will adapt to the client and know what to expect from him. For example, “upstarts” like to control every stage of preparation. Especially for them, install a special application that will display the dynamics of preparation, add the customer there and track progress together. Such transparency will appeal to the most demanding client.

Provide a detailed estimate

Some customers constantly pester you asking for a discount. As a result, in order not to lose the order, you are left with practically no profit. Instead of following the lead of the cheapskates, simply explain what the total cost of the project consists of, how much certain event services currently cost on the market, and how highly valued the work of the organizers is.

Have a few extras in stock

In order to appease a demanding client, add several free services to the estimate. At the same time, they will not cost you anything, since the services were included in the standard package by default, and you simply did not mention them in the original list. The customer will definitely appreciate the pleasant bonuses.

Change the topic if the discussion reaches a dead end

The ability to change the topic of conversation in a timely manner will help avoid scandalous proceedings. If the client is fixated on a certain issue and you have a different opinion on this issue, honestly admit that you made every effort to solve the problem and smoothly move on to discussing the results achieved. By talking about victories and positive stages of preparation, you will distract the attention of your interlocutor and take the conversation into a peaceful direction.

Many employees communicate at least occasionally with customers. The ability to communicate competently with them is irreplaceable: employees who possess it increase the company’s profit. Of course, everything largely depends on the field of activity, but there are general rules on how to properly talk with a client.

Genuine interest in the client

It will be more pleasant for any person to buy a product or receive a service where people pay maximum attention to it. Therefore, do not be indifferent to the client. This applies to all cases of communication with clients, but it is especially important when the client is in a difficult situation and comes for a solution to some problem. For example, he came to get legal advice on a personal issue or to a pet store to buy medicine for his beloved pet.

Interest can and should be shown in the following ways:

1. Do not engage in extraneous matters, and switch completely to the client;
2. Maintain eye contact with the client, nod your head periodically;
3. Take an open position, do not fidget or twirl anything in your hands;
4. Listen completely - this is the most important thing;
5. When speaking, do not make your voice monotone;
6. Always clarify the client's wishes.

In addition, after the client’s monologue, you need to learn to feel in what manner it is better to continue the conversation. For example, a client is confused and speaks uncertainly - this means he needs words of support and encouragement.

Speak the client's language

Clients, as a rule, are ordinary people and come to you as a professional, a specialist. All the special terminology is clear to you, but not to him. He doesn't have to understand it. Therefore, speak in a language that the client can understand. And of course, you should never get annoyed with a client if he doesn’t understand what you’re talking about.

If you speak incomprehensibly to the client, then:

• the client will understand that you cannot help him because you are an idiot;
• the client will think that in this way you are showing your intellectual superiority and will feel like an idiot;
• the client will think that you are trying to sell him something unnecessary.

All cases will result in the loss of the client.

Speaking the client's language does not mean you have to adopt their poor communication style. If he is rude, uses obscene language, and so on, this is not a reason to behave the same way. As a professional, this is unacceptable to you.

Is the client right? And is it always?

Many clients think that since they pay, they are always right. But that's not true. Remember: the one who is an expert is right. There is no need to tell the client about this. Your task is to help the client in accordance with his wishes. If his wishes are incorrect, you need to gently lead him to what is needed. At the same time, so that he thinks that it was he who decided so.

If you see that the client is in doubt about whether to receive a service or buy a product, do not insist on it. Nobody likes to be pushed around. This only creates unnecessary doubts: what if the product is not so good, since they are actively trying to sell it off? And if he still buys a product or service, he can later come and return this product and refuse the service.

If the purchase is small, the service is, so to speak, one-time, you can apply a little pressure. In other cases, there is no point in putting pressure on the client. It’s better to tell him to think it over carefully, and if anything happens, come or call.

Transparency

There is no need to remain silent about important points. This could be anything: a lack of a product, a lack of properties required by the client. These may be some additional terms of payment for something, written in fine print in the contract. The desire to “sell” as quickly as possible will lead to the loss of customers. Do you think a deceived client will come to you again? No. He will also tell everyone he knows that they can’t visit you.

Video

We bring to your attention a video about communicating with clients.

Online chat, phone calls, e-mail correspondence and other methods of communication are the first assistants in the efficiency of sales of goods. The correctness of negotiations determines whether a potential buyer will become a client who placed an order. The methods and rules of communication by various means of communication are largely similar. A detailed and thorough analysis of each type will help you navigate the construction of an algorithm for other types of “hilling” clients.

Why do we even need rules for communicating with clients?

Trusting and long-term relationships between the seller and buyer tandem are created through open, easy, free communication. The ability to interest a client is the first step to ensure that he not only pays attention to the product or service offered, but also makes a purchase. Therefore, communication skills should not remain at the usual everyday level.

Professional communication is always aimed at:

• prompt connection setup - contacts, online chat button, phone numbers of different mobile operators, etc.;
• comfort of a potential buyer - the client should feel as comfortable as possible, free and at ease when communicating with a manager, consultant, seller;
• stimulation of transaction completion - unobtrusively pushing a doubting customer to make a purchase;
• the desire to return and recommend to friends - the buyer’s passion leads to more and more new orders.

Using the principles of proper communication with clients leads to audience interest and, as a result, increased sales. Regardless of the method of communication (telephone calls, email correspondence, sending SMS), you should adhere to the general canons of building interaction with potential customers.

Basic rules for building communication:

1. A clear plan for negotiating, possibly with preliminary rehearsal.
2. Friendly tone.
3. Addressing the client by name.
4. Listen. Delve into it. Respond promptly.
5. Don’t delay with the main “problem”.
6. Offer several options to choose from.
7. Push for quick determination with purchase/order.
8. Don't be overly intrusive.
9. Thank and apologize in a timely manner (if necessary).
10. Say goodbye in such a way that you want to come back and continue cooperation.

In addition to the listed rules, there are also those that are suitable exclusively for a specific type of communication. For example, the item “Listen. Delve into it. “Reply promptly” is not appropriate for correspondence - out of three theses, it is realistic to leave only one “promptly reply”.

Common mistakes in communicating with clients:

• insufficient qualification of the consultant;
• lack of a positive attitude and “smile in your voice”;
• self-confidence and familiarity;
• fast/monotonous speech;
• illiterate construction of sentences;
• diction defects;
• rare use/mispronunciation of the interlocutor's name;
• obsession;
• inattention;
• slowness in responses;
• doubt in the voice;
• lack of needs identification;
• reluctance to hear a negative response from a potential buyer;

• addressing political/religious/social aspects;
• humiliation of the client;
• ignoring voiced wishes;
• frequent use of the pronoun “I”;
• questions/answers are not relevant;
• long silence;
• answering a question with a question;
• forgetfulness and asking questions;
• conducting a conversation without a clear plan.

The most effective ways to communicate with clients

A personal meeting

Not suitable for all online stores, as The main advantage of online sales is minimizing the client’s time spent. If personal contact is unavoidable, then you need to take care of:

Telephone communication

A type of communication divided into two subtypes: individual and cold calls.

Cold calling helps to gather information about a potential client and also to interest him. It is very important to find a line that allows you to remain persistent despite absolute visible unobtrusiveness. The main taboo of a cold call is an immediate offer to purchase a product or service. It is better to limit yourself to information about the contact details of a potential client, and a little later (possibly using SMS or e-mail) continue further communication, invite you to a webinar, interest them in a sale or promotion.

Individual calls require maximum commitment from the manager. In this type of communication, a plan, calling by name, the ability to listen, and timely voicing of profitable offers are important.

Approximate plan for telephone communication:

1. Say hello, introduce yourself - company name, position, name.
2. Find out how to address your interlocutor - preferably first and patronymic.
3. Clarify the purpose of the call - listen to the end, do not interrupt.
4. Do everything to help the client implement his plans or solve problems that have arisen - speak as clearly as possible, explain the pros, cons and possible nuances regarding the product or services provided.
5. Offer several options to choose from - when naming each item, you should immediately highlight the advantages of the product.
6. Help with the choice, dispel doubts, recommend, but do not impose. The potential buyer must be confident that the purchase is solely his choice.
7. Encourage you to place an order “here and now” by making a unique offer. Offer to purchase additional products or related services.
8. Thank you for the call.

Online chat

A pop-up window on an online store website attracts customers who prefer to receive answers instantly. When using the online chat form, you should be prepared for the following:

• you must answer immediately, without missing a single question;
• a pop-up window can annoy some individuals (it is recommended to set the chat form to appear approximately 40 seconds after the visitor enters the site);
• questions do not always relate to the assortment of the online store;
• you will have to use additional functionality (the ability to pay immediately in an online chat and the presence of social network “buttons”).

The disadvantage of chat is that it is almost impossible to retain a visitor if he does not want to. Sometimes consultants' questions and suggestions remain unanswered.

Email

Communication with the client via email not the best method of negotiation. The problem is that often emails from online stores end up in the spam folder. It is not always clear whether the message was read and, trivially, the buyer may not have time to respond to the e-mail immediately, and then he completely forgets about the letter.

If the store's policy is to use email as a means of communication, you will have to follow the following rules:

• personalization - the letter must be addressed to a specific person and in no case have any signs of mass mailing;
• presence of a greeting (preferably using the client’s name);
• maximum specificity - people get tired of reading long letters, so the essence should be stated literally in one or two paragraphs;
• “talking” subject of the email - the title must explain the main focus of the narrative.

Buyer psychology

All people are different - dry, laconic communication may be suitable for one, while with another you will have to dodge, introducing slippery jokes and not entirely decent anecdotes.

The five most distinctive types of buyers:

1. A know-it-all is a person who is categorically confident that he is right. and positioning themselves as professionals in any business. He is equally well versed in plumbing, furniture, wedding accessories, lingerie, and products for babies. It’s better not to argue with such individuals, and build all objections quite carefully, balancedly, with evidence. Otherwise, as soon as the know-it-all feels that his pride and authority are hurt, he quickly retreats, abruptly interrupting communication.
2. Bored - a client wandering in doubt and not in the mood to buy. You can “touch” and awaken the buyer with the help of leading, unobtrusive questions that require monosyllabic answers. It is possible to persuade someone to accept an unplanned order only by starting a confidential conversation.
3. Toropyga is a buyer who is always in a hurry. I am ready to buy anything, the main thing is quickly. If you don’t take advantage of the moment, the client will leave forever. Toropyga does not care about the functional qualities of the product, or its advantageous aspects, or attractive offers. He has a specific amount that he is willing to spend on a specific product. Fast. Without delay. Right now. Therefore, communication should be reduced to the banal: “Hello. What do you want? The price is such and such. Your check. Thank you for your purchase!"
4. A gloomy person is a person who is obviously dissatisfied. And it doesn’t matter how attractive the product or service is and how pleasant and sociable the manager is - for a gloomy customer, everything will not be as he wanted, dreamed, dreamed. In order not to miss a potential buyer, you will have to patiently answer questions and sell what he points his finger at. This category of clients, for all its gloom and unpredictability, is one of the most grateful and loyal.
5. A merry fellow is a customer who appears with a joke and leaves with a smile. Optimists are positive in their desires and prompt in their purchases. The main caution when dealing with a “fun guy” is not to stoop to familiarity and remember the buyer/seller subordination.

Confident communication with the buyer of an online store is a guarantee of sales efficiency. Using several communication options simultaneously will help to interest and retain the buyer, thereby expanding the customer base.