This course is part of the Microsoft Professional Program Certificate in IT Support.
This course provides insights into the communication skills and acumen needed to be a successful support agent. Effective communication, both with the customer and with internal resources at your company, is critical to the success of anyone considering a role in IT Support.
The course begins with a review of effective communication strategies that will help you develop a rapport with your customer. You then examine ways to connect with your customer through phone, email, chat, and social media, including a demonstration of empathy and communicating at the customer’s level of expertise. Finally, you examine how to deal with challenging customers and how to defuse a customer’s anger. At the completion of the course, you will have a greater appreciation for the communication skills that a successful support agent needs to develop.
This is the second in a series of four courses that are targeted to individuals who are considering a move into IT Support.
CEO Lawrence Associates LLC
Bernie Lawrence is founder and CEO of Lawrence Associates LLC. Prior to starting Lawrence Associates LLC, he served as Vice President of Consulting,
Sales and Marketing, and as a Managing Director of Business Consulting with Immedient Corporation, Microsoft’s largest privately-held solutions provider.
He has a BS in Administration & Management Science and Economics from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA in Finance from C.W. Post University.
Senior Content Development Manager Microsoft
Tony Frink is a 35 year veteran of the IT industry, with a background in ERP technologies, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft Office. He spent the first 18 years of his career in ERP software development and professional services management. He has spent the past 17 years with Microsoft and is currently a Senior Content Development Manager on the Cloud Productivity team at Microsoft Learning. He is responsible for developing training content about Office 365 and related products, as well as IT Support topics.
Business & Financial Consultant / IT Course Development & Delivery Lawrence Associates LLC
With 40 years of professional experience Mike combines technical and business acumen with his coaching skills to provide his clients’ the knowledge they need to develop, deliver, and justify financial business cases for major investments. Mike regularly works with executives in private and public organizations to develop and deliver economic justifications for multi-million-dollar information technology investments. Over the past 10 years, he has also used that background as a basis for developing and delivering a variety of training courses for IT professionals.