Part I. Asking for the Order
38. Probing the Mind of the Customer
Activity Description
Time Guideline: 40 minutes
This activity focuses on the role of exploratory questioning to discover the real needs of customers through group sharing and development of proper questioning. The value of creating dialogue so that the customer responds more and we can listen more to truly understand their needs is realized.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
1. Analyze a customer service situation to determine how it may have resulted in a better outcome. 2. State the reasons why exploratory questioning is so important.
3. Demonstrate the proper use of exploratory questions in probing for additional information while causing the customer to think.
Method of Instruction
Worksheet 38.1–3
Hand out Worksheet 38.1.
On this worksheet (working independently) the participants are to take 6 minutes and write out the exact circumstances of a situation they personally encountered with a customer (either over the phone or in person) that for various reasons did not conclude with an order.
Once they have written out their situations, place them in teams of four or five participants. Select team leaders for each group.
Instruct them that the major purpose of this activity is to practice the proper use of exploratory questions. Tell participants,
“Exploratory questions are primarily used to find out people’s needs. By asking the appropriate questions, we cause the customer to think more so that they, in turn, talk more so that we can listen more.
“Remember jigsaw puzzles? Well, picture a 5,000 piece puzzle and all you have are 17 pieces connected. At best, you can only guess what the finished picture is going to be. Receiving skimpy information from a customer is like that puzzle. We’re guessing at what the customer really needs and, unless we change our tactics, may never provide the solutions they are looking for.
“The proper use of exploratory questions allows us to add more pieces of the puzzle until we have clarity of understanding.
“Exploratory questions place the focus on the customer. You are getting them to talk approximately 80 percent of the time while you are only talking about 20 percent. And, when you’re listening, you are not thinking so much about what you want to say, but rather what you want to ask so that you can listen even more as the customer helps you understand their real needs and wants.
“By properly using exploratory questions, you are also helping the customer to discover, verbalize, and clarify their own wants and needs. It’s a two-way street as you build a customer-responsive relationship.
50 Activities for Achieving Excellent Customer Service
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Method of Instruction (continued)
“As the customer clarifies their wants and needs, they are revealing the real issues that are important to them. You are now tapping into the customer’s perception of reality and no longer just going with what you feel that perception was. Once you fully understand the customer’s perception, needs, and wants, you are prepared to take action and fulfill their needs.
“Exploratory questions can be a very powerful tool. “Here’s your assignment:
“Team leaders: have each individual on your team share the situation they described on Worksheet 1 where for various reasons they did not receive the order. As a team, select two of the situations presented and write them down on Worksheet 38.2. For each situation your team is to develop two proper
exploratory questions. What do we mean by proper exploratory questions? • They must be questions that cause the customer to think.
• They help to create dialogue, not squelch it.
• Proper exploratory questions usually start with who, what, why, when, where, or how. • It is very difficult to simply answer yes or no to a properly stated exploratory question. “See the samples on Worksheet 38.3.
“Questions that can simply be answered yes or no can be good questions, but they are not exploratory. We need to cause the customer to think more so that they talk more, and we, in turn, listen more.
“Remember, the primary purpose of this activity is to practice developing good exploratory questions.” Give the teams 12 minutes to work on the activity. Check to see their progress as the time nears and give additional time if required.
Upon completion, have each share the following: • Your first situation
• Your two exploratory questions • Your second situation
• Your two exploratory questions
The other teams should act as observers/judges to determine if, in fact, the questions are exploratory. If not, correct them together. Show appreciation as each team finishes.
Notes, Insights, and Variations
Depending on the time you have for your program, you may wish to have each team share only one of their final situations and the exploratory questions they developed. However, let them do the entire assignment in their teams. They need the practice. Then, as a team, have them select the one they believe is best to share with the others.
This may be used to emphasize the significance of exploratory questioning and their relationship to fulfilling customer needs.
Say,
“The responsibility is on your shoulders to constantly educate the customer to the quality of service you provide. Discover your customer’s real needs through the use of proper exploratory questioning and sell, not tell! If you’re just selling products and services, you’re in trouble. You need to be fulfilling needs and providing solutions. Exploratory questioning can help you to accomplish this.”
Personal Information
Worksheet 38.1
You received a call or were dealing with a customer in person and for various reasons did not end up with an order. Please write down the exact circumstances of your situation below.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
Worksheet 38.2
Situation A:
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Exploratory questions for this situation:
1. _________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________________________________
Situation B:
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Exploratory questions for this situation:
1. _________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________________________________