A cheat sheet of an administrator within the framework of this article is a circle of specific and consistent actions that must be performed both in working with incoming and outgoing calls. Here I will try to focus on those aspects of working with the phone that were either missed in the previous two articles or were not described in sufficient detail.
A cheat sheet of an administrator
As we already know, the telephone in the professional activity of a fitness club administrator or a sales manager is not intended for sales, but for making appointments. The processing of both incoming and outgoing calls, as we, again, already know, is a set of very specific actions that allow the administrator to conduct dialogue as efficiently as possible, that is, from all sorts of awkward questions and price clarification, straight to the appointment of a meeting.
This specific list, both in the first and in the second case, has so-called techniques that allow you to maneuver and smooth corners during a conversation. So, I will divide the material into two blocks: a cheat sheet of an administrator for incoming and outgoing calls and at the end, as usual, I will summarize everything that we have studied today.
TIP. This article is a logical continuation of the previous two: “Incoming calls processing” and “Outgoing calls processing“, which I also recommend that you familiarize yourself with.
A cheat sheet for incoming calls
First. Always keep the conversation constructive and logical. Remember the sequence of actions: preparing for a call, establishing contact, identifying needs, formulating a proposal, dealing with objections, and making an appointment. The conversation must go strictly in this vein, otherwise, the effectiveness of the call becomes unpredictable.
Second. Always stay in high spirits. Nobody cares about your problems if you have them. At the moment when the call rings and you pick up the phone, leave all your problems to yourself. Do not mumble, do not interrupt or ignore the caller, show interest and respect for the interlocutor. Solve his problems, do not burden him with yours.
Third. Be convincing in your statements. Remember that your voice should not sound confused and you should not keep the person waiting. The customer who calls you should not take you by surprise with a single question. To do this, you need to thoroughly understand what services and goods the club offers to clients. Speak clearly, distinctly, and confidently.
Fourth. Always address the caller by name. Personalize the dialogue. Addressing a specific person on the phone to “you”, the administrator mixes him with the crowd. By addressing him by name, you show that he is already a person for you, that if you memorized (or wrote down) his name, he is already important to you. This will make it easier for you to win his favor.
Fifth. There is an unspoken rule – the one who asks the questions first controls the conversation. Seize the initiative. You have been asked a question, your task is to answer it and end the sentence with your question. If the answer does not end with a question, the initiative will be in the hands of the caller, he will receive all the answers and hang up. If you ask your own right away, you will cause discomfort.
Sixth. Reassure yourself that the person calling already wants to see the club. Tune in initially to the fact that if he buys a membership, he will go to the club anyway, which means it will be better if this happens as soon as possible. Remember the golden rule that the more time you give a person to think, the more likely he is to lose interest.
Seventh. Do not let the caller lead the conversation into details, that is, do not follow his lead. Provide general information and end the sentence with your question. Always keep the initiative in the conversation and lead the dialogue to the point that all the details are discussed only at the meeting. Make a bet that it will be better, more convenient, and faster this way.
Eighth. Everything that concerns specific information also applies to specific prices. See the previous point. When it comes to prices, tell the range “from and to”, name the approximate cost, convey to the person the idea that, under certain conditions, certain factors can affect the price. As a last resort, name two or three prices, but not one.
Ninth. Always diagnose a person’s motivation. Ask what prompted him to think about going to a fitness club, what he wants to achieve, and what he wants to get rid of. This will help you to collect as much information as possible, and it will help him to see that you are interested in him, you are trying to figure out his problem, and seriously want to help him.
Tenth. Always exchange contacts after making an appointment. As you already know, even if you made an appointment, a person may suddenly have a thousand reasons why he won’t show up and won’t even call back. If in such a situation you cannot call him yourself, because you did not take his contacts on time, consider that you have lost this client.
A cheat sheet for outgoing calls
First. Always call those who did not show up for the meeting. See the last paragraph of the cheat sheet for incoming calls. This means, first of all – always take their contact details. If a person has not come, this does not mean that you need or can forget about him, rather the opposite – now it’s your turn to contact him. Call, remind and re-schedule the appointment.
Second. Always call those who attended the meeting, but did not buy a membership. Again, those who have already watched the club but have not purchased a club card are not lost for the club yet. It doesn’t matter if he changed his mind or just took time to think or consult with friends/colleagues/relatives. Your task is to make calls and do it as quickly as possible.
Third. Always call those customers who are running out of membership. Most likely, you do not know what is going on in a person’s head, so you may not know that he decided to stop going to this club and go to another, or maybe even stop gymming altogether. Your task is to call him, find out about his future plans and offer to extend the subscription.
Fourth. When making an outgoing call, be sincere, show concern and interest in the interlocutor. Once again, I remind you that all your problems should be left outside the phone. Everything that you utter unwillingly or being forced is immediately felt on the other end of the wire. A person who senses a bluff automatically becomes close to you.
Fifth. Always prepare for a cold calling session. Prepare pens, pencils, paper, registration sheets, necessary forms, and questionnaires in advance. Try to make sure that no one distracts you during the conversation and that you are not distracted by yourself. If possible, go to a separate office or another quiet place so that the noise does not distract from communication.
Sixth. Always remember that every call you make is charged. Regardless of how many successful or unsuccessful calls you made, if at least one of them ends in a sale, it automatically makes all other calls paid. The more successful calls (transactions) you make, the higher the cost of each individual call will be.
Seventh. Always remember that you are solving customer problems, not burdening them with yours. Of course, your task is to keep the initiative and conduct a dialogue in the right direction for you, but! This should be done so that it is not obvious to the person with whom you are communicating. This is a good incentive to improve your communication skills.
Eighth. Try to establish relationships, not just sell or make appointments. It is for this reason that the names and surnames of clients, their relatives, and children should be recorded. Record their birthdays, call congratulations, and invite them to club events. The client should feel like a part of the family, and not an object to suck money out.
Ninth. Be persistent, but don’t go overboard. In a conversation with a client, try to keep your line, but do it as elegantly as possible. If the client repeated the same question three times, assume that you did not pass the phone call exam. Continuing to bend the stick even after the third question of the interlocutor, the probability of losing it increases to 99%.
Tenth. Never cut relationship completely. Even after the unsuccessful end of the conversation, try to get out of the situation with dignity as much as possible. Nobody knows how life will turn out and the one to who you were rude today may be helpful for you tomorrow. Be polite, show honor, dignity, and in any difficult situation, always remain human.
Conclusion
A cheat sheet of an administrator also includes one more important nuance when working with a telephone, which is typical for both incoming and outgoing calls processing. Prioritize who is already in the club, not who is calling, because whoever stands in front of you is already in the club, and you don’t know if you can make an appointment with the caller or not. Therefore, when such a situation arises, bet not on what will be possible, but on what actually already exists.
When you are talking with a visitor at the reception or giving a presentation and at this moment the phone rings, first serve the one who is next to you. Do not press the reset button, otherwise, the caller will get the impression that his call is undesirable. It is better to switch the phone to silent mode, and then the caller will get the impression that at the moment there is no one near the phone, and he will call back later. Use all these little cheat sheets, tips, and tricks that we talked about today in your practice, and the efficiency of working with the phone will increase significantly.
Felix Palmer – author of the blog crusfit.com
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