I recently asked someone who works in escrow what she felt was the biggest challenge in her industry. She provided me with her thoughts as well as posed this question to her colleagues, including several sales representatives. Interestingly, they had a universal response: “Following up with clients.”
As a former account executive, I was half taken aback, because, well, communicating with clients on an ongoing basis is 99 percent of the job; it’s the foundation of customer service…our reputation. So I asked some clarifying questions and put the issue in my back pocket with plans to address it in a future training.
But then I had an experience that beckoned to be shared now…because it involved receiving outstanding customer service from the last place one would expect: the IRS.
What did they do exactly?
In short, they followed up and followed through. Hence, the ensuing story about how doing so can seriously elevate your reputation.
The letter began as most letters from the IRS begin—with a statement that I owed them money. Penalties on my payroll taxes plus an additional $1400 dollars. Being that I use—or shall I say— used one of the largest and well-known payroll companies to handle my payroll, I was baffled, especially because I saw that they had collected the money in question. So I called my payroll company and received an outgoing message from my personal advisor that said to leave a message and she’d call back as soon as possible.
Five messages and no returned calls.
Because time was of the essence and most of us want to stay on the IRS’s good side, I decided to call them myself. Despite crossing my fingers for a live person, I got an automated message stating that if I left my name and callback number, I wouldn’t lose my place in line and someone would reach out to me in 29 minutes. And then the unthinkable happened…
Someone did. And within that time frame!
A very pleasant woman called me back, listened intently, confirmed that she understood my situation, and then asked if she could put me on hold for about seven minutes so she could look into it. (The IRS must use the same algorithm as the airlines to determine their timeframes.) I said yes but still sat with anxiety, wondering, What if my call gets dropped? Will I have to go through the entire process again?
But then, as promised, she came back on the line with some of the missing puzzle pieces. Something still didn’t add up, so she asked if she could put me on hold for up to another seven minutes while she did some further investigating. And once again…she did.
In the end, she found the “missing” money, informed me there would be no penalties, and said I’d be receiving two letters from the IRS and explained what each would say. She then asked me if there was anything else she could help me with, said she was glad she could help me, and told me to have a great rest of my week! Needless to say, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor.
Sometime later, I received a TEXT message from my (now former) payroll advisor that said, “Hi. I’m on PTO. Here’s a link to our customer care number.”
Again, this is one of the largest, most expensive payroll management companies in the U.S. Receiving a text from my “personal advisor” weeks after I’d reached out with an urgent issue made me feel as if my business did not matter. And I actually had called their customer care number when I couldn’t get in touch with my advisor and was greeted with an automated message informing me of a two-hour wait time. (Their recording may as well have been a ring announcer’s voice shouting—“Let’s get ready to rumble!” Because I was…)
I’ve since switched to a new payroll management company that is costing me $300 dollars less per month and that is truly providing top-notch, personal service—as I’ve actually met with my advisor face-to-face a couple of times now.
The moral of the story, however, is that following up with our clients as well as following through with what we’ve said we were going to do can make or break our business. While no one wants to be on hold for seven minutes, let alone seven seconds—because the person I spoke with at the IRS was upfront, sincere in her efforts to help me, and followed through on each promise, I’m walking around singing the IRS’s praises! What do you think I’m walking around saying about my former payroll company?
It’s one thing to make a mistake, i.e., submit the wrong form on behalf of your client causing them to receive a love note from the IRS, but to not even acknowledge it or even communicate that you’re going on vacation in your outgoing message, well, then it’s time to start initiating quality assurance policies similar to…the IRS.
With this in mind, how can you boost your customer service and reputation?
Two reasons I’ve been told sales reps and AEs have trouble following up with clients involve a fear of “bothering” them and time management. The woman I spoke with from the IRS could’ve easily made an assumption about my situation, but, instead, she listened. What if when you called your clients you simply listened to what was going on in their world—as if for the first time? Because maybe something has changed since you last spoke to them. Maybe you have a product or service you didn’t even know they needed that they didn’t even know you offered.
And when it comes to finding the time…perhaps start with setting aside seven minutes to make that follow-up call. It could just be your lucky number.
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