If you asked me to name my single most important business tool, the answer would be easy: the telephone. With this one simple device, I can span the entire 5,000-mile sales territory I cover. I can get to know my customers, and they can get to know me. A friendly, helpful real person on the phone is worth a thousand voicemail messages.
A telephone is also a your first line of communication with customers. For many businesses that use Yellow Pages advertising, the telephone may also be one of your best sources for new business. Obviously, how you use the telephone can mean a lot to your marketing efforts and your ability to keep customers coming back.
Remember, for whatever reason you’re calling a customer, or a customer is calling you, it is an opportunity to communicate. Even a problem on either end is a chance to improve your relationship. A simple call after a sale lets the customer know that you care about them more than the purchase—and that you really want them to succeed. Analyzing what went right and wrong will help you and your customer do a better job next time.
With so much riding on your telephone skills, have you given enough thought to building your skills and keeping them sharp? Here are some basic phone skills to practice and to share with office staff, salespeople and others who communicate with customers daily:
BE CONFIDENT AND FRIENDLY
- Preparation. It always surprises me how much preparation people will put into meeting someone face-to-face, but how little they prepare for a first-time phone conversation. Write down briefly what you want and need to say.
- Relax! Nervousness and tension will be conveyed over the phone just as surely as they are in person. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and then let it out slowly before you begin to speak.
- Smile. One thing that always helps improve your phone presentation is to smile when you are talking. You always want to sound positive and pleasant when speaking on the phone; and believe it or not, it is practically impossible to sound negative or cross when you are smiling.
- Be Interested. In any phone conversation, ask questions to show your interest. Treat each customer as if they are your first and only customer. And when you ask a question, zip-the-lip and listen.
PROFESSIONAL AND PUNCTUAL
- Answer on the first ring. If you are driving, ask the customer to wait while you pull over. Safety is paramount.
- Identify yourself and your business.
- Tactfully ask them to identify themselves. “May I ask who’s calling, please?” “What is your company name?” If you can’t place the voice, and they assume you know who it is, ask them, “How do you spell your name again?”
- Always have a paper and pencil handy.
- Don’t write everything down. Write key words and phrases that will help you rewrite the message after you hang up. A preprinted form will help you remember to record key things: name, company name, phone, fax, street and e-mail addresses.
- If you have to put a customer on hold, give them the option of waiting or calling back.
- If you must place a customer on hold, ask permission to excuse yourself and let the customer know what you are doing.
- Use the hold button or gently place the phone down on a soft surface. Be careful what you say. The customer may be able to hear you if the hold button isn’t fully engaged.
- If a customer is on hold for longer than 30 seconds, pick up the phone and tell the caller you haven’t forgotten them. Again, give them the option to call back.
- When you return, thank the customer for waiting. If you can’t answer a question, tell them you’ll find out and get back to them. And do it.
WHILE YOU’RE AT IT …
- Don’t miss an opportunity to present greater value. You have expertise in your area and can offer more than just a product or service. Your advice is sometimes more valuable than your product. You know the experience of many individuals, while your customer only has their own experience to draw from. Example: This may be your client’s first new home, but you have built homes for years. Give some pointers. Explain ways they might cut costs and still maintain quality.
- Thank customers for their business, and ask if they have a few moments to answer a few questions so you may be able to serve them better in the future.
- Ask fact-finding questions beginning with Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Don’t interrogate, but show your interest in a friendly, concerned and helpful manner. What are the challenges of the project they are calling you about? How can you help? Make suggestions and ask the secrets of their success. But don’t lecture or patronize.
- Pre-plan monthly sales messages or special offers that you can provide customers who call. Messages should be short and feature a few strong benefits such as, “save money, save time, keep employees happier, healthier, or on the job longer.”
- Present benefits in the form of a question. “Did you know ... ?”
- Ask for the sale. Try to be indirect, as in: “I’d like to make a note of what you want, so I can schedule you in.” Or, “Let me know when you need it so that I can make sure you are not disappointed.”
