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Avoid five telephone mistakes that can destroy your businessBy Terry Bragg The telephone can make or break your business. When callers reach you by telephone, they choose to do business with you based upon how you relate to them on the telephone. Avoid five critical mistakes on the telephone or you may destroy your business without knowing why. Mistake One: Let your telephone ring as long as possible before answering it. Never let the telephone ring more than four times before answering it. If possible, answer on the second ring. If you don’t answer your telephone promptly, you may lose business because prospects hang up before you answer the telephone. People judge your service by how you answer the telephone. Be sloppy in answering the telephone, and you may not have a business to worry about. Mistake Two: Transfer calls to the wrong people. Transferring a call to the wrong person frustrates your clients. They have to repeat information they have already given to you. You waste their time, and test their patience. The caller may conclude that your company is incompetent or that it doesn’t care. Either way, you lose business. Before transferring a call, make sure you understand why the caller is calling. Then transfer them to someone who can address that need. Stay on-line with the caller until you are sure they have connected with the right person. If you cannot stay on line with them, give them your direct access number, and assure them that if they call you back you will help them find the right person to talk to. Don’t just transfer the call to get rid of the caller, and don’t leave them with an empty void if the transfer is wrong or incomplete. Mistake Three: Put people on hold for a long time. People judge how you value them by how you value their time. Putting people on hold wastes their time, and they resent it. If you can’t take the call immediately, ask if you can put them on hold. If they will be on hold for an extended period, ask if you can call them back at a time convenient for them. The telephone magnifies silence. Short times seem longer when you are waiting for a response on the telephone. Bonus Mistake: Another fatal mistake related to putting people on hold is not calling back as promised. Don’t return calls and people will quickly do business with someone else. Mistake Four: Sound like it’s a pain to talk to your customers. If your customers believe you do not want to do business with them, they will go somewhere else. Make it easy for your callers to talk with you. Be clear, enthusiastic, and pleasant. Even when a caller is angry or has a complaint, listen carefully and try to solve the problem for them. Callers can sense when you don’t want to talk to them. Ask yourself, "is my voice the type of voice I would like to do business with?" If it isn’t, then change it. Mistake Five: Don’t identify yourself. You may shirk responsibility by being an unknown figure, but you will also lose customers. Hey, they can’t blame you if they don’t know who you are, right? Wrong. No one likes doing business with an unknown. Give your name and the name of your company or department up front. Don’t leave them guessing about who is on your end of the telephone line. Treat callers right. Stop driving away potential business by avoiding the five mistakes commonly made when using the telephone. Terry Bragg and Peacemakers Training offers a variety of tools for promoting, maintaining, and recognizing excellence in your workplace. We also offer tools for helping you achieve and maintain personal excellence. To learn more about these tools, click here: Tools for Workplace and Personal Excellence To find out more about Terry's book, 31 Days to High Self-Esteem, click here: 31 Days to High Self-Esteem To learn more about onsite seminars and workshops for improving interpersonal relationships, resolving conflict, and promoting and maintaining excellence in your workplace, click here: Seminars & Workshops ©2000 All rights reserved Terry Bragg•Peacemakers Training Terry Bragg runs a company called Peacemakers Training in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is the author of the book 31 Days to High Self-Esteem. He works with organizations to create a workplace where people want to work, and with managers who want their people to work together better. If you want your organization or your people to have more energy, more trust, more respect, and more meaning, please contact him at: Peacemakers Training Subscribe to our Free |
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