Got difficult customers?

Then you'll want to read Myra Golden's brand new powerful article introducing three awesome verbal self defense techniques...

3 Killer Verbal Self Defense Techniques

By verbal self defense, I don’t mean you fight back with killer wisecracks or tactics to wipe the floor with your customers. By equipping you with tactical verbal self defense techniques, I want to give you strategies – and confidence- to regain control of a tough verbal attack from your customer. It’s simply about helping you regain control, while maintaining your credibility. Here are three of my favorite verbal self defense techniques. 

1. The “When Question” technique. 

Let’s say a customer says to you: “You people at ABC Widget Company care nothing about the customer. All that matters to you is the almighty dollar!”

This customer is clearly upset and emotional. He is trying to bait you with these attacking words. If you respond back defensively or emotionally, the customer has won. Instead of responding the way the customer wants you to, deploy the “When Question Technique.” Simply say, “When did you start feeling that ABC Widget didn’t about your concerns?”

Because this response is NOT what the customer was expecting when he threw out the bait. YOU throw him off guard.  If he answers your question, you are now in control of the conversation. Not only that, you will be well on the path to creating a calm resolve with the customer.

2. The Broken Record Technique

A timeless verbal self defense technique is the “Broken Record” technique.

If your customer is ranting, raving, or rambling and you feel you have lost control of the conversation, you can quickly regain control using the Broken Record technique. Use this verbal self defense by simply repeating a sentence or phrase over and over again until your ranting customer hears you. It can be as simple as:

“Mr. Golden…”

“Mr. Golden…”

“Mr. Golden…”

In this example you’re trying to g et the customer to stop talking and listen to you.

Another example:

“Mr. Jones, what I can do is send you coupons for three bags of potatoes chips.”

Mr. Jones, what I can do is send you coupons for three bags of potatoes chips.”

Mr. Jones, what I can do is send you coupons for three bags of potatoes chips.”

This example would be effective for the customer who is demanding more, but three coupons is your limit.  Typically, repeating yourself, verbatim, in a non-confrontational tone, will g et the upset customer to listen to you.

3. The Topic Grab Technique

The Topic Grab approach involves listening carefully to your upset customer and then taking something they’ve said (grabbing a topic) and commenting on it or asking a question about it. This is especially effective if you can express empathy on the topic you grab.

As an example, when I worked in car rental, I spoke with a very unhappy customer once who experienced a mechanical breakdown while in one of our rental cars. The customer was traveling in the wee hours of the morning with three small children. She was on her way to her home town for a funeral. As you can imagine, having a rental car break down under these circumstances would be just awful.

This customer was not difficult in the sense of being loud, obnoxious, or threatening The difficult part of this conversation was that the customer was a rambler, storyteller, and a whiner. Before I knew it, we’d been on the phone twenty minutes discussing every sin g le detail of her experience.

In order to regain control of the conversation, I blended with my customer’s energy, using the Topic Grab Approach. I grabbed on to the topic of being stranded at night with three children. Here’s what I said: “I cannot imagine what it was like for you to be on the side of the Interstate at three am with three small children. I realize that must have been terribly frustrating for you. Let me help turn this situation around by quickly getting our out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed. The first thin g we need to do is…”

Using the Topic Grab Approach I successfully blended with my customer’s energy AND I regained control of the conversation.

Try out one of these verbal self defense techniques the next time you find yourself in heated or hostile dialogue with a customer. You’ll find that you have amazing control and composure and, you’ll maintain your credibility.