1. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Questioning Techniques

2. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com You will learn: The importance of the relationship between effectively determining the needs of a caller and providing excellent service to customers. Recall and apply seven techniques for improving questioning.

3. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Take the Pre-Program Quiz

4. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com View Program

5. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Key Point #1: Open-Ended Questions

6. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Discuss What are open-ended questions? When should you use open-ended questions? Give some examples of open-ended questions that Paige, Jeremy and Lora used in the first scene.

7. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Telephone Doctor® Prescription Use open-ended questions to “open up” a conversation and get full information. Open-ended questions encourage continued conversation.

8. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Key Point #2: Closed-Ended Questions

9. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Discuss How do closed-ended questions differ from open- ended questions? When should you use closed-ended questions? Give some examples of closed-ended questions you might use on calls you take.

10. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Telephone Doctor® Prescription Use closed-ended questions to pin down brief facts. Use closed-ended questions to tack down and confirm details.

11. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Key Point #3: Probing Questions

12. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Discuss Sometimes, in order to get the information you need to help the caller, you’ll need to ask more than one kind of question. Recall from the program that probing questions can be very effective in many cases. Exactly what are probing questions? When should you ask probing questions?

13. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Telephone Doctor® Prescription Use probing questions when you want to dig a little deeper to identify the caller’s needs. Remember – if one probing question doesn’t do the whole job, feel free to use another. Use several probing questions, if necessary, to learn what you need to know.

14. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Key Point #4: The Echo Question

15. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Discuss Very often, one or two words in a caller’s statement will provide a natural lead-in to your next question. How can you make the most of these opportunities? What kinds of questions are best suited to these situations? What three things should you do when asking an echo question?

16. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Telephone Doctor® Prescription Use echo questions to help you get more information. Phrase your question using the key words from the caller’s last statement. Raise the tone of your voice slightly at the end to make the words a question. After asking the echo question, pause to give the caller a chance to provide more information.

17. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Key Point #5: Leading Questions

18. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Discuss Because of your experience in working with callers, you may recognize the right decision before the caller does. How can your use of questions help callers confirm decisions more quickly? In what situations are the use of leading questions most appropriate? What problems can result from asking leading questions at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons? How can you avoid these problems when using leading questions? How are leading questions constructed?

19. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Telephone Doctor® Prescription When callers are undecided, use leading questions to direct them to a decision. Remember – the objective is to lead, not to push.

20. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Key Point #6: The “And Technique”

21. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Discuss In order to give callers the best possible service, it’s often necessary to get greatly detailed or widely varied information. Doing this by simply asking a series of standard questions may make callers feel they’re being interrogated or “grilled”. How can you get the information you need and still keep your callers comfortable? What are the three steps you should follow to use an “And Technique” effectively? What makes this technique so important and effective? Why is it important to practice the “And Technique” in order to use it effectively?

22. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Telephone Doctor® Prescription Remember – a series of abrupt or disjointed questions can make callers uncomfortable. Use the “And Technique” to gather information without making callers feel they’re being interrogated.

23. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Key Point #7: Interpreting Disguised Responses

24. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Discuss When callers have urgent requirements to fill, serious problems to solve, or a complaint to register, they may respond to your greeting by expressing their feelings before they express their needs. How can you recognize these “disguised responses” in order to deal with them effectively? When a caller seems to be giving you a disguised response, what should you do to remove the disguise and discover the real need? What are the benefits of repeating or rephrasing what the caller has told you?

25. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Telephone Doctor® Prescription Pay close attention to what the caller says. Try to determine what the caller is really trying to tell you. Never argue. Instead, ask sincere questions designed to get through the disguise and identify the actual need.

26. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Take the Pre-Program Quiz ANSWERS 01. C 02. A 03. A 04. B 05. C 06. C 07. B 08. C 09. B 10. B

27. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS: Open-ended questions “open up” the conversation. PROBING QUESTIONS: Dig a little deeper. THE ECHO QUESTION: Use key words from caller’s statement; raise your tone of voice slightly at the end to make the words a question; pause. LEADING QUESTIONS: Objective is to lead, not to push. THE “AND TECHNIQUE”: Makes the caller more comfortable INTERPRETING DISGUISED RESPONSES: Never argue; ask sincere questions. CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS: Use closed-ended questions to pin down brief facts.

28. © Telephone Doctor, Inc. | www.telephonedoctor.com Questioning Techniques