When Great Customer Service Can Kill Your Business

Agents sometimes defer to service work over sales work. Why? Because, service work is easier than sales work any day. The premise for focusing on "extraordinary" customer service is that it helps with retention in an economic environment where every policyholder, and every client that is retained, represents a precious income stream into the agency operation.

That is what I call a "specious" argument. That is a fancy word that means, your argument rings true and makes sense on the surface...especially when everyone else is saying the same thing. But in reality, it is a failed philosophy; especially when it comes to customer service.

It is a reality of human nature to fall prey to the temptation of taking the path of least resistance when it comes to accomplishing certain things in life. Unfortunately, the the path of least resistance all too often represents outcomes that are less than favorable for the agency owner. Thus, we excuse away the hard work and necessity for aggressively capturing market share and creating customers for the passive activity of providing "unsurpassed customer service."

Please understand, I am not discounting the value of good customer service. What I am being critical of is the unreasonable focus and almost arrogant notion agency owners and staff members assume with their "personal charge" and pursuit of providing superior customer service over the noble effort of selling to people the products they so desperately need from us.

Selling activities represent risk...resistance...work & planning...investment of time, ideas, effort & money...intellectual energy...emotional investment...physical stress. Selling represents uncertainty.

Customer service is easy. Selling is tough.

Here is when great customer service can kill your business:

1. When you prefer to please rather than persuade someone
2. When you choose being "busy" over being productive.
3. When you think service is more important than securing someone's lifestyle and dreams.
4. When you would rather react to circumstances instead of reach out to people.
5. When you live under the fiction that customer service is how future sales are made.

Are you killing you business with customer service? Are you too busy with being the good guy; the good agent or staff team member who goes beyond the norm when taking care of policyholder problems, questions or concerns?

If so, it's time to shift your agency into a sales organization because, nice guys...do finish last...

Copyright © 2009 - Tony Cefalu