How to Develop a Winning Call Flow Script for your Small Business

How important is the call flow process? Why do I need to have written scripts for my small business? Why is it important to train my employees to answer calls? In a word, professionalism. However, it is a bit more complicated than that. If you read my last article on "Upgrading the Image of Your Small Business" then you know that I believe that the customer service/sales department is the backbone of your business. It stabilizes and connects the different appendages of your business and literally determines the posture of your operations.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Books on customer service
• Time to meditate/pray
• Possibly a specialist
• A dedicated team ready to execute and brainstorm

1. Hmmmm... Meditate/pray about your business. Spend some time just pondering over the different dynamics of your operation. I would suggest that you spend at least a day on this step and journal any/all thoughts and ideas that come to mind throughout that day. Decide what information you want publicized about your company. Decide what information you want hidden about your company. This is a giant step!
2. Envision a call from beginning to end. Envision the different scenarios you or one of your representatives might encounter and write them all down as titles on separate sheets of paper. Don't just envision the positive scenes, think about the worst case scenarios as well. If you feel comfortable, you can use the ballooning method of brainstorming to form a type of map. Here is a short list of subjects you may want/need addressed:
   
   How can I can I receive your product/services?
   
   What area(s) do you cover?
   
   How much are your services/products?
   
   How can I cancel service?
   
   I want a refund.
   
   My lawyer is on the other line, please hold.
   
   Where do I file a complaint?
   
   Why haven't I received my product/service?
   
   What are the benefits of working with your company?
   
   What is your company history?
   
   I am moving.
3. My name is... Begin to fill in the script on each page according to how you feel that call will flow. Begin each call with a greeting, an introduction, identification of your company and the person answering the call, and an invitation for service.
   
   Hello, thank you for calling Bull's Eye Lawn Service, my name is Cody, how may I help you.
4. How can we better answer this question? Make another page and entitle it "Frequently Asked Questions". This should be an ever-expanding section. Any unique question undeserving of a full page script that has ever been asked to a rep should be discussed within the group and an appropriate and solid answer should be added to this section.
5. Office Depot, and Wal-mart are inexpensive options Have materials readily available. If you really want to get elaborate you can equip your reps with specialized forms for the different scenarios they will most commonly encounter. Message sheets, complaint forms, sales sheets, legal agreements, etc.
6. We are your team! When you have completed these first steps then you will need to schedule a training session where you train all the personnel in your company. Try to keep the training as concise and relevant as possible. Stress the importance of the information, the responsibility of the team, and the consequences of non-compliance. By consequences, I mean not only in-house penalty but the longevity of the company and public image.
7. Just read this, huh? When is my smoke break? Chunk it down even more after the initial meeting. The goal is to streamline the call flow process to an almost infantile level of simplicity. Make sure to have a Table of Contents and index for quick finding. Also, a simple price list should be included to give customers/employees a quick idea of how much we charge.
8. Here you go guys! Hold follow-up meetings at least once per month to announce changes to policy & procedures & specials, etc. Remember the more knowledge and negotiation leeway your employees have, the more power they have to resolve issues and increase your company sales. Only you can make the determination of the amount of power and headroom you want to give your people.
9. Success in the air! Enjoy the benefits! You will almost immediately begin to feel the effects of a more efficient and more effective customer service plan. You will feel more comfortable on the phone and so will your potential clients. Your old clients will be presently surprised with the improvements to their favorite company as well. I see this as a win-win for everyone. Thank you for viewing. Leave me some feedback if you try this and let me hear your success story!

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that the written information is the most important part. The script is just a guide don't worry about sounding stiff and scripted. It is better err in sounding scripted than to say something that will disqualify/degrade/destroy you and/or your company.
• If you are the only person in your business, then you can still use this simple method minus the team briefing.
• When you write your script, remember your grammar is very important.
• Be polite and courteous in your script.
• Leave plenty of room the customer to speak in your script.
• Answer questions in as few words as possible. 1-3 sentences
• Never give negative or disparaging information about your company to the customer and especially don't put it in the script.
• Submit the script to a trusted friend or professional before you implement it. Answer any questions they may have in the a new script.
• Remember to repeat your company name at strategic positions within the script so that it will be remembered. Opening ~ Introduction of products/services ~ Company history ~ Closing. If you can squeeze it in other places without sounding too crazy then do it!
• Read as many books on customer service as you can SBO!
• Smile when you talk, sit upright in your chair, and put on a suit or at least something business professional when you're at work! (Especially when you're at home!)
• The goal is to close every call in professional manner after having addressed all questions, comments, or concerns.
• “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.”
• Remember that you can neither anticipate every thing nor please every customer. You can however, always do your best! Good Luck!