FirstLineCoach
Concluding the call well
D4 — Delegating1. Diagnosis
Agent is concluding the call without clear signposting about the specific steps the customer should take next — customer is leaving the call confused.
2. Behaviour Observations
What you might see or hear that points to this pattern.
- Agent is concluding the call and it is not clear what steps they are taking next.
- The call has concluded and there is customer action necessary but it was not summarised.
- The next contact has not been agreed. If no future action is needed, that has not been explained.
3. Session Objective
The objective is to help the agent see the importance of Q4. While the agent may have done a lot on the call, the last 30s should outline what was done and what will happen next. Agents may not do this for 2 reasons: 1) They have done the work and do not believe they need to repeat themselves 2) The agent has offered a shallow solution and has not thought about the best next steps.
4. Session Tactics
How to prepare for and structure the 45-minute call review.
The objective is to help the agent recognise they are reaching the end point of the call and think of the end-of-call checklist: 1) Have I understood what the customer wants? 2) Have I either satisfied the request or explained how I will? 3) Am I clear on the next actions both of us must carry out? Stopping the call at the point the agent begins their conclusion and checking across each element can be useful. The agent may realise they need to go back to Q3 or even Q1 again.
5. GROW Experiments
Experiments the coachee might choose to try. These are offers, not prescriptions — the coachee selects what feels right for them.
If the request is fully resolved: describe what was done and thank the customer.
If further work is necessary: summarise what the CUSTOMER is going to do and by when, and what the AGENT is going to do and by when. Be explicit on who is responsible for the next contact.
Focus on the last 10 seconds with the agent making a very clear commitment about the time of the next contact.
If the real problem is that the agent has not understood the customer's issue, the closing is not where the fix is — go back to Q1. See coaching plan W04 (Deeper customer concerns) for session tactics on this.