Service Skills

“Service is an attitude made applicable by sound knowledge.”

Marcus Barton, Service Delivery Manager, Dimension Data, 41st Certified Service Manager course

What does it need to be successful in the service business? For anyone who masters this business perfectly, whether at the help desk or as CEO, it is not just a mental exercise. They think and feel service, use analytical skills and emotional qualities. Combined, these service skills are complementary and form an unbeatable team.

Just like the double strand of DNA – they have ‘service in their DNA’. We are born with many dispositions, some may be hidden, and very many can be developed.

Service is, first of all, an attitude. It is an attitude of fundamental interest in people, their desires and individual situations. Only those able to ‘stand in other people's shoes’ are able understand them and their needs. In service companies, this applies to all levels as well as to direct contact with the customer.

It is about perceiving wishes different customers and customer groups have and where processes should be smoothed; which way of leadership is appropriate, and much more. This ‘mindfulness’ is the basis to develop optimal service solutions.

Suitable Offers

For You at a Glance

Perceiving Needs Ahead of Time

Taking the customer's perspective allows identifying potential optimizations. This is a skill we refer to as customer-focused thinking. This is enriched by the will to respond to the wishes of the customer. Literally, meet the customer.

It may even be best to stay a few steps ahead of him: to anticipate the demands that may arise tomorrow or next month. Even without these wishes being voiced by the customer. In short: one should be able to act proactively.

Rational and Emotional Wishes

Taking customers’ view means to recognize their rational and emotional needs. The customer may expect an innovative solution, several solution options, a certain price range and much more. But he certainly expects empathy, friendliness and attention.

So it's about a wide range of rational and emotional desires.

Emotional Skills and Technical Know-How

Service professionals need rational and emotional skills. Emotional skills can create a close relationship with the customer – show empathy, build closeness, and gain confidence. We all have emotional skills, many of them may have been buried or even suppressed – at school, during education or at work. These skills need to be reactivated and expanded.

Expert knowledge allows us to understand the customer's business, to use tools with methodological competence and to develop efficient service solutions. With an economic view of the whole business, service creates value for your own company and the customer: profit and customer benefit. All this demands an impressive portfolio of customer service skills from the service professional.

Getting Back Up

Service is not a playground. We know that, too. You need a lot of ‘get up and keep going’ qualities in this business. Experts call this resilience. It is mental toughness that takes us through difficult phases and crises. Skills and attitudes such as the conviction of having influence on developments contribute to this self-efficacy.

Knowing and using networks promotes resilience as well as a healthy sense of responsibility: knowing one's own responsibility, but also that of others. The good news: resilience is trainable, for example with mindfulness, meditation and yoga.

Unique Service Proposition

At the end of the day, one of the most essential strategic tasks of each service provider can be expressed by three letters: USP. For the service business this means a slight modification of the familiar term: Unique Service Proposition – the unique selling proposition for your service offer. Anchor the attitude of customer focus firmly at all levels of your company.

That is easier said than done. Because the prerequisite is that it is desired on all levels by everyone. If this is the case, everyone benefits: your business and the customers of your business, you and your employees – even your personal social environment.

Our job is to help you and your business develop these skills by training, consultation, courses and more.