Tweet

How Is Your Phone Being Answered?

Guest post by: Linda Richardson

Article Overview: Consider these four points: Is your phone answered by the third ring? Is the greeting friendly, professional, interested and energetic? How is voice mail etiquette handled at your company? Is your voice mail answered by you and is the message up-to-date? Let’s look how one call was mishandled.

How Is Your Phone Being Answered?

Consider these four points: Is your phone answered by the third ring? Is the greeting friendly, professional, interested and energetic? How is voice mail etiquette handled at your company? Is your voice mail answered by you and is the message up-to-date? Let\'s look how one call was mishandled. After four rings:

• Company Representative: Hunter Robinson\'s offices. May I put you on hold?

• Client: Okay.

• Company Representative: Hunter is in Chicago. I\'ll put you through to his mailbox.

• Client: Yes.

After abruptly putting the client on hold without even letting him identify himself, professionalism continued to slide down hill: No thank you for waiting when she got back to him. Never even asked who was calling. Giving of inappropriate information - why should she say Hunter is in Chicago. Not in his office or out of the office would have been sufficient.

The approach was so abrupt that for a split second it seemed as if she picked up the wrong line and was continuing a conversation with someone else. No options were offered to the client. Before offering voice mail at least show enough interest in the client to get his or her name, use the client\'s names, and offer options by suggesting, \"May I take a message, or May I transfer you to his voice mail? (or if the situation is urgent,) May I see if someone else can help you?\" Place a call to your own office and check out the number of rings and how much care and service your clients are getting. Check your own voice mail messages for your tone and content. If necessary give guidance to the people who are taking calls for you. Your phone is you when you are not there. Make sure it is an excellent reflection.

Related Articles
  Customer Service Consistency
  Boost Your Business... Pay Attention to the Phone
  Call Handling - What Steps An Answering Service Goes Through To Handle Your Calls
  How Important is CRM to Your Business?
  Mobile Call Forwarding
  Shortcuts to the Decision Maker
  How Telephone Technique Can Win
  How Does A Call Center Utilize Call Forwarding
  Smart Women Give Their Clients an Experience
  Tips for Effective Telephone Use
  Answering Service Helps Increase Profits
  Prayer, Faith and Action!
  Things to Know When Choosing a Coffee Franchise
  Business Calls: Landlines Vs Mobile
  Stop Working! Answer Your Office Phones!
  The Dreaded Sales Phone Call
  Real Estate Marketing Strategies - How You Can End The Habit Of Procrastination For Good
  What a Virtual Assistant Should Look For In a Phone System
  Start a Phone Answering Service
  43% of business is initiated by a telephone call

Article Tags: Linda Richardson, Phone Tips, Sales Training, Selling Tips



Related Forum Posts
How do i answer the phone? - I learned this technique from a successful businessman who earns over a million dollars a year. He just uses his name like this... Phone rings... " This is Dwayne..." It kind of throws people off who have a preplanned script and gets right into it. Phone rings... " This is Dwayne..." No Hello, no good morning/afternoon/evening Phone rings... "This is Dwayne..."
Re: Can you read body language and convert it into a sale? - I can definitely read their mood by how they speak on the phone. You can usually also tell by the way they respond to the things you are saying. Phone sales aren't as easy as when you see them in person, but I still believe their tone can tell a lot.
Re: Can you read body language and convert it into a sale? - [quote="mbrand2222":3738chdj]I can definitely read their mood by how they speak on the phone. You can usually also tell by the way they respond to the things you are saying. Phone sales aren't as easy as when you see them in person, but I still believe their tone can tell a lot.[/quote:3738chdj] Hi Mary, Would you have a specific example you could share with us on how you cab turn an unfriendly tone (from a client) into a positive one or even a sale?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Here's a great ROI

Clues to Increase Sales -- Listen to the Buyer

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.