Workshop
By
Maxwell Ranasinghe
“
“All employees are marketers”
A workshop conducted by Maxwell Ranasinghe
on 21st December 2013 to a leading company in
Sri Lanka
( specific company details, related matters and
case studies are deleted but anybody could use
this for any training purpose of members of its
own staff)


Like many
business owners
and leaders, you
may see marketing
as the sole
responsibility of
your Marketing
Department.


Among many other
things, your
marketing
department is
charged with the
task of
Understanding
customers,
competitors,
proposing what to be
manufactured, how
products be
branded, sold,priced,
advertised, and
distributed,

But you will realize very well today that
marketing is not just the responsibility
of your Marketing Department.
 You will believe that sales and
marketing are the responsibility of
EVERY single employee from top to
bottom of your organisation


Your company makes a promise to
your customers.
 Everybody in the company is a part of
the team delivers that promise


It could be you Security Guard, Receptionist, Tea maker, Cashier,
Mechanic, Engineer, Computer Operator, Accountant, Manager,
Director, Clerk, Office Assistant, Delivery Assistant, Driver or even
the cleaner are all part of that story and are all responsible.


It's about everybody in your company being
united in delivering the promise that made
through your marketing message which
brought your new customer to you in the
first place, and giving them more and more
reasons to repeat buy from you and
recommend you.

It is easy to persuade a customer to come to you
because of your big marketing promise and the
high expectation your creative marketing team has
put out into the market place.
But likewise it is all too easy for that promise to be
broken for your customers disappointment.
 Unless everybody in your company sees
themselves as members of a team game you
cannot deliver that.


Football Team
It isn't just the forwards who are charged with the
responsibility for scoring goals, but ALL eleven team
members.
 The primary purpose of a football match is to score
more
goals than your competitor, and this is the
responsibility of ALL players.
 Every player, regardless of their named position, has
their
own specific function they must take care of
(goalkeeper,
defender, midfielder) but ultimately the contribution they
each make is to score more goals than the opposition
and
win the game.


It is almost unheard of for a forward to
score a goal without some assistance
from one of the other ten players on
his team.
 In football, ALL players have
responsibility for scoring goals, in the
same way that in business, all
employees are responsible for
marketing and sales.


Everybody in your company has a role to play
in getting customers giving them a great
experience, making them repeat customers
and make them advocates of your business
 The success of all the great companies in
the world did not come about by accident.
 They were all successful by design.
 Success comes from the vision, commitment
to excellence, passion and drive of the
leadership and senior management of the
company, so that their passion, belief, drive
and unquenching thirst for customer
excellence is funneled down to every
employee in the company.


Greatest potential for growth of a
company is growth of its people
 The largest single cost of most of the
companies is payments it make to
people
 Most of the participants in my
programs say they can contribute
more
 In my follow up seminars they have
confirmed that they done more than







Your most valuable asset is your brand
nothing else.
It took time, commitment, and a lot of hard
work of your predecessors and you.
Instant identification in the mind of the
customer,
Reputation for competence and quality,
Promises of the brand are genuine and not
just slogans

At the same time you
feel that you would
have done much
better.
 Importantly you are
here to see success


Why
we need to be
more marketing
oriented ?
Because the
competitive
environment has
changed !

The simple way to deal with it is to
become marketing oriented
The markets have
been opened
 Technology has
changed
 Consumers have
changed
 Political atmosphere is
different
 Government policies
are more open
 Society has changed
 Economy is difficult
 Competitors are doing
many things


Yes there is challenge always




Will you do the same
thing that you have
been doing in the
past ?
Or will you change
with the changes
taken place ?
Don‟t you have
expectations to do
well ?
Have more money?
More status? More
power? More
satisfaction? More
sharing? Be more
successful?

Now close your eyes and visualise what kind of
facilities, salary and other benefits that you would like to
get through your company

Is it difficult

It will not be difficult at all if
you tuned your inner
inclination into real behavior
needed to achieve goals ?
 Commitment to achieve
corporate goals will also help
to protect your to earn
more, obtain more
facilities, get promoted and
secure your job.

How do you do that
Very simple
Change !

How do I change and go on the new
path
I will adapt to change
 I will have owners perspective ( I will
see things as if I am the management
of this company)
 I will become more trustworthy and
loyal
 I will become positive ( can-do
attitude)
 I will not only do my job well but also
will help others do their jobs well.


I will learn continuously and develop.
 I will display drive and determination
to serve customers. ( external&
internal)
 I will be innovative.
 I will practice Time Management.
 I will have a balance life.


I will adapt to change





I will have mental
flexibility and willingness
to change
I know change is
important for my own
benefit
I will be able to handle
new jobs that I will be
assigned
I will graciously move to
a new position when
needed.
I will get out of my
comfort zone to take up
challenges

I will have owners perspective
I will share the vision
of my owners
 I will focus on the
development of the
whole organisation
 I will not say that‟s not
my job
 I care about the
profitability of the
company
 I will not waste
resources
 I will see that budgets
are met


I will learn and develop






I will develop basics
skills needed to do
my job well
I will learn about
people
I will learn from my
seniors and juniors
I will learn from
observing
I will learn computers
I will read books

I will become more trustworthy and
loyal
I will always be honest
in my dealings
 No one can influence
me to do against the
policies/ ethics of my
work place
 I will develop my
integrity
 I will sort out all my
problems in a
constructive manner
within the company
 I will never talk
anything against my
company with
outsiders
 I will be loyal to my


I will become positive ( can-do
attitude)
 I will have
positive but
realistic
attitudes
 I will say lets
do it and see
rather than
saying “No”
 I always think
that there
should be an

I
will not just
follow the old
procedures
when I see it is
not effective
I Don‟t worry
about taking
risk, giving
suggestions, m
aking
comments

Why terminate people
According to the survey of Robert Half
International – USA


30%
19%
10%
10%
12 %
11%

08%




- incompetence
-Inability to get along with others
-Dishonesty & Lying
-Negative attitude
-Lack of motivation
-Failure or refusal to follow
instructions
-All other reasons

Why customers quit
Dr. Anthony J. Alessandra- Author of Non
Manipulative Selling

68%

14%
9%
5%
3%
1%




-Indifference and apparent lack
of interest on the part of front line
employees
- Unadjusted complaints
-Lower prices elsewhere
-Buy from friends/relatives
-Moved to another area
-Died
30

I will not only do my job well but
also will help others do their jobs
well






I am a team player
I will do my job well
I will help others to
do their jobs well
I will motivate
others
I will always be
enthusiastic
I will assume that I
am an important
member of the
team

Developing Staff through Developing
TEAMS

Groups and Teams
Assume power of a person is 3 and you
have 5 persons
Group = 3+3+3+3+3 = 15
Team = 3x3x3x3x3= 243
If a you can improve 33.3% of your
contribution, one person will have a power of
4 and the team will have a power of
4x4x4x4x4= 1024
(That is more than 4 times)

I will display drive and determination to serve
customers. ( external& internal)





Who are external
customers
Who are internal
customers
How to handle
complaints
Kayanu Haya
theory
Listening skills

Who are external customers ?







Customer is the most important person in our
business
Customer does not depend on us but we
depend on customer.
Customer pays our salaries
Customer is not an obstruction to our work. Our
duty is to work for the customer
Customer favors us by buying goods from us
and we do not favor him by helping him to buy
goods or services from us
Customer is a part of our business and we
cannot survive without customer
Customers are people and they have feelings and
emotions. We need to respect them.

Who are Internal Customers ?
Everyone of you is a customer of your
colleagues
 All of us depend on each other to
perform our duties
 Treat your own staff members in the
manner that you treat external
customers
 Then you will be a cooperative and
happy staff


Now make an effort to categorise
your customers that you meet daily
Mr. Samanya
 Mr. Sakaratne
Mr.Somipala
 Mrs. Atheerana
 Mr. Wiswasable
 Mr. Thadhaya
Hadhissi
 Mr.Siyaludhedath
Deshapalaka
Mrs. Kewal

Miss. Kenthi
Mr. Mudalali
Mrs.
Mr.
40

What is excellent customer
service?
Meeting the expectation of customers
will make them satisfied
 Is it enough in a very competitive
business environment ?
 No
 Then what ?

41

You got to make the customer delighted.
 Exceeding the customers expectations
 It is not once or twice but the challenge is
to make it always.
 We need to give customers a great
positive experience
 That will lead to develop a loyal customer
base.

42

What should be there in customer service to
make it excellent ?
 Promptness
 Politeness
 Professionalism
 Performance
 Personalization
 ( This is called the 5 Ps in Customer
Care)
43

Highly
Satisfied
5 times likely to
stay with you
than
satisfied
Tell others
about your
service
Dissatisfied
5% of them
will complain
others just
leave you
They may tell
10 others
about the bad
experience

A simple technique to handle
complaint
Maxwells kayanu Haya

Kanndenna
40%

Kampawanna
10&

Kamawa ayadinna
20%
Kalayuthudeh
 Kadinamin
 Karanna

10%
10%
10%
45

Calculate the life time value of a
customer
( LTV)
Simple example
Monthly purchase of Rs. 20,000 profit
at 20%
Yearly
20 years
Tell six others


I will be innovative.
Innovation is the
name of the game
to prosper
 I have the capacity,
use it and realize it
 I will make small
innovations in my
position and
develop
 Think out of box


Group and individual work
Discuss some simple suggestions that
you have made for improvement in
aspect of your work
 Discuss any innovations done by
others to find answers to problems in
your company or in the society


Listening Skills
The mistake often done
by customer care
people is to assume that
their job is to talk more
rather than listening
 If you keep on talking
you will not really get to
know what customer
really wants
 Get customer involved
in talking and listen to
him
 Real listening is not
hearing from ears but
also from your mind







Show the customer
that you are interested
in listening to him
Do not attend to any
other job while
listening
Watch for non verbal
language too
Recognise feelings
and emotions too
Show interest and ask
questions to clarify
Restate to confirm
vital points.
49

Your prayer in listening
Always pray from your
mind
“I am going to listen

more than I am
going to talk”
It is very difficult not to talk and stay calm
when a customer displays favorable or
unfavorable signs. But you got to listen to
his full story before you start your talk.
Once you get a chance clarify briefly
everything but be brief and do not venture
into giving a lecture.
50

Telephone Skills





Telephone is a very vital tool in customer
care.
It is one to one direct contact
Your tone and the way you talk should show
the customer your smile, interest and facial
expressions
Attend to the call before three
rings lapse
Be cheerful and introduce
yourself or the company you
represent
51

Telephone Skills

Be specific and clear what ever language you use
If the person wanted by the caller is not available,
see whether you could help. If not take notes and
refer. Judge the urgency and importance
 Always have a pen and paper handy near the
telephone
 If you promise to call back with some information at
a given time please call even if you have not found
what you promised
 If you have a hands free system, do not indicate
that you are handling some other thing while you
are talking.
52


Telephone Skills

Do not put on hold/music/radio without
permission from the caller
If put on hold if the extension is busy say it
intermittently and asked the requirement if you
can help in some other way.
 If you cannot give an answer over the phone
please ask the caller to call over with relevant
information.
 Never say anything against or annoying to the
caller with another person by covering the mouth
piece.

53

Telephone Skills
Do not jump into conclusions
Before you hear the whole story

When you terminate the call do it with
respect. Mechanical “bye” “thank you”
is not enough.
 Your tone is very important.

54

When you are placing a call

Plan your call – Jot down main points, get
the correct number

Dial the number correctly.
Introduce your self and tell what you are
looking for ( Do not just ask for a person if
another one could also give the answer)
If you really want to speak to a specific
person, give his full name, division,
designation etc.
Be cheerful and say what you want briefly



55

Placing a telephone call

If the correct person is not available ask for
any other person who could help you. If not
leave a brief note and kindly ask to write it and
place on the desk of the person. Give your
contact number. If urgent say so

Terminate the call courteously

Restrict your calls to a maximum of 3 minutes
if possible.
56

Mobile Phone Etiqutte
Keep the phone „on” . Answer all
calls/messages that you have missed
 Make a habit to charge the phone regularly
 Off or put on to silent mode ( not even
vibrate mode) before you enter a temple,
church, kovil or important persons room
 Never try to send SMS while driving
 Never read SMS when walking
 Use hands free kit while driving

57

Talk softly on the phone
 Do not have funny ring tones
 When you are with a
discussion/seminar never play with the
phone
 Use your smart phone to learn (
English, News, Motivational stuff,
record important talks etc)
 Use your phone‟s Calendar to
organize your self


I will practice Time Management.







Plan and have a vision
Have a
professional, Personal,
Family and social goals
Have short and long
term targets
Filter down it to
months, weeks and
days target
Write a
schedule, prioritize
work
Have a night audit of
what you have done
today
Revise

I will have a balance life.





Family is very
important
Do not over work
and forget your
family
Good employees
do not take work
home
Enjoy your life
Find good ways
and means to
entertainment