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Home of the Original
LAMA Training

(818) 945-5141
Call us–We’re in the
phone business!

“Motivate Me!”


What can you do to motivate and inspire yourself?

When I need motivation, where do I turn?  Who motivates the motivator?  Do I send myself balloons?

No balloons please…

Instead, I call a friend.  I have about five people in my life who never forget who I am, and what I am about.  They will always let me be petty, feel sorry for myself, and even listen to me grumble about life and whatever is bothering me.  They let me do this for about five minutes, then they say…”Hold the phone while I get a crying towel.”  Then, they have my attention.  I begin to see that I must sound like a real complainer.  They remind me of the people I have trained, the difference I have made to them and others.  They always let me know that my work is where my joy is.  This is my lesson to you: Find the joy and give up the pettiness!  At least, only let the pettiness linger for a short time.  It’s ok to get it out, vent for a little, but then breathe it all away, and focus on the good, the joy, the greatness!  These people love me and will always be there for me and not let me give in too long to the dark side.  The rule is always the same, let me vent just enough to be able to get over it.  Never let me vent […]

“Motivate Me!”2018-04-04T17:19:29+00:00

Who Has a Conscience Anyway?


Jiminy Cricket, THAT’S WHO! Just let your conscience be your guide!

Is there such a thing as INTENTIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS? INTUITION?

Those who use their INTUITION and LIVE by INTENTION can see they have power!

With the tech world growing and the privacy leaving us, (or maybe it already left) we may have not considered that our MIND is bigger than all the technical “programs” in the world so far. What the bots are trying to do is to duplicate the way we think. The bots are trying to give us “Artificial Intelligence,” and it’s working, so far. Just remember, the machine will NEVER replace feelings. Your feelings are never artificial, and they are uniquely your own.

You know when your gut seems to say NO? Whenever you feel like you are out of sorts…or something just doesn’t feel right. You are right! When will you trust that gut? When will you give in to the small voice in the back of your head that is saying…

“Don’t do this…it’s not the civil thing,” “It’s not the kind thing.” All it is – is a scheme you have worked out. 

I always use justification to check myself. I noticed once that almost everything I […]

Who Has a Conscience Anyway?2018-01-10T00:59:31+00:00

Mystical? Magical? Vicious? 


Are you caught in a Vicious Cycle that damages your self-esteem or the self-esteem of your Agents? The cycle can look like this.

This is a Vicious Cycle of Negativity

I hear something wrong on a call, I get Quality to Agree it is bad.  I send out a graded form that tells the Agent what is wrong with the way she handled an issue or a person.  I set up a feedback session disguised as a “coaching” session.  In the meeting, I make sure the Agent sees the error of her ways.  I tell her how to do it right, or how we did it in my day.  I tell the Agent to fix this for their next evaluation. I hope they are repentant and willing to take the constructive criticism well and mend their ways. I watch and listen for improvement and wonder why I don’t hear or see much improvement. I am frustrated. (BTW so is the Agent and now lacking self-esteem)

This is a Vicious Cycle of Positivity

I hear the Agent make an error on a call. He said something that doesn’t please the Customer.  I ‘think’ that Agent needs more confidence and maybe a lesson on Handling the Upset Customers. I am the COACH and I am responsible to help the Agent improve. AND, to give him acknowledgment and show my “confidence in him.”  I set up a time to meet with the Agent for a coaching session. We listen to the recorded call.  I mention that […]

Mystical? Magical? Vicious? 2021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00

Rules for Making the Customer (and others) “Feel” Loved not just in February but all year round


  1. Remember that Communication is a function of INTENTION – In other words…what do you really want to accomplish on any phone call; inbound or outbound?  Think what your words mean, and say what you mean.
  2. Control the Path of the Call – Never control the person you are talking to, but always control or guide the call to the next place that will demonstrate to your customers that they are more important to you than anything else.
  3. When you want to ask a question – Ask it in a way that shows love, attention, interest, or understanding.  Never ask a question that you need to know for YOU…but ask questions that you need to know to help THEM.  This will never fail you.
  4. Love your Managers as well as your Customers

o   Everybody knows this but often they forget to say it.  Say “Thank you.”  One of my clients gave a bonus to his entire contact center and took them on a trip, paid their way, and paid for their day off while on the trip and out of 100 agents…only 2 wrote a “Thank You” note.

o   Being Grateful is a way of getting rich.  Pam Grout wrote a book called “Thank and Grow Rich.”  This is a play off on the famous book “Think and Grow Rich.”  If you take the time every day to “Count Your Good Actions and the Good Actions of Others” you won’t have time to complain, moan, or groan about things.  The world will react so positively […]

Rules for Making the Customer (and others) “Feel” Loved not just in February but all year round2021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00

Don’t Fight Your customers on the Way Out – Part 2


Empowering Your Customers by Asking the Right Question!

Judy and her team continued to work with the agents to help determine the cause of the customers’ rejection. Agents quickly had the answer (as they often do) when they told her that the customers were irritated at being asked why they wanted to cancel. Some customers even said, “It’s none of your business, just cancel.” It is a standard opening question in most call centers, and yet, it undoubtedly puts the customer on the defensive. “Why do you want to close your account?” or “What didn’t you like about the product?” may seem like decent opening questions but really causes the consumer to ‘put up their dukes.’ It was clear that the company had asked the wrong question. But how do we fix it? How do we find out why the customer wants to cancel without asking, “Why”?

The answer is to simply ask them about what caused their consideration, their choice, or what made them choose to opt out. We recommend an opening question like “May I ask what led you to your decision today?” This question gives serious importance to the customer’s right to choose. It empowers the consumer and opens a dialogue that will often reveal clues on the underlying reason for the cancellation. The approach does not just throw money or an offer at the customer. Instead, it acknowledges their choice to choose us.

Judy recently had a wonderful opportunity to work with a company that sold […]

Don’t Fight Your customers on the Way Out – Part 22021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00

Don’t Fight Your customers on the Way Out – Part 1


Round 1 – Ready to Fight?

Calling to cancel your membership or return a product? Put your boxing gloves on, it’s time to fight. It can be stressful these days when calling an 800-number to end your subscription or to return a product. As a call center savvy consumer, I know the representative/retention specialist on the other end of the phone is about to do his or her best to convince me to keep the service or product. Here comes the script, here come the offers, and that typical bad question, “Why do you want to cancel your service?” Ultimately, it is my decision, and yet, I am about to face someone over the phone who will attempt to talk me out of it.

Having built and trained world-class call centers over the years, and as customers, Judy and I have both encountered countless examples of how companies actually fight their customers as they are trying to close or cancel an account or return a product. Far too often scripts are written that unintentionally make our customer feel ‘wrong and stupid’, putting them on the defensive and more eager than ever to cancel. It is a challenging task to train your retention representatives to think in a new way, one that makes customers ‘right and smart.’

When did it become wrong for customers to change their minds? When did it become a fight with the consumer when they simply want to say, “No thanks”? Our representatives are really between a rock […]

Don’t Fight Your customers on the Way Out – Part 12021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00

Would you rather read a romance novel or make love?

Do you not separate the menu from the meal? Do you know the difference between: What is right? and What Works? Understanding the difference between a gain and a loss can be vital to your training program.

Would you rather read a romance novel or make love?2021-03-11T22:17:08+00:00

Coaching and Complacency – YUK!

Dear Judy,

I am a Contact Center Quality Coach. I am bewildered and do not really know what to do about these agents who seem to be complacent. They meet their numbers, they do the least they can do and still maintain their job. They don’t seem to care if they do better. How can I motivate them? How can I inspire them? I don’t even understand their attitude.   I always want to improve and do better and they seem not to be on the same page…. What do I do?

Signed,

Bewildered and Uninspired

Dear B U,

OH! Boy! Now this is a great question because it pushes every button I have. I am a ‘go-getter’ and I have never understood people who were not that same type. It has been my practice to avoid them and try as I may they keep on showing up.   This, of course means they will keep showing up because (you know this I have said it many times….) “anything you resist will persist” and I RESIST them. So, here they come again.

Well, well ,well, Is there nothing new in the Universe? Here is my sage advice and I only say that because I am old and I keep trying to figure out what makes these people tick and since I have failed miserably, I have this word for you. In the words of Vinnie, “fagetaboutit.” Or In metaphysical terms…”Let THEM Be”. Now I know that’s not enough so here is my serious take on the whole issue….ready?

  1. Calling […]
Coaching and Complacency – YUK!2021-03-11T22:17:10+00:00
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