During Call Challenger Observation Guide |
Key Skills |
Good Behaviors (Do) |
Bad Behaviors (Do Not) |
Service |
Communication/ Customer Presence |
- Easily adapts communication style to various audiences
- Engages team in two-way communication by regularly communicating and soliciting feedback.
- Listens for understanding
- Is able to influence a decision or outcome on both routine and difficult topics by reading the customer and changing tactics or approach when needed
- Constructs a series of questions that leads to productive and collaborative dialogue in a variety of settings (e.g., in dissimilar, hostile, or highly charged situations)
- Gets to the point
- Is confident and credible in front of customer. Stays upbeat, positive words and body language
- Acts as the 'front line ambassador' for ABC's capabilities
- Conversation is customer centric
- Messages are consistent with what the SE is presenting
- Is comfortable with silence in order to give the customer time to think and process information
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- Uses the same communication style with all customers
- Talks at the customer instead of encouraging a two- way dialog
- Speaks up prematurely to fill extended pauses/silence
- Selectively listens only for those things that support the call objective, ignores everything else, does not acknowledge or respond to what the customer is saying. Asks repetitive questions
- Is unable to accurately read the customer and adapt their approach
- Asks only superficial questions that don’t really engage the customer in a thoughtful dialogue
- Displays body language that communicates lack of confidence, defensiveness or discomfort
- Conversation is ABC centric
- Messages are contrary or inconsistent with what the
SE is presenting
- Is uncomfortable with silence, fills the silence or changes the conversation
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Problem Solving |
- Empathizes with the customer. Acknowledges any customer frustration and where they are coming from
- Demonstrates understanding of the problem.
- Goes to the main source (who initiated the complaint)
- Is curious and asks questions to understand the details and clarify the issue
- Can simplify complex issues. Tries to get below the surface and makes sure the root cause of the customer’s complaint has been identified.
- Creates detailed action plans that solve for issues with ABDC solutions and services
- Confidently creates an implementation strategy to resolve the problem
- Engages/delegates to the correct internal business partner
- Helps break down service silos and creates and collaborates with internal business partners for success
- Owns the process until the issue is resolved
- Summarizes at completion to make sure the details or resolutions are accurate
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- Sympathizes and commiserates with the customer
- Uses internal ABC lingo or acronyms and assumes the customer knows what they mean
- Dismisses the problem as no big deal
- Avoids asking questions (doesn’t want to dredge up something that might upset the customer more)
- Does not speak directly to the person with the issue. Relies only on 2nd hand anecdotes about the problem
- Accepts customer’s generalizations (everything is wrong with my order) and agrees to customer requests without investigating the issue to fully to understand root cause
- Assumes they know what the customer’s problem is (e.g., seen this before)
- Automatically assumes that the problem is on the customer’s end. Or automatically assumes ABC is at fault
- Delegates the problem without identifying an issue resolution strategy
- Blames lack of resolution on internal business partners
- Takes an out-of-sight out-of-mind mentality once this issue has been delegated to an internal business partner
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Individual effectiveness/ Proactivity/ Time Management |
- Has a goal for the call in mind
- Extremely motivated to accomplish set goals
- Prioritizes energy and resources on the highest value activities
- Holds self accountable for outcomes
- Persists regardless of trials or roadblocks
- Commits to a timeline for goals or customer follow-up, keeps commitments
- Keeps the customer continually informed of progress, or the lack thereof (and why), in a timely manner
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- Doesn’t have a call objective, plays it by ear (sees where the conversation goes)
- Procrastinates or does nothing and hopes that the customer forgets or that it works itself out
- Blames others (customer or internal resources) for sub-optimal outcomes
- Backs off when faced with roadblocks
- Does not commit to a timeline for goals or customer follow up and/or does not keep commitments.
- Leaves a message with follow-up information, but doesn’t follow up again to ensure it was received by the right person or to see if there were additional questions
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Teach |
Offers Unique Perspective |
- Understands the customer's unique situation and top priorities and verifies this by sharing relevant insights to lead to current challenges and areas of focus
- Prepares a theory or hypothesis regarding the customer's needs which is tested during the conversation
- Challenges the customer to think differently about their business
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- Leads with a discussion of products
- Bombards the customer with excessive questions
- Introduces a solution immediately
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Two-Way Communication |
- Emphasizes that she/he seeks to partner/collaborate to help achieve the customer's objectives
- Confirms the customer understands and is interested before proceeding
- Looks for verbal and physical cues to see if the customer is surprised or interested
- Asks open questions to help uncover valuable information about the customer’s organization
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- Asks them to repeat information they have previously given
- Discusses the specific offering without generating interest/confirming intent
- Moves forward without fully engaging the customer and validating pain points/challenge areas
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Tailor |
Knows Customer Value Drivers |
- Presents information in an easy-to-understand format
- Presents a realistic end result
- Establishes how an opportunity directly impacts the contact’s business success
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- Presents challenges that SE will not be able to solve or that are irrelevant to the customer
- Uses unrealistic data or irrelevant examples to support arguments
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Creates a Customer-Centric Value Proposition |
- Customizes messages to the customer according to the four tailoring lenses: industry, company, role, and individual
- Arms the customer with the data or information to back up assertions
- Delivers a message that can easily be shared internally within the customer's organization
- Thinks through their strategy for each customer contact–knows conversation will vary based on the role and communication preferences of the customer they are speaking with
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- Uses generic language that isn’t specific to the customer’s industry, company, and/or role
- Thinks they can create a complete business case for the customer; does not give the customer the data they need to construct it themselves
- Introduces a solution to the business problem prematurely
- Leads with their own personal agenda instead of first grounding the conversation in customer’s operating environment
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Take Control |
Is Comfortable Discussing Money/ROI |
- Focuses on the value of the solution—the pain points it solves and the value created for the customer
- Demonstrates how their solution creates unique value
- Proves that ABDC has the capability to provide the solution and that it will work
- Is able to acknowledge and delay price requests to appropriate time in the conversation
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- Introduces the details of ABDC’s offering too early (does not gain agreement to the value of the general solution first)
- Leads with a pricing discussion on the first call; does not get the customer to focus and acknowledge the value first
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Creates Constructive Tension to Drive Action |
- Tests whether the customer is bought in to the solution
- Anticipates any objections the customer may have to the proposed solution and is prepared to respond
- Understands and articulates the outcome they are hoping to achieve by the end of the conversation
- Gains the customer's confidence and support of the solution
- Creates a sense of urgency to drive the sales process
- Involves the appropriate internal customer contacts in these conversations
- Clearly explains next steps and guides the buying process
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- Introduces a solution that is not aligned with ABDC’s value proposition
- Leaves the conversation open-ended without clarity on next steps/firm agreements to move process forward
- Masks powerful requests amid run-on sentences, reducing their impact
- Agrees to customer requests without asking questions to understand the customer’s motivation
- Speaks up prematurely to fill extended pauses/silence
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