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Guillermo Herbozo shares a few key tips to ensure a positive outcome when conversing with a customer. 

Most conversations, whether you’re in sales, customer service, retention or any other customer facing position, start with a greeting. Then they move along until close and follow up.

Now, how often do you review the customer conversation practices in your organization to see how they can be improved? This post is an invitation to do precisely that. Its focus will be reviewing best practices on the start of the conversation.

Because of the different channels (e.g., call centers, retail, field), functions (e.g., sales, retention, customer service) and types of customers (e.g., B2B, B2C) it’s impossible to have just one solution. We will focus on a list of ideas to consider when defining how you’re going to open an inbound customer conversation. This is, an interaction where the customer came to us (called, walked in the store or approached us).

Let’s start with the goal. What is it we’re looking for in the first 20-30 seconds of the conversation? Start building a trust-based relationship that convinces the customer they have the right person and that persuades them to let you lead the conversation to get to the best outcome.

Now let’s dive in. How should you start a customer conversation to be successful?

Key points include:

• Gaining control of the conversation
• Responding to reactions
• Gaining trust

Read the full article, How should you start a customer conversation to be successful?, on LinkedIn.