Customer Service Training Tips Opening

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Opening a session well is vital to both the beginning and outcome of a session. Build a sound foundation right from the start.

You will have done your planning and your preparation, and now you need to make sure you get your customer service training off to the best possible start.

Whenever a training session doesn't go according to plan, think back and you'll often find something not quite right at the beginning; in the first session of your opening.

You'll need to extend a warm welcome, to break the ice, to settle the nervous down, but mostly you need to establish your credibility and relationship with everyone in the room.

Customer Service Training Tips Opening #1 Welcome

Welcome the participants with a big smile.

It goes a long way, you feel better, they can see you are human. This is the time when they are sussing you out, so make your first impressions count.

Customer Service Training Tips Opening #2 Observe

If the welcome is the time when the participants are sussing you out, you ought to be doing the same.

Observe people, who are the nervous ones, the quiet ones, the resistant ones, the enthusiastic. Instead of making subconscious subjective decisions about people, tune in to them and their perception of the training. This will help you to focus on how you can be most useful to them during the time they are with you.

Customer Service Training Tips Opening Tip #3 Introduction

Introduce yourself quickly. The participants are not interested in your career history. They are interested in whether you are going to be good to work with.

Opening Training Tip #4 Behavior

Model the behavior you want right from the beginning.

Opening Training Tip #5 Get People Talking

Get people talking early.

In the first five minutes.

Otherwise you are sending a strong signal that low participation is OK, and that you are there to talk, and they are there to listen. People don't learn by being talked at. Talking isn't training.

We've got lots of ideas for you around ice-breakers and also some guidance on using ice breakers

Opening Training Tip #6 'Why'

Adult learners need to understand the "why" behind the training. "You're on a customer service training course because our CEO wants you to be customer focused" isn't very persuasive!

What are the real reasons for the training that will benefit participants.

If you can't answer this question clearly, then you will have a BIG challenge with the training itself.

That's why you should be thinking about the why, in both your business case and your preparation.

Opening Training Tip #7 First impressions

Whenever a training session doesn't go according to plan, think back and you'll often find something not quite right at the beginning; in the first session of your opening.

Do not underestimate the importance of the first impressions of you and the training session. You are aiming for credible, helpful, human, and enthusiastic about customer service and the organization where the training is taking place.

Effective training

If you are an experienced skills trainer, and would like to learn more about how to deliver Effective Training, there is a great paper available.

The paper looks in detail at how to begin a training course successfully so that you achieve most from the training, and create the conditions for a depth of learning, that is useful to the individual participants. Find out more here