Very rarely does a day go by when there is not a support ticket requesting login details to a particular site, or a customer doesn’t remember their password, or I have to manually reset a password because the automated request for a new one was never received.

I address this particular issue indepth in my Special Bonus report which you can download right now by clicking the link below:

When you, the business owner, are ready to have someone else provide help desk support to your customers, there are a few things you need to provide at the onset of this new relationship.

First, the person providing support does not know your product or service like you do.  Therefore, you need to provide some form of training that goes beyond what is on your website’s sales page.  A phone conversation is highly advisable where you both have a chance to get to know each other a bit.  Then describe exactly what product(s) or service you offer, and find out what experience your support person may have with regard to what you offer.  You will also want to create a customer account for your support person so that s/he can login and take a look around to see exactly what your paying customers are getting.

Second, provide all website URLs and login information (usernames and passwords) that your support person will need in order to respond to your customers quickly and accurately.  This includes any administrative sections of your website(s), such as your customer database that will allow your support person to verify a customer’s purchase, order, or email address.

Third, while you may not immediately feel comfortable with providing access to your financial account (such as PayPal), at some point it’s going to be necessary if you expect your support to handle any refund requests, open claims or disputes that may be pending.   Open claims and disputes do happen and are generally filed because customers fail to use your support desk in the first place.  Instead, some customers report directly to the payment processor that they did not receive what they purchased, or claim that the billing is unauthorized (meaning they forgot what they purchased).  Your support person has to be able to deal with these issues in a timely manner in order to assist already unhappy customers.

Lastly, you have to be willing and easily available to answer any questions from your support person if they get stuck.  There will be more times than not, when a customer asks a question or has an issue that your support person simply cannot respond to without some direction or guidance from you.  Make sure you provide a way for your support person to reach you quickly, if needed.  Your private email address, or even your IM username is appropriate.  Allowing your support person to ask you questions or get clarification about something quickly makes it possible for him/her to better understand your processes so that the appropriate response can be sent back to your customers.  Your support person has to feel comfortable in knowing that if s/he needs help from you, you will be there to assist in getting your customers questions and issues handled as quickly and professionally as possible.

I see a lot of different type issues come through the help desks that I manage.  Recently, however, I received a not so typical issue, but one I thought worth creating a short video about. What’s interesting about this video is that it was done using a free screen sharing application called Yuuguu.  I was able to see another person’s computer (with her permission) and give her instructions while we were both on Skype.

While there were a few minor technological glitches, they were easily overcome.  Skype dropped the call (and then locked up on my side), so we had to use the phone to continue. Then toward the end, my side of the screen sharing decided to freeze.   But overall, I think this is a great example of how I can assist people who need technical support for relatively simple computer issues or things that need to be done periodically.

Are you spending more time than you would like answering support tickets and emails from your customers? Or do you find that the time spent responding to your customers’ inquiries, issues or (heaven forbid) complaints, is taking longer than it should? And are you using some type of help desk software or relying on email only to assist your customers? If you do not already have a help desk person who is dedicated to handling the support aspect of your business, what are you waiting for?

Having someone else respond to your customers would certainly free up more of your time. But more importantly, it would allow you to concentrate on your business, as opposed to having to deal with the sometimes tedious issues and questions that your customers are bound to present you with.

Greetings and Welcome!

The primary reason for creating this brand new site is because of an online training course I recently took.   And because I have stayed behind the scenes doing what I do best, it has become clearer to me that it’s time to raise my visibility.  Here’s a quick snippet of a conversation I had where I was brainstorming the thought process behind this site:

  
As time goes on, I’ll be sharing lots of information, while also allowing those who have a need for help desk support in their existing businesses to find me!

According to Wikipedia:

[a] help desk is an information and assistance resource that troubleshoots problems with computers or similar products . . . [h]elp desk is a broadly applied term referring to a staffed resource — often, an actual desk, or a telephone service — that can help persons answer questions or to use resources.

That particular definition generally applies to the corporate or offline world. However, the essence of what a help desk provides also applies to the online world. And that’s what I DO and will be sharing with you on this newly established site. Feel free to check out my “credentials” HERE.