The Shocking Truth about high school math class: you actually DO use it later in life!

Source: http://rinielsmusings.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/funny-stuff/

What you’re about to learn is not illegal, immoral, or shady. It just seems that way. This technique makes the most of a demographic fact: most people are extremely poor at mental calculations.

For those of you that have worked in retail, you know what I’m talking about.

Ø  How many times has someone asked you “How much is this?” when standing in front of a huge “50%” or “1/2 off” sign?

Ø  How about those that have worked in the restaurant industry who were accidently stiffed by very nice customers who thought $ 5.00 was 20% of $50.00?

Ø  How about people who are shocked by their high total after handing you a huge pile of expensive clothing to ring out?

Where were these people in high school math? Can’t they do basic % off calculations? Can’t they add? Can’t they subtract? Can’t they prorate?

Answer: Let’s test that out.

Let’s do 20% off $62.89.

 It’s so easy…round up the price to the nearest whole number, then divisible- by- five number ( $62.89 becomes $63.00 becomes $65.00) then take the % off (let’s say 20% off) and break that out of 100%. (It’s 1/5—20 is 1/5 of 100). What’s 1/5 of $65.00? (Answer is $13.00). Then you simply subtract $13.00 from $65.00.

 How hard is that? Okay, it’s a little hard.

You’re about to make that work for you.

There are 3 main areas that lend themselves easily to creative math: Retention, collections, and sales.

Let’s talk retention:

When you’re making retention offers, it’s usually a discount in either a lump sum or a timed pay out over a fixed time frame—$30.00 off now, or $100.00 off your next 6 months,  $17.00 a month.

It’s not hard to sell discounts—most people can do a quickie calculation and realize that $72.89 minus $30.00 is around $40.00 Substantial savings. Retention customers aren’t most people, however. They’re upset, and ready to cancel.

We’ve got to bump it up a notch.  

Pitch your discount in 3 ways:

·         Total amount

·         % off

·         New bill amount with savings deducted

So it would sound like this “Well, we’re authorized to take a total of $30.00 off your bill, which is a savings of almost 25% off. Your new bill would be around $42.00 a month for next month. How does that sound for you?”
If the discount is for a fixed time frame, say $10.00 off for 6 months, do the calculations for them:

·         Total savings

·         Immediate discount with bill calculation

·         % off

“I can offer you $10.00 off your bill for the next six months. That’s a total of $60.00 off, a savings of 20% each month, and that will take your bill from $50.00 to $40.00. How’s that sound?”

Rounding the bases:

·         Round UP when talking about discounts or savings

·         Round DOWN when talking about the new bill

Let’s talk sales:

Have you ever seen those heart-rending commercials where “for just pennies a day” you can save little Juanita from rickets? That’s creative math.

Cosmopolitan magazine does the same thing, just with a sprinkle of glitter on it: They compare your “weekly cappuccino habit” with what you could have bought in a year with the savings instead-- “3 iPads loaded with all the True Blood eps you could watch!” It’s putting money into context.

In this case, let’s say you’re selling an internet upgrade package for an extra $20.00 a month. Now let’s get creative:

Divide the extra cost by 30 days and then round DOWN: If it’s 98 cents a day, it’s “pennies” (anything less than $1.00 is pennies). If it’s $1.00-4.00 it’s “the cost of a cup of coffee”.

If you’re selling a package that is a lump sum-- say a year- long warranty for $120.00-- divide that by 12 months, and put that in context: “For $10.00 a month, you can have the security of knowing that….”

Let’s say you’re selling a co-pay repair service protection plan (which many companies offer). You’ll want to compare the in-context cost to the highest possible costs of a no-coverage repair.

“Well, for just $3.00 a month, you could stand to save up to $150.00 on future repairs.”

You can also take advantage of most people’s absolute terror of doing math involving %, and say things like “Well, for only 8% more a month, you can save yourself about $300.00 of possible repair costs.” Do this for low %, those less than 10%.

Let’s talk Collections:

This is the best place to use creative math. It takes nerves of steel and a genuine liking for bargaining, but if you’re in collections, you’ve got both. Here are some creative math tricks to use:

Breaking up payments:

You want $500.00 from your debtor. Sure, it would be great to have $500.00 now, green money. But let’s face it, if they had $500.00, they probably wouldn’t be on the receiving end of your call. So use the start high, go low method to break up the payments.

Start high, go low:

Start with your highest bid: “Do you have$500.00 today so we can make this go away?” No, they don’t. Then go to a lower one or a settlement or buy-out: “Well, I can shave off $200.00 if we have $300.00 to make this disappear.” Nope. They’re on WIC and SNAP. Okay, fine. It’s payment plan time.

How’s$100.00 a month for 5 months? That’s $25.00 a week (context!) It’s about a tank of gas or so.

No? How about $50.00 a month for the next 6 months, and we see where we are in 3?

Cool. All along you wanted that $50.00. Welcome to creative math.

General tips:

·         When dealing with contracts, don’t use “years”, use “months”. Reverse when dealing with discounts, down to six months: “Half a year!”

·         Jot down a list of “contexts” in which to put money—a cup of coffee, the morning paper, a tank of gas, a magazine… thing that people buy almost every day or week and don’t think twice about.

·         It’s okay for YOU to use a calculator when you’re on the phone, and even in person--show the customer with your use of a calculator that a) you’re just like them and b) you’re willing to “work” for them. (Evil mustache twirls here).

·         Use terms like “double” or “half” for 50% off. You can also use “savings context”—“that’s a savings of almost 50%, just about half off!” for 40-49% off.

·         Use action words like “cut” or “slash” to indicate the dramatic lengths you’re going to with your 8% off savings. (Slight sarcasm here.)

Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility. Don’t use creative math to bamboozle or cheat your customers- only to sell them items that they will use, or to explain the benefits of your offers in a way that will be appealing to them. Now go forth and dazzle!

Playing with Lego blocks can improve your customer service: find out how!

Customer service tips usually follow the same formula or list format. They generally give well intentioned, but vague and overused advice about being empathetic and going the extra mile. That's all very well and good, but you're an expert! You already know the basics. Ready to kick it up a notch? Let's go play tent forts.

 

Image credit: http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jungle_explorer.jpg

 

1: Call the 1-800 number on all of your utilities, credit cards, and club cards.

Whatever business you need to take care of that you’ve been dreading, just get it over with. This time, instead of doing dishes with the phone tucked under your chin, or watching Real Housewives on mute while you do yoga breaths trying to keep your temper in check, do something else. Take notes. What worked? What really didn’t work? Most importantly, what could the agent have done differently in a concrete way, to make the call better?

Now take this knowledge to your team. Better yet, have THEM call your Little Dippers Frozen Yoghurt account and ask for a refund because they pulled the flavor you wanted from production before you got to your 9- cones- get- the- 10^th- free!

2: Develop a hobby or interest. Better yet, several!

One of the main ways I built rapport with customers was through shared interests. Sometimes there would be an easy give away, such as a credit card with a vanity picture of a tangle of yarn with knitting needles sticking out of it. Sometimes, they would outright tell me “I make my own jewelry.”  Other times, it was up to me to mention my hobbies and interests, to build rapport or make small talk while we waited for an approval to go through. Hobbies and interests also make you calmer and more grounded, meaning you’ll have patience with all your terrible customers. Smiley.

3: Shop more. Shop deeper.

This is related to number 1. Become an unofficial secret shopper. When things make you frustrated or angry, go deep. Why were you so upset when the coupon didn’t go through? What are you losing or what is being taken away from you? Is it time, money, prestige, comfort, security? This is the way advertisers think: they’re never selling you the product, they’re selling you the things you can get for or with this product.

Security and safety with a Volvo, freedom from conventional ‘good girl’ rules with Hypnotique’s “Don’t just turn heads, break necks” campaign, the rush of defying death itself with Camel “cancer sticks.”

 “Going deep” about your own feelings and motivations will help you understand what goes on in the mind of the average consumer, on a deeper level, and will help you provide better, more holistic solutions.

4: Read more.

News, magazines, books, articles—anything! The best agents and coaches in customer service know a little about a lot of different things. They know where you can get a money order at midnight, they know how to look up zip codes for different neighborhoods, and they know how to wiggle around the rules (legally!) to give the customer that extra mile experience. They know lots of cool stuff you can usually only know through reading.

5: Play.

I am an advocate of more play time for adults. And the treadmill with US Weekly doesn’t count. Physical exercise could be play, that’s true, but I’m talking about using your hands to play with something, for the pure fun of it. Frisbee, mini golf, putting together puzzles, playing with Lego blocks or other building sets….the rules are it has to make you happy, it can’t be “work” or a true strain on you, and it should be a toy, not an electronic game.

 Play not only makes you more relaxed and happy, it puts you into a “flow” state where your mind can wander freely and make serendipitous connections. Working as a day care teacher and a nanny, I got to spend many extra years playing: painting, drawing, putting on puppet shows, building things, coloring, using Play-doh… and I credit those years with my seemingly endless supply of creative ideas and unusual outlook on life.

Playing with toys can bring up emotions and help you access a side of your personality that may have been long buried under a mask of adult professionalism. This playful side, this creative side, this empathetic and emotional side, (in small doses!) is what thousands of books are being written about helping you find. Find your purple frog by bouncing a ball while you're on the phone, by drawing during your lunch hour, by joining a puzzle group. Just play.

6: Talk to your friends.

Really talk. Listen. Refine your conversational skills. One of the biggest errors I would hear on the phones was agents talking over customers or drowning them with spiels and scripts. Another skill to add is listening for emotional context or the feeling behind the words. Living in a country where I didn’t speak the language enabled me to add seven league boot steps’ worth of knowledge about tone and body language to my repertoire, and it’s been very helpful.

7: Let it go.

There is a breeziness, a lightness, and a sense of “work well done” with a light hand that is common to the best service workers. It’s kind of like “Hey, it’s just my job, no big thing.” When you know your product, you feel confident, and you’re relaxed and comfortable, there is a lightness that you can share with your customers. It seems like a halo that touches your shoulders and lights up the room. You can find this grace with time and devotion to your craft.

 Get started.