Service leaders know all too well that things are competitive out there, for several reasons. Technology allows our your customers to be more informed — and informed customers are demanding customers. Any competitive advantages you achieve are quickly matched, or even exceeded, by competitors. Customers often take for granted the great work that your service teams do and, barring constant reminders, will assume that the service quality that you provide is typical of other providers. The result? Companies start to look the same to customers and, if all competitors are the same, customers just go with the lowest price.
So, how do service leaders stand out in this environment? The biggest selling point, I suggest, is by ensuring customers are betting off for having known you.
The key to helping customers to be better off will depend on the proactive efforts of your field service team. Who better than field technicians to recognize opportunities that will help the customer — and take the initiative to broach those opportunities with customers? Techs know the technology. They understand their firm’s capabilities. They have the relationship and trust of the customer and, hopefully, they have a good understanding of the customer’s goals and objectives.
The goal then, is to help our field service team recognize their role in identifying opportunities to help our customers and bringing their recommendations to our customers’ attention. The challenge is to get enthusiastic buy-in from your field technicians.
In this series, I will address the key steps to success. The articles are based on my book, “Beyond Great Service, The Technician’s Role in Proactive Business Growth,” and the companion workbook, “Beyond Great Service Planning Guide.” We will examine the six (??) key steps to success:
- Ready, Set, Go: Understanding where you are now
- Vision: Creating clarity around the strategy
- Hurdles to Success: Addressing the critical factors to ensure success
- Actions: Identifying the specific steps needed to implement the strategy
- Maintaining momentum: Encouraging and supporting the proactive efforts of your field service team
- Promotion: Leveraging the efforts of your field service team to win new customers
My goal is to help service companies in all stages of engaging their field service teams in business development — from those who have not yet started, to those who have formal initiatives in place.
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