There is so much emphasis on using e-mail as our main communication that
we have forgotten the importance of the telephone and using good
telephone techniques.
Take a minute and call your company now. Do you get a long list of options? And when you finally do get an answer, does the person who answers the phone make you feel you were an interruption in their day? I hope not, because you are losing customers in that scenario.
Take a minute and call your company now. Do you get a long list of options? And when you finally do get an answer, does the person who answers the phone make you feel you were an interruption in their day? I hope not, because you are losing customers in that scenario.
Most of you cannot change your telephone system, but you can polish your skills. Here are two suggestions.
1. Always give the caller your undivided attention. Have you ever felt that the person on the other end of the phone wasn't really listening to you? Make sure your callers don't feel like that by avoiding the following:
* Don't eat, drink or chew gum while you talk.
* Don't mumble or prop the phone between your chin and shoulder while you try to do other things.
* Don't shuffle papers so that the person on the other end of the telephone hears a lot of background noise.
* Don't excuse yourself every 30 seconds or so to speak to someone else.
* Keep background noise, especially laughter, to a minimum.
2. Don't place people on hold. The best thing to do is never put a customer on hold, but if you must, here's how to do it effectively.
* Always ask them if they are able to hold first. Then wait for an answer.
* If you will need to place them on hold for more than a minute, ask if they would rather you call them back.
* Be specific about how long they will have to hold. Don't say, "Will you hold for just a minute?" if it's going to be longer than that. Tell them why they will need to hold. "I'll need to look up that file. Are you able to hold for about three minutes?"
* Come back to a person on hold every 30 seconds.
* When you do get back to the customer, be sure to thank them for holding and quickly get on with the business of the call.
A recent study showed that 53% of customers said they usually hang-up and try later when placed on hold. And 41% said they grow angrier the longer they wait. Can your organization afford that?
MAKE SURE YOUR CALLERS FEEL WELCOME FROM THE MOMENT YOU ANSWER THE PHONE. DON'T SOUND RUSHED OR ANNOYED.
