Are your team able to connect the dots between need and solution for their guest/client? Are they able to recommend using their best advice to build value with intelligent, individualized solutions that contribute to the fabulousness of their client experience?
Knowledge Abundance & But Still Creating Value
We work in a time where the abundance of knowledge available can leave team members feeling lost in the weeds (or pumpkins) to recommend with confidence. This volume of knowledge leaves operational teams sometimes engulfed by that louder voice, that more bombastic voice or that one that is most available on the phone, in the palm of your hand as you scroll mindlessly. I am talking about all the posts made by all the experts into every element of our lives.
Being fed continuously on this medium grade content, can have an effect on confidence levels, not necessarily a value creating effect for either the teams' sense of value/worth or for the final value that is created for the guest/client during their experience.
Value creation means more built for the money spent, more value and more emotional pleasure for that same or close to equal cost. When trust is built between the guest and team member they can recommend and help get the best value and in turn, a more engaging, deeper experience.
More Touch Points the Better
The more touch points and the more of a journey created, just for me, the guest - the more I spend which results in a deeper level of satisfaction and the likelihood to return or tell others about my super positive experience (see my blog of rationalizing the purchase). But it has to be created intelligently, in a meaningful way, using interpersonal trust (brand/organizational trust helps too). Last month when I was traveling to spend time with a client in Atlanta, I went to a local restaurant with the intention to order just a glass of wine and a hamburger. (typical for a 'dominant' using DISC Behavioral Profile, see my blog on DISC). A timely and enticing recommendation of the special of the day; a favorite starter or after talking through what the burger will come with/the size of it - what would be the best side to accompany that choice and perhaps some space left for a home made dessert. A bottle of wine could be suggested instead of just a glass, if I intend to drink a little more and take it with me (to have a nightcap on the balcony for example). What we are seeing across the board is that servers, therapists, estheticians, front desk agents have become more hesitant and less likely to share their preciously distilled advice, insights, products and service recommendations with their guests and clients. The noise of advice out there and the team assuming that the guest has all they need to make a rational decision, is curbing the exchange of needs to solutions.
Stay in the Safety of the Comfort Zone
Like any skill that requires practice, the less opportunities generated to build trusting interactions where the team are able to share and be heard, the less impactful we are likely to be overall.
As we grow accustomed to a safer, smaller space to pivot from and share knowledge in we continue to rely on safer interactions, connections and predictions, favorites, go tos- but not much more.
The most emotional and reactive move would be to fight fire with fire, assert yourself with the same two dimensional messaging and volume as many of those social media posts. I have seen many therapists or sales team mates go for a frontal attack to increase reach and influence but in the social and not physical space. This has limited impact but indeed makes you feel better, feel proactive and doing something to manage the slide.
Read the Guests' Needs- See the Pattern
This is where we come in. Imagine this: a space where the team feels powerful, and that they have all they need to connect the dots…..the dots being the guest's needs and the services, products, lifestyle solutions that make sense to the guest. It takes an expert, to see a pattern and recommend to it (after trust has been built, see my blog on trust building) to make meaningful changes.
The idea that expertise, knowledge and wisdom is not just what you know, but how well you are able to integrate it is what clients or guests need. Identifying the 'dots' or opportunities for growth, change, progress, creating delight- takes a fine tune of how to read the spoken and unspoken needs of guests and clients. We take the time in our Recommending & Upselling Workshop to practice and prepare for how to be heard, how to listen and how to engage and build interpersonal trust (even when brand trust can be low) with all varieties of clients. Building value becomes a passion and a goal that we can all achieve. Even the team who don't like to sell or only do what do their job and it doesn't have selling on it. We reconnect their art and add back in their expert knowledge. It's a beautiful lever to give back to the team to be able to pull.
Moving Barriers to Recommend
One of my most important roles (apart from being a dog and teen momma) is to empower teams to connect the dots for each guest/client to be able to upsell for more value, recommending products and services for a deeper and richer experience. Meaningful, memorable and what they truly need. We know because they tell us so. Guest engagement scores go up, so does revenue and likelihood to return scores. Every time.
Taking time to self actualize and redefine your value as a true expert is central to being able to create meaningful guest experiences.
Our workshop is about the gift of recommending but it's actually all about the team being able to give and reap the rewards of positive change that they add to the lives of their clients.
The sooner the reset and reconnect starts the sooner they feel the rewards and the financial and interpersonal results can start compounding in 2025. Have a read about the impact of what we call the snowball effect to training.
Click here to get straight to my calendar to grab a few moments to talk in more detail.
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