Putting customers at the heart of your organisation

Customer care has been a key issue on management agendas for over a decade and has been through several evolutions in that time. It is now more widely recognised that customer care is not just about training your Customer Service department, but is more to do with the underlying culture of the organisation and all its employees.

At Pearlcatchers, our trainers have experienced these changes first hand and are well placed to provide consultancy and development support on all aspects relating to customer care.


Designing a Customer Care Strategy
  • Aligning customer care with the organisation's goals and strategies.
  • What is good service and how does it link to leadership.
  • Developing tools to measure customer satisfaction and service.
  • Staying close to your customers and defining your moments of truth.
  • Creating a vision that everyone can buy into.
  • Developing customer service through continuous improvement.
  • Making sense of Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
  • Designing and implementing structures and processes to support customer care.

Building a Customer Care Culture
  • Considering customer care from the customer's perspective.
  • Identifying the factors and requirements of an effective customer care strategy.
  • Examining and changing perceptions and values - conditioning, self belief, self image and confidence.
  • Why companies don't satisfy their customers.
  • Identifying the contribution of individuals to customer care.
  • Recognising your customers and finding out what they need .
  • Developing ownership, empowerment and a passion for customer care.
  • Insincerity - why going through the motions doesn't work.
  • Structures and processes to support culture: recruitment, assessment and development, reward and  celebrate success.
  • When customers don't have choices - motivating excellent customer care in the Public Sector.

Recognising the Internal Customer
  • The impact of internal customer service on external customers.
  • Identifying your internal customers and forming a 'needs network'.
  • Looking for common purpose and agreeing service levels.
  • Cross-functional working and the benefits for continuous improvement.
  • Breaking down departmental and individual silos.

Implementing a Customer Charter
  • What is a customer charter and what is it used for.
  • Formulating a customer care vision.
  • Agreeing a statement of intent and service guarantees.
  • Reviewing processes and identifying customer interactions.
  • Keeping the service promise - setting targets and designing measures.
  • Defining key employee behaviours .
  • Embedding the charter into the culture of the organisation.

Developing Customer Service Skills
  • Putting customer care into context - what is it and why is it important.
  • Recognising who your customers are and finding out what they need .
  • Taking personal responsibility for customer issues.
  • Essential communication skills - listening, summarising and reflecting, questioning.
  • Creating a professional image over the phone and face to face.
  • Communication choices - hints and tips on how and when to use different channels.
  • The personal barriers exercise - what prevents us from providing excellent service.
  • Reflection - the impact of our attitude on customer interactions.
  • Basic psychology - the skill of dealing with people.
  • How our self image affects our performance.
  • Exceptional service is in the detail - paying attention to the little things.
  • Being in the know - the best way to deliver excellent service.
  • Tips and techniques for making the customer feel important.
  • Developing a positive attitude to improve customer service.
  • Controlling situations assertively.
  • Communicating proactively when things go wrong.
  • Saying no, giving bad news, responding to escalations.
  • Turning around customers' dissatisfaction and complaints.

Managing Difficult and Demanding Customer Situations
  • The face of the organisation - accepting responsibility even when it is not your fault.
  • Strategies for handling dissatisfaction - and turning around a difficult situation.
  • Customers from hell are customers too - empathising with their situation.
  • Understanding the causes of difficult situations and breaking the conflict cycle.
  • The behaviour iceberg - what is happening above and below the surface.
  • Developing a range of techniques for reframing/resolving difficult situations.
  • Managing our own responses - not taking it personally.
  • Communicating confidently and calmly under pressure .
  • The correct way to escalate a problem to your manager.
  • Managing the extremes - when and how to address what is unacceptable.

Influencing has long been a core skill for managers and key personnel. With the changing nature of organisations - flatter structures, cross-functional working, empowerment etc - successful managers must learn to rely even less on authority and more on influence. Devolvement of responsibility is also requiring more and more employees to influence colleagues, customers and suppliers as part of their day-to-day role. These factors all contribute to making influencing one of the key skills required in a successful 21st century organisation.

Pearlcatchers Ltd can help your employees develop this essential skill from understanding the basic concepts of influencing, through acquiring a toolkit of styles, to utilising personal power, networks, culture and politics to best advantage.


Influencing Skills
  • The nature of influencing - dynamics of the influencing process.
  • Understanding the link between negotiation, influence and persuasion.
  • Build specific micro skills - listening, questioning, clarifying needs, observation, personal presence,               body language etc.
  • Identification of your own and others preferred influencing styles.
  • Using push and pull strategies and the passive aggressive continuum.
  • Improve your skills of assertion and distinguish them from aggression.
  • Enhance your sources of personal power and self confidence.
  • Self limiting beliefs and behaviours which undermine personal effectiveness.
  • Develop a wider range of choices for influencing others individually and in groups.
  • Adapting your approach to generate effective relationships.
  • Strategies for influencing at meetings and through presentations.
  • Influencing upwards and dealing with more senior people.
  • Expressing emotions effectively and handling irrational reactions.

Influencing in a World without Authority
  • A changing world and the implications for organisations and individuals.
  • Personal power - identifying and using the seven power levers.
  • Know yourself - how do you influence currently, how do you make things happen and what impression               do you create.
  • The impact of beliefs, values and assumptions on successful influencing.
  • I am right and you are wrong - the dangers of only using logic and fact.
  • Organisational culture, networks and politics - the hidden system of the organisation.
  • Matching your behaviour to suit the norms, values and beliefs of your organisation's culture.
  • The eight tactical weapons of influence - which to use when.
  • Networking and building relationships as a basis for influence.

Influencing relates to actions, which attempt to modify someone else's behaviour, attitudes, feelings or ideas - to meet your requirements or desires. Negotiation, however, is much more about reaching 'win-win' agreements that are mutually acceptable to all parties involved. This is particularly important when building or maintaining long-term relationships.

One of the most controversial aspects of negotiation is the ability to 'close the deal'. We can show you the importance of learning this skill and demonstrate some of the many techniques, as well as when and with whom to use them.

Once restricted to the sales force, many organisations are increasingly recognising the benefits of developing a wide range of employees on how to negotiate and close the deal.


Negotiation Skills
  • Negotiating - an everyday event.
  • The process of negotiation.
  • Listening - to get the whole picture and gain real understanding.
  • Asking the right questions - exploring what others want.
  • Speak to be understood - and listen to understand.
  • Identifying others' values and beliefs.
  • Negotiating styles and stances.
  • Developing the skills of principled negotiation.
  • Recognising others styles and adapting yours.
  • Managing your Inner Negotiator.
  • Separate the people from the problem - focus on interests not positions.
  • Be hard on the people, soft on the problem.
  • Developing your BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement).
  • Developing understanding and creating choices.
  • Skills and strategies for quick reactions - dealing with the unexpected.
  • Moving through stalemates - change the size of the pie.
  • Dealing with Tough Tactics.

Closing the Deal
  • The role of closing in negotiations.
  • What characteristics make a 'good closer'.
  • How many closing techniques do you need to master.
  • Demonstration and evaluation of closing techniques, their uses, pros and cons.
  • Personal evaluation of techniques to suit your skills and circumstances.
  • Learning by doing - observation and feedback on delegates' styles and techniques.

Influencing & Negotiation

Customer Care