[00:36] Is your MSP business being affected by the coronavirus? There have been reports of difficulties getting some electronic parts or devices in stock because of some supply chain slowdowns in Asia.
[00:59] Cisco Live Melbourne, Fortinet Accelerate in Barcelona, and Mobile World Congress have all been cancelled.
[1:36] Leave a note in the comments below and let us know if you’re noticing any effects on your business from the epidemic.
[01:58] Mark Copeman is my guest today. He’s the author of a book called Helpdesk Habits, which is all about cultivating sustainable changes in your techs.
[02:12] Mark shares some great cool insights and tips including how optimizing for customer service in your recruiting practice can open up a whole new candidate pool. He also mentions how desktop wallpaper can drive your sales higher.
Listen here
Using Soft Skills to Deliver Hard Results in Your MSP: Interview With Mark Copeman
[03:15] Helpdesk Habits is about putting the human element back into the help desk.
[03:41] People contact the help desk when something has gone wrong. Just having empathy can go a long way.
[04:24] You can add a human touch when communicating through email by understanding what the person is going through. Take a step back and try to read the tone or discover the person’s end game. Be a bit of a detective.
[06:04] People often recruit with IQ at the forefront. Some companies are recruiting for higher EQ in the hospitality industry and training for tech. When talent pools are extremely tight, this could be a great strategy. You can work also on EQ skills with your high IQ team.
[07:55] It’s difficult to train on EQ in a short amount of time. EQ needs to be embedded as a habit so that it becomes part of you.
[08:51] Tiny changes, massive impact is Mark’s motto. Focus on one small thing at a time.
[09:54] You can place prompts on desktop wallpaper, to remind techs to be doing or saying certain things. An example would be, “Shall I book that in for you today?”
[10:29] It’s about layering habits. Just take things one step at a time and focus on something you can do.
[11:51] Depending on the availability of high IQ or high EQ people, you may have to train for one or the other.
[13:41] Emotions can run high on a help desk. Recognize that it’s not you personally that customers are frustrated or angry with.
[14:39] The service recovery paradox is that when things go wrong in business and you solve them well, customers are likely to be more loyal to you than if they had had no problem at all. Think ahead and envision that nice outcome to help you remain calm when things get tense.
[16:11] Many MSPs say they’re customer-focused but truly cultivating soft skill habits can still help MSPs stand out from the crowd. Personal touches, which cost nothing, can mean the world to a customer and generate incredible word of mouth.
[17:53] We need to keep in mind that when we help people with their IT problems, we’re enabling livelihoods.
Links from this episode
- Will the Coronavirus Outbreak Mark a Tipping Point for How Conferences Address Disease?
- Cisco Statement on Cisco Live Melbourne
- Mobile World Congress 2020
- Helpdesk Habits (book)
- Helpdesk Habits training program
- Mark Copeman on LinkedIn
Listen here
Like what you hear? Listen and subscribe.
