home » Directory » Psychology of the relationship between the client and the performer. Communication with the client The client is not always right

Psychology of the relationship between the client and the performer. Communication with the client The client is not always right

Justify the cost
When voicing the cost of your services, make it a rule to justify everything that is included in it. Even at first glance, things that are obvious to you are unknown to the customer, and he may misinterpret your price tag. For example, the host should definitely say that when choosing him for a wedding, the customer receives the services of a sound engineer and wedding manager for the same price.

Be unambiguous and consistent
Your services and their cost should not be in doubt. It is unacceptable for different customers to voice different conditions: for example, to tell one about hourly pay work, and to the other - for the project as a whole, to one to make a discount, and to the other - not. Acting on the principle of "only for you, as an exception", you discredit yourself as a specialist. The ambiguity of actions speaks of unprofessionalism, gives the client the opportunity to manipulate and dictate their terms.

Limit your choices
There is no need to provide the customer with several options to choose from, if he does not ask for it. You, as a professional, have the right to make your own decision and propose the best option... What can be the result of the possibility of choice? First, it will be difficult for the customer to choose, and he will attract other people to help. And some of them may not like the options you proposed. Secondly, the client, seeing that you have already given him more, may ask for even more options.

Keep your distance
Communication with the customer should be official, without claims of familiarity and familiarity. Except for those cases when your services were used by close, acquaintances and regular customers, relations with whom have already become friendly. Even if the customer switched to "you", from the side of the service provider, the appeal to "you" should remain. If you want to create an informal, trusting relationship, you do not need to be too frank and devote the client to your personal affairs. Believe me, he is not interested in this. And excessive frankness will even scare someone away. If the opposite is true and you receive such information from the customer, do not get involved in the discussion, do not ask clarifying questions, maintain a formal tone of the conversation and smile politely.

Think for the customer
Put yourself in the customer's shoes and try to anticipate his needs and doubts, offer solutions, have options in reserve.

Anticipate questions
If you are in correspondence with the customer, analyze his letters and try to predict his further questions. By answering questions that you have not yet had time to ask, you thereby kill two birds with one stone: you reduce the volume of further correspondence, save time and look far-sighted and show attention and interest in the eyes of the client. Thus, you earn yourself additional points.

Do more than is expected of you
Customize the wow effect. Do more for him than he expects of you. Which method to choose depends on your capabilities. Suggest Additional services, bonuses, make gifts, extend the time of your work at the event, and, on the contrary, complete all the preparatory work the day before. It doesn't matter what you suggest. The main thing is that it evokes a positive response from the customer and works for you in a plus at minimal cost on your part.

Valeria Nezhinskaya

In this article, you will learn:

What you need to know about proper communication with the client

How to turn communication with a client into a gold fund of your company

What methods of communication with clients are better to use?

What not to do when communicating with a client

Today, business relationships between people around the world are based mainly on trade. This can be not only the sale of goods, but also services, copyrights, etc. Thus, our society is divided into buyers and sellers who are in constant interaction with each other. And the success of all trade deals depends on how high-quality this cooperation will be, how competent communication with clients will be. Of course, this is not the only criterion for success. trading business, first of all, the quality of the product or service itself is important. But many disadvantages can be compensated for with proper communication. A customer who is satisfied with the service will definitely come back to you, and not go to competitors. Conversely, if your staff is not attentive enough to visitors or is rude, the buyer will not step over the threshold of your store, no matter how high the quality of the goods. This article will touch upon all the nuances of interaction with consumers, provide examples of correct communication, consider phrases that should not be used, and also analyze various techniques that are successful from the point of view of psychology. The article will help you build a competent sequence in communication with a client and attract new customers.

How to establish the right communication with clients

Regardless of how the communication with the client is structured - through telephone connection or is it a personal contact - it is the first impression that plays a fundamental role and ultimately affects the result of the conversation. It is important to follow a number of rules here, as well as adhere to the sequence of stages when interacting with the consumer. The most important rule is directing the conversation in the direction you want and leading the interlocutor. You need not only to be able to tell him about the advantages of your product and service and the benefits of cooperation with you, but also to ask in time the right questions in order to identify the needs and preferences of the client.
Communication should be open and friendly: you should not raise your voice, argue, put pressure on the buyer, impose your product on him, be unnecessarily annoying. But it is important to be the leader of the conversation and be able to keep everything under control. It is important to conduct a dialogue, involving the interlocutor in communication, and not just say a boring speech learned by heart. You need to interest him in your product or service, as well as gain confidence and dispose him to interact with you.
How to properly clarify customer objections? Find out on the training program

How to behave during a conversation

The correct line of staff behavior plays a big role. The likelihood of a purchase will increase significantly if the cooperation between the manager and the client is successful. It is important to show proper and at the same time unobtrusive attention to the buyer, showing him that you are interested in him being satisfied. To do this, you need to be able to arrange the interlocutor using a smile and a friendly tone. Emotionality in communication is also very important: the buyer will not show interest in you or in the product if you speak in a monotone. If you use the right emotions during the conversation, it will help to interest the interlocutor and make the dialogue more lively and relaxed.
Every salesperson needs good diction. It is important not only to know what exactly needs to be said to the buyer, but also to be able to do it clearly and correctly. The manager should be free of speech defects. The buyer should see a real professional in front of him who knows how to tell about the product, answer all questions of interest, with whom it is pleasant to have a conversation. No one is interested in an insecure employee who cannot connect even two words. When communicating with a client, it is also important to get to know him and in the future refer to him by name. This psychological technique helps to arrange the interlocutor, giving the communication a more personal character. It is very important to listen to the customer and in no case interrupt him, but at the same time to direct the conversation in the right direction if he starts to move away from the main topic.

How to properly communicate a product or service

Often, difficulties arise when communicating with a sales client at the very first stage of the conversation - he is initially not interested in hearing about the product. How to profitably present your product or service to a customer? The main task is to interest him in the product and draw attention to his company. People are very fond of promotions and special offers, and you can't help but use this to attract new buyers, as well as keep existing ones. While communicating with the consumer, tell us about the promotions, explain all the benefits of buying this particular product, interest in a new product that has recently entered the market. Find out the needs and interests of the client in order to offer the right product for him, meeting all his wishes and requirements.
Once you have decided on the buyer's requirements, focus his attention solely on those details that interest him. There is no need to overload the interlocutor with an excessive amount of information in which he will only get confused. It will be enough during communication to correctly place accents and describe the product exactly according to those parameters that are of interest to the client. The final stage is to work out all objections potential buyer, thereby dispelling his doubts, and encourage him to make a purchase. Even if the consumer, after communicating with you, refused to purchase a product or pay for a service, you need to maintain goodwill and courtesy towards him. Then there is a very high probability that a visitor will come to you in the future, keeping in mind your professionalism and desire to help with the choice. Thus, following the correct sequence of stages when communicating with a client is very important if you want to grow your business.

Simple rules for communicating with a client

There are many examples successful sales when a person just for the sake of interest went to a store, and after talking with an employee trading floor came out with the purchase. This speaks of the professionalism and high level of training of the seller. Many consumers need to be encouraged to make a purchase. For this, a number of rules have been developed by specialists in the field of trade and psychology. If the sales managers follow them, the company's turnover will definitely grow.

Customer focus. The most important thing when communicating with a client is to convince him that you are pursuing his interests, not your own, and really want to help him. This will build confidence in the buyer and help to win him over. Openness and friendliness are some of the main keys to success. You need to be especially careful in those moments when the visitor himself asks you questions. Answers should be as informative and detailed as possible. You need to show that the buyer is important to you, and you are ready to answer all his questions. Indifferent, dry remarks will leave a bad impression of the quality of service.

There are several ways to show your interest:

when talking to a customer, your attention should be focused only on him. You can not be distracted by extraneous matters;

communication should be emotionally charged. It is important that the interlocutor sees in front of him a living person, not a robot;

during communication, you need to look the interlocutor in the eyes;

it is important to conduct a dialogue, encouraging the client not only to listen, but also to speak;

it is necessary to give as much information about the product as possible for the buyer, but at the same time make sure not to overload with unnecessary information.

When communicating with the buyer, try to speak in the most understandable language for him. There is no need to delve into professional terminology in which a person does not understand. If we are talking, for example, about a blender, it is not necessary to say that its power is 1500 watts. This information may be completely useless to the client. It will be much better if you list the main foods that you can grind with it. So will you tell about technical characteristics goods, but they will be clear not only to you, but also to the buyer.

Don't stoop to the client level. At first glance, this is a rather strange advice, because the first rule says that you need to speak with the buyer in his language. This is undeniable. This rule created only to warn you against the possibility of a conflict brewing when communicating with a client. The contingent of buyers is completely different, and not all of them are able to communicate adequately, allowing themselves the use of profanity and the manifestation of rudeness. It is in these cases that one cannot become like ill-mannered people and respond with aggression. It is important to be able to remain calm and to find the strength to always be polite and friendly. The reputation of the company in which you work depends on this.
The client is always right. It has long been a hackneyed and learned rule by all sales managers. But it is not entirely correct. Every seller understands that in fact the customer is right in very rare cases. Most potential buyers don't know what they really want, and they are much less knowledgeable about your store's products than you. You are the owner of the store, not the client, and you are the main one here, because everything that happens to him depends on you: whether he can find the product he needs, whether he leaves with the purchase. But the buyer should never know this. He must consider that he is the only one who is really right.
Don't insist. When offering your product or service, don't go overboard and don't be too intrusive. There is no need to put pressure on the buyer, forcing him to make a choice and make a purchase right now, if it is noticeable that he is not ready to do so. The person should not get the impression that you have imposed a product that he did not need at all.
Don't get lost. If we are not talking about a one-time sale, but long-term cooperation (regular deliveries of goods, construction, a large project, etc.), a very important rule of communication with the company's clients is to always be in touch. First, the customer may want to know how the work is progressing and at what stage of the process, whether everything is going according to plan and whether he should worry. Second, the client may want to make some adjustments to the original project plan. Keeping in touch is in your best interest. If the customer remains dissatisfied with the result of the work on which you have spent more than one day, it will be much more difficult to fix everything than if checks and adjustments were made in intermediate stages.

These five rules of communication will help you not only find the right approach and win over any customer to the conversation, but also bring him to the conclusion of the transaction.

Basic generally accepted standards of communication with the client

Every self-respecting organization necessarily develops internal regulations and standards for communication with the company's clients. They are aimed at correctly establishing a dialogue with the buyer and building a competent sequence of stages of communication with him. This article will describe the main standards based on which you can develop your own regulations.
1. Emotional attitude and openness to the client. The sales floor or sales office employees should look such that the visitor wants to contact them. Here we are not talking about the external data of the personnel, which, by the way, is also important, but about the image of a friendly manager who is ready to advise and help. Sellers, of course, are people too and have the right to be in a bad mood, but this should not affect communication with customers in any way. A bad mood should be left at home or on the street, and the employee should be at the workplace with a friendly smile, and not scare off visitors with a sour expression on his face.
2. The client doesn't have to wait. There is hardly a person who dreams of sitting in line for an hour or two. The wait is painful for anyone. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your customer service is structured in such a way that there are as few waiting visitors as possible. If there are such, you need to show maximum care for those who are waiting for their turn. First you need to apologize to the person and clarify how long he will be served. This is often important, since perhaps at this time he will be able to solve some of his other affairs. It is also necessary to keep the guest busy with something if he is waiting for his turn in the hall: it can be magazines, catalogs, tea, coffee. The most important thing is that a situation does not arise: a visitor came in, and you did not pay attention to him, because you were busy. It is important to meet the client and let him know that he will definitely be served.
3. Be able to conduct a dialogue. To win over your interlocutor and impress him, you need not only to be tactful with him, but also in relation to your competitors. You should not compare your product with someone else, pointing out the disadvantages of others and your advantages. You are unlikely to inspire confidence by discussing competitors. You also do not need to engage in excessive self-promotion: it will be like boasting and exaggerating existing merits.
Better to avoid big monologues, lengthy descriptions and explanations. It is worth remembering the main characteristics and advantages of a particular product and conveying the very essence to the buyer without overloading him with unnecessary information. If you talk too much and for a long time, then, firstly, you can easily get confused yourself, and secondly, quickly tire the client. So that the visitor does not get tired of listening to you, you need to communicate with him in the form of a dialogue, ask questions, and involve him in the conversation.
4. Be able to hear and listen. These similar concepts are somewhat different, because listening and hearing are two different things, and a true professional in trading and in communicating with clients should know these differences. Listening is the ability to demonstrate to the other person that you are listening to them. There is a special technique of active listening, which anyone can master: you need to look in the eyes, nod, not interrupt.
The ability to hear is the ability not only to listen to a person, but also to understand everything that he wanted to convey to you. Understanding the customer while communicating with him is often very difficult. Many factors play a role here: people see the same things differently, a person does not always have sufficient knowledge to correctly express his thoughts and wishes. In such cases, you need to be able to unobtrusively get to the bottom of the truth, ask leading questions, find out as many details and details as possible. Sometimes it's enough just to put yourself in the shoes of your interlocutor and look at the question through his eyes. Once you have mastered the ability to hear people, you can not only quickly help the buyer solve their problem, but you can easily manipulate them, which is beneficial for the seller.
5. Address the customer by name. How to win over the interlocutor with just one word? Say his name. A banal truth that has a huge success in communicating with a client. When you address a person by name, it creates a more comfortable, inviting and trusting atmosphere for him, and also emphasizes the importance of this particular customer for you.
6. Don't lie... Your reputation will be completely undermined if you are caught in a lie. Never exaggerate the merits of a product and do not say what is not in reality. Even a small lie can cause irreparable harm and lead to a loss of trust on the part of the client.
7. Always do a little more than is required. A very simple, but at the same time effective technique. It is easy enough to exceed consumer expectations. You need to pay a little more attention to him, provide an additional, even the most insignificant, service, pleasantly surprise him, and he will become your regular customer. The more you do for the buyer in the form of some kind of additional bonus, the more you get in return. He will more willingly and with great interest talk with you about further cooperation, if you charm him with your special attitude.

Sequential stages of communication with the client

Stage 1. "Getting in touch" or "Establishing contact"

Any sale or deal is impossible without this stage.
Purpose: to attract the attention of a potential buyer to yourself and to win them over to further communication.
Before moving on to identifying the needs of the client, it is recommended to resort to communication with him on abstract topics. Exists whole line methods of establishing contact with a visitor. You can offer tea, coffee, a couple of compliments, etc.
It is very easy to understand whether it was possible to establish contact with the buyer by his actions. If he actively enters into communication, reacts positively to the words and actions of the seller, behaves at ease and relaxed, it can be concluded that the connection has been established. If the client is squeezed, is in a tense state, avoids communication, answers questions dryly and briefly, looks away - this indicates that contact was not established. In this case, the contacting stage needs to be given more attention using various techniques.

Stage 2. Identifying needs

Purpose: to identify the preferences and wishes of the client.
The more accurately the manager is able to identify the preferences of the buyer, the more favorable light he will be able to present the product, which will result in a purchase.
To find out the needs of the client, the manager must use the correct sequence when communicating with him, be able to ask the right questions, listen and understand the interlocutor.

Stage 3. Presentation

Purpose: to offer exactly what the buyer needs, based on his needs, identified at the second stage of communication.
When presenting a product or service, the main thing is to convey to the client the benefits of purchasing the product. It is important here not to confuse the concepts of "benefit" and "advantage".
Advantage- this is the benefit of this particular product in comparison with analogues. Anyone who purchases this product will benefit from this.
Benefit- this is such a feature or characteristic of a product that is able to satisfy the specific need of this particular customer.
Thus, knowing all the needs identified during communication with the visitor, it remains only to correctly present exactly the product, which in its characteristics corresponds to the wishes of the client. It turns out that any product parameters can be beneficial for a specific client.

Stage 4. Dealing with objections

Purpose: to dispel doubts of the buyer about the quality of the goods or its compliance with the requirements set, as well as the need to purchase.
The better the previous stages of interaction with the client are worked out, the fewer objections will follow. Perhaps the manager will conduct all the communication so correctly that he will not face any objections at all.
Objections are often related to the fact that:

not all of the buyer's needs were identified;
initially weak contact was established, and not enough time was given to communication with the client;
the presentation was uninformative and could not give a complete description of the goods, and thus answer all the questions of the buyer.

Every manager who wants to achieve success in sales should try to minimize the number of objections, because their excess is a signal of poorly performed work on interaction with the client.
It will not always be possible to completely avoid objections, so you need to learn how to respond to them correctly and take appropriate measures.
Strictly adhere to the scheme of working with objections:

listen to the buyer's objection;

smooth out his emotions, using phrases of understanding ("I understand your indignation", "Yes, I agree that it is unpleasant ...", "I understand how it feels ...", "I understand you");

get the necessary clarifications through leading questions;

offer an alternative solution to the problem.

Stage 5. Completion of the transaction

Purpose: to bring the buyer to the conclusion of the purchase and to confirm the correctness of his decision.
At the stage of completing the transaction, you need to make sure that the client is ready to make a purchase. The manager can judge this by his behavior:

the client has already formed a positive opinion about the product;
he agrees with the words of the manager;
directly says that he is ready to purchase goods or conclude an agreement on the provision of services;
interested in specifying details.

Completion Methods:

compliment method (“you made right choice»);

a method that sets a specific time frame ("If you make a purchase within three days, you will be given a 20% discount");

a win-win alternative (“Should I send you the measurers tomorrow or Friday?”).

The company's turnover is directly dependent on the professionalism of the account manager. The more skills and techniques he possesses, the more more sales he can eventually commit. Therefore, it is important to constantly train your staff and improve the qualifications of employees, send them to training sessions and lectures, develop and motivate.

Psychology of communication with a client: effective techniques for working with a difficult consumer

It is thanks to difficult clients that you can quickly identify and eliminate the shortcomings of your company, because such visitors will rush to point them out to you. The principle of working with such customers is to make the pressure exerted by them neutral, not ignore, and at the same time be able to translate them into the status of loyal customers.

Rudeness, aggressiveness of the client.

When communicating with a client, you should never be like him if he behaves unworthily. In response to rudeness, abuse, disrespectful statements and gestures, he should only see your friendliness and calmness. Do not allow the interlocutor to piss you off.
Rudeness is used when there is no other way to prove your case or defend your interests. When a person has tried all the other methods, used all the arguments and lost patience, he begins to be rude. Therefore, such harshness does not express the strength of the interlocutor, but only indicates his helplessness.
When dealing with these customers, it is important to give them the opportunity to blow off steam and show that you are ready to solve the problem. You need to listen to the client without interrupting him. It will be correct to discard all emotions and, not paying attention to the presentation of information, get to the heart of the matter. To do this, you need to show the interlocutor that you are ready to listen to him calmly, no matter how much he swears, that you do not intend to argue, but want to help in solving the problem.
In the event that a scandal occurs in front of other visitors, try to take the client away as quickly as possible in order to continue communication in private or as far as possible from strangers.

Softness, shyness.

There are types of people who themselves will not make contact, because they are shy, do not want to be distracted, or are very shy by nature. When dealing with a manager with such clients, he needs to show as much gentleness as possible: no pressure, more smile, encouraging remarks, pushing to make a decision. Such a buyer needs to be guided and guided, helped to make a choice and at the same time be very tactful and unobtrusive.

Indecision of the client.

Do not confuse indecisive people with soft people. Indecisive customers are mostly those who are afraid of making a mistake, and therefore cannot make a choice or decide whether they need a purchase in principle. Such buyers will constantly question the already made decision, clarify the details, seek advice again and again. It is difficult for them to opt for one thing. They will rush between different models of the same product and will not be able to select the one that suits them, because they will doubt that it is the best one. When dealing with such clients, you need to deliberately narrow the range of choice. You should not offer them six options at once, it is enough to focus their attention on two, and only if they refuse these options, offer two others. This will help your customers make the right choice, and the purchase will not drag on for several days.
Such clients should also not be pressured or rushed. In no case do not show that you are tired of their indecision, but on the contrary, try to encourage and support their desire to make the right choice. When communicating with the buyer, you need to instill confidence in him, dispelling his every doubt.
To nudge an indecisive person to make a purchase, it is often not enough just to present the product correctly. Additional tools must be used. In this case, you need to indicate a limited amount of this product, the upcoming price increase or something else that will make the buyer understand that it is not worth delaying the purchase, but you need to hurry up with making a decision.
More intermediate commits - more chances of reaching an agreement as a whole. So that the client does not change his mind in the future, say that work on the agreed issues is already underway. Sometimes this is done on purpose so that the buyer no longer comes back to this. Better to let him get scared and refuse altogether than to endlessly deal with his doubts, wasting time and not being sure that the deal will take place.

Familiarity.

There is a category of visitors who themselves are fluent in the techniques of communicating with people and methods of manipulating them. They will behave too friendly, trying to arouse your sympathy and thereby achieve a special disposition towards themselves, in the hope of getting some kind of personal bonuses. The task of the manager during communication with such clients is to show that he is also friendly and ready to cooperate, but adhere to business style communication, demonstrating professionalism and seriousness.

Talkativeness.

As in life, at work you can often encounter a chatty client. It is quite difficult to conduct a dialogue with such a person. Nevertheless, you need to try to focus his attention on your proposal and control the communication process. Here you need to manage to correctly insert your remarks into long monologues during pauses, without interrupting the interlocutor.
Ask leading questions that bring the buyer back to the topic of the conversation, focus his attention on the product. Do not try to say more than the interlocutor, strive to say the most important thing. Your task is not to talk to the client, but to convey the essence to him.

Silence of the client.

The taciturn visitor can be opposed to the chatterbox. The difficulty in communicating with such clients is that it is sometimes difficult to understand a person's reaction to your words. It is important here not to go into a long monologue, but to involve the interlocutor in a dialogue, asking his opinion and encouraging them to communicate. It is best to give information in portions, constantly monitoring the reaction of the buyer.
It is necessary to ask as many questions as possible that identify the needs of the person, and in those rare moments when he speaks, listen carefully to him. The Echo method will work great here. Its essence is in repeating the last words of the interlocutor.

Demonstration of competence.

This buyer is well versed in your product and familiar with its properties and characteristics. He will hasten to demonstrate his knowledge during communication, considering it dignity and superiority. You need to be tactful and not try to compete with him, proving that you are more aware. Give him the opportunity to show off his knowledge. Try to have a casual conversation, ask questions, and be an attentive listener.
If a buyer expresses his personal opinion about a particular product, specify what exactly it is based on. To do this, use the following questions: "Why did you decide that?", "What is it connected with?" Try to translate the buyer's personal attitude towards the product into a set of specific arguments. It will be much easier to react to them than to try to convince the interlocutor.
If, while communicating with a client, you notice that he is mistaken, you do not need to directly point out the error and try to correct him immediately, as this can cause a dispute. Remember that your job is to sell the product, not impose your opinion.

What are the rules dictated by the ethics of communication with clients

Professional ethics of communication with clients includes the following rules:

always be able to put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and in no case allow such an attitude towards him that you would not like to receive in your address;
in case of admitting an ethical violation, immediately correct it as soon as it was revealed;
observance of the tolerance of the company's employees to the moral principles, customs and traditions of other organizations and the surrounding world in general;
have your own opinion, but understand that it is not the only one that has the right to exist;
freedom that does not restrict the freedom of others;
ethical service behavior of an employee, which leads to the development of the organization from a moral point of view;
when communicating with the client, pressure on him or the manifestation of his superiority in the behavior of the manager is not allowed;
by all possible ways find a compromise and avoid conflict;
the employee must not only behave himself correctly from the point of view of ethics, but also encourage the client to do so;
avoid criticism of the interlocutor.

When communicating with clients, you cannot:

throw mud at competitors. You should not discuss competitors and speak badly about them, even if it is true. If the client himself asks your opinion about a particular company, the feedback about it should be as neutral as possible, and it would be most correct to refer to his ignorance of how the competitors are doing. The client's opinion about third-party organizations must be formed without your participation;
use slang... Often, employees communicate with each other and understand each other perfectly, but from the outside it seems as if they speak foreign language... It will be difficult for the visitor to understand you and navigate correctly in your terms. Therefore, communication with clients should be conducted in a language they understand. Sometimes it is even better to show clearly what you are trying to convey to the interlocutor;
let your emotions rule you. No matter how difficult the interlocutor is, no matter how he tries to piss you off, your main rule is to be calm. All of us, of course, are real people and have a right to emotions, but not a client manager. In response to any of his actions, the consumer should see only your goodwill and no irritability or aggression.

What should be the communication with the client on the phone

When communicating with a client on the phone, intonation plays the most important role. The impression of a conversation is formed in the first 20 seconds of conversation. During this time, the person decides whether he wants to continue the dialogue with you. Therefore, you need to monitor how you present information: your voice should be confident, and your speech should be clear.
Structure telephone conversation something like this:
Preparing for a conversation:

The telephone conversation itself:

There are many techniques for communicating with customers on the phone. One of them is based on the identification of the interlocutor's main sense organ for the perception of information. The fact is that we all use hearing, sight, touch, kinesthetics, sense of smell to cognize the world around us. But each person has a leading way of thinking about the world, identifying which you can easily interest the client. You can determine the leading modality based on a conversation with him.
Examples of client statements indicating the predominance of a particular way of thinking:

visual: “It looks attractive”, “This description seems vague to me”, “I see it this way ...”, “Let's try to shed some light on this problem”;
auditory:“I heard you”, “Everything happens out of time”, “Sounds like good”, “I just can't tune in to what you are saying”;
kinesthetic (motor, motor):“Try to weigh everything thoroughly”, “I feel that I can do it”, “Warmth emanates from him”, “This is a very slippery situation”;
olfactory:"It would be great to have a good taste of this," "I just smelled like a solution."

For many people, the priority method of obtaining information is visual, and this is easy to understand by using the verbs that define visualization: “see”, “imagine”, “seem”, “observe”, “see”, “decorate”, “looks”, etc. e. Such people perceive what they see better than what they hear. They prefer to watch rather than listen to descriptions, even the most detailed ones. During the conversation, clients will record important points: They are very fond of visual examples, make an action plan, take notes.
Auditory orientation is inherent in far fewer people. When communicating with such consumers, you will hear verbs related to hearing: “heard”, “sounds”, “pronounced”, “crackles”, “creaks”, etc. These interlocutors have good auditory memory and are able to remember most of the conversation without any notes and notes on paper. Such people love to communicate, but are also easily distracted by extraneous sounds.
A very small group of people are guided by the kinesthetic communication style. When talking, they often use the verbs: "build", "create", "use", etc. Such people need to be constantly in motion, it is difficult for them to sit in one place. They show expression in communication, actively using facial expressions and gestures.

How to establish online communication with customers

It is necessary to join the circle of your target audience and make contact with her. To do this, they use various thematic blogs, pages to which a person must subscribe, all kinds of mailings and subscriptions. Build a team of like-minded people and actively communicate with their leaders.
Use your data, prepare for meetings with your team:

select a few of the most important questions at the moment (three to five);
check out the profiles of your interlocutor in social networks;
make a psychological portrait of a person, indicate on paper your assumptions about him;
decide what exactly is important for you to get from the person and how to build communication with the client.

Communication via e-mail:

Seamless pickup. If there is a need to replace a manager leading a specific client (vacation, sick leave, load distribution), this replacement should take place unnoticed by the consumer. For this new manager must familiarize himself with all the nuances of the transaction. A previous employee, who is aware of all matters, is obliged to help him in this. He must transfer all related materials on this buyer and tell as much as possible about the details of the work done and upcoming work with him.
You can not change the subject of the letter... During the correspondence, the subject of the letter should remain as it was originally. Then the client and you will have the opportunity to filter this particular correspondence from among other letters. If you change the subject even a little, the letter will not get into the filter and will be lost. If some correspondence has come to a logical conclusion, and there is a need to continue communication with the consumer on other issues, a new topic is assigned to the conversation.
Talking topic... The topic should be structured in such a way as to convey the essence of the entire conversation.
Reply All... In the case when several interlocutors are involved in the correspondence, it is necessary to use the "Reply to all" function in response to letters so that all participants in the conversation are involved in it and are aware of what is happening.
Summaryandcall to action... At the end of each of your letters, summarize and remind what result you want to achieve. This is how you program the client's actions to achieve your goals.
Resume after chatting on Skype... After the end of communication with the client via Skype, it will be correct to send him a letter, which will describe the essence of the conversation and summarize the results. This way, you can be sure that no one will forget what was said.
The last word... Always try to keep the communication completed by you. To do this, at the end of the conversation, it is enough to use the phrases: “Thank you for your cooperation!”, “Thank you for your time!”, “Have a nice day!”.

Classic phrases for communicating with clients for all occasions

1. Incoming call (external / internal).

Greeting (external):"Good afternoon / morning / evening, company (name), position, department, name, I'm listening to you."
Greetings (internal):"Good afternoon / morning / evening, position, department, name, I'm listening to you."
Excluded phrases:“How can I be useful”, “I'm listening”, “You've got it”, “(company name) is listening”, “Hello”, “At the device”.

2. Outgoing call to a new client.

"Good afternoon / morning / evening, my name is (name), I am (position / department) company (name)."
"Please tell me who you can talk to about organizing staff training?"
"Can you please tell who is engaged in procurement in your company?"

3. Outgoing call to the current client.

Excluded phrases:“Do you recognize me?”, “Can I disturb you?”, “Calling you,” “Sorry to bother you.”

4. Outgoing call to an old customer who needs to be returned.

"Good afternoon / morning / evening, my name is (name), I am (position / department) company (name), can I talk to (name)?" If necessary, you can clarify on what issue you are.
“Good afternoon / morning / evening, my name is (name), I am (position / department) company (name). Is it convenient for you to talk now? "
If the answer is yes:"Thank you! We have already cooperated with you (what kind of cooperation), we would like to continue our interaction. Please tell me, are you interested in (clarification)? "
Phrases excluded: "Calling you", "Bothering you."
If the answer is no:"When can I call you back so that it is convenient for you (specify the time and date)?"

5. The client came to the office.

Unfamiliar client, greeting:"Good afternoon / morning / evening, (walk in / sit down)", "I'm listening to you."
Excluded phrases:“Who are you for?”, “Man!”, “Woman!”, “Whom do you want?”; phrases are not recommended:"Can I help you?", "Are you looking for something / someone?"
Familiar:"Good afternoon / morning / evening, (walk in / sit down)", "Nice to see you."

6. Meeting at the client's office.

Unfamiliar client:"Good afternoon / morning / evening, my name is (name), I am (position / department) company (name), can I meet with (name)?" If necessary, clarify on what issue.
Familiar customer: " Good afternoon / morning / evening, name / surname / patronymic of the client, glad to see you ”(you can make a compliment).

7. End the conversation.

By phone or in person:“I was glad to talk to you! All the best, good day / week / weekend! " etc.

I really liked these rules from the site freelance.ru. Simply intelligible and, most importantly, everything that is called "to the cashier".

Everyone who works with clients must read it! Especially this topic began to excite me after the negative experience of communicating with copywriters. I will immediately throw a link to these simple ten rules.

If we leave aside the questions of professionalism and decency (let's assume that we are all professionals and have never thrown anyone), then important issue for a freelancer is building communication with the customer. It contains the key to the successful start and completion of a specific project, as well as the formation of long-term or regular cooperation.

For 5 years of work on the Internet as a freelancer, project manager and direct customer, I have accumulated a decent "baggage". This is the kind of baggage:

Regular customers,

Clients with whom communication did not work out,

Clients I feel embarrassed and even ashamed in front of

Freelancers with whom I have worked and continue to work with pleasure,

Freelancers I will never contact again.

Analyzing this baggage, we can safely say that a lot of mistakes have been made. I made mistakes, those with whom I had to work made mistakes, you make them too. I tried to formulate the conclusions from all this in the form of 10 rules of communication with the customer.

1. No friendship and familiarity with the customer.

Communication should be as formal as possible. The appeal to a stranger “to you”, accepted in Russia, should not disappear, even if your opponent switched to “you”.

There is no need to suddenly tell how you spent yesterday, that you quarreled with your wife, how crows croak outside the window, and that you have not yet drunk coffee. Your customer is not interested in this and, believe me, he does not expect such frankness from you.

If you receive such information, smile politely, send emoticons, but do not get involved in the discussion, stay outside the official line.

Than the opposite threatens?

No matter how friendly relations with the customer do not allow us to assess the situation soberly. Due to the feeling of closeness, you will not be able to say the right "Stop!" or not!".

2. Do not tell the customer about the process of work, do not send intermediate stages and source codes, do not throw in terms unnecessarily.

It is extremely rare that a client needs to know the sequence of your actions when creating a collage or setting up a database. If he needs it, he will tell about it.

And the customer is unlikely to want to participate in the development process. He came to you for the result, and not to spend his time looking at and commenting on the intermediate stages of the project. Respect his time.

The same goes for specific terminology. It is logical that you know the names of all your instruments, it is also logical that it is only of interest to you.

Than the opposite threatens?

It seems to you that in this way you demonstrate your skill, openness and desire to cooperate. In fact, you are stealing other people's time and nerves. It is unlikely that the client will say that you are tired of him. He just won't come to you anymore.

As an add-on: the coolest plumber is the one who fixes pipes quickly and silently. And he does not describe his actions, offering to hold the monkey wrench while he walks for tow.

3. Don't let the customer choose if he doesn't ask.

You should always remember that you are a professional who is able to independently decide which of your work is the best. There is no need to show 20 variations of one logo, while only 3 are expected of you.

Than the opposite threatens?

The client is also difficult to choose, and he will ask to choose someone else, for example, a wife or a boyfriend ...

The client may ask for more options, because you have already given him more than he asked for, so you can do more.

The client may choose the worst option, and you will be ashamed of the job.

4. Don't be lost.

You can not reply to the letter for a maximum of 24 hours. In messengers, silence for several hours is permissible. The call must be answered immediately. If it didn't work out, be sure to call back as soon as possible.

The rule is simple, but due to its simplicity, it is very easy to ignore it.

Than the opposite threatens?

You risk losing trust, order and customer. And also earn loud scandal, if a client starts looking for you, creating posts like: “Lost freelancer, help me find. The color is white with a black spot on the ear, responds to ... ".

5. Don't explain yourself unnecessarily.

It so happened that you disappeared, forgot to do something, send, write, did something wrong or not ... It happens to everyone. But, if the customer has no complaints and questions, do not explain. Add, send, redo, but do not explain. Explanations are appropriate when expected.

Than the opposite threatens?

Inappropriate excuses characterize you as a weak, insecure person.

And (see point 1) it might just be unnecessary information.

6. Reasonableness and accountability.

All your actions must be clearly and reasonably justified. Why is the price exactly the same? Why are you using clipart? Why didn't you do it as indicated in the TK?

If the project is not a two-day project, it is important to establish accountability. For example, once a week, send the customer a document that describes the work and their volume, as well as the price for them. Or invite him to the tracker, in which he can observe the dynamics of the work being carried out.

Reporting does not negate validity.

Than the opposite threatens?

The result of the customer's ignorance is mistrust, claims, disputes, damaged relationships, negative feedback.

7. Don't become a mediator.

Start selling other people's services only if you are a manager by nature, or you have rich experience in this (for example, from your previous office life), or you have a reliable cover (for example, your partners or a company).

Than the opposite threatens?

The desire to make money quickly and easily in this way often turns into a headache, insomnia, out-of-pocket payments and broken relationships with all participants in the business. Any of the parties (both the customer and the contractor) can disappear, fail, all kinds of force majeure can happen to them ... And you need to explain yourself with the other side, save face, reputation and your money.

8. Negotiations to the last.

Whatever the situation may be, try to negotiate. It doesn't matter if you are to blame or if the customer is doing something wrong, you need to maintain a calm tone and keep the conversation in a constructive direction. As practice shows, you can always find a way out of any situation. At the same time, it is far from always necessary to make a compromise (consider it as an extreme measure), since most unpleasant situations are the result of misunderstanding, misunderstanding. You just need to figure out which of you misunderstood, misunderstood or interpreted in your own way.

Than the opposite threatens?

Without trying to figure it out, you risk losing the possible regular client, partner, spoil the relationship and get negative feedback for inadequacy. And, what is saddest, there is a great chance to repeat your mistakes in the future.

If your prices jump and change, then you do not know the value of your labor. Most likely, you can be "bent". If you say one thing in your profile, but in reality something else happens, this raises a lot of doubts, as well as temptations.

Ambiguity always speaks of unprofessionalism and weakness, which will either scare the client away or give him the opportunity to manipulate you.

I hope my experience will be useful to you.

Take on arms! Let this be your code, from which not a step away!

PS: When I re-read these rules, I immediately recall one of my first works to promote an office dealing with plastic windows. I probably violated all these 10 rules when communicating with the customer, as a result I also had a terrible fight with him. If it was in real life, it could come to assault. Now I look at myself then and wonder why I wasted my nerves, time, everything could be ruled out elementary.