In field service, recent trends have blurred the line between service and sales, to the point where field technicians can take on dual roles and support the sales team, writes Giacomo Squintani, marketing manager at Servigistics, a company that provides enterprise software solutions for service lifecycle management.
“Nobody’s suggesting sales execs retrain as technicians (oh, there’s a painful thought…) or that techs can turn up one day and seamlessly do a sales exec’s job,” says Squintani. “What is emerging, however, is a growing appreciation that engineers can assist by providing excellent service and by becoming ‘trusted advisers.'”
Service techs already have a leg up because the nature of their job literally gives them an automatic foot in the door. Just being in their customers’ homes allows them to gather critical information that can and should be shared with their company’s sales team. Techs should pay attention to opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell, identify areas for improvement and outstanding needs, all the while providing great customer service that will build customer loyalty.
The savvy service tech can transform the everyday call for service into a sale, writes Pam Baker on Inside CRM. Here’s how, according to Baker:
- Ask thoughtful questions and listen to what your customer isn’t saying. Go beyond the basics of just repairing what’s broken and try to uncover additional needs that aren’t being met.
- Pay attention to the data. Customer service representatives collect valuable data that should be provided to sales and service teams alike. Team up with other departments to paint the fullest picture of each client before going into a job.
- Make is easy on the customer. Try to remove any obstacles preventing the customer from making a purchase by offering relevant suggestions.
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