Make Your Phone Win Customers

By: Steve Kaye
Submitted: 2007-01-17 11:54:06
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

Here's how distinguish your business as one worthy of a customer's trust (and business).

1) Hire an operator to answer your phone. This promotes good will, shows that you have employees, and may cost less than the consequences of rotten service. If you must use an automated system, let callers reach an operator from the first menu.The key is to be readily approachable.

2) Make sure that the person who answers the phone sounds happy when someone calls. This sets the tone for the conversation that follows. A friendly greeting can lead to more sales.

3) Take care of the basics. Have the person who answers the phone state the name of your company and his or her name. This confirms that the caller reached your business and starts the call on a personal note.

4) Be accessible. If you have a small office, make sure that your voice line is always available to incoming calls. Avoid putting a fax machine on your phone line. Instead, buy a separate line; it keeps your voice line open and prevents callers from receiving a fax signal.

5) Appear like a real business. Instead of using a telephone answering machine, buy the voice mail service from your local phone company. This collects messages while you are unavailable or while you are on the phone. Also, use a land line phone instead of a cell phone because it sounds better and works all of the time. You want to appear like an established business, instead of someone operating out of a van in a parking lot.

6) Be respectful of others. That is, give the caller your undivided attention. Never interrupt a call to take another. (Your voice mail service will collect messages while you are talking.) Stop all other activity (such as typing or sorting papers) because the caller can hear it.

7) Return phone messages. Voice mail has caused an epidemic of rudeness that hinders progress and destroys trust. Return all calls. It is courteous and enables others to continue with their business.

- - -

Steve Kaye helps leaders hold effective meetings. He is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, author, and speaker. His meeting facilitation and leadership workshops create success for everyone. Call 714-528-1300 for details. Visit http://www.stevekaye.com for a free report.

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Management category

  • Employee involvement - By: john david
    Employee involvement involves the creation of an environment wherein people are involved in the decision making process that have an impact on the decisions and the actions that have a bearing on the jobs.
  • Work from Home Based Business With 7 Secrets of Internet Millionaires - By: Gagan kainth
    The external and internal secrets of Internet millionaires are explored. Find out what the Internet millionaires know that has made them so successful.
  • The Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Community Association Management Company - By: James Small
    Throughout the industry, HOA Management Companies overload their community managers by giving them too many homeowners associations to manage
  • Things to think about before hiring an accountant - By: Michiel Van Kets
    Locating a good honest accountant is not as simple as you would think. The majority of us looks in a local directory and chooses the first one who answers the phone.
  • A Chartered Accountant Can Help You In Many Ways - By: Michiel Van Kets
    The function of a chartered accountant can be intricate to understand, the majority just associates them with tax returns.
  • Considerable Factors involved in Product Creation & Marketing - By: Kamal Kant Gupta
    The niche you have chosen should allow creation of more than one product or service. With the technological advancements in the hosting industry, from automated control panels and scripts that simplify creation of accounts, to complete turnkey solutions; there is no need to worry about spending time on the real products sold to the customer.
  • No One Wants To Hear They Have An Ugly Baby - By: Rene Jones
    It's time to admit you have an, "Ugly Baby!" Or, in distribution terminology, "Admit your warehouse is in shambles!" If your warehouse has returns that sit around for days without being processed, "Your warehouse is in shambles." If your warehouse has receiving that does not get received for days, then once it is received it sits again before it is put away, "Your warehouse is in shambles!" If your customer service personnel spend more time in the warehouse checking stock, because your inventory is so inaccurate, "Your warehouse is in shambles!"
  • Make your Sales Team the Best with Excellent Sales Training - By: John McLean
    An article that shows you how to get the best sales team with the best training courses
  • Highlighting The Benefits Of Project Management Training - By: Gurinder Singh
    Project management is one of the important processes of an organization for the simple reason that it answers a lot of your questions and adds order to the company. With this, project management training is important to ensure that you have the right skills and knowledge when it comes to doing project management.
  • Benefits of Management are Essential for Business - By: Avesh Dahiya
    During the implementation of project, the benefits manager has to check whether the benefits are being achieved within the specified time frame. Therefore helps the management in selecting the right projects.