Our goal is simple: build rewarding relationships and deliver results. But the relationships we strengthen are not just those with our clients; we also foster relationships between our clients and their customers.

While coaching the frontline of a client, I was recently approached by a customer who had repeatedly experienced difficulty in receiving reward program credits. He expressed frustration with the company and mentioned he would be using a competitor for his next purchase. Because we were between manager shifts, I acquired his contact information and assured him that the problem would not only be addressed, but resolved, quickly. Prior to his leaving, we spoke briefly about his patronage as the backbone of our client’s success.

The management team immediately contacted the customer and he was 100% satisfied with the resolution. In fact, the customer was so delighted with the way the dispute was handled, he wrote a letter to the organization expressing his renewed faith in the company and his restored confidence that outstanding customer service still exists in America.

The impact you have on your customers revolves around how you make them feel during their limited interactions with you. If you want to positively impact your customers and in the process, move your bottom-line, you need to move your customers through an emotional connection. This is done by the actions of your frontline.

By actively listening to the customer, displaying understanding, sincerity and enthusiasm about his problem, and being responsive to his needs this company was able to not only prevent the loss of a valuable customer, but create a potential customer for life.

- Tom Diaz, Senior Performance Manager, Frontline Performance Group

When you are booking a hotel over the Internet, can you “feel” the difference between one five-star hotel in New York City and another? Of course not. This changes however, if you are on the phone and you have an enthusiastic and motivated salesperson on the other end of the line, describing the property’s distinct benefits. In those moments, that representative is the hotel. It is in those situations that a company becomes “relational” versus “transactional,” producing a huge flashpoint of advantage.

Need proof? Consider these revealing responses from a study performed by T. Scott Gross & BIGresearch that included over 9,000 customers in the retail arena. The participants were asked, “What is the most important thing you look for in a shopping experience?”

• 41.4% of participants wanted knowledgeable and helpful salespeople
• 27.0% of participants wanted courteous, caring and friendly staff
• 18.3% of participants wanted low prices and product information
• 8.8% of participants wanted merchandise that is easy to find
• 4.5% of participants wanted a fast check out

As you can see, 72.9% of what people are looking for is impacted by your frontline!

To be truly successful, you must understand and appreciate the role of your frontline as the vehicle that can transform your bottom-line.

Most companies have four to six customer touch points and related sales opportunities.

If you map out all of your customer contact points, you will find that many of them present substantial revenue opportunities, and all of them provide significant service improvement opportunities.

Look at each of your customer contact points and figure out what influence your frontline can have through them.

When an angry customer begins to complain about his or her experience the most important action a frontline representative can take is to listen.

Studies have shown the biggest concern irate customers have is the inability to be heard. Utilizing the following dialogue with a dissatisfied customer will set the stage for a service recovery.

“Before I am able to assist you, I must first listen to what you have to say.”

Establishing a bond with an irate customer that began by listening will set in motion the process for winning the customer over. Remember, to make an error is a very human occurrence. To recover from an error is divine!

What is the definition of a frontline sales representative?

Any team member that interacts with your customers is considered to be on the frontline. This includes face-to-face interactions, phone interactions, and online communications.

Why is the frontline important to your business?

In this increasingly competitive market, it is more important than ever for companies to do more than the status quo of merely maintaining business relationships. Business leaders who seek to improve company profit must continually strive to differentiate themselves through the service and sales ability of their frontline.

Imagine what would happen if your frontline sales team was not only genuine, sincere and helpful, but built a good first impression and rapport with your customer, asked the questions they needed to ask to truly understand you customers’ needs, really knew your products and services, and built value into what they were selling. The results would be tremendous! New avenues of growth and profit would be created including additional and incremental sales revenue opportunities.

Understand and appreciate the role of your frontline as the vehicle that can transform your bottom-line and you will create the power to generate unprecedented profits!