Use Sales Skills Training Materials to Master the Art of Handling Difficult People

Every now and then you may find yourself on the phone with a difficult caller. Someone might be complaining about your products and services or want to express their unhappiness about something related to you or your organisation. These calls can become quite emotional and may put you off completely if handled wrongly. Fortunately there are techniques you can use to remain in control of the conversation and address the needs of the caller. This article explores a number of useful telephone skills techniques.

Understanding Your Caller

First you must understand that your caller is a customer, a potential client and someone that can bring more business to your company. If you handle it well, you customer will not leave you for your competitor and is likely to stick with you or be impressed by you having handled their issue well. After all, good telephone skills is also good sales skills.

Don’t Blame it On Others

If your caller is upset about something, don’t dismiss their feelings or blame your colleague on mishandling them. A customer will see you and your colleague as part of one entity; your company. Usually, when someone is upset and difficult is because they think they have been treated unfairly. Passing the buck only confirms their fear that they are indeed treated unfairly and they would get even angrier. Instead, you should move the conversation away from blame to finding common ground and a solution that is satisfactory to both of you. This allows you to move forward.

Listening Skills

A critical part of telephone skills when handling difficult people is to listen to them carefully and show that you are indeed listening. When they talk, don’t interrupt them. This allows them to express their concern fully. Remember, callers who are upset might just be interested to voice their concern and simply want to be heard. That might just be enough to cool them down and let them get it off their chest. By not interrupting them, you allow them to fully explain their side of the story.

Listening skills is a critical part of telephone skills. Use active listening to show that you understand your caller. It means that you should state what they tell you in your own words back at them. This way they will be convinced that you have been listening and also minimises any chances of miscommunication. Take notes while you are listening to prepare your statements when the time comes to say them.

Empathy

An angry caller is distressed and is potentially emotional. A great way to communicate with them is to empathise with them. Say, “sorry”. It’s a simple word. It doesn’t mean that you accept everything they say, but it is a powerful word that suggests you are prepared to correct your actions (or company’s actions) when necessary. People who refuse to say sorry would appear more arrogant and can entice the caller into a more confrontational state.

Emotions Are Contagious

If you shout back to an angry caller, your caller will not become less angry. To stop the escalation, you need to do the opposite. This means you need to remain calm and non-confrontational. This is usually easier said than done especially when you are under verbal attack. However, you should always be aware that as soon as you get emotional and angry, you are moving away from resolving the conflict and are escalating the situation. The only way to resolve it and establish a common ground is to reduce the emotional level of the conversation which is entirely up to you. Use time, take a deep breath, ask to call back, smile and remain calm to handle difficult calls.

A great way to practice handling difficult people and telephone skills is by getting trained in a controlled environment. Organisations can also benefit from telephone skills training materials to set up their own customer courses and reduce their training costs.