Introducing Loren Radzik – Operations Manager & Sales Consultant at Verizon. Recognized as one of the Top 10 Verizon Salespeople in the country for multiple years running with zero negative customer reviews, Loren helps us unpack what it means to deliver award-winning customer service. Tune in as we discuss:
MORE ABOUT LOREN
Loren was born and raised in South Africa and immigrated 20 years ago to the US. She’s passionate about people and connection and strives to have people feel heard. Her goal is to sell with integrity and have customers walk away feeling well taken care of.
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Introducing Loren Radzik – Operations Manager & Sales Consultant at Verizon. Recognized as one of the Top 10 Verizon Salespeople in the country for multiple years running with zero negative customer reviews, Loren helps us unpack what it means to deliver award-winning customer service. Tune in as we discuss:
MORE ABOUT LOREN
Loren was born and raised in South Africa and immigrated 20 years ago to the US. She’s passionate about people and connection and strives to have people feel heard. Her goal is to sell with integrity and have customers walk away feeling well taken care of.
CONNECT WITH US
Website | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Mike Cole 0:05
Well hello everyone and welcome to Peoplecast. This is Mike Cole. I'm your host, and with me today, as always is our producer and co host extraordinare Jerrin Padre. Hello Jerrin!
Jerrin Padre 0:17
Hello!
Mike Cole 0:18
Feeling okay, today? It's Tuesday.
Jerrin Padre 0:20
It's Tuesday at 9am, which feels like a little bit earlier. It's not like crazy early, but I do feel the difference in brain function
Unknown Speaker 0:32
And you're not a coffee drinker, so you can't—
Jerrin Padre 0:34
No, no, I'm not. Yeah, I'd be...
Mike Cole 0:36
I can't claim I've only had my one cup of coffee. I'm on cup number three. So.
Jerrin Padre 0:40
Oh maybe I should start drinking it. It just makes me feel like so, so jittery. But maybe I should eat first, I don't know. I'll experiment.
Mike Cole 0:48
Experiment. Do that. It's lunchtime for me. It's 11:30 here where I'm at.
Jerrin Padre 0:53
That's fun! Are you going to eat anything yummy?
Mike Cole 0:55
Last time you asked me that we had a guest on and she was not exactly thrilled with my—
Jerrin Padre 1:00
Oh, your hot dog choice.
Mike Cole 1:01
My hot dog, yes. I was gonna have hot dog and that—I've learned to not eat hot dogs now because I felt really bad.
Jerrin Padre 1:08
What?! You stopped eating hot dogs?
Mike Cole 1:10
I don't eat that many hot dogs to be completely honest, today will likely be a salad. So
Jerrin Padre 1:16
Well, we should probably ask our guest what she had for breakfast/lunch today. Although she's also in the Pacific Time Zone.
Mike Cole 1:24
She is Pacific timezone. Yeah, I tell you what, let's just go ahead and introduce our guest. And we will ask that question. So today on the show, we have a guest who is an operations manager and sales consultant at Verizon. Thrilled to have her on the show to talk about inclusive customer service. So everyone help me welcome Loren Radzik.
Loren Radzik 1:45
Thank you.
Mike Cole 1:46
Loren, what's for breakfast today?
Loren Radzik 1:48
Mike, I don't have a lot of time for breakfast in the morning. I'm not really a breakfast person. But if I had to eat breakfast, something with peanut butter, for sure.
Jerrin Padre 1:58
Excellent choice.
Mike Cole 1:59
Oh, wasn't expecting that. I thought I was the only one that liked peanut butter. Sometimes for breakfast.
Loren Radzik 2:05
Yeah, peanut butter on anything, it doesn't matter. It's just the vehicle for getting the peanut butter in your body.
Mike Cole 2:09
That's exactly right.
Jerrin Padre 2:10
Banana, that's my choice of vehicle.
Mike Cole 2:13
Episode's done right now. I think that's it. You just dropped the mic on that, because doesn't matter what the peanut butter is on. It's just a vehicle to get it to your body.
Jerrin Padre 2:22
Um, I had a thought when you popped on Loren. And I thought your first words were going to be something like, "Can you hear me now?" Just a play on the dear company that you work for.
Loren Radzik 2:33
Right?
Mike Cole 2:34
Wait a minute.
Loren Radzik 2:35
Don't know if they'd appreciate that for me anymore. That guy moved on.
Jerrin Padre 2:38
I thought that that was going to be like maybe a bit that someone would bring up but you know, it's fine. It's in the past. It was a good idea. It's maybe not.
Loren Radzik 2:46
It's kind of sensitive.
Jerrin Padre 2:47
It is a little bit sensitive. He got poached.
Mike Cole 2:51
Stepping on toes, Jerrin. Stepping on toes.
Jerrin Padre 2:53
So is that like felt deeply in the company?
Loren Radzik 2:57
No, not really. I think it was made much more of a big deal like in the media and stuff than it actually was. People laughed about it. It was a good talking point. You know, they say rather bad press than no press. That's kind of how it worked for us.
Jerrin Padre 3:10
Yeah, just like some fun drama to talk about that actually is inconsequential.
Loren Radzik 3:15
That's it. You got it.
Mike Cole 3:16
And on that note, got a couple more questions for you Loren. When you are in need of technical assistance. Do you prefer chat bot or real person?
Loren Radzik 3:25
Always a real person.
Mike Cole 3:27
Like Scott?
Loren Radzik 3:29
Yep. He always says just Google it. You know, you'll figure it out. But yeah, real person for sure.
Mike Cole 3:36
Okay. All right. Next question. When you're in a store, self checkout, or real cashier?
Loren Radzik 3:43
Self checkout.
Loren Radzik 3:45
Yeah, I want in and out. I don't want a lot of conversation. I do a lot of conversation all day. So when I go to the grocery store, I want in and out, no more conversation.
Jerrin Padre 3:52
That makes sense.
Mike Cole 3:53
Yeah, I think I've said it a couple of times before, it just depends on what I'm buying, right? Depends on if I've got something that needs assistance to maybe remove some sort of security device. I'll go through regular lane. But I think now there are attendants that work in the self checkout area that can help you with that. So
Jerrin Padre 4:10
Who you still end up needing to talk to anyway because something wrong will happen. Always. And then you just need the approval, and then they come over begrudgingly because they're like, how hard can it be? You done this before? Please?
Loren Radzik 4:25
I just want to know like, how are we supposed to know how to use the self checkout? Like when I got there the first time I'm like, "Was there—did they send home like a an email pamphlet?" "Hey, if you're going to use this, this is how it works." Because you know, you get to that front line the first time and you're just like, "Oh, I better hurry because there's a line behind me. Like, I have no clue."
Mike Cole 4:46
So Loren, couple questions for you right off the bat. And well, we've already had questions but as far as our topic today, I want you to tell us what was your first job?
Loren Radzik 4:57
Very first job like out of high school?
Jerrin Padre 4:59
Very first job ever.
Mike Cole 5:01
Yeah, making money put money in the bank.
Loren Radzik 5:03
Waitressing.
Jerrin Padre 5:05
Was it at a cafe, like a formal sit down diner? Where was it?
Loren Radzik 5:10
I was a waitress at a pizza restaurant. I'm South African. And so in Johannesburg, it was a new pizza place that opened. Very, very popular with all the college kids. So I waitressed there for a while. And then I met somebody who ran a more like of a nightclub bar type of situation. So I moved over to be a bartender, which was awesome. South African drinking age is a suggestion and it's theoretically 18. So I was just 18. And I was working as a bartender. And that's probably the best job I ever had. The most fun, for sure.
Jerrin Padre 5:46
Was it just the talking to people and getting to meet people from all over? What made it so fun for you?
Loren Radzik 5:53
Yeah, I mean, people who—the kind of restaurant that I was in was kind of one of those places people went not to just go get drunk, because they were drowning their sorrows. It was more like go out and party and have a good time. And so everybody was always in such great moods. And it was so nice to just, you know, interact with so many different people, so many different ages, they tip extremely well, the more they drink. So you know, made a lot of money. And the more they tipped, you know, the better my service became. So it was a really fun—a fun way for me to connect with people because I'm an introvert. And I tend to kind of keep to myself as much as I can. And I don't love large crowds. And so this was an easy way for me to get out there. Because it was a role to play, you know, this big, loud, tons of conversation place that I could be in.
Jerrin Padre 6:41
Isn't that interesting, where somehow big social gatherings or being around tons of people becomes a little bit easier when you have some sort of task to keep you busy? Like you have a goal right? And it helps you. It helps your brain stay focused and not get too overstimulated.
Loren Radzik 6:59
Oh, for sure. Yeah, when I go to a party, I always have to say, "Alright, what is my job at this party? Do I need to be making sure people are not driving? Am I making sure that people are—have their glasses full of alcohol? Like, what is my job at this party?" Because if I have a job, I'm good to go.
Jerrin Padre 7:13
So do you prefer hosting then, family events? Because it gives you something to do while everybody is kind of bumbling around? Or is it just easier probably with your people, with your family and your people?
Loren Radzik 7:25
You know, with my family and like once I get to know people, I'm totally fine. And then I'm good to step back. But if it's definitely there are people around that I don't know, or I'm expected to socialize with, or get to know—like my husband's work parties that I have to go to—it's always better if we host them.
Jerrin Padre 7:41
Yeah, that makes sense. I'm with you.
Mike Cole 7:43
Yeah, definitely the introvert part. And having that opportunity to—I wouldn't say put on a mask—but to play a different part, to not play that introvert. I've felt the same way. You mentioned Johannesburg. Is that where you grew up?
Loren Radzik 7:58
Um, no, I actually was born and raised in Pretoria, which is about 20 minutes, 25 minutes south of Johannesburg.
Mike Cole 8:07
And you ended up in Johannesburg for college?
Loren Radzik 8:09
Right. I went to college there for my undergrad degree. Yeah.
Mike Cole 8:13
Cool. So rewinding a little bit. So as far as childhood, were there any childhood memories that you had that foreshadowed where you are today?
Loren Radzik 8:22
You know, yes, and no. Going back to this putting on a mask thing, I spent most of my childhood on a stage. And what I learned about myself was my ability to be whatever I needed to be, if I needed to be that. And I would say that largely what I do now is exactly that. I walk into a sales floor. And as you know, I'm not technological at all, and it's okay. I know enough to be whatever the person coming in needs me to be in that moment. And I know how to play that. And I know how to mask that and become that. And I think my years of training to be what people needed to see has been super helpful.
Mike Cole 9:03
So how did you get to your current role, you know, from where you were at to where you are now? What has been kind of your journey to get to where you're at now?
Loren Radzik 9:12
So the job that I have now, I've had for about nine and a half years, I didn't really do too much sales specifically before. And my children were—my son was getting to the age, he was like nine, where I was thinking probably going to need a cell phone soon because I'm not going to be around at home all the time. And then the thought of him having access to any kind of technology that I didn't understand was unacceptable. So I applied for this job and I told my manager—and he still laughs about it to this day—I said, "I'm looking for a job, but it's really short term. I need to learn how cellphones work. I need to know how to trace them. I need to know how to track them. I need to know how to access information they think they're hiding. And I want to do that for a short amount of time. And then once I know how then I'm done." And he said, "All right, let's do it." It was the company that I work for—I work for Verizon, I'm actually employed by an independent retailer called Cellular Sales. We're the biggest retailer in the United States, we have 900 and something stores. And at the time, we were fairly small on the West Coast. And so he said, "That's fine. You know, we're starting up. And so if this is a short term gig for you, then that's okay." And then, you know, here I am, like a decade later.
Jerrin Padre 10:29
What kept you there?
Loren Radzik 10:31
You know, I love interacting with people. I love connecting with people in totally different places that I am, or I've ever been. You know, Verizon is a massive company, and people that move to Bend—Bend is growing at a rapid rate, and everybody's moving in here. And so you're meeting people from just everywhere. And there's the—you know, technology is what brings people together, right? Like, so it doesn't matter how much money you have, or you don't have, you kind of have to have a phone. Because otherwise you're out and you're alone, you're disconnected. And so technology brings people together. And I love the idea of being able to bring people together and connect them in a way that serves as well as just talking to different people every day, which I would never normally do for sure.
Jerrin Padre 11:17
Yeah. Well, speaking of serving, this whole season is all about inclusive customer service, but mostly inclusive service, just exploring what that means across industries. So what comes to mind for you, when you hear the words inclusive service?
Loren Radzik 11:30
Inclusive service is the process, like from the start to the finish, that includes getting the customer, not only what they came in thinking that they wanted, but having them possibly get more than that. I am in sales. But also to understand what they're getting, and for them to feel really good about the purchase that they've just made. I want them to feel good when they walk out that the amount of money that they're going to be spending every month—although it's usually quite a lot, because cellphones are not inexpensive, cell phone services—I want them to feel good about that. I want them to see the what they are walking out with is going to actually add to their lives. It's not just another purchase, it's something that actually will add more than just playing on Facebook on your cell phone. You know, and I always give everybody a personal number as they walk out the door, "Hey, when you get home and you're thinking, 'Why on earth, did I do this?' Or, 'Why am I spending this much money?' Or, 'Why would I get something that's so difficult to use?' Let me remind you of what this thing does and who it connects you to. And, you know, what it connects you to and how it will make what you do in your life a little bit easier."
Jerrin Padre 12:38
I love that interpretation. I feel like typically when we've asked that question, people will talk about more of the customers that they're serving. But I like the way that you just broke down inclusive services more like the product offering. And as a more holistic buying experience. I think that's really great. And it sounds like there's a lot of storytelling that has to go into that since you have to kind of paint that picture and nullify any biases that people might have for, you know, their kids having phones. Like I feel like that's the first thing that came to mind when you mentioned, you know, your son. I remember when I was—I made my parents a PowerPoint presentation in seventh grade to let me have a cell phone. Yeah.
Mike Cole 13:20
Certainly, I can see that. Why do I not doubt that?
Jerrin Padre 13:23
Oh yeah, it was because everybody my age had a cell phone already. I think they started having cell phones in like third/fourth grade, which was kind of wild to me, because I don't know what kids were doing with cellphones when I was in fourth grade. Like, I have no idea. But I do feel like I was part of the "out" group because I wasn't able to communicate with my friends. All the drama. And like all the interesting things that were happening at school were talked about in group texts that I was not a part of. So I made my parents a PowerPoint presentation on how I was very responsible, and I would put it downstairs in the evenings that they could read through all my text because I have nothing to hide. So I really loved the way that you just painted that story.
Mike Cole 14:07
Yeah, I liked—Well, let me go back. I mean, yeah, cell phones. Certainly you made a comment early on about not having access or being kind of lost without your phone. I'm going to date myself here. My kids, they asked me, you know, "How did you get by?" I mean, I find myself wondering how dId we survive? I mean, I didn't have Google Maps. I didn't have any sort of device that would help me navigate it was Rand McNally. Right, the roadmap? And the answer, I think, in your discussion, there was technology definitely brings us together. And when we got our kids their first phones, it was funny. I looked back and I laugh now back then it was infuriating to me, because texts used to cost money and texts would cost against your minutes, right? And we would look at our kids and say, "How dare you have somebody send you a text message! That was 10 cents!"
Editor's Note 14:58
Funny story: I'm Mike's son. I once sent over 900 texts in one month as a teenager. Definitely got grounded for that one. Even funnier, they always say that I could text them now instead of calling them. Old habits die hard!
Mike Cole 15:03
You know? And it took a bit to bring us on board, but now it's like—it's a no brainer. So, yeah, I definitely liked the way that you unpacked that. And I also liked what you said about when somebody left—before they left the store, they had a personal number that you'd give them. So that way, if they started doubting, or if they started maybe some buyer's remorse, you can remind them of what this thing can do. Because we get so lost in plans and minutes and rollover and everything else that you forget this device that you're purchasing could a: save someone's life, b: keep someone informed. I mean, it really is necessary.
Jerrin Padre 15:34
So I know that you've won a couple awards, multiple awards for customer service, and you were recently named one of the top 10 Verizon salespeople in the country for multiple years running with zero negative customer reviews. So first of all, congratulations. That's amazing. So from that standpoint, what do you believe are the key components of delivering top notch service?
Loren Radzik 16:00
You know, I think—I know, it's kind of sounds a little cheesy—but I think it's actually caring about the people that sit down in front of me. I take the time with every person in every interaction that I have to actually get to know as much as possible in, you know, a limited period of time, like who these people are, where they coming from, and what they need. And despite being in sales—so obviously, you know, to make money I have to sell, that's kind of what I do—it's important for me to sell the right thing. And I tend to sell a lot of our product. So my numbers in terms of—they call them boxes out the door—are always, you know, exponentially higher than the next person. And I think it's because I would rather sell less expensive things that are more useful than, you know, less really big, expensive things that people a: don't need, and b: can't afford. Because I genuinely care about every person that walks through the door. And so it really is important for me that when they walk out, they walk out with the thing that they actually need, as opposed to the thing that I need them to buy from me.
Jerrin Padre 17:09
I don't think it sounds cheesy at all actually to say to genuinely care, I think that it's obviously a very simple thing. And you hear that a lot. But practically, what goes into that? Like, what does that look like for you, beyond just actively listening? Like, is it relating to the customer on, like, a personal level? Like, what are the tools that you use to show that care?
Loren Radzik 17:32
Um, yeah, absolutely. So it is important for me to find a place in my story—and you know, there's always something that I can actually relate to very specifically—but there are stories I always use, from my own life, where this particular product has been useful, would have been useful had I had it, especially—I deal with a lot of parents and children. And so that part of it is easy for me, because I'm right in the middle of that. And I can very clearly specify you know, how to keep restrictions on things, how to give kids access, because as you were saying, you know, you don't want to be the kid that doesn't have the access, because you get left out in this day and age. It's just unfortunate, but that's just the way it is. And if you—you know, parents want to give their kids, "Oh, I'll give them a flip phone, because it's less expensive." It doesn't work. There is no 16 year old going to walk around with his cell phone, if it's a flip phone, he's going to leave it at home. So he's not going to have that phone access and that security anyway. And, you know, I—my kids get mad at me. But you know, I experiment with all this stuff with them. You know? Alright, I'm taking your cell phone away for a week. Yeah, you got this flip phone. You know, or I'm disconnecting all your social media apps for a couple of days. Let me see what happens. And, you know, I take this stuff really seriously. And so when I'm giving advice as to, "Hey, like, you know, where are you in your life? And who are the people in your life? And what are you wanting to accomplish with this stuff? You know, you're wanting to get all this great stuff. That's awesome. I'm super happy to sell it to you. But why do you want it? Like, let's find the why behind it." And then it makes all the difference.
Mike Cole 19:08
I'm gonna go off on a tangent here just a bit. So yesterday, there was a major outage with Facebook, Instagram.
Loren Radzik 19:15
Oh, yep!
Mike Cole 19:17
Did you have anything to do with that? Because you mentioned cutting off your social media apps. I wonder if you just went a little too far with that.
Loren Radzik 19:25
You can't believe how many people called us about that, though. "I cannot believe Verizon has turned Facebook off!" Verizon has turned Facebook—I mean, how's that even a thing? Yeah. Oh, yeah a lot of that.
Mike Cole 19:36
Yeah, yeah. So summing all of that up. What is your customer service superpower? If you had to say, "I do this one thing the best." What is it?
Loren Radzik 19:47
I would say the best that I do is I don't take it personally. Customers—when you deal with customers come in with their own day, right? Their own life, their own story, what's going on in their world and it's not personal, it has nothing to do with me. And so my job is to listen to you and advise you, as far as this specific devices—these devices—are concerned, that the rest of it, and the way you interact with me, it's not personal. And so I don't get activated easily. You know, people come in really angry, really unhappy, super scornful. This mentality right now with COVID Is everybody like panicking, like, "Oh, I have to have a lot of the stuff because maybe the end of the world is coming." So that mentality comes through the door. And it's okay, all of it is okay. It's got nothing to do with me. It's not personal.
Mike Cole 20:37
That's, that's hard. That's got to be hard, because a lot of customers, I think, will pull you in, because they feel like you are, you know, you're the face.
Jerrin Padre 20:46
Responsible.
Mike Cole 20:47
Yeah, you're the face of the company. You have the name tag on, you're the person that I need to blow up at, when in actuality—to your point—it really has nothing to do with you. It's got everything to do with the service and some other things that you can certainly help them with. But I find it, you know—and my background is customer service, for the most part—and I found it very difficult to disconnect, because I did to some extent feel responsible. But I did, in order to stay objective, and to keep the situation calm, I had to realize that that really has nothing to do with me. So yeah, I would agree with that. Certainly.
Loren Radzik 21:23
And I'm married to a therapist. So that helps.
Mike Cole 21:25
Ahh, okay.
Jerrin Padre 21:27
Oh, all makes sense now.
Loren Radzik 21:31
Right.
Jerrin Padre 21:32
It really does. Okay, that's super interesting. So how does that come into play? You know, with your customers and clients? Like, do you feel like a little bit of an armchair therapist when you're dealing with unhappy customers? Is that, you know, one of the practical tactics that you use to navigate those tricky situations?
Loren Radzik 21:51
For sure.
Jerrin Padre 21:51
Okay.
Loren Radzik 21:53
I learn a lot at home. You know, I really do though. You know, I have a lot of repeat business, because I've been doing the same thing for so long. And I discuss a lot when I get home, it kind of just like vents out, you know? And Scott will give me these just kind of tips of, "It's not personal. It's not you This is their story. You know, your job is to sit there and to listen, it's not to advise, it's not to tell them what to do. It's just to advise with what exactly you know." And so yeah, I'm definitely an armchair therapist, highly qualified.
Jerrin Padre 22:28
I mean, I feel like especially in those customer service roles, because I've both seen it. And there are—there definitely have been moments when I've called a bank or called someone to get help on something, and I'm just having a bad day. And the person that actually treats you like a human being, and takes a minute to listen to you and not just read off of a script—like that truly will make all the difference and can flip an entire day around. So I'm sure your approach has flipped many days from horrible to not so bad.
Loren Radzik 23:01
Yeah, I think it's the biggest compliment. I think that I ever get when customers walk out the door. And they're like, "Wow, that that was kind of fun." Or, "That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be." Or, "This wasn't a bad experience. It was okay." You know, like—because I think when you go in, you know, to buy a cell phone, you kind of expecting like "a buying a used car," you know, it's like a huge process. There's so much paperwork. And so I try to keep it more of, you know, kind of a fun experience. So you're distracted from, "God, I've been here for like 45 minutes filling out pieces of paper and signing the same thing that I've agreed to like six times already."
Jerrin Padre 23:38
And so you're also a manager, correct? Like, not only are you customer facing. So you also manage a team?
Loren Radzik 23:43
Yeah.
Jerrin Padre 23:44
Right. So what is your advice to other managers for incentivizing their team to deliver above and beyond service? Like, what do you do? What do you advise other managers to do? Walk us through that.
Loren Radzik 23:56
The big thing for me is—that the reason that I don't do managing staff full time. Like that was one of my options, I could go purely into the managerial place. It's hard for me to manage something that I don't do on a day to day basis, that I'm in the trenches. And so being in the trenches, it's easier to manage people because you're going through what they're going through at the same time. So that's kind of an important thing of, like, knowing what they're going through, not just the managers speak. There's nothing worse than the manager speak that we will get from our big GMs or whatever way you—it's just like yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, you know? So I try and really personalize for each person that I'm managing. You know, it goes back to getting to know who that person is, and what it is that drives that person. You know, you're in the sales job that's going to make you a lot of money. Why do you want that money? Like really? Why do you want that money? You know, what is it that you're going to—trying to find the exact thing that's going to motivate them. And although a lot of people obviously are motivated by money, sometimes it's a lot more than that. Sometimes it's the recognition. Sometimes it's the place to go every day and feel like you're part of a team because maybe you come from a space where that isn't there. So I think, you know, just knowing who your people are is really important, and that no two people—especially the way that our company runs—no two people are going to do it the same. You know, we train, I was doing training for a long time. And I like to put people with different people to train all the time, because they're just like, "Wow, I didn't know that could be done that way." You know, so there's just not one way to do this job at all. And I don't think there's one way to do any job to be honest, and all the ways can work to some extent. So that's kind of where I've got the most feedback, positive feedback from is just like people saying, you know, "Thanks for knowing that wasn't gonna work for me. You know, I know, they want us to fill out all these worksheets, but it doesn't work for me, worksheets are just pointless for me," you know? So, you know, probably that I'd say.
Jerrin Padre 25:53
Can you think of any examples where you've seen someone deliver great service that's completely different from your own style, but really, really worked for a customer?
Loren Radzik 26:04
Yeah, I mean, I work with—mainly the people that I work with are a lot younger than I am. You know, people have been coming in the techno world, you know, you guys grew up with this kind of stuff. And so, you know, I have a lot of the youngsters that I work with—youngsters, they're kind of 25-28, I would say—that they have the knowledge about, you know, the ins and outs of the fun part of technology. About making videos, and sending weird pictures, and doing meme stuff. And that doesn't interest me particularly, and I don't know a lot about it. So seeing them, I'm like, go with that. Like, there's a lot of people that are interested—and a lot of older people, and way younger people—they really want to know how to do that. And they know how to do it enough that it's accessible to everybody. So sell that way. If you know about, you know, the specs of a phone, and the exact specs of cameras, and battery sizes, and, you know, that kind of stuff. Go with that. I mean, I don't sell like that at all. Because, you know, it's not my thing I have websites I can pull up super quick. "Hey, let's look at that. Let's compare the specs. Yeah, look, this is how we do a meme," but it's not my stuff. That's not how I sell. But I've seen a lot of people sell that way, much more cut-and-dried, kind of way. And, that works also. That works really well, too.
Jerrin Padre 27:19
Yeah. So it's really about just finding what your strength is, and then tailoring whatever your sales approach is going to be.
Loren Radzik 27:26
100%, and it doesn't work—I mean, I can teach you. I mean, you can watch me sell, and you can sit with me. But if that's not your way, it's not going to work for you. You've got to find your own way, you know? It's everybody's got kind of a little bit of a mixture of everybody else in them as they sell, at this point.
Mike Cole 27:45
I was a Dale Carnegie graduate, and then a graduate assistant facilitator. And we had, as participants, we had to deliver a speech and it was a little complicated to navigate. And a lot of people were nervous. But our facilitator introduced us to the one Carnegie principle, which was speak about what you know. Right? If you were the best at tying your shoes, give us a speech on tying your shoes. If you know how to make a really good peanut butter and jelly sandwich, tell us how to do that. Because that's something you know about, and encouraging the folks that you work with to hone in on those strengths that they have, even though you might not have them, certainly helps the entire team, right? It just brings the team up, the store gets recognition. I was laughing internally, because you mentioned corporate speak. And you know, when a GM comes around, and nobody really wants to hear that. When I was a young kid starting out in retail, our regional manager would come in and we played a game, it was corporate buzzword bingo. And it was a kiddie or a pot that we had that you would win the pot if you scored the most by capturing company corporate buzzwords, like synergy. And at the end of the day, and all of those phrases that we use, you know. And it's because it had become such a trope, and it's like, "Okay, great, you're gonna tell me that at the end of the day, we need to have synergy. And we all need to, you know, do this other corporate thing." So I think I agree with you. Realism is what people need. And they need someone like you to listen to what their strengths are and encourage them to play to those strengths. So.
Loren Radzik 29:20
And also knowing who's on your team, right? Like, you know that there's a guy that sits, you know, two desks down, and this guy can tell you every spec on every phone ever released. I don't need to know all that. Because I can just lean over and say, "Hey, Nick, what are the specs on the battery on this new iPhone?" And he'll rattle them off without having to stop doing what he's doing. So it doesn't matter that I don't know.
Jerrin Padre 29:43
Yeah, I think that's something that we don't hear about too, is just how it's such a communal effort to deliver that service. It's not just one singular person.
Loren Radzik 29:52
Oh, no. Definitely not.
Jerrin Padre 29:55
Yeah. It takes a village, that's another one of those lines that you hear too often. I know. I know. I know. Sorry.
Mike Cole 30:06
Put that in the corporate buzzword bingo bank right there.
Loren Radzik 30:08
It's right up there with like teamwork, you know?
Mike Cole 30:11
Yeah. Teamwork. Teamwork makes the dream work. Freedom in the framework. Yeah. All of that good stuff I've got a list. So yeah, synergy is probably my most favorite one. It's the one that—I just cringe when I hear it because it gets used so much.
Jerrin Padre 30:26
I think the new one I've been hearing is like, "Let's get aligned on this." I feel like alignment is a big, big buzzword these days, too.
Mike Cole 30:35
Oh, don't forget bandwidth. Do you have the bandwidth to do that? In Loren's world, bandwidth means a whole different thing.
Loren Radzik 30:42
It's like, "What?" It's like when you use the word data within my world, like what do you mean by data? How much data?
Jerrin Padre 30:50
And even service means something so different to you, too? Because it's—yeah from a technological perspective?
Mike Cole 30:57
Do you mean my phone actually connected to the service? Or do you mean the service that I provide in the store?
Loren Radzik 31:04
Oh, yeah, we hear this all the time, "Verizon service sucks!" And we're like, "What do you mean? Like, there's no reception? Or you don't like our customer care line?"
Mike Cole 31:13
"Please clarify!"
Jerrin Padre 31:14
Yeah, this conversation could have been—could you imagine if this conversation, Loren, you thought it was going to be about actual "service" service, and then realizing it was "customer" service.
Loren Radzik 31:24
I was ready. I have my websites with all my specs. I'm ready.
Jerrin Padre 31:29
So prepared.
Mike Cole 31:30
You know, the other thing you talked about, too, was not over selling something to someone. Not selling something to someone that they couldn't afford, or they didn't need. And I would imagine that's hard to do, as well, because I've worked in electronics retail. And I don't believe Verizon makes a lot of money on the phones.
Loren Radzik 31:49
No.
Mike Cole 31:49
I would expect you make money on service and you make money on accessories. So and I know it's probably hard to, you know—you said yourself, you're a salesperson, and you need to sell but I like the fact that you—we would probably on our side with Media Partners, we would call it reading the clues, just kind of listening to the customer and understanding what they need. And that's kind of how we outline Read The Clues as, you know, sell them what they need, sell them something that it's going to benefit them, or give them service that's above and beyond because you listened to them enough to strike up a conversation because they mentioned something about their kid or something that you have a connection with. So definitely heard that loud and clear.
Jerrin Padre 32:31
And I think the beautiful thing, too, just circling back to just the storytelling aspect of it. I feel like that hasn't been something we've touched on this season yet. But obviously, storytelling is very important to us at Media Partners. And I think in customer service, storytelling can go a long way. Because, again, it helps people feel related to, understood, which is what everybody would ideally like to feel at the end of the day. Right?
Loren Radzik 32:58
Yep!
Mike Cole 32:59
Loren, definitely appreciate you being on the show today and sharing your knowledge and how you do things and giving advice, all of that. I feel any of us could, like I said before, could take and use in any situation. So thank you definitely for being on the show today.
Loren Radzik 33:13
Absolutely. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate that. It's been fun.
Mike Cole 33:17
And everybody listening. Thank you for your time today. And as always, we'll see you next time on Peoplecast!
Jerrin Padre 33:24
Bye!