March 11, 2025 • 49 mins
We're sipping some lemonade with the fabulous ladies from CSR Academy! In this episode, you'll discover the profound impact of customer service representatives (CSRs) on business success. We delve into training strategies, systems, and mindsets that can shift the trajectory of your company.
- Explore the essential role of CSRs
- Discuss the importance of training and leadership
- Emphasize hiring for attitude over skills
- Share successful systems for CSR processes
- Highlight the integration of technology in customer service
- Foster a positive culture for CSRs
- Examine the significance of attitude and mindset
- Call for investment in customer service teams
Don’t miss our exciting announcement about the CSR Academy’s upcoming training event!
If you enjoyed this chat From the Yellow Chair, consider joining our newsletter, "Let's Sip Some Lemonade," where you can receive exclusive interviews, our bank of helpful downloadables, and updates on upcoming content.
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From the Yellow Chair is powered by Lemon Seed, a marketing strategy and branding company for the trades. Lemon Seed specializes in rebrands, creating unique, comprehensive, organized marketing plans, social media, and graphic design. Learn more at www.LemonSeedMarketing.com
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We'll see you next time, Lemon Heads!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Oh, what's up?
Lemonheads, welcome to anotherepisode of From the Yellow Chair
.
I am Crystal.
I'm still riding solo in thevirtual lemonade stand today,
but y'all, I am so excited fortoday's episode.
It is full of so much girlygoodness, some of my very
(00:23):
favorite people from theindustry, incredible women doing
great things.
Many of you know most of them,but together in a little rock
star trio.
So I absolutely know that youguys understand how I am so
passionate about the power ofyour CSRs, your customer service
reps, being the very first lineof defense.
(00:44):
So we want to make sure they'reimproving and getting better,
driving the culture and thecustomer journey with your
company.
They are the heartbeat of anyservice business.
So grab your lemonade, get alittle comfy, or at least that
cruise control, whatever you'redoing.
While you're listening, let'sdrink up some knowledge about
training and leadership andunlocking the real potential
(01:04):
behind your CSRs.
Let's dip some lemonade.
Perfect, ladies, I'm so excitedto have all of you.
I'm so excited Look how full myscreen is with goodness this
morning.
So I love each of youindependently and collectively,
(01:25):
and so we're coming off of theLemon Seed Conference being one
of many trips that each of youhave been on lately, but Lemon
Seed Conference had you guysthere doing the CSR Academy.
So, guys, they even had theirgreen apples.
They gave the cutest lemonbottle openers as gifts, so
(01:45):
definitely my heart for brandingwas on trend there.
So each of you introduceyourselves.
Tell everybody that's listeningwho the heck is the CSR Academy
?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Who's going to go first?
You got it, michelle.
It's kind of like at a level 10meeting, the first, last one in
his first one up, so I'll be upfirst.
I don't mind, I am.
I am Michelle Myers and I run a, an operation putting CSRs in
your business remotely, and I amsuper excited to hold onto this
(02:16):
carabiner.
I'm going to tell you all aboutthis story next while we're
together today, and also pointout that we are the absolutely
newly crowned, first and evercertified by service Titan Call
Center.
So I'm Michelle and I'm happyto be here.
Thanks so much for having us,crystal.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Absolutely Fantastic.
And first call center likekudos girl.
That's a lot, that's a lot ofwork, so I love it.
I need my crown.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I'm ready for a crown .
I feel like I should have oneback here.
I think I need one.
All of us on the.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Lemon Seed team normally tries to wear crowns,
so I should definitely sharethat with you.
So all right, who's?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
up next, I'll go next .
We have a fun thing that we dohere at the CSR Academy we have
a little mascot with, since youlove branding and marketing, we
have a mascot and her name isMae, m-a-e for Michelle, angie,
erica.
So a lot of times that's theorder that we go in.
So she's a cute little CSRmascot and so I'll take a turn
(03:15):
next.
I am so excited.
Thank you, crystal, for havingus on this podcast.
It's always so much fun to bewith you and all of the
Lemonheads and we just soappreciate what you do for our
industry.
You really were key in helpingus as we were thinking of colors
and branding and what we wantedthe Cesar Academy to look like,
(03:37):
and since the lemon was taken,we took an apple, a bright green
apple, and so you definitelyplay some inspiration there.
But it's an honor for us to behere and it's such an honor for
me to get to work with Michelleand Erica on a daily basis as we
are thinking about ways that wecan empower and train and lift
(03:59):
CSRs, and you know, when we dothis, we know it's super
impactful for the CSR and itreally helps them gain
confidence.
It helps them have systems inplace.
It helps them get the rightmindset that they need.
But, more importantly, it helpsthe business owner, because the
business owners have so much ontheir plate and all sizes of
(04:20):
business, of business.
If you can get your calloperations down in your
operation, in your call center,if you can capture those leads
and turn those leads into greatopportunities for your team,
that's the key.
And so my background I comefrom the trades, as a business
(04:40):
owner, and so a lot of what I'vecreated and done is to help a
business owner be successful, sothat they don't have to worry
about their CSRs and their CSRscan feel confident in their role
.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Love it.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Love it.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yes, so I knew Angie back when Angie was just a
contractor, exactly, but soaccomplished Angie.
You have done such great thingsand so I know I think you're
one of the most kind people inthe industry.
No one ever has anything bad tosay about Angie Snow, so I'm
lucky to have you on here and Ithink you make a great part of
(05:12):
this team.
So thank you so much.
Thank you Appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
OK, I love, yes, and so I love working with Angie.
Michelle.
This is seriously one of themost biggest things that brings
me joy in my life right now.
It's so much fun.
And, crystal, thank you forhaving us at Lemon Seed event.
If you guys haven't been to theLemon Seed event, it is a must.
It was so detailed and brandedand fun and content heavy and
(05:40):
just so intentional and engagingwith everything that you guys
did, and so it was just an honorto be there.
So, thank you so much.
And, yeah, we love to talkLemon Seed all day long.
You probably come up at leastwith me in conversations, like
when my husband, when I'm askinghim to do stuff for like CSR
Academy or OMSI or whatever itis for coaching, I'm like what
(06:02):
would Lemon Seed do?
Right, like, look at Lemon Seedbranding because it is, like
you know, michelle said andAngie said it's an inspiration
of like how to look at all thedifferent parts of branding and
how it can help with business,and so, anyway, we just, we just
look up to you guys so much andso, um, a little bit about me.
I have a background in a lot ofdifferent things in regards to
(06:26):
travel, I've been a worldtraveler for many years.
I love to go around the worldand learn about people and
cultures and that kind of got mestarted in anthropology, where
you know kind of the roots hitthere and I just was really
fascinated with people.
I got really big into personaldevelopment, started creating
programs and trainings, gotinvolved in the trades, created
some CSR programs and trainingsand just absolutely love the
(06:48):
ability to help people get tothe next level.
And I think all of us have askill set here on this call, but
also everybody listening.
We have a skill set and if wecan help teach other people that
skill set, it is so empoweringand rewarding.
And so you know, I'veabsolutely loved doing that and
I've loved helping as well, likethe times where, of course, I
can train CSRs directly but alsotrain in-house trainers, help
(07:12):
your, your training team knowhow to train your CSRs.
A lot of companies that are alittle bit bigger do you have
these the ability to have anin-house trainer, and so it's
really cool that we can workwith CSRs and the whole call
center operations on differentlevels.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Awesome, Awesome, Okay, so love also.
All three of y'all are just somuch fun to listen to.
So I'm like I could do I couldtalk to each of you individually
, but I love this concept thatyou guys have of like.
All of you have a different,had a different kind of approach
to CSRs, but yet they were verysimilar.
So y'all got together andcreated the CSR Academy.
(07:51):
Right, and I know I've seen youguys are like hosting a
workshop at ACCA, which I knowis coming up really soon.
I've seen you do something inVegas.
Y'all did a little workshop forme here.
So tell me about what is theCSR Academy exactly?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Well, I can take that one.
Csr Academy is actually supersecret, ninja status of the
three of us being able to useour zones of genius right, like
what are we really known for inthe industry?
And that's not to blow up whowe are.
But I identified in Angie whatwas epic about her.
(08:25):
She identified something in methat I had never seen Erica same
thing, I mean.
So the three of us all cametogether in July of last year
and said, man, there's gotta besomething out there where we can
kind of wonder powers unite.
You know the three of us and howcan we have a really
interesting curriculum for thebusiness owner to send their
(08:46):
team to so that they really geta value in all the different
aspects of what makes up a greatCSR?
And so it's really all aboutthe different tracks that we
teach.
So I take on systems and Ireally place everything in a
digestible framework ordashboard so that the business
has a really cool place to putall their content and
(09:07):
information for the CSR.
And then Angie's justincredible with sales and
scripting and word tracks andall the things that leadership
needs to set them apart.
And I think for me watchingErica in the team and watching
her with CSRs, training them anddoing role playing and getting
(09:27):
people up out of their chair.
It's very, very powerful, andso each one of us, I think,
really kind of brings somethingspecial to the table, and that's
what makes it so unique.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
I love it, I love that.
So you know and I've watchedthis from afar a little bit too
you know I, as a marketingcompany, lemon Seed's always
trying to defend where peopleare spending their marketing
dollars Right, because no onewants to write a check for
marketing when they feel likecall count is low and their
revenues down or they can't findteam members, and so it's a
(09:58):
very frustrating part of being abusiness owner in the
contracting space is being ableto qualify and quantify your
marketing, and so a lot of timesmy team is trying to look at
how good of a job are your CSRsdoing on booking the call.
So people say we're just notgetting anything.
And I'm like man, I see theleads coming in, I just don't
(10:19):
know what's happening to themonce y'all answer the phone or
don't answer the phone, becausesometimes that's the problem,
but for sure.
So I've always taken a reallybig interest in the power that a
CSR really has to impact thecustomer's journey of working
with your company overall, andso, as much as I stick to you
(10:41):
know, branding and strategy andall that, there is so much
really good companies are builtand scaled off of operations.
Marketing is just kind of avehicle to getting yourself
there, but it takes strongoperators to get there, and so I
know that you guys really carea lot about like what that first
interaction is in teaching theCSRs you know the traditional
(11:04):
things of are they empatheticand things like that.
Is there a secret sauce as abusiness owner like that we
should be looking at for ourCSRs?
Like a certain personality typeor a certain style, like what
should we be looking for so thatthat CSR, that first point of
contact, is great for ourcustomers?
Speaker 3 (11:24):
My husband and I were just having a conversation
about this actually last night,because we were talking about a
fellow colleague who has acompany and I've been working
with some of their CSRsindividually and they just
pulled in a new operationsmanager for this business and
they said you know what Two ofthese CSRs just have to go?
(11:46):
And basically, as he wasobserving the training that I
was doing, he could see thatthese two CSRs were not engaged.
They felt like they alreadyknew everything.
They've been doing this a longtime.
They were not open to learning.
They were not open todiscovering new ways because
they already knew how to do thisjob.
(12:06):
And so, for me, when you'relooking at hiring a new CSR, it
comes down to attitude.
And are they willing to be open?
Are they willing to learn?
Do they have this mindset ofteach me something new and let
me try it?
Erica does a great job ofhelping our CSRs get out of
their comfort zone a little bitwhen it comes to role-playing,
(12:27):
and they have to be willing torole-play.
If they're not willing torole-play and walk through a
situation with you in a pretendplay fashion, what makes you
think they would be confident topull something off with an
actual customer.
So it comes down to attitude.
We can teach, we can teachcommunication, we can teach
(12:48):
skills, we can teach how toovercome objections, we can
teach ways to do outbound calls,but if they're not, they don't
have that willing attitude, thenthen that is really, that's
going to be your.
That's their downfall as a CSR,at least in my opinion.
I don't know if Eric orMichelle thinks something
different or wants to add tothat.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Yeah, like I, I've definitely seen how people will
well not give up on CSRs justbecause they're like, oh well,
you know you've.
Like, if they don't give themthe opportunity to invest them,
to train and participate inthose things, you know, before
people would like fire or let goof a CSR, you'd want to make
(13:30):
sure that you've invested intheir training and setting good
expectations and all of thosethings.
And yeah, it does come to thepoint, like what Angie says,
like it is attitude.
And if you're investing in themto learn the skillset, learn
the communication, do thetrainings and all that kind of
stuff, and if you put forth allof your effort to that and
you're like, yeah, this is notgoing to work out.
I think that's, you know, beinggenerous, of course, to people,
(13:51):
but a lot of times CSRs justdon't know what's clearly
expected of them.
You know, don't know what'sclearly expected of them.
You know they're often handedlike here's a script or here,
answer a phone, how hard can itbe?
And like not the strategybehind it.
So if you have invested inteaching and the strategy and
spent the time coaching them andit's not working out because
you can tell their attitude ortheir effort or whatever it is
isn't playing out, then,absolutely like they're on the
(14:14):
wrong seat of the bus.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Yeah, you know, great customer service doesn't just
like happen by accident, right,it normally takes design and I
know, michelle, like youmentioned, like systems being
like your key point, which I'veactually seen that with my own
eyes and you've had greatconversations even with they can
(14:44):
be revenue drivers and customerrelationship pros for your
company, just really bigadvocates.
But a lot of times I thinkbusiness owners it's just a
little old school mentality westart thinking, man, let me just
find me a CSR and pay him ninebucks an hour, eight bucks an
hour, whatever, stick thembehind the phone, how hard is it
to answer the phone?
And we lose that.
(15:05):
And so I've learned just bywatching you guys like systems
and expectations andaccountability.
All of those things are reallyimpactful, michelle, and I know
that you talk a lot about that.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I do.
I mean what I tell businessowners all the time is when
you're on the phone, you'refully engaged right.
You've got your mind, your eyes, your mouth, your ears, your
hands, your heart Everything ison that call, especially if
you're in a CRM and you'replacing everything in a digital
format.
So to then expect that CSR toremember the script or remember
the services, that takes monthsor years.
And so to get them to speedreally quickly, you should give
(15:39):
them a colorful, bright,interactive and easy visual to
be able to understand yourbusiness quickly.
Because here's the secret CSRsleave and I don't want to be the
one to blow up everybody's mind, but that is the truth they
leave.
And so if they leave and you'vedone all this incredible
training and it's all insomeone's mind, but that is the
truth they leave.
And so if they leave and you'vedone all this incredible
(16:00):
training and it's all insomeone's mind it's really hard
to replicate that same customerservice center again.
It's really hard to build thatup again if that person leaves.
And so building systems isactually an insurance policy,
not only for you as the businessowner, but it has so much
success driving for that CSR.
(16:20):
They feel as if they're livingand breathing in an environment
that is really customized forthem and that really takes hold
in how they deliver care to yourcustomers.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I just to that.
I just firmly believe and Iknow I'm going to probably harp
on this a lot, but I firmlybelieve that the majority of
contractors truly underestimatethe impact that these people,
that these team members, canhave and sometimes even, like I
think they diminish it a littlebit.
Like I don't know, I don't hireanybody off the street to be a
(16:54):
CSR and I'll be honest, youprobably can train.
There's a lot of people outthere that would be great CSR
and I'll be honest, you probablycan train.
There's a lot of people outthere that would be great CSRs
if they had training.
I don't know that.
People are born understandinghow to, you know, navigate
conflict or pricing and thingslike that.
So you know what are you.
What do you guys think are likesome key skills that maybe
every CSR should be working tomaster to be a great CSR?
(17:18):
Or have y'all, do y'all know ofa company that's got a great
CSR?
That's like really, reallyresonated with you guys.
Or like set with you guys Likeman, this is phenomenal, or he's
phenomenal at this.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
When we did our training in Las Vegas, I
actually sat down with our groupand I said can you all describe
the perfect CSR for me?
If you could design the perfectCSR, what would that look like?
And I had each of them and I'vegot them sitting right here,
actually, because I'm workingwith this.
I had each of them write onsticky notes traits of a great
(17:52):
CSR, like what would that looklike?
They'd be great at makingconnections, they'd feel
supported, they'd be competitive, they would be a critical
thinker and we, you know, Ithink this is a really good
exercise for business owners.
(18:19):
If they're trying to like, whodo I want in that seat?
They need to go through thisexercise themselves.
And if you could design theperfect CSR, what would that
look like?
What would their mindset belike?
How would they?
How would they fit into your,into your office?
What do you need in your office?
And they really need to pictureand visualize that individual
(18:39):
and what they would like them tolook like.
I don't think a lot of peoplego through that exercise right.
It's not just someone to answerthe phone, it's someone that
can be adaptable.
It's someone that has courageand is willing to pick up a
phone when the phone's notringing.
So, thinking about the mindsetof a CSR and those things that
you want in a CSR individually.
(19:02):
For me, when I was developing myseven-star CSR program, I
developed that program for myteam because I was just like
that contractor you just said,crystal.
I was someone who knew how muchmoney I was spending on
marketing and I needed to makesure that those marketing
dollars were turning into bookedcalls, and so I needed a way to
(19:22):
make sure my team was set upfor success.
And so there were a lot youknow, I don't want to say, a lot
of training programs.
There were several differentprograms, but nothing I felt
like was the right fit for myteam, and so that's why I really
developed what do I want in aCSR?
Well, I want a problem solver,so I'm going to teach a whole
lesson on problem solving.
I want someone who usespositive language, so I have a
(19:46):
whole module on just positivelanguage.
I want someone who knows how tobuild a relationship of trust,
and I just went through and Imade that list for myself and
then I built training aroundevery single one of those things
so that when they finish thattraining, they now have all of
those qualities and skills thatI'm looking for in a CSR and I
have metrics to put to those tomeasure their performance and be
(20:09):
able to grade those and scorethose and have that clearly
defined.
If you're doing this, this andthis, you're saying the
customer's name.
You're making a connection.
You sound like you're doingthis, this and this, you're
you're saying the customer'sname.
You're making a connection.
You sound like you're smiling,your tone is great, you know
your pace is on, on track, likethere's a couple of things that
if you're doing all those things, you're going to build a
connection with the customer.
(20:29):
Yeah, you're not.
I can quickly identify whereyou're not and we can work on
those things, yeah, I mean Ilove.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
So out of pain comes progress, right?
So you know, you start lookingup and you're like man, I mean
this is every business ownerprobably, no matter what
industry you're in.
You have this strugglesometimes of like why can't
people do what I need them to do?
You know.
So today I was talking to afriend early this morning and
she was like, oh people, peopleare such a challenge and they
(20:55):
are, but I choose to likedefault to good as much as I can
Listen.
I'm not perfect at it and I willget hung up on someone
sometimes and I can't get off ofit and I have to remind myself,
like you know, let me step back, but I love the fact that when
you're looking at your own team,specifically your CSRs, your
dispatchers, kind of all in thesame there, realizing where the
(21:18):
pain points are and addressingthose and, like you said, the
power of positive mindset, beingpositive of this mindset in
general, that is something thatmost contractors are not going
to think to train on.
They're going to train on like,well, how do I get them when
the people are price shopping?
Like, how do we win more tirekickersers?
Well, you really have to thinkabout a CSR goes through a lot
(21:39):
of emotions, like you got peoplethat are mad, you got people
that are flippant, you've gotpeople that are frustrated.
You've got and so they've gotto like navigate all these
different temperatures all daylong.
And so, like I love kind ofcreating your own, like
documenting where you think yourstruggles are and communicating
those with whomever's going tohelp train your team, and
(22:02):
investing in training that teamis very important.
And, erica, I know you'velistened to thousands of calls.
I feel like probably more thanthousands of contractor calls.
Do you think there's like asecret style of personality and
I know we've kind of talkedabout like Angie's little
exercise there but do you thinkit's the super bubbly
personality?
Like I get asked this all thetime what type of person should
(22:24):
I be looking for?
And I'm over here like I wrotedown competitive and solution
driven and positive.
But what I know you've listened, so what do you think that
comes from?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Yeah, like I think the bubbly personality and just
like that upbeat energy.
Of course, I think that thatmakes a big difference in
customer service.
But I also work with plenty ofpeople who are not like that,
and that's where having a goodprocess like okay, just make
sure to do this, like I don'twant you to feel like you're a
complete cheeseball every second, but like follow the process
(22:54):
and if you're doing the processof you know, hitting these
things, asking these questions,making sure that you are
engaging with your customer,like even the people who are not
super bubbly can still have ahigh booking score and a high
success rate.
And you know, one of the thingsthat we do with our scorecards
is where our scorecards that we,when we listen to phone calls
and and design them.
(23:14):
It's not a scorecard of of didyou book this call or not,
because that's data that'scoming in from service tie-in or
whatever your CRM is.
Our scorecards are designed asare you following the process to
create a great customerexperience?
Are you hitting the metricsthat you need to do that are
proven to have a good impact onyour customers?
And my biggest thing, too kindof something you said triggered
(23:36):
this, crystal is like businessowners sometimes just think like
, well, let me overcomeobjections.
You know, how do I, you know,deal with these tire kickers and
these price shoppers, all thosethings.
But a lot of what I like toteach is how do you prevent that
pushback from happening.
What can you do up frontthrough your marketing, through
your branding, like what is theexpectation you're already
setting through your marketingand branding?
(23:57):
And then how do you align yourCSRs with that expectation to
prevent people from havingbuyer's remorse, to prevent
people from canceling calls, andso, yeah, all the time, like,
how do we overcome this?
How do we deal with thesecancellations?
Like, yeah, there's, there'sskillset for that, but what are
you doing upfront to preventthat from happening?
And a lot of things that youcan do to prevent objections.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
I love that.
So you know, man, like I getall back in my marketing
feelings about this.
But you know, I laugh at somethings sometimes.
So one time this contractoractually it was another vendor
talking to me and they're like,I got this contractor and he had
this very chill, laid backbrand, like everything was meant
to be like super laid back andrelaxing, and he said but when
(24:41):
you talk to the guy he was likeloud and rambunctious and very
energetic and I was like thisdoes not match.
And so I brought up the pointlike it's literally so silly,
but it is customer confusion.
You know, like when you youhave to, your brand is actually
a tangible living thing.
So you know you can't buy abrand off of the shelf unless
(25:02):
you're really ready to adapt whoyou are to that brand.
So branding is literally moreabout how you make people feel,
how people interact with you,what you look like, so.
But it's the sum of all ofthose things.
So it's not just pretty vanwrap.
And so, to your point, if Ihave this very fun and outgoing
brand, I would expect thatthat's how my interaction is.
(25:23):
Thank you for calling.
You know, not so much likehello.
Thank you for calling.
You know what energy level doesit match?
Because, again, we wantcustomers.
The way that we say sticky andmemorable in our markets is
every touch point is reflectingback onto the actual brand of
who we are, and so I love thattouch point.
(25:43):
We rebranded a company andcalled them Knock, knock, knock,
knock, heating and Cooling.
And, super cute, he chose achicken.
I mean it's wild, but it's wildand it's memorable.
And we were like, please answerthe phone, knock, knock, who's
there.
Like it would just give me life.
Like when you answer that.
Because, again, do you thinkpeople are going to hang up?
Be like did they just answerthe phone?
Knock, knock, who's there?
(26:04):
It's sticky, it's memorable,it's, it's endearing a little
bit.
Like it may, it just softensthe load.
Like people are irritated.
No one gets excited to call andsay my AC is broken in Texas
when it's 105 degrees in July,you know.
Or when it's cold and snowingand you're like, gosh, my heater
won't work, you know we need,we have to have something to
(26:28):
match that.
So I love that idea that youknow your CSRs have to live up
to what your brand, that you'reputting out there.
Some of you don't have to worryabout it because you're telling
everybody that you're old andboring anyway.
There, some of you don't haveto worry about it because you're
telling everybody that you'reold and boring anyway, but most
of you that are an engagingbrand.
This is such a good opportunityto do that and overcoming
objections Well.
So I do know this.
(26:50):
That, I think, is the biggestissue.
So when we're helping ourclients and we're listening,
looking at their dashboard,especially inside of service
type, and you're like looking attheir dashboard, especially
inside of service type, andyou're like man, this booking
rate is only at 50%, I'm likehow does this happen?
We're spending a lot of moneyto have 50%.
When really come to find outagain, michelle, this is
probably going to lean more inyour court here.
(27:12):
It's lack of like.
They literally will say well,you know, I can't expect them to
answer all the time.
And well, that's during ourlunch hour.
And I'm like you, no longershould you be closed during the
lunch hour.
It's not 1985.
I don't know what else to sayto that.
It is there's too many tools tohelp you cover where your
phones are not left unansweredand undone.
(27:36):
And then the other thing I'llbring up for somebody to kick
around is like who should bescoring their calls.
So we've got this ability oflike unanswered calls during
unique times early in themorning, late in the evening and
during the lunch hour but thenletting them score their own
calls is also strange to me.
So I was just curious, likewhat does that look like from a
manager standpoint?
Like how do I help control that?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Well, I can jump in on unanswered calls, and it's
funny because it has to do withmy carabiner.
Look, a perfect place to talkabout this.
We're seeing artificialintelligence come in to support
those early times, off times,lunch times, and a lot of
business owners are maybe unsure.
I think is the best word, right, how is it going to work?
(28:19):
Well, does it sound like aperson?
And is it going to be like oursand is it going to be like us?
And so we've integrated AI intoPink Collars and so you get it
as part of your service when youcome to work with us, and I
have seen it just solve so manyof those tiny little people
problems where it's like thefive minutes before somebody
(28:41):
gets on and the 10 minutes afterfive.
You know all of those littletiny parts.
I'm seeing AI help to getpeople to the top of the
mountain, which is why I havethis little carabiner.
It reminds me that thistechnology is really changing
our industry in a rapid way,especially as it comes to CSRs,
and so how are we going tosafely get to the top of the
(29:03):
mountain?
Right, and I think that theladies on this call, for sure,
are seeing that change andimplementing small parts of that
into all of our businesses, andI think that showing the way is
going to be really helpful, andthe CSRs have to be a part of
this solution.
It is not in any way areplacement, but it is a support
(29:24):
and another tool in theirtoolbox.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Is what I would say A resource, a resource, a
resource, a resource, a resource, a resource, 100%, 100%.
Yeah, it's such a tool.
It alleviates frustrations, italleviates sometimes even.
It alleviates like, sometimes,even like hiring a whole other
person.
I was watching the old daywhich I'm old, I say I'm old
school in the very least, butlike me, I'm like man.
I don't really want to talk toan AI person, but right now, why
(29:49):
not utilize those to fill inthe gaps at the minimum size?
Like let them fill in gaps,especially when you're
struggling to find somebodyearly in the mornings or late in
the evenings or you don't wantto bring on a full time another
employee, like that's a veryemployees are expensive, right
In all kinds of ways, and so Iagree, I think that is such a
(30:10):
cool way to start filling insome gaps and some missing
things.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
I think it's really important to note, though, that
it must be trained.
It has to listen to your calls,it has to listen to your people
and has to replicate the humanexperience.
It is by no means a plug in andforget it sort of a system, and
so it takes a while.
It's a little bit of a climb,and so each one of us can speak
to that differently, but I thinkthat it's really an incredible
(30:36):
positive for customer service.
I know I've heard a little bitof pushback from some other
folks, and I just think it'soverall.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
I think it's really good, and then sorry when you
said something that sat with me,you know.
So again, if you're strugglingwith, I don't want this AI thing
like you just said somethingthat sticks with me when I say
this, you can't have your cakeand eat it too as a contractor.
So here's the good news, right?
The good news is it's going tolisten and act as you.
(31:06):
The bad news is you have togive it time to listen and learn
you, and so I think it'simportant as a contractor,
having realistic expectations oftimelines and return and
performance and giving thingstime to mature and cut and
really work.
Well.
If you invest the time up front, it will drastically save you
(31:27):
time in the long run.
You just have to know whatyou're getting into, and I think
I see it every day.
Contractors jump into somethingthinking like well, this will
solve my problems and once Isign the dotted line and give
you money, you're gonna fix tofix it, and I'm like no, it's a
partnership, Like we need to beat the same dance.
We don't have to dance togetherevery song, but if we can just
be in the same buildinglistening to the same songs,
(31:50):
because sometimes I thinkcontractors just want to mark
things off their list, Likethese CSRs.
They're whiny, they complain.
I can't make them happy.
Give these CSRs.
They're whiny, they complain Ican't make them happy.
Like, give me this AI solutionwhen really what they need to
sit back and realize is it's aninvestment all the way around in
both the training of my liveCSRs and the training of my AI
CSRs.
I mean just such a coolopportunity to set good
(32:11):
expectations there of what toexpect so you're not
disappointed.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
And I think honestly Erica should answer anything
about call scoring, because thatis her zone of genius, so I'm
passing that one to her.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Accurate.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
Well, you know, what's interesting is you find
that you know you especiallysummertime you're taking
hundreds and thousands of phonecalls and there's some AI things
out there to really help withthat, and NCSR Academy has a few
things up our sleeves to helpwith that too.
But what's very interesting isthat you have your team leads or
(32:46):
your managers people who aresupposed to be training your
CSRs and doing your one-on-ones.
They also have a lot of otherthings that they are asked to do
, so for them to sit down andlisten to phone calls is very
time consuming and very tedious.
Of course you want to have theexact things that you're looking
for in the phone calls, right,like you got to set that up
(33:07):
beforehand.
Like what are thenon-negotiables that our CSRs
must and must not do?
Like if you have specificquestions you want to ask if you
have.
You know a certain way that youwant to handle pricing or
whatever.
It is like that.
But your team leads and yourmanagers will be honest they do
not have the time to go in andlisten to all the phone calls.
(33:28):
If they're lucky, they're goingto get to maybe two or three,
but two or three phone calls inmy experience, is not enough to
really gauge where the CSR is at, because you could have pulled
a call at random and it was theday they were sick or something.
Right, like you do need avariety of days of inbound
versus outbound.
You do need to have a goodsolid like like platform there
(33:50):
of like what you're going off of, so that when you train them,
you and you sit down and havethose one on one on ones that's
where the scorecards come in islike you can speak to these
scorecards.
So, yeah, if you want a thirdparty to do all the tedious
listening for you, we can dothat, and then all you have to
do is is show up with thescorecard and like hey, it looks
like your percentage on thisparticular topic was low, or
(34:14):
this topic is high and you'redoing great here, but not here.
And it's a really nice way toevaluate and have productive
conversations, because you knowit's just really hard to do it
when you have that many phonecalls.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Yeah, Well, you know, how do you?
So this was I was training mymarketing coordinators the other
day and we were talking throughsome of this and I said you
know, one of the things that Iwant them to know is how do they
give good advice?
You know, we're not, we're notCSR trainers, we're not.
We like to think we know ourway around service type really
well, but at the end of the day,we work in it from a very
(34:44):
marketing 30,000 foot view andso in every contractor does it
so different?
And so I'll be honest, likesome of it is like y'all aren't
reclassifying anything, soeverything is just dumped into
these buckets.
And I'll be honest, like thisis a little bit of a I would
never say this to a contractor.
Some would say it's allcontractors listening to the
podcast.
It's kind of because you'relazy and it shows me a little
(35:07):
bit that you really don't care.
A call is a call is a call.
When, really when you investthe time to do these scorecards
like you're talking about, getthings organized, I think it
allows your CSRs to be like okay, number one, they're watching,
they care enough to be investedin it, but also the company is
(35:27):
prioritizing these calls.
Everybody will.
You know what is it?
A rising tide rises all ships.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
What's the saying A rising tide raises all ships.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
You know when the expectations of man, they're
listening to calls and they'rethey're helping me get these
things moved around and theyreally care.
Like what was an actual lead.
So I mean, the other day thisguy was like we've only got like
a 65% booking and I'm like,what are all these local numbers
?
And he's like, well, those aremy technicians calling in.
(35:59):
And I was like they're countingthem as a lead.
It's not a lead, sir, unlessyou want the CSR to sell your
own technician on services.
And so you're beating up theCSR and I'm like, give them a
hotline.
I don't care what you give yourtechnicians, give them a phone
number to call in.
That is easier for people tosee, because it's unfair.
(36:19):
So then I'm like, are y'allpaying spiffs off of this?
Like it made me crazy because Ithought, man, we don't have our
head together here.
And so you know, again, it goesback to valuing that position
in your company and scoring themand letting them see.
So we just started scoring ourmarketing coordinators, which is
(36:43):
the team that kind of comesalongside the contractor very
much, a lot more frequently thanthe other parts of our team,
and one of the things is like wewere doing scorecards and I
thought you know for them,because I know they want good
feedback.
My, I do not think anyone on myteam is going to be afraid of
feedback.
It's more scary when they getno feedback, because then they
(37:03):
assume that they're doingeverything right.
And so this weekend, emily, mypartner at Limited, she had kind
of said hey, you go score these, I'm going to score these, and
operations manager will scorethese.
And so, as I was listening, Iwould I mean, of course, if
you've never listened to callsbefore, it will make you hurt
yourself.
You're like, oh my gosh, Ineeded a stiff drink, but I'm
(37:23):
Baptist so I couldn't do it.
But I was like man, because atthe end of the day, you know,
you're just like this isterrible or this is great.
So I all the emotions, right,this is great.
Or people that maybe I thoughtwere struggling.
They were actually really goodon the phone.
They just are maybe strugglinga little bit on the backend side
of things.
But it opened my own eyesbecause I you know Emily helped
(37:46):
me like go score these calls.
And I'm like like this isreally opening your eyes as an
owner.
How do you help people besuccessful?
Right, shouldn't that be ourgoal is helping everybody on our
team be successful and the endis that our company benefits
from it.
But also, like, these arepeople.
These are not just anothernumber, another employee.
Like these are people and mostof them want to be successful
(38:09):
yeah, I love that you say that,crystal.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
Oh, sorry, and you go ahead.
No, go, you go ahead, I'll.
I'll follow up, okay.
Well, I just wanted to say onequick thing about feedback is
everybody does like feedback,and sometimes feedback can be
bad, but the delivery of thefeedback is very important.
I would tell everyone for amillion years to come Don't do
the sandwich.
Formula of feedback hey, you'rereally awesome at this, you're
crappy at this, but you're greatat this.
(38:32):
Like, don't do the sandwich,because really now do people
believe you?
No, they don't Like it's.
It's a like little bit ofmanipulative.
It's like they know it's coming.
Okay, tell me the good, tell methe bad.
There is a different way to givefeedback than the sandwich, and
so I would just say, like, keepthat in mind.
We could put a couple ofresources, I know a couple of
good books, but really, like, ifI have to deliver like hard
(38:53):
feedback, I would say, hey Angie, or hey Michelle, or hey
Crystal, I'm noticing that thisis happening or that your score
is a little bit low of here.
Can you tell me your thoughtson that?
And you just leave it, andthey're like yeah, my empathy is
really down or yeah, I'm not.
I'm really struggling with theprice shoppers really down, or
yeah, I'm not.
I'm really struggling with theprice shoppers and you let them
give themselves the feedback,but you just have to bring it up
(39:13):
in a sense.
But I don't know.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I don't know if anyone disagrees with me, but I
well, I've gone to Angie beforeand been like Angie, I'm too
kind, Like I need to be moredirect and there is a way to be
kind and direct.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
Yeah, I you know what , when you were talking and kind
of going through your dilemmawith your own marketing
coordinators, what that made methink of is just it's the same
thing that contractors are goingthrough as well.
Right, like as a leader, wehave two things that we have to
watch.
We have to.
We have a people side.
We've got to manage a lot ofrelationships relationships with
(39:47):
our team, relationships withour our leadership team,
relationships with our team,relationships with our
leadership team, relationshipswith our vendors, relationships
with our customers.
But we also have this otherside that we have to focus on,
which is very data focused.
We know the numbers, we knowhow many calls we've got to have
and we know what booking rateswe need.
We know you know we've got thenumbers that we're tracking as
well, and so it's this delicatebalance of people and data that
(40:11):
makes a good leader, because,ultimately, you need your people
to help you get these numbersright.
You can't just be like people.
Here are the numbers and thepeople will follow you.
You have to be able to leadpeople, influence people, build
people.
So you've got to bring thoseleadership skills, but you also
have to know what numbers you'relooking at so that you can get
(40:31):
the results you want.
And when it comes to the dataand to know what to train your
people on and know how to getthem there, to your point,
crystal, if the data's not right, you don't know what to do.
What are you even leading yourpeople to?
And so it's garbage in, garbageout.
How do I manage this?
How do I know that the data I'mlooking at is even accurate?
(40:53):
And that's when it takes time.
If you're going to use a tool,especially a tool like
ServiceTitan, you betterunderstand that tool.
You better take some time tounderstand how calls are
classified.
You better understand whatnumbers are contributing to that
booking rate filled and thatbooking rate number.
What is a good number for that?
(41:14):
And so there are a lot ofthings right there that a leader
should understand and a leadershould take the time to dive
into, especially on ServiceTitan.
We now have a, as Michelle hasshown you.
We have a certified ServiceTitan track for all of your CSRs
to take that really walks themthrough Service Titan.
(41:35):
It helps them understand, andyour CSR manager should be doing
this so that they understandhow every single click of a
button affects those metrics andthe fact that Michelle's team
is the first certified callcenter.
They know what buttons aredoing what and so you can you
can be assured that her data,for data for her teams, is going
(41:56):
to be accurate.
If you're going to use a tooland measure that data, you
should know how to use it.
So it's finding ways you canautomate, delegate, but also
have faith in the tools and thesystems that you're using
automate, delegate, but alsohave faith in the tools and the
systems that you're using.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Oh yeah, I mean what there is again.
You know that really all thiscomes back to mindset.
I mean every time I'm just like, from listening to this, like
coaching yourself as acontractor, like you know how,
how to, how to be supportive,and so I just, you know, I don't
there's so much like beyondanswering a telephone, like it
kind of blows my mind.
You know so well, listen, I knowso like let's do this for
(42:37):
business owners on each of youto answer this question in your
own right.
For business owners who reallywant to take their CSR team to
the next level, where shouldthey start?
And so I'll give you all asecond to think about that.
But I know that here in asecond, you're going to tell us
all about what the CSR Academyhas coming up some cool things.
I'm excited to see you guys inAustin.
So I'm excited to hear aboutthat.
But, as a business owner, ifI'm listening today, you know
(43:00):
what I'm like.
I know I have an issue.
What can I do to go to the nextlevel?
Is anyone ready to answer thatpretty quickly?
Okay, Michelle, of course,Michelle, It'd be like me.
Is anybody ready to talk Me?
Speaker 2 (43:13):
Yes, we are so terrible.
I believe a contractor shouldput together a system in which
they can collaborate with theircustomer service team, their
CSRs, call center managers, sothat there's a place in which
they can communicate effectivelyand in writing, so that they
have a really good understandingand knowledge of what each of
(43:34):
them experiences and what theyeach expect from the role.
And so that's what I would givethem a system in which to
communicate.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
I love that.
I love that.
Okay, who's next?
Speaker 3 (43:47):
I'll go next, okay.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
We're going to go in the.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
May movement.
We'll go in the May.
So if you just want to getstarted, you're not sure where
to start.
Start listening to calls,listen to calls together.
Identify things that are goinggood on calls.
Identify missed opportunities.
Identify opportunities forgrowth.
Like just start listening to acall, listen to calls together
(44:10):
and, as a leader, take some timeto let that CSR know that
you're invested.
I heard one of the best linesI've heard last week at a
training and it was as a coachor a trainer if your team's not
performing, that's on you.
And that coach just kept sayingwhenever I have an
(44:30):
underperforming team member,they say you know what?
You know you.
You really didn't show a lot ofempathy on call that call, but
that's on me.
I'm going to make sure you havethe training to get that and so
that you're more empathetic.
So can I get your support inthat?
Can we do that?
And the coach, the leader, thetrainer, they take the
accountability for that CSRuntil they've given them and
(44:54):
that you know like hey, youmissed this, but that's on me.
I'm going to give you sometraining on that.
You give them the training andnow you can hold them
accountable.
It goes back to settingexpectations.
But until you've identifiedareas for growth, it's like
start there, listen to calls,identify areas for growth and
then just start training onthings, one at a time, until you
(45:14):
help that CSR get to that level.
But that's not going to happenunless you have a relationship
with them as well.
So you've got to build thatrelationship.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
Love that.
Great advice, great advice Okay.
Speaker 4 (45:24):
E for Erica Awesome.
Well, these are such goodthings and I would just say,
like we talked a little bitabout mindset and everything, as
a business owner, if you'refinding little gaps in your
mindset about customer serviceand your CSRs work on your
mindset, they're absolutely bigrevenue drivers, just like your
technicians.
And if you're doing all yourtrainings on your technicians
and you give your CSRs theleftover banana cream filled
(45:47):
donuts after those trainings,that is not showing that you're
investing in your CSRs.
So if your mindset needs to bechanged of I'm only going to pay
you $8 an hour to answer aphone I'm sorry they're going to
quit.
That's a waste of your money,wasted their time.
Like pay them as well as youcan pay them.
You know, invest in them, ofcourse, in training, but just
like you would everybody else inyour business, like everybody
(46:10):
in your business is important todrive revenue.
They just have different.
You know like littledepartments that they do it from
.
But if your mindset needs to bechanged on how your CSRs can
drive you revenue, that's whereI would start to and what you
can do to invest in them, helpthem grow, pay them better.
You know hybrid flexibility.
I mean.
There's so many different waysthat you can support your CSR
(46:31):
team.
And then I'm going to throw aplug like we've got a discount
code for ACCA.
If you want to come to the CSRAcademy for a one day event
where we are going to help trainyour CSRs or your managers or
you as an owner, whatever,whoever you'd want to send to
San Antonio, we've got adiscount code.
It's lemon and and we'll putthe link here for Crystal.
But if you just want help,that's where you should come.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
Yes, and I will be in Austin as well at the event,
and so I can't wait to see this.
I will say this I do thinkcontractors that are listening,
when you can trust theprofessionals, people that have
dealt with other CSRs and othercompanies small companies, large
companies, people that havedealt with other CSRs and other
companies small companies, largecompanies Probably a lot of you
(47:17):
have experience even with, likeprivate equity or privately,
all the different scenarios.
Like you can learn so much fromtrusting professionals like
these three that this isdefinitely not their first time
in the arena, so I encourage youto take advantage of that.
I will be at the Women in HVACRbooth in Austin for ACCA, so
very much an exciting, excitingtime there.
So, hey, michelle, if anyonewants, like I want more
(47:38):
information.
How do they get moreinformation about you guys?
Speaker 2 (47:41):
Absolutely.
They can go to thecsracademycom.
That's our website and they cancheck out all of our socials.
We have a Facebook group thatis very vibrant.
We got we drop knowledge inthere all the time.
So please get in there and jointhe Facebook group.
But CSR Academy is, on all theaverage, only the way you work.
But it's going to help youconnect and it's going to help
(48:02):
you lead and you're going to getsome something really good in
each of those tracks as astudent at the CSR Academy.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
I love it.
That's very true.
I mean, I've seen these ladieswork so I can attest to that.
But hey, one thing I thinkwe've learned today is the best
businesses don't just have greatproducts or services, they have
a great customer experience,and the journey for the customer
to work with your company isbeing cultivated and tending to,
and that starts with trainingyour team to make sure you guys
are the best in the game.
(48:42):
So, ladies, I'm so blessed thatyou took time out of your day
to be on from the yellow chair.
Thank you all three for yoursupport of Lemon Seed.
But, guys, if you're ready toinvest in your CSR team, take
your business to the next level.
Please go check out the CSRAcademy at thecsracademycom.
Don't forget, if you loved ourepisode, loved this, share it
with a friend that needs thesupport.
(49:03):
Leave us the review for morefresh marketing insights and
ideas.
Thanks for sipping somelemonade with us.
We.
Oh, what's up?
Lemonheads, welcome to anotherepisode of From the Yellow Chair
.
I am Crystal.
I'm still riding solo in thevirtual lemonade stand today,
but y'all, I am so excited fortoday's episode.
It is full of so much girlygoodness, some of my very
(00:23):
favorite people from theindustry, incredible women doing
great things.
Many of you know most of them,but together in a little rock
star trio.
So I absolutely know that youguys understand how I am so
passionate about the power ofyour CSRs, your customer service
reps, being the very first lineof defense.
(00:44):
So we want to make sure they'reimproving and getting better,
driving the culture and thecustomer journey with your
company.
They are the heartbeat of anyservice business.
So grab your lemonade, get alittle comfy, or at least that
cruise control, whatever you'redoing.
While you're listening, let'sdrink up some knowledge about
training and leadership andunlocking the real potential
(01:04):
behind your CSRs.
Let's dip some lemonade.
Perfect, ladies, I'm so excitedto have all of you.
I'm so excited Look how full myscreen is with goodness this
morning.
So I love each of youindependently and collectively,
(01:25):
and so we're coming off of theLemon Seed Conference being one
of many trips that each of youhave been on lately, but Lemon
Seed Conference had you guysthere doing the CSR Academy.
So, guys, they even had theirgreen apples.
They gave the cutest lemonbottle openers as gifts, so
(01:45):
definitely my heart for brandingwas on trend there.
So each of you introduceyourselves.
Tell everybody that's listeningwho the heck is the CSR Academy
?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Who's going to go first?
You got it, michelle.
It's kind of like at a level 10meeting, the first, last one in
his first one up, so I'll be upfirst.
I don't mind, I am.
I am Michelle Myers and I run a, an operation putting CSRs in
your business remotely, and I amsuper excited to hold onto this
(02:16):
carabiner.
I'm going to tell you all aboutthis story next while we're
together today, and also pointout that we are the absolutely
newly crowned, first and evercertified by service Titan Call
Center.
So I'm Michelle and I'm happyto be here.
Thanks so much for having us,crystal.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Absolutely Fantastic.
And first call center likekudos girl.
That's a lot, that's a lot ofwork, so I love it.
I need my crown.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I'm ready for a crown .
I feel like I should have oneback here.
I think I need one.
All of us on the.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Lemon Seed team normally tries to wear crowns,
so I should definitely sharethat with you.
So all right, who's?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
up next, I'll go next .
We have a fun thing that we dohere at the CSR Academy we have
a little mascot with, since youlove branding and marketing, we
have a mascot and her name isMae, m-a-e for Michelle, angie,
erica.
So a lot of times that's theorder that we go in.
So she's a cute little CSRmascot and so I'll take a turn
(03:15):
next.
I am so excited.
Thank you, crystal, for havingus on this podcast.
It's always so much fun to bewith you and all of the
Lemonheads and we just soappreciate what you do for our
industry.
You really were key in helpingus as we were thinking of colors
and branding and what we wantedthe Cesar Academy to look like,
(03:37):
and since the lemon was taken,we took an apple, a bright green
apple, and so you definitelyplay some inspiration there.
But it's an honor for us to behere and it's such an honor for
me to get to work with Michelleand Erica on a daily basis as we
are thinking about ways that wecan empower and train and lift
(03:59):
CSRs, and you know, when we dothis, we know it's super
impactful for the CSR and itreally helps them gain
confidence.
It helps them have systems inplace.
It helps them get the rightmindset that they need.
But, more importantly, it helpsthe business owner, because the
business owners have so much ontheir plate and all sizes of
(04:20):
business, of business.
If you can get your calloperations down in your
operation, in your call center,if you can capture those leads
and turn those leads into greatopportunities for your team,
that's the key.
And so my background I comefrom the trades, as a business
(04:40):
owner, and so a lot of what I'vecreated and done is to help a
business owner be successful, sothat they don't have to worry
about their CSRs and their CSRscan feel confident in their role
.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Love it.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Love it.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yes, so I knew Angie back when Angie was just a
contractor, exactly, but soaccomplished Angie.
You have done such great thingsand so I know I think you're
one of the most kind people inthe industry.
No one ever has anything bad tosay about Angie Snow, so I'm
lucky to have you on here and Ithink you make a great part of
(05:12):
this team.
So thank you so much.
Thank you Appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
OK, I love, yes, and so I love working with Angie.
Michelle.
This is seriously one of themost biggest things that brings
me joy in my life right now.
It's so much fun.
And, crystal, thank you forhaving us at Lemon Seed event.
If you guys haven't been to theLemon Seed event, it is a must.
It was so detailed and brandedand fun and content heavy and
(05:40):
just so intentional and engagingwith everything that you guys
did, and so it was just an honorto be there.
So, thank you so much.
And, yeah, we love to talkLemon Seed all day long.
You probably come up at leastwith me in conversations, like
when my husband, when I'm askinghim to do stuff for like CSR
Academy or OMSI or whatever itis for coaching, I'm like what
(06:02):
would Lemon Seed do?
Right, like, look at Lemon Seedbranding because it is, like
you know, michelle said andAngie said it's an inspiration
of like how to look at all thedifferent parts of branding and
how it can help with business,and so, anyway, we just, we just
look up to you guys so much andso, um, a little bit about me.
I have a background in a lot ofdifferent things in regards to
(06:26):
travel, I've been a worldtraveler for many years.
I love to go around the worldand learn about people and
cultures and that kind of got mestarted in anthropology, where
you know kind of the roots hitthere and I just was really
fascinated with people.
I got really big into personaldevelopment, started creating
programs and trainings, gotinvolved in the trades, created
some CSR programs and trainingsand just absolutely love the
(06:48):
ability to help people get tothe next level.
And I think all of us have askill set here on this call, but
also everybody listening.
We have a skill set and if wecan help teach other people that
skill set, it is so empoweringand rewarding.
And so you know, I'veabsolutely loved doing that and
I've loved helping as well, likethe times where, of course, I
can train CSRs directly but alsotrain in-house trainers, help
(07:12):
your, your training team knowhow to train your CSRs.
A lot of companies that are alittle bit bigger do you have
these the ability to have anin-house trainer, and so it's
really cool that we can workwith CSRs and the whole call
center operations on differentlevels.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Awesome, Awesome, Okay, so love also.
All three of y'all are just somuch fun to listen to.
So I'm like I could do I couldtalk to each of you individually
, but I love this concept thatyou guys have of like.
All of you have a different,had a different kind of approach
to CSRs, but yet they were verysimilar.
So y'all got together andcreated the CSR Academy.
(07:51):
Right, and I know I've seen youguys are like hosting a
workshop at ACCA, which I knowis coming up really soon.
I've seen you do something inVegas.
Y'all did a little workshop forme here.
So tell me about what is theCSR Academy exactly?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Well, I can take that one.
Csr Academy is actually supersecret, ninja status of the
three of us being able to useour zones of genius right, like
what are we really known for inthe industry?
And that's not to blow up whowe are.
But I identified in Angie whatwas epic about her.
(08:25):
She identified something in methat I had never seen Erica same
thing, I mean.
So the three of us all cametogether in July of last year
and said, man, there's gotta besomething out there where we can
kind of wonder powers unite.
You know the three of us and howcan we have a really
interesting curriculum for thebusiness owner to send their
(08:46):
team to so that they really geta value in all the different
aspects of what makes up a greatCSR?
And so it's really all aboutthe different tracks that we
teach.
So I take on systems and Ireally place everything in a
digestible framework ordashboard so that the business
has a really cool place to putall their content and
(09:07):
information for the CSR.
And then Angie's justincredible with sales and
scripting and word tracks andall the things that leadership
needs to set them apart.
And I think for me watchingErica in the team and watching
her with CSRs, training them anddoing role playing and getting
(09:27):
people up out of their chair.
It's very, very powerful, andso each one of us, I think,
really kind of brings somethingspecial to the table, and that's
what makes it so unique.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
I love it, I love that.
So you know and I've watchedthis from afar a little bit too
you know I, as a marketingcompany, lemon Seed's always
trying to defend where peopleare spending their marketing
dollars Right, because no onewants to write a check for
marketing when they feel likecall count is low and their
revenues down or they can't findteam members, and so it's a
(09:58):
very frustrating part of being abusiness owner in the
contracting space is being ableto qualify and quantify your
marketing, and so a lot of timesmy team is trying to look at
how good of a job are your CSRsdoing on booking the call.
So people say we're just notgetting anything.
And I'm like man, I see theleads coming in, I just don't
(10:19):
know what's happening to themonce y'all answer the phone or
don't answer the phone, becausesometimes that's the problem,
but for sure.
So I've always taken a reallybig interest in the power that a
CSR really has to impact thecustomer's journey of working
with your company overall, andso, as much as I stick to you
(10:41):
know, branding and strategy andall that, there is so much
really good companies are builtand scaled off of operations.
Marketing is just kind of avehicle to getting yourself
there, but it takes strongoperators to get there, and so I
know that you guys really carea lot about like what that first
interaction is in teaching theCSRs you know the traditional
(11:04):
things of are they empatheticand things like that.
Is there a secret sauce as abusiness owner like that we
should be looking at for ourCSRs?
Like a certain personality typeor a certain style, like what
should we be looking for so thatthat CSR, that first point of
contact, is great for ourcustomers?
Speaker 3 (11:24):
My husband and I were just having a conversation
about this actually last night,because we were talking about a
fellow colleague who has acompany and I've been working
with some of their CSRsindividually and they just
pulled in a new operationsmanager for this business and
they said you know what Two ofthese CSRs just have to go?
(11:46):
And basically, as he wasobserving the training that I
was doing, he could see thatthese two CSRs were not engaged.
They felt like they alreadyknew everything.
They've been doing this a longtime.
They were not open to learning.
They were not open todiscovering new ways because
they already knew how to do thisjob.
(12:06):
And so, for me, when you'relooking at hiring a new CSR, it
comes down to attitude.
And are they willing to be open?
Are they willing to learn?
Do they have this mindset ofteach me something new and let
me try it?
Erica does a great job ofhelping our CSRs get out of
their comfort zone a little bitwhen it comes to role-playing,
(12:27):
and they have to be willing torole-play.
If they're not willing torole-play and walk through a
situation with you in a pretendplay fashion, what makes you
think they would be confident topull something off with an
actual customer.
So it comes down to attitude.
We can teach, we can teachcommunication, we can teach
(12:48):
skills, we can teach how toovercome objections, we can
teach ways to do outbound calls,but if they're not, they don't
have that willing attitude, thenthen that is really, that's
going to be your.
That's their downfall as a CSR,at least in my opinion.
I don't know if Eric orMichelle thinks something
different or wants to add tothat.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Yeah, like I, I've definitely seen how people will
well not give up on CSRs justbecause they're like, oh well,
you know you've.
Like, if they don't give themthe opportunity to invest them,
to train and participate inthose things, you know, before
people would like fire or let goof a CSR, you'd want to make
(13:30):
sure that you've invested intheir training and setting good
expectations and all of thosethings.
And yeah, it does come to thepoint, like what Angie says,
like it is attitude.
And if you're investing in themto learn the skillset, learn
the communication, do thetrainings and all that kind of
stuff, and if you put forth allof your effort to that and
you're like, yeah, this is notgoing to work out.
I think that's, you know, beinggenerous, of course, to people,
(13:51):
but a lot of times CSRs justdon't know what's clearly
expected of them.
You know, don't know what'sclearly expected of them.
You know they're often handedlike here's a script or here,
answer a phone, how hard can itbe?
And like not the strategybehind it.
So if you have invested inteaching and the strategy and
spent the time coaching them andit's not working out because
you can tell their attitude ortheir effort or whatever it is
isn't playing out, then,absolutely like they're on the
(14:14):
wrong seat of the bus.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Yeah, you know, great customer service doesn't just
like happen by accident, right,it normally takes design and I
know, michelle, like youmentioned, like systems being
like your key point, which I'veactually seen that with my own
eyes and you've had greatconversations even with they can
(14:44):
be revenue drivers and customerrelationship pros for your
company, just really bigadvocates.
But a lot of times I thinkbusiness owners it's just a
little old school mentality westart thinking, man, let me just
find me a CSR and pay him ninebucks an hour, eight bucks an
hour, whatever, stick thembehind the phone, how hard is it
to answer the phone?
And we lose that.
(15:05):
And so I've learned just bywatching you guys like systems
and expectations andaccountability.
All of those things are reallyimpactful, michelle, and I know
that you talk a lot about that.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I do.
I mean what I tell businessowners all the time is when
you're on the phone, you'refully engaged right.
You've got your mind, your eyes, your mouth, your ears, your
hands, your heart Everything ison that call, especially if
you're in a CRM and you'replacing everything in a digital
format.
So to then expect that CSR toremember the script or remember
the services, that takes monthsor years.
And so to get them to speedreally quickly, you should give
(15:39):
them a colorful, bright,interactive and easy visual to
be able to understand yourbusiness quickly.
Because here's the secret CSRsleave and I don't want to be the
one to blow up everybody's mind, but that is the truth they
leave.
And so if they leave and you'vedone all this incredible
training and it's all insomeone's mind, but that is the
truth they leave.
And so if they leave and you'vedone all this incredible
(16:00):
training and it's all insomeone's mind it's really hard
to replicate that same customerservice center again.
It's really hard to build thatup again if that person leaves.
And so building systems isactually an insurance policy,
not only for you as the businessowner, but it has so much
success driving for that CSR.
(16:20):
They feel as if they're livingand breathing in an environment
that is really customized forthem and that really takes hold
in how they deliver care to yourcustomers.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I just to that.
I just firmly believe and Iknow I'm going to probably harp
on this a lot, but I firmlybelieve that the majority of
contractors truly underestimatethe impact that these people,
that these team members, canhave and sometimes even, like I
think they diminish it a littlebit.
Like I don't know, I don't hireanybody off the street to be a
(16:54):
CSR and I'll be honest, youprobably can train.
There's a lot of people outthere that would be great CSR
and I'll be honest, you probablycan train.
There's a lot of people outthere that would be great CSRs
if they had training.
I don't know that.
People are born understandinghow to, you know, navigate
conflict or pricing and thingslike that.
So you know what are you.
What do you guys think are likesome key skills that maybe
every CSR should be working tomaster to be a great CSR?
(17:18):
Or have y'all, do y'all know ofa company that's got a great
CSR?
That's like really, reallyresonated with you guys.
Or like set with you guys Likeman, this is phenomenal, or he's
phenomenal at this.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
When we did our training in Las Vegas, I
actually sat down with our groupand I said can you all describe
the perfect CSR for me?
If you could design the perfectCSR, what would that look like?
And I had each of them and I'vegot them sitting right here,
actually, because I'm workingwith this.
I had each of them write onsticky notes traits of a great
(17:52):
CSR, like what would that looklike?
They'd be great at makingconnections, they'd feel
supported, they'd be competitive, they would be a critical
thinker and we, you know, Ithink this is a really good
exercise for business owners.
(18:19):
If they're trying to like, whodo I want in that seat?
They need to go through thisexercise themselves.
And if you could design theperfect CSR, what would that
look like?
What would their mindset belike?
How would they?
How would they fit into your,into your office?
What do you need in your office?
And they really need to pictureand visualize that individual
(18:39):
and what they would like them tolook like.
I don't think a lot of peoplego through that exercise right.
It's not just someone to answerthe phone, it's someone that
can be adaptable.
It's someone that has courageand is willing to pick up a
phone when the phone's notringing.
So, thinking about the mindsetof a CSR and those things that
you want in a CSR individually.
(19:02):
For me, when I was developing myseven-star CSR program, I
developed that program for myteam because I was just like
that contractor you just said,crystal.
I was someone who knew how muchmoney I was spending on
marketing and I needed to makesure that those marketing
dollars were turning into bookedcalls, and so I needed a way to
(19:22):
make sure my team was set upfor success.
And so there were a lot youknow, I don't want to say, a lot
of training programs.
There were several differentprograms, but nothing I felt
like was the right fit for myteam, and so that's why I really
developed what do I want in aCSR?
Well, I want a problem solver,so I'm going to teach a whole
lesson on problem solving.
I want someone who usespositive language, so I have a
(19:46):
whole module on just positivelanguage.
I want someone who knows how tobuild a relationship of trust,
and I just went through and Imade that list for myself and
then I built training aroundevery single one of those things
so that when they finish thattraining, they now have all of
those qualities and skills thatI'm looking for in a CSR and I
have metrics to put to those tomeasure their performance and be
(20:09):
able to grade those and scorethose and have that clearly
defined.
If you're doing this, this andthis, you're saying the
customer's name.
You're making a connection.
You sound like you're doingthis, this and this, you're
you're saying the customer'sname.
You're making a connection.
You sound like you're smiling,your tone is great, you know
your pace is on, on track, likethere's a couple of things that
if you're doing all those things, you're going to build a
connection with the customer.
(20:29):
Yeah, you're not.
I can quickly identify whereyou're not and we can work on
those things, yeah, I mean Ilove.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
So out of pain comes progress, right?
So you know, you start lookingup and you're like man, I mean
this is every business ownerprobably, no matter what
industry you're in.
You have this strugglesometimes of like why can't
people do what I need them to do?
You know.
So today I was talking to afriend early this morning and
she was like, oh people, peopleare such a challenge and they
(20:55):
are, but I choose to likedefault to good as much as I can
Listen.
I'm not perfect at it and I willget hung up on someone
sometimes and I can't get off ofit and I have to remind myself,
like you know, let me step back, but I love the fact that when
you're looking at your own team,specifically your CSRs, your
dispatchers, kind of all in thesame there, realizing where the
(21:18):
pain points are and addressingthose and, like you said, the
power of positive mindset, beingpositive of this mindset in
general, that is something thatmost contractors are not going
to think to train on.
They're going to train on like,well, how do I get them when
the people are price shopping?
Like, how do we win more tirekickersers?
Well, you really have to thinkabout a CSR goes through a lot
(21:39):
of emotions, like you got peoplethat are mad, you got people
that are flippant, you've gotpeople that are frustrated.
You've got and so they've gotto like navigate all these
different temperatures all daylong.
And so, like I love kind ofcreating your own, like
documenting where you think yourstruggles are and communicating
those with whomever's going tohelp train your team, and
(22:02):
investing in training that teamis very important.
And, erica, I know you'velistened to thousands of calls.
I feel like probably more thanthousands of contractor calls.
Do you think there's like asecret style of personality and
I know we've kind of talkedabout like Angie's little
exercise there but do you thinkit's the super bubbly
personality?
Like I get asked this all thetime what type of person should
(22:24):
I be looking for?
And I'm over here like I wrotedown competitive and solution
driven and positive.
But what I know you've listened, so what do you think that
comes from?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Yeah, like I think the bubbly personality and just
like that upbeat energy.
Of course, I think that thatmakes a big difference in
customer service.
But I also work with plenty ofpeople who are not like that,
and that's where having a goodprocess like okay, just make
sure to do this, like I don'twant you to feel like you're a
complete cheeseball every second, but like follow the process
(22:54):
and if you're doing the processof you know, hitting these
things, asking these questions,making sure that you are
engaging with your customer,like even the people who are not
super bubbly can still have ahigh booking score and a high
success rate.
And you know, one of the thingsthat we do with our scorecards
is where our scorecards that we,when we listen to phone calls
and and design them.
(23:14):
It's not a scorecard of of didyou book this call or not,
because that's data that'scoming in from service tie-in or
whatever your CRM is.
Our scorecards are designed asare you following the process to
create a great customerexperience?
Are you hitting the metricsthat you need to do that are
proven to have a good impact onyour customers?
And my biggest thing, too kindof something you said triggered
(23:36):
this, crystal is like businessowners sometimes just think like
, well, let me overcomeobjections.
You know, how do I, you know,deal with these tire kickers and
these price shoppers, all thosethings.
But a lot of what I like toteach is how do you prevent that
pushback from happening.
What can you do up frontthrough your marketing, through
your branding, like what is theexpectation you're already
setting through your marketingand branding?
(23:57):
And then how do you align yourCSRs with that expectation to
prevent people from havingbuyer's remorse, to prevent
people from canceling calls, andso, yeah, all the time, like,
how do we overcome this?
How do we deal with thesecancellations?
Like, yeah, there's, there'sskillset for that, but what are
you doing upfront to preventthat from happening?
And a lot of things that youcan do to prevent objections.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
I love that.
So you know, man, like I getall back in my marketing
feelings about this.
But you know, I laugh at somethings sometimes.
So one time this contractoractually it was another vendor
talking to me and they're like,I got this contractor and he had
this very chill, laid backbrand, like everything was meant
to be like super laid back andrelaxing, and he said but when
(24:41):
you talk to the guy he was likeloud and rambunctious and very
energetic and I was like thisdoes not match.
And so I brought up the pointlike it's literally so silly,
but it is customer confusion.
You know, like when you youhave to, your brand is actually
a tangible living thing.
So you know you can't buy abrand off of the shelf unless
(25:02):
you're really ready to adapt whoyou are to that brand.
So branding is literally moreabout how you make people feel,
how people interact with you,what you look like, so.
But it's the sum of all ofthose things.
So it's not just pretty vanwrap.
And so, to your point, if Ihave this very fun and outgoing
brand, I would expect thatthat's how my interaction is.
(25:23):
Thank you for calling.
You know, not so much likehello.
Thank you for calling.
You know what energy level doesit match?
Because, again, we wantcustomers.
The way that we say sticky andmemorable in our markets is
every touch point is reflectingback onto the actual brand of
who we are, and so I love thattouch point.
(25:43):
We rebranded a company andcalled them Knock, knock, knock,
knock, heating and Cooling.
And, super cute, he chose achicken.
I mean it's wild, but it's wildand it's memorable.
And we were like, please answerthe phone, knock, knock, who's
there.
Like it would just give me life.
Like when you answer that.
Because, again, do you thinkpeople are going to hang up?
Be like did they just answerthe phone?
Knock, knock, who's there?
(26:04):
It's sticky, it's memorable,it's, it's endearing a little
bit.
Like it may, it just softensthe load.
Like people are irritated.
No one gets excited to call andsay my AC is broken in Texas
when it's 105 degrees in July,you know.
Or when it's cold and snowingand you're like, gosh, my heater
won't work, you know we need,we have to have something to
(26:28):
match that.
So I love that idea that youknow your CSRs have to live up
to what your brand, that you'reputting out there.
Some of you don't have to worryabout it because you're telling
everybody that you're old andboring anyway.
There, some of you don't haveto worry about it because you're
telling everybody that you'reold and boring anyway, but most
of you that are an engagingbrand.
This is such a good opportunityto do that and overcoming
objections Well.
So I do know this.
(26:50):
That, I think, is the biggestissue.
So when we're helping ourclients and we're listening,
looking at their dashboard,especially inside of service
type, and you're like looking attheir dashboard, especially
inside of service type, andyou're like man, this booking
rate is only at 50%, I'm likehow does this happen?
We're spending a lot of moneyto have 50%.
When really come to find outagain, michelle, this is
probably going to lean more inyour court here.
(27:12):
It's lack of like.
They literally will say well,you know, I can't expect them to
answer all the time.
And well, that's during ourlunch hour.
And I'm like you, no longershould you be closed during the
lunch hour.
It's not 1985.
I don't know what else to sayto that.
It is there's too many tools tohelp you cover where your
phones are not left unansweredand undone.
(27:36):
And then the other thing I'llbring up for somebody to kick
around is like who should bescoring their calls.
So we've got this ability oflike unanswered calls during
unique times early in themorning, late in the evening and
during the lunch hour but thenletting them score their own
calls is also strange to me.
So I was just curious, likewhat does that look like from a
manager standpoint?
Like how do I help control that?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Well, I can jump in on unanswered calls, and it's
funny because it has to do withmy carabiner.
Look, a perfect place to talkabout this.
We're seeing artificialintelligence come in to support
those early times, off times,lunch times, and a lot of
business owners are maybe unsure.
I think is the best word, right, how is it going to work?
(28:19):
Well, does it sound like aperson?
And is it going to be like oursand is it going to be like us?
And so we've integrated AI intoPink Collars and so you get it
as part of your service when youcome to work with us, and I
have seen it just solve so manyof those tiny little people
problems where it's like thefive minutes before somebody
(28:41):
gets on and the 10 minutes afterfive.
You know all of those littletiny parts.
I'm seeing AI help to getpeople to the top of the
mountain, which is why I havethis little carabiner.
It reminds me that thistechnology is really changing
our industry in a rapid way,especially as it comes to CSRs,
and so how are we going tosafely get to the top of the
(29:03):
mountain?
Right, and I think that theladies on this call, for sure,
are seeing that change andimplementing small parts of that
into all of our businesses, andI think that showing the way is
going to be really helpful, andthe CSRs have to be a part of
this solution.
It is not in any way areplacement, but it is a support
(29:24):
and another tool in theirtoolbox.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Is what I would say A resource, a resource, a
resource, a resource, a resource, a resource, 100%, 100%.
Yeah, it's such a tool.
It alleviates frustrations, italleviates sometimes even.
It alleviates like, sometimes,even like hiring a whole other
person.
I was watching the old daywhich I'm old, I say I'm old
school in the very least, butlike me, I'm like man.
I don't really want to talk toan AI person, but right now, why
(29:49):
not utilize those to fill inthe gaps at the minimum size?
Like let them fill in gaps,especially when you're
struggling to find somebodyearly in the mornings or late in
the evenings or you don't wantto bring on a full time another
employee, like that's a veryemployees are expensive, right
In all kinds of ways, and so Iagree, I think that is such a
(30:10):
cool way to start filling insome gaps and some missing
things.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
I think it's really important to note, though, that
it must be trained.
It has to listen to your calls,it has to listen to your people
and has to replicate the humanexperience.
It is by no means a plug in andforget it sort of a system, and
so it takes a while.
It's a little bit of a climb,and so each one of us can speak
to that differently, but I thinkthat it's really an incredible
(30:36):
positive for customer service.
I know I've heard a little bitof pushback from some other
folks, and I just think it'soverall.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
I think it's really good, and then sorry when you
said something that sat with me,you know.
So again, if you're strugglingwith, I don't want this AI thing
like you just said somethingthat sticks with me when I say
this, you can't have your cakeand eat it too as a contractor.
So here's the good news, right?
The good news is it's going tolisten and act as you.
(31:06):
The bad news is you have togive it time to listen and learn
you, and so I think it'simportant as a contractor,
having realistic expectations oftimelines and return and
performance and giving thingstime to mature and cut and
really work.
Well.
If you invest the time up front, it will drastically save you
(31:27):
time in the long run.
You just have to know whatyou're getting into, and I think
I see it every day.
Contractors jump into somethingthinking like well, this will
solve my problems and once Isign the dotted line and give
you money, you're gonna fix tofix it, and I'm like no, it's a
partnership, Like we need to beat the same dance.
We don't have to dance togetherevery song, but if we can just
be in the same buildinglistening to the same songs,
(31:50):
because sometimes I thinkcontractors just want to mark
things off their list, Likethese CSRs.
They're whiny, they complain.
I can't make them happy.
Give these CSRs.
They're whiny, they complain Ican't make them happy.
Like, give me this AI solutionwhen really what they need to
sit back and realize is it's aninvestment all the way around in
both the training of my liveCSRs and the training of my AI
CSRs.
I mean just such a coolopportunity to set good
(32:11):
expectations there of what toexpect so you're not
disappointed.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
And I think honestly Erica should answer anything
about call scoring, because thatis her zone of genius, so I'm
passing that one to her.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Accurate.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
Well, you know, what's interesting is you find
that you know you especiallysummertime you're taking
hundreds and thousands of phonecalls and there's some AI things
out there to really help withthat, and NCSR Academy has a few
things up our sleeves to helpwith that too.
But what's very interesting isthat you have your team leads or
(32:46):
your managers people who aresupposed to be training your
CSRs and doing your one-on-ones.
They also have a lot of otherthings that they are asked to do
, so for them to sit down andlisten to phone calls is very
time consuming and very tedious.
Of course you want to have theexact things that you're looking
for in the phone calls, right,like you got to set that up
(33:07):
beforehand.
Like what are thenon-negotiables that our CSRs
must and must not do?
Like if you have specificquestions you want to ask if you
have.
You know a certain way that youwant to handle pricing or
whatever.
It is like that.
But your team leads and yourmanagers will be honest they do
not have the time to go in andlisten to all the phone calls.
(33:28):
If they're lucky, they're goingto get to maybe two or three,
but two or three phone calls inmy experience, is not enough to
really gauge where the CSR is at, because you could have pulled
a call at random and it was theday they were sick or something.
Right, like you do need avariety of days of inbound
versus outbound.
You do need to have a goodsolid like like platform there
(33:50):
of like what you're going off of, so that when you train them,
you and you sit down and havethose one on one on ones that's
where the scorecards come in islike you can speak to these
scorecards.
So, yeah, if you want a thirdparty to do all the tedious
listening for you, we can dothat, and then all you have to
do is is show up with thescorecard and like hey, it looks
like your percentage on thisparticular topic was low, or
(34:14):
this topic is high and you'redoing great here, but not here.
And it's a really nice way toevaluate and have productive
conversations, because you knowit's just really hard to do it
when you have that many phonecalls.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Yeah, Well, you know, how do you?
So this was I was training mymarketing coordinators the other
day and we were talking throughsome of this and I said you
know, one of the things that Iwant them to know is how do they
give good advice?
You know, we're not, we're notCSR trainers, we're not.
We like to think we know ourway around service type really
well, but at the end of the day,we work in it from a very
(34:44):
marketing 30,000 foot view andso in every contractor does it
so different?
And so I'll be honest, likesome of it is like y'all aren't
reclassifying anything, soeverything is just dumped into
these buckets.
And I'll be honest, like thisis a little bit of a I would
never say this to a contractor.
Some would say it's allcontractors listening to the
podcast.
It's kind of because you'relazy and it shows me a little
(35:07):
bit that you really don't care.
A call is a call is a call.
When, really when you investthe time to do these scorecards
like you're talking about, getthings organized, I think it
allows your CSRs to be like okay, number one, they're watching,
they care enough to be investedin it, but also the company is
(35:27):
prioritizing these calls.
Everybody will.
You know what is it?
A rising tide rises all ships.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
What's the saying A rising tide raises all ships.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
You know when the expectations of man, they're
listening to calls and they'rethey're helping me get these
things moved around and theyreally care.
Like what was an actual lead.
So I mean, the other day thisguy was like we've only got like
a 65% booking and I'm like,what are all these local numbers
?
And he's like, well, those aremy technicians calling in.
(35:59):
And I was like they're countingthem as a lead.
It's not a lead, sir, unlessyou want the CSR to sell your
own technician on services.
And so you're beating up theCSR and I'm like, give them a
hotline.
I don't care what you give yourtechnicians, give them a phone
number to call in.
That is easier for people tosee, because it's unfair.
(36:19):
So then I'm like, are y'allpaying spiffs off of this?
Like it made me crazy because Ithought, man, we don't have our
head together here.
And so you know, again, it goesback to valuing that position
in your company and scoring themand letting them see.
So we just started scoring ourmarketing coordinators, which is
(36:43):
the team that kind of comesalongside the contractor very
much, a lot more frequently thanthe other parts of our team,
and one of the things is like wewere doing scorecards and I
thought you know for them,because I know they want good
feedback.
My, I do not think anyone on myteam is going to be afraid of
feedback.
It's more scary when they getno feedback, because then they
(37:03):
assume that they're doingeverything right.
And so this weekend, emily, mypartner at Limited, she had kind
of said hey, you go score these, I'm going to score these, and
operations manager will scorethese.
And so, as I was listening, Iwould I mean, of course, if
you've never listened to callsbefore, it will make you hurt
yourself.
You're like, oh my gosh, Ineeded a stiff drink, but I'm
(37:23):
Baptist so I couldn't do it.
But I was like man, because atthe end of the day, you know,
you're just like this isterrible or this is great.
So I all the emotions, right,this is great.
Or people that maybe I thoughtwere struggling.
They were actually really goodon the phone.
They just are maybe strugglinga little bit on the backend side
of things.
But it opened my own eyesbecause I you know Emily helped
(37:46):
me like go score these calls.
And I'm like like this isreally opening your eyes as an
owner.
How do you help people besuccessful?
Right, shouldn't that be ourgoal is helping everybody on our
team be successful and the endis that our company benefits
from it.
But also, like, these arepeople.
These are not just anothernumber, another employee.
Like these are people and mostof them want to be successful
(38:09):
yeah, I love that you say that,crystal.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
Oh, sorry, and you go ahead.
No, go, you go ahead, I'll.
I'll follow up, okay.
Well, I just wanted to say onequick thing about feedback is
everybody does like feedback,and sometimes feedback can be
bad, but the delivery of thefeedback is very important.
I would tell everyone for amillion years to come Don't do
the sandwich.
Formula of feedback hey, you'rereally awesome at this, you're
crappy at this, but you're greatat this.
(38:32):
Like, don't do the sandwich,because really now do people
believe you?
No, they don't Like it's.
It's a like little bit ofmanipulative.
It's like they know it's coming.
Okay, tell me the good, tell methe bad.
There is a different way to givefeedback than the sandwich, and
so I would just say, like, keepthat in mind.
We could put a couple ofresources, I know a couple of
good books, but really, like, ifI have to deliver like hard
(38:53):
feedback, I would say, hey Angie, or hey Michelle, or hey
Crystal, I'm noticing that thisis happening or that your score
is a little bit low of here.
Can you tell me your thoughtson that?
And you just leave it, andthey're like yeah, my empathy is
really down or yeah, I'm not.
I'm really struggling with theprice shoppers really down, or
yeah, I'm not.
I'm really struggling with theprice shoppers and you let them
give themselves the feedback,but you just have to bring it up
(39:13):
in a sense.
But I don't know.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I don't know if anyone disagrees with me, but I
well, I've gone to Angie beforeand been like Angie, I'm too
kind, Like I need to be moredirect and there is a way to be
kind and direct.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
Yeah, I you know what , when you were talking and kind
of going through your dilemmawith your own marketing
coordinators, what that made methink of is just it's the same
thing that contractors are goingthrough as well.
Right, like as a leader, wehave two things that we have to
watch.
We have to.
We have a people side.
We've got to manage a lot ofrelationships relationships with
(39:47):
our team, relationships withour our leadership team,
relationships with our team,relationships with our
leadership team, relationshipswith our vendors, relationships
with our customers.
But we also have this otherside that we have to focus on,
which is very data focused.
We know the numbers, we knowhow many calls we've got to have
and we know what booking rateswe need.
We know you know we've got thenumbers that we're tracking as
well, and so it's this delicatebalance of people and data that
(40:11):
makes a good leader, because,ultimately, you need your people
to help you get these numbersright.
You can't just be like people.
Here are the numbers and thepeople will follow you.
You have to be able to leadpeople, influence people, build
people.
So you've got to bring thoseleadership skills, but you also
have to know what numbers you'relooking at so that you can get
(40:31):
the results you want.
And when it comes to the dataand to know what to train your
people on and know how to getthem there, to your point,
crystal, if the data's not right, you don't know what to do.
What are you even leading yourpeople to?
And so it's garbage in, garbageout.
How do I manage this?
How do I know that the data I'mlooking at is even accurate?
(40:53):
And that's when it takes time.
If you're going to use a tool,especially a tool like
ServiceTitan, you betterunderstand that tool.
You better take some time tounderstand how calls are
classified.
You better understand whatnumbers are contributing to that
booking rate filled and thatbooking rate number.
What is a good number for that?
(41:14):
And so there are a lot ofthings right there that a leader
should understand and a leadershould take the time to dive
into, especially on ServiceTitan.
We now have a, as Michelle hasshown you.
We have a certified ServiceTitan track for all of your CSRs
to take that really walks themthrough Service Titan.
(41:35):
It helps them understand, andyour CSR manager should be doing
this so that they understandhow every single click of a
button affects those metrics andthe fact that Michelle's team
is the first certified callcenter.
They know what buttons aredoing what and so you can you
can be assured that her data,for data for her teams, is going
(41:56):
to be accurate.
If you're going to use a tooland measure that data, you
should know how to use it.
So it's finding ways you canautomate, delegate, but also
have faith in the tools and thesystems that you're using
automate, delegate, but alsohave faith in the tools and the
systems that you're using.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Oh yeah, I mean what there is again.
You know that really all thiscomes back to mindset.
I mean every time I'm just like, from listening to this, like
coaching yourself as acontractor, like you know how,
how to, how to be supportive,and so I just, you know, I don't
there's so much like beyondanswering a telephone, like it
kind of blows my mind.
You know so well, listen, I knowso like let's do this for
(42:37):
business owners on each of youto answer this question in your
own right.
For business owners who reallywant to take their CSR team to
the next level, where shouldthey start?
And so I'll give you all asecond to think about that.
But I know that here in asecond, you're going to tell us
all about what the CSR Academyhas coming up some cool things.
I'm excited to see you guys inAustin.
So I'm excited to hear aboutthat.
But, as a business owner, ifI'm listening today, you know
(43:00):
what I'm like.
I know I have an issue.
What can I do to go to the nextlevel?
Is anyone ready to answer thatpretty quickly?
Okay, Michelle, of course,Michelle, It'd be like me.
Is anybody ready to talk Me?
Speaker 2 (43:13):
Yes, we are so terrible.
I believe a contractor shouldput together a system in which
they can collaborate with theircustomer service team, their
CSRs, call center managers, sothat there's a place in which
they can communicate effectivelyand in writing, so that they
have a really good understandingand knowledge of what each of
(43:34):
them experiences and what theyeach expect from the role.
And so that's what I would givethem a system in which to
communicate.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
I love that.
I love that.
Okay, who's next?
Speaker 3 (43:47):
I'll go next, okay.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
We're going to go in the.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
May movement.
We'll go in the May.
So if you just want to getstarted, you're not sure where
to start.
Start listening to calls,listen to calls together.
Identify things that are goinggood on calls.
Identify missed opportunities.
Identify opportunities forgrowth.
Like just start listening to acall, listen to calls together
(44:10):
and, as a leader, take some timeto let that CSR know that
you're invested.
I heard one of the best linesI've heard last week at a
training and it was as a coachor a trainer if your team's not
performing, that's on you.
And that coach just kept sayingwhenever I have an
(44:30):
underperforming team member,they say you know what?
You know you.
You really didn't show a lot ofempathy on call that call, but
that's on me.
I'm going to make sure you havethe training to get that and so
that you're more empathetic.
So can I get your support inthat?
Can we do that?
And the coach, the leader, thetrainer, they take the
accountability for that CSRuntil they've given them and
(44:54):
that you know like hey, youmissed this, but that's on me.
I'm going to give you sometraining on that.
You give them the training andnow you can hold them
accountable.
It goes back to settingexpectations.
But until you've identifiedareas for growth, it's like
start there, listen to calls,identify areas for growth and
then just start training onthings, one at a time, until you
(45:14):
help that CSR get to that level.
But that's not going to happenunless you have a relationship
with them as well.
So you've got to build thatrelationship.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
Love that.
Great advice, great advice Okay.
Speaker 4 (45:24):
E for Erica Awesome.
Well, these are such goodthings and I would just say,
like we talked a little bitabout mindset and everything, as
a business owner, if you'refinding little gaps in your
mindset about customer serviceand your CSRs work on your
mindset, they're absolutely bigrevenue drivers, just like your
technicians.
And if you're doing all yourtrainings on your technicians
and you give your CSRs theleftover banana cream filled
(45:47):
donuts after those trainings,that is not showing that you're
investing in your CSRs.
So if your mindset needs to bechanged of I'm only going to pay
you $8 an hour to answer aphone I'm sorry they're going to
quit.
That's a waste of your money,wasted their time.
Like pay them as well as youcan pay them.
You know, invest in them, ofcourse, in training, but just
like you would everybody else inyour business, like everybody
(46:10):
in your business is important todrive revenue.
They just have different.
You know like littledepartments that they do it from
.
But if your mindset needs to bechanged on how your CSRs can
drive you revenue, that's whereI would start to and what you
can do to invest in them, helpthem grow, pay them better.
You know hybrid flexibility.
I mean.
There's so many different waysthat you can support your CSR
(46:31):
team.
And then I'm going to throw aplug like we've got a discount
code for ACCA.
If you want to come to the CSRAcademy for a one day event
where we are going to help trainyour CSRs or your managers or
you as an owner, whatever,whoever you'd want to send to
San Antonio, we've got adiscount code.
It's lemon and and we'll putthe link here for Crystal.
But if you just want help,that's where you should come.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
Yes, and I will be in Austin as well at the event,
and so I can't wait to see this.
I will say this I do thinkcontractors that are listening,
when you can trust theprofessionals, people that have
dealt with other CSRs and othercompanies small companies, large
companies, people that havedealt with other CSRs and other
companies small companies, largecompanies Probably a lot of you
(47:17):
have experience even with, likeprivate equity or privately,
all the different scenarios.
Like you can learn so much fromtrusting professionals like
these three that this isdefinitely not their first time
in the arena, so I encourage youto take advantage of that.
I will be at the Women in HVACRbooth in Austin for ACCA, so
very much an exciting, excitingtime there.
So, hey, michelle, if anyonewants, like I want more
(47:38):
information.
How do they get moreinformation about you guys?
Speaker 2 (47:41):
Absolutely.
They can go to thecsracademycom.
That's our website and they cancheck out all of our socials.
We have a Facebook group thatis very vibrant.
We got we drop knowledge inthere all the time.
So please get in there and jointhe Facebook group.
But CSR Academy is, on all theaverage, only the way you work.
But it's going to help youconnect and it's going to help
(48:02):
you lead and you're going to getsome something really good in
each of those tracks as astudent at the CSR Academy.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
I love it.
That's very true.
I mean, I've seen these ladieswork so I can attest to that.
But hey, one thing I thinkwe've learned today is the best
businesses don't just have greatproducts or services, they have
a great customer experience,and the journey for the customer
to work with your company isbeing cultivated and tending to,
and that starts with trainingyour team to make sure you guys
are the best in the game.
(48:42):
So, ladies, I'm so blessed thatyou took time out of your day
to be on from the yellow chair.
Thank you all three for yoursupport of Lemon Seed.
But, guys, if you're ready toinvest in your CSR team, take
your business to the next level.
Please go check out the CSRAcademy at thecsracademycom.
Don't forget, if you loved ourepisode, loved this, share it
with a friend that needs thesupport.
(49:03):
Leave us the review for morefresh marketing insights and
ideas.
Thanks for sipping somelemonade with us.
We.
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