Making a connection over the phone is difficult in the best situations. Customer service and sales professionals have to engender trust and form a relationship with guarded, stressed or hostile individuals. Advanced listening strategies can help you make First Notice of Loss situations a better experience for everyone.
More Than Active Listening
Active listening skills are an important part of customer related positions. However, in situations such as FNOL calls, basic listening skills aren’t enough. Repeating what the customer says verbatim may show you were listening, but doesn’t show you comprehend the situation.
Advanced active listening skills include:
- Listening for verbal cues
- Repeating what the customer said in your own words
- Confirm that you heard the customer correctly
- Ask relevant questions to close the conversation
Listening for verbal cues will help you understand key pieces of information, even if they don’t say everything you need out loud to complete your forms. Jotting down information will help you rephrase what the customer said and form the relevant questions you will ask.
Confirming what you heard after you rephrase what the customer told you is important. Many people will point out if you misheard a point, however in stressful situations such as a FNOL call, customers may not catch discrepancies.
Therefore, it is important to ask them directly if you understood what they were trying to say. This will help ensure you complete the forms correctly and will avoid issues with the claim later in the process.
Asking relevant questions will show your experience and reduce the customer’s stress level. Nothing makes people more frustrated than being asked pointless questions they may have already answered. Only ask what is necessary to complete the form and then move on to what the customer has to do next to complete the FNOL process.
Using these techniques will help engender trust early in the conversation and make the FNOL call successful. You will be able to complete the forms accurately and you will improve the customer experience. For more claims handling and first notice of loss expert tips, contact the experts at Actec today.