Imagine you’re signing up for a new membership when you’re suddenly told you’re about to be connected with “customer service.” What image comes to mind? Is it the bad service you’ve received from other customer service departments in the past? Are you about to be delegated to the poorest trained, newest employee in the company? Now that you’ve finished your long conversation with a sales person, are you really going to have to explain everything again to someone else so they can actually get you the solutions you’ve been trying to get?
It’s not likely that you are thinking, “Oh boy, now I get to talk to someone else.” And your new member isn’t thinking this either.
Getting handed off is a scary experience for your new member. They don’t know who your people are. They don’t know that these people are the ones who actually create solutions for your members. Your new member’s experience in other situations with customer service people, project managers, or implementers has been bad. They’re being handed off, and there’s a lot of doubt in their minds at this moment.
This is one of the key opportunities I’ve addressed in several member welcome packages. There are two examples here where I promote the opportunity to work with members of a team.
First, there’s Rich Dealers who provide marketing solutions to automobile dealers (www.RichDealers.com). After a new member buys from a sales person, they get handed off to an “ESP Advisor.” New members may not know what that is, some ask if this is some sort of mind reader. The term makes sense once you learn the Rich Dealer’s principal is that running an auto dealership should be Easy, Prosperous and Fun. ESP Advisors teach dealers how to do just that. But for a new member, the term “ESP Advisor” doesn’t convey inherent value.
It’s important to build value in that consultant so members actually WANT to speak with them. As an example, here’s half a page from Rich Dealers’ new member welcome package that builds up the value of their ESP Advisor. This way, people recognize the value in working with these members.
Second, here’s an example from the member welcome package I created for the Automobile Training Institute. They provide coaching for auto repair shops (www.Autotraining.net). After buying the ATI coaching program from a sales consultant, the new member is turned over to a coach. It would be easy to dismiss the qualifications of a coach. While it’s important for the coach to introduce themselves and outline their qualifications, I include a page in the new member welcome kit that builds the value of ATI coaches overall.
When your new member joins your program, they aren’t completely sold. Yes, they believed in you enough to buy, but you’ve got to do another sales presentation to get your new member engaged and experiencing value. That’s what your new member welcome sequence is all about.
If your new members are going to be interacting with members of your team, promote the qualifications, experiences, and results of your people in your new member welcome package. When there’s a handoff your customer can be anxious about who this new person is they are working with. It’s important that you build value and make the customer excited to be working with members of your team. It’ll encourage engagement, success and most importantly for you, retention.
About Robert Skrob
