Book Description
CEOs regularly announce ambitious growth targets, then fail to achieve them. The reason? Their growing addiction to bad profits. These corporate steroids boost short-term earnings but alienate customers. They undermine growth by creating legions of detractors—customers who complain loudly about the company and switch to competitors at the earliest opportunity.
Based on extensive research, The Ultimate Question shows how companies can rigorously measure Net Promoter statistics, help managers improve them, and create communities of passionate advocates that stimulate innovation. Vivid stories from leading-edge organizations illustrate the ideas in practice.
Practical and compelling, this is the one book—and the one tool—no growth-minded leader can afford to miss.
Customer Reviews:
Too Good to Be True.......2007-09-13
I gotta admit I was taken in by the book, but the problem comes in when you attempt to link the NPS score to any performance measure. The academics have all but refuted Reicheld's claims. Unfortunately, statistics matter and the best way to measure something with a survey is to use a multiple item, multiple measured scale. However, NPS does have some redeeming qualities, in focusing mangement behind one number. Many academics are recommending that if you must use NPS to use it along with other traditional statistical measures.
A Great Book for Customer Service & Marketing.......2007-08-28
Fred does a very good job at explaining that your best & foremost marketing tool are your employees. His Net Promoter Score (NPS) system he has developed is an innovation for the corporate world and I believe is the way forward.
The book is well documented and gives you step by step infoon how to implement the NPS system within your company.
J C Miller.......2007-07-30
IF you want to truly find out what your customers are thinking about your business this book is a must read. It teaches you how to equate customer satisfaction into tangable profit dollars. It helps effectively use the customer feedback to get your employees delivering service beyond expectation!
It's about time to state the obvious !.......2007-07-19
We can finally begin to realize that the very customers that use our services are the same ones that resent being "surveyed" into oblivion !
Only the very best companies can sustain somewhat correct feedback to begin with. I only wondered how long it would take for business leaders to stop abusing your best customers with long questionaires that may not even be relavant to the shopping experience. This may not be the ultimate destination for determining consumer needs but it is a great start in the right direction and an opportunity to save all the wasted money on self centered and manipulated customer focus groups.
There's A Better Alternative.......2007-07-19
I wish that I could have given this book a higher rating. I loved Mr. Reichheld's impassioned admonition against "bad profits," which he defines as profits made at the expense of customers. I also agree with him that good surveys are short surveys. You might want to buy this book for these two reasons alone. The bold proclamation that he has discovered The Ultimate Question, however, is like proclaiming that the check-engine light is the ultimate dashboard gauge.
Psychometrically, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a difference score that is based upon a single-item rating scale, and such scores can be very problematic. Albert M. Wilburn has already pointed out that different distributions of ratings can yield the same NPS, and that these distributions "probably differ in their implications on repurchase behavior." Notwithstanding, in Appendix A, Reichheld provides some evidence the NPS approach can work, and he is honest enough to disclose that it doesn't always work. Between the admonition against "bad profits" and Appendix A, there are a lot of stories.
There is an alternative to the NPS that has a more established track record. In 1994, Bradley T. Gale published Managing Customer Value, which disclosed AT&T's finding that the ratio of the perceived value of a company's products or services to that of its competitors is predictive of changes in market share. Since then, this finding has been reproduced in a variety of contexts worldwide. The methodology that surrounds the perceived-value ratio, Customer Value Analysis, estimates the impacts of the various price and non-price attributes that drive customers' value perceptions. This methodology is best described in Customer Value Management: A Guide for Your Journey to Best-Practice Processes by Khalid Hafiz and Scott Hendricks (Houston: APQC, 2001). Buy this little book either instead of, or along with, The Ultimate Question.
Book Description
Help your employees to excel in dealing with the public with this stimulating, fun-filled collection of customer service training games. Designed not only to teach important skills but also to spark enthusiasm and a high level of involvement in the participants, these games utilize entertaining and instructive techniques such as role-playing, charades, brainstorming, and debate. As a result of these exercises, employees will learn how to create a rapport with the customer, how to focus on the unique needs of individual customers, how to maintain a positive attitude, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Did not buy this item.......2007-05-03
Don't know why this is here as I never purchased this item.
The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games (Big Book of Business Games).......2007-04-11
This would be a great book for a new trainer, but not for a seasoned professional. There are not enough "fun" games in this book. Many of the games are just meant intiate a discussion about a topic. I was under the impression that the games would be more interactive.
Best for active customer service training and seminars.......2006-10-05
Pick and choose as you wish. It added spice and enthusiasm to my meirc customer service training in dubai.
Customer Service Made Easy!.......2006-08-10
Easy to read book with great games, tips, ideas for elevating the level of customer service by your staff. Most projects take only about 15 minutes of staff time. Minimal props needed - paper, pens, flipchart and a few hand-outs. All activities invite group interaction, tips on coping with negative feedback and lessons about how to continually improve customer service skills while focusing on the value of the staff. I'm using it with the non-medical staff in a hospital setting.
Very useful.......2006-07-20
This book rounded out my new customer service training with the perfect activities. There were plenty of options to choose from in each section. There were so many, that I had trouble narrowing down which ones to use. I did the first training today and I'm surprised how much my staff liked the activities. I'm really glad that I purchased this book while putting the training together.
Book Description
This book fills the huge gap between what companies and clients expect from coaching and what it actually does for them. Zeroing in on this popular technique to develop today's leaders, improve performance, and facilitate change, the book shows how to deliver coaching that helps anyone achieve extraordinary results.
Customer Reviews:
Best Coaching Book I've Read.......2005-08-03
What I like about this book are the concrete examples they give of "almost" coaching and best coaching. The best coaching book I've read. Recommended it to all laypeople looking to be better coaches.
Research-Based Approach Raises Coaching to a New Level.......2003-10-13
Over the past decade, the concept of coaching in the business world has become so ingrained that it's part of the landscape. A wide range of conversations, methods of feedback delivery, and relationships have been accepted as coaching in a rather loose collection of techniques...and results. As we move into an increasingly challenging period for employers, leaders must become substantially more effective at this process we describe as coaching. A whole new generation of leaders must be taught, coached, and brought to a higher level of performance.
Bacon and Spears, experienced in coaching more than 2,000 individual clients in Fortune 500 companies, share their knowledge and experience. Their researched-based approach emphasizes the skills needed by coaches and that coaching styles must be adapted to what the client needs. The eight styles they identify are directive (teacher, parent, manager, philosopher) and non-directive (facilitator, counselor, colleague, mentor). This model alone will expand, deepen, and enrich the work done by the vast majority of coaches in the corporate world.
The book offers even more, delivering checklists, assessment tools, tips and tools, and a wealth of sample coach-client dialogues. Recognizing the special opportunities the future will hold, the authors include insights into coaching across cultures, across generations, as well as coaching women, minorities, and C-level executives.
An epilogue with even more perspectives adds value to this volume, as do the reference section and comprehensive index. This is not a book for readers who simply want to gain a few insights into improving their coaching effectiveness. You'll learn, but you'll be overwhelmed. Adaptive Coaching is like a college textbook on the topic. It's a heavy, deep, and thorough treatment with relatively small type. The $39.95 price suggests that this is more than the average airplane reading management book...and it is. If you're serious about the critical and fine art of coaching in the complicated corporate environment, you'll gain considerable knowledge, insight, and growth from this book.
Side note: I am the author of Impending Crisis: Too Many Jobs, Too Few People. As a workforce futurist, I see what's coming... including a dangerous dearth of leadership. Application of the principles in this book will help today's leaders strengthen each other and the next generation of leaders.
Book Description
Tools for pleasing even the most demanding customers
A satisfied customer is a loyal customer, and in today's supercompetitive business economy few things are as crucial to a company's bottom line as the quality of its customer service. This latest title in the popular Perfect Phrases series is just the thing for customer service employees and those who train and manage them. Perfect Phrases for Customer Service gets you quickly up and running with everything you need to keep customers happy and loyal, including:
Customer Reviews:
Quick and easy read, lots of valuable tips.......2007-08-31
This book is succinct and easy to reference. I have 20+ years customer service experience and WOULD recommend this book to anyone who is open-minded to trying new tools and techniques. If you are having trouble with customers, change your approach. This book will help you do just that.
What the world needs now is more customer service!
Short, practical, concise help for dealing with customers.......2005-04-28
The book begins with a section outlining some sixty specific customer service techniques, and describes each of them. Some are very basic, and some are more advanced, particularly those that deal with dealing with angry customers, or preventing problems with customers from escalating and becoming time consuming.
But that's not the meat of the book, or what makes the book so useful. The rest of the book contains about sixty vignettes or dialogues between customers and staff, showing how the various situations SHOULD be handled. Each vignette is short, and to the point and the information for each one can be assimilated and learned from in a very few minutes.
I like this book because it can be used in so many ways. You can sit and read it through. You can browse it and just read the parts that you want help with. You can read one or two vignettes, and learn one or two skills a day, since each segment really stands on its own. It's a great source book to use in customer service training, because it's all there -- techniques, and how to use them.
It's low priced. It's quick to learn from. And it's real. Most of the vignettes struck home with me. I bet I've had most of these situations.
If there's a better, faster book to learn how to deal with customers (especially the difficult customers), I haven't found it yet.
Lots of Bad Advice!!!! An Awful Book :( .......2005-04-21
I've been in the customer service field for 15 years, and this is, hands down, the worst customer service book I've ever read! The techniques listed are truly awful. In every situation I put myself in the customer's position and if the person helping me followed these techniques - I would quickly become an angry customer or insulted and never visit that establishment again. The author lists the exact wrong things to do to provide good customer service, yet he presents them as good techniques and the right thing to do. Awful! I think Mr. Bascal didn't pay attention to the title of his book - it is NOT entitled "Perfect Ways to Enrage Your Customers."
The first part of the book the author labors on and on about how "allegedly" great his book is and then proceeds to take 15 pages to explain the set up of his book - which could be done in two or three sentences. He then outlines his very bad techniques in the second section, and the third section he gives examples of how to put these outrageous techniques in to action.
Whatever you do, do NOT buy this book. And most importantly, do not let your employees read this book!!! I would hate to see anyone putting these stupid and customer enraging/insulting tecniques in to practice.
Book Description
If the true face of any organization is its customer service people, then nothing is more important than the training of these crucial employees. Customer Service Training 101 offers an easy-to-implement approach for busy managers and trainers seeking to motivate their people and equip them with the tools they need to excel in this essential role. Featuring interactive lessons that can be adapted for any type of business and for any type of trainee, this ready-to-use guide addresses important customer service areas including: * making a good first impression * projecting a positive attitude * communicating effectively through verbal, nonverbal, and listening skills * developing trust, establishing rapport, and making customers feel valued * confidently handling "difficult" customers and situations * interacting effectively face-to-face, and via telephone and e-mail The professionalism and enthusiasm of frontline employees reflect directly on the company they represent. Packed with powerful, proven ideas, this inspiring, comprehensive training manual will pave the way to superior customer service.
Customer Reviews:
Great Primer.......2007-02-16
I am new to the Customer Service arena and I found this book to be very useful. The information goes beyond the common sense approach to customer service (treat people the way you want to be treated).
It is a training manual for those who what to learn about cusomer service or to use to teach others customer service. It also includes checklists and worksheets you can use to train customer service.
It is easy to read and very interesting, meaning it wasn't written like a text book.
As I said, I am new to customer service and I found the book very helpful to me. This was my first customer service book I read, and I have since read a couple more books and they essentially say the same things as Customer Service Training 101.
I have been recommending this book to others as a good customer service primer.
Customer Satisfaction.......2005-09-16
Renee Evenson's first two books ("Customer Service 101: Basic Lessons To Be Your Best" and "Customer Service 201: Managing Your People To Be Their Best")were invaluable in training our information desk staff how to meet and greet the public. The two books contain a wealth of practical, good-sense suggestions and information about how to provide exceptional customer service.
"Customer Service Training 101" covers much of the same ground, but is presented in a format that enables a trainer to effectively and efficiently teach employees the customer care concepts necessary to "get great results." Evenson covers everything from communication and ethical issues to relationship building, difficult customer contacts, and e-commerce.
"Customer Service Training 101" is the best and most thorough publication on the subject of customer care that I've encountered to-date. The book is packed with valuable information. In each chapter, Evenson includes general information on the topic at hand, presents a brief scenario of a situation not handled well, outlines the key points covered in the chapter and explains each point in depth, step-by-step. She follows that up with a scenario where the situation is handled correctly, a summary of key points and steps, an interactive training lesson, and excellent "quick quotations for memory joggers." Tips and topics for group brainstorming sessions are also included.
The book is well-written, thorough, and easy to understand. If you've been searching for the definitive work on customer service, search no more. This is it!
Is your Customer Service World Class?.......2005-09-04
Imagine your company's reputation as having World Class customer service! Sound good? I have been in the customer service industry for 26 years and this book is your answer. It has excellent tips to get your employees the help they need to be World Class. The steps are easy, fun, practical and valuable. You will see immediate changes in your employees. No expense on professional trainers, the book has it all. This is the first customer service help book that hit the BULLSEYE!
Excellent resource for customer service employees.......2005-08-24
"The finest "hands-on" customer service handbook ever."
Rev. Barbara M. Laucks
Great read!.......2005-08-24
This book is easy to read, easy to implement and addresses critical customer service training areas. It covers everything from how to make a great impression and communicate effectively to how to handle difficult customers. Great read for anyone in the customer service field.
Book Description
The Customer Service Training Tool Kit contains 40 activities designed to make customer service training more fun, engaging, and behavior-changing for customer service reps. Trainers can use group activities, role plays, questionnaires, and other exercises "as is" in 30-60 minute training modules or combine them to create longer training programs. The book is full of reproducible participant handouts, worksheets, questionnaires, and overhead masters to make the trainer's job easy. Trainers who, as part of their customer training program, want to give to each participant a brief, motivational handbook reinforcing many of the ideas behind the training activities can obtain copies of the authors' accompanying book, Super service, The Customer Service Training Tool Kit makes it easy for a trainer to design and deliver great customer service training at a fraction of the time it would take to develop a program from scratch.
Customer Reviews:
Training Exercises.......2007-01-19
The 60 activities provide a lot of ideas. Some of the activities need to be updated or reworked to make them more applicable to current markets. The book really helps in getting some ideas ready for the training meetings I conduct.
Very useful.......2006-07-25
Designing activities for training is a art, it's not easy. it takes long time to place year of experiences in a book of activities for developing competences. In my opinión it's has been Jeff Gee' succes. I feel his expertise in each activity.
Hot topic.......2000-07-22
Customer Service is key to any business and this book is a great tool for teaching people how to deliver great service.
Ties in well with Super Service.......2000-07-19
It's not every day that a training book 'ties' in with another book by the same authors. All the activities in The Customer Service Training Tool Kit are discussed in more detail in Super Service, so I was able to give my people a copy of Super Service to take away with them. This way, the learning continues!
Just Right For My Audience.......2000-07-14
I liked the 'find the activity that's just right for your audience' at the very beginning of the book. I picked the 'moments of truth' activity. A Moment of Truth is defined as an opportunity for the customer to form a positive or negative impression of you/and your company. It was a 3 hour workshop that centered around the idea that "every interaction with an internal or an external customer impacts the business one way or another." We discussed how the group can improve each Moment of Truth.
Book Description
Managing and Motivating Contact Center Employees reveals how to boost morale, streamline business processes, and inspire outstanding performance from frontline sales and service staff.
This creative and practical book gives instant help to anyone who knows the difficulties of managing in the diverse and dynamic contact center environment.
Download Description
Managing and Motivating Contact Center Employees reveals how to boost morale, streamline business processes, and inspire outstanding performance from frontline sales and service staff.
Customer Reviews:
An Insult to Every Contact Center Employee's Intelligence.......2007-05-24
I have now worked at two separate contact/call centers and I am always mystified as to why management has to treat employees so shabbily that it predisposes them to hate the company. It seems gratuitous and stupid, but I suppose that the "geniuses" who come up with these so-called employee motivating tactics never think for a moment that the employees might just have brains/feelings. Motivating techniques that I have seen first-hand involve infantile and immature contests that remind one of elementary school, and not of a serious company running a business. Prizes are often balloons handed to employees, blowing whistles and clapping when an employee receives a compliment from a customer while the managers/leads stand around the employee's desk for the whole call center to see and emulate, or an occasional sandwich/pizza delivered to the office for employees to partake. Of course, these are meant to take the place of REAL recognition like paying employees wages they can actually live on, or promoting them to higher jobs. Working conditions at call centers are notoriously bad: employees are expected to handle each call in 2 to 3 minutes at most while at the same time maintaining a high degree of quality service. Goes to show you how "sincere" companies are about keeping customers happy. The end result is a high employee turnover rate, and for those that stay, tension and fatigue is the order of the day.
So, the next time you call an 800 number to reach your bank, utility company, supermarket, or department store, please keep in mind what is going on behind the scenes. Hopefully, some day the government watchdog agencies that regulate the workplace will realize that much needs to be done to improve call center work.
Excellent advice based on reality!.......2007-02-11
From the moment I opened this book, I could tell the people who wrote it had worked in call centers. The advice is comprehensive and throughout the book they offer resources for additional information. If you have to give feedback to call center employees, get this book! If you are a new or seasoned call center manager, get this book. If you need to motivate call center employees, get this book! It is worth the money. I have purchased several books in this genre. This book and the book "Why Employees Don't Do What You Want..." by Fournies have turned out to be the most useful.
Good information with actionable suggestions.......2005-09-06
I was able to implement the ideas from this book in my call center.
A must have for your contact center library.......2003-12-12
Impact Learning International has done it again! There is no contact center topic more important than that of focusing on the biggest expense and the greatest asset...your people. Impact Learning provides excellent advice and practical help in a fun and understandable way. It is based on their many years of experience coaching and training in the contact center industry. I refer to my copy all of the time and have given away several copies to contact center managers. You MUST have a copy of this book in your business library!
Book Description
The prospecting methodologies at the heart of this system have been at the root of sales success for years; this system incorporates much more! Russell has integrated the fundamental elements of sales success into an efficient leads generation and CRM system. Systems are the best partner to any business. The gain in efficiency however makes it more beneficial to the Real Estate Professional because most are one person operations. This system is designed to produce results! You will learn to: • generate leads via proven methods • grow your referral base • initiate CRM campaigns • master the 2 minute phone call • database 100 new contacts in 4 weeks • convert contacts to leads • convert leads to transactions • EARN 20% MORE than the average agent! System covers advanced skills for dealing with clients, provides each reader with a "warehouse" of objection-handling techniques and call scripts. You will learn to incorporate prospecting protocols into your daily routine to gain competitive advantage.
Customer Reviews:
Wrong Title.......2007-08-16
Just bought this book and finished reading it in less then 1hour. It is not a book about the ABC's of Prospecting, it's about TIME MANAGMENT. I recommend you looking for other prospecting books.
Great prospecting book........2007-07-28
This book is so good that I read it in 2 sittings (would have been 1 but I started pretty late the first night).
Dameon provides an excellent description of his proprietary process for prospecting/lead developing that even new agents (read me!) can understand. He also fully explains Customer Relationship Management and touches on the applicable technology. Note: IMHO - the CRM and tools discussed apply to any sales process - not just real estate.
I especially like that he doesn't focus on "old school" methods like door knocking and cold calling; yet, he gives a very realistic method for filling the pipeline.
Nothing new here, just the same old stuff.......2007-07-16
This is another one of those "smile and dial" books. Make more calls and you'll succeed, yadda yadda. It doesn't give any actual system for prospecting except to have high activity, well okay but that's old news, and in today's very tough market you need to be smarter than that. The author does tell you to use drip marketing, and that's true, but the methods here are outdated and already used by every realtor in America so they're not effective.
I'm not sure what the point of this book is, maybe the author is touting the old-style methods in order to gain favor with the old-fashioned executives out there so he can get paid speaking gigs. I didn't find anything that most realtors didn't already know and what's worse is that it takes more than lots of "smile and dial" activity and overused drip marketing methods in today's market that's in bad shape.
Great Book!!.......2007-07-14
It's a great guidance book for someone who's new in the Real Estate bussiness and doesn't know how to start prospecting.
Repetitive, but good.......2007-06-14
I found this book to be somewhat repetitive in it's message - but it was a good read nonetheless. If I had to sum up what I got from it: Build, Work and Prosper from your database. I agree that it's a great way to do business, but it takes time to get enough names. Certainly worth the time to read it and the cost. I will keep it on my bookshelf and will probably refer to it because of the suggestions at the end.
Book Description
Companies worldwide continue to seek new growth opportunities by establishing professional services to complement their current company portfolio. These professional service organizations are being chartered to secure high margin streams of revenue, improve customer satisfaction, and solidify customer loyalty. However, many of these companies have little experience building and managing a professional services organization. This lack of experience is creating incredible organizational pain. Not just product companies are struggling in their attempts to create profitable and effective professional service organizations. System integrators and value added resellers that must incorporate complicated technologies into their service offerings are struggling to scale service capabilities. Outsourcing and managed service providers that now want to provide consultative support are learning there are significant differences in these service lines. Many times, the current professional service strategy for these companies is simply not sustainable. Mastering Professional Services is the first book to guide acompany through the process of designing a viable services strategy that complements a broader company portfolio. From the author of Building Professional Services: The Siren’s Song, this book continues the tradition of providing practical tools and techniques to manage professional services when it is not the core offering of the company.
Customer Reviews:
If you're new to the PS management ranks, the book is a MUST.......2007-04-07
All I can say is that this book covers absolutely all the bases. If you've been in PS for 17 yrs like me, there is nothing earth shattering about the book, but what astounds is how completely the book explains the planning and organization. It was a terrific refresher. If you're new to the PS management ranks, the book is a MUST and will really help you be more successful, and avoid some common landmines. The book did gloss over the partner questions, and the natural conflicts inherit in the partner channel. But that's what channel managers are for. :)
A great read for anyone managing Professional Services.......2007-01-16
I felt that Thomas Lah really nailed this subject. As someone responsible for a Professional Services organization, Thomas provides some clear concepts and practical information for helping to build a PS strategy. The use of frameworks to help mentally model a solution was great for someone that grew up in a structured programming mindset. I think every manager of Professional Services should read this book.
Book Description
Call Center Forecasting & Scheduling There is simply no way to establish and operate an effective call center environment without a solid understanding of the principles behind forecasting, staffing, scheduling, service level, queuing dynamics and real-time management. Originally published in the pages of Call Center Management Review, these articles were selected for their educational value, practicality, and most importantly, coverage of timeless call center management principles. 104 pages, paperback, more than 35 charts and graphs.
Customer Reviews:
A Treasure Chest.......2004-02-19
This is a short book which takes little time in bringing the substance to the surface. It is a compilation of articles from the journal, "Call Center Management Review". The authors do not take the time to "be nice." It is short, to the point, and of vital help to the first time call center manager. Picking up some of the "shorthand" references isn't difficult, but necessary.
Call Center Basics all rolled into one book!.......2001-04-12
I found this book enlightening. It's a small book with lots of information. It reviews forcasting call volumes using quantative and judgemental approaches. It discusses call center basics such as the nature of an incoming call and the Pooling Principle. It touches on staffing and getting the people where they need to be at the right time. For a call center veteran like me, it help to reinforce and improve my knowledge. For anyone new to a call center, it's a great book to learn the dynamics of call center operation.
Books:
- Total Construction Project Management
- Tropical Modern
- What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)
- When Bad Things Happen to Good People
- Wooden
- Your Career: How to Make it Happen (with CD-ROM)
- Z.B.A.: Zen of Business Administration - How Zen Practice Can Transform Your Work And Your Life
- 101 Best Resumes: Endorsed by the Professional Association of Resume Writers
- 201 Best Questions To Ask On Your Interview
- Aligning the Stars
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Pigeon Has Feelings, Too!, The
- History: Fiction or Science
- Clever as a Fox: Animal Intelligence and What It Can Teach Us about Ourselves
- Event-Cities 2
- Gelede: Art and Female Power Among the Yoruba
- Hank Rosso's Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising
- Joy of Cooking: All About Chicken
- Smart Storage: Stylish Solutions for Every Room in Your Home
- Colloquial Japanese With Important Construction and Grammar Notes
- Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value
The Ultimate Question
Loyalty Rules: How Today's Leaders Build Lasting Relationships
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
Chief Customer Officer : Getting Past Lip Service to Passionate Action
