telephone etiquette technique with example

Telephone Etiquette Technique

telephone etiquette is:

 Quality customer service on the phone. Whether you are new to business, or just need to brush up on your skills, listed below are some helpful phone etiquette technique tips. This applies to inbound and outbound calls.

 

List telephone etiquette technique  with some Example

• Answer your own phone. Do not let people go to voice mail, and answer your telephone by the second or third ring.

• Sound professional. Your customers are more likely to take you seriously if you sound like you run a multi-million dollar firm. For instance, "Thank you for calling MOFO's, this is Richard/Rebecca speaking, how can I help you today?"

• Sound cheerful and relaxed when answering your phone. Being abrupt or rude is a major 'No no' in business. Even if you run a mile to answer the phone, don't sound like you did. When making calls to potential clients or customers, just smile and relax.

• Slow down and speak clearly. This may seem obvious but you would not believe how many businesses answer their phone lines so quickly that you do not know who you just called. This shows that you value their business. Don't use slang either.

• Sound confident. I actually prefer phone conversations to an in your face presentation. You can be sitting there in your pajama's and sipping on your latte but as long as you exude confidence, to them you sound like you are in a million dollar suit.

• Don't lie. You would think that this would be obvious as well, but it isn't. If you say you will be there at noon, then be there at noon. If not then explain your circumstances. For instance the customer says " I need someone out here today." Then you look at your calendar or list and realize that you cannot be there today. Don't be afraid to say 'No'. If you have prior commitments then be courteous and tell them when you can be there. Honesty is seriously the best policy. This creates customer trust and loyalty. If you say "Sure." then call at the last minute to reschedule for the next day, this will make you seem like you don't know how to manage yourself,or your business. And you don't want that, do you? ( Oh, and number 5 above is not lying, it's a portrayal of who you are on the inside.)

• Actively listen to what your customer or client is saying. If you have a customer complaining, repeat their concerns. Don't make excuses for yourself. I found that if I just asked them; "What can I do to fix this?" That this will sometimes throws them off. Especially the ones who just call to complain with no real complaint. If it is a real concern they will explain what went wrong and you can be proactive in fixing the problem. Also, listening to the customer and clarifying with questions of your own can help see if both them and you are a good fit initially. For instance, you say 'What kind of _____ were you looking for?' This helps to understand their needs better.

• Repeat their name back. Don't use their first name when talking to them. say 'Mr. Fields' or 'Ms. Fields'. When you are talking to a customer or client, saying their name makes them feel you are paying attention to them. Saying their first name, without being asked to, is rude and assumptive.

• Train everyone in your home, or business, to answer the phone the same way. You want to have a professional image so that clients and customers will take you seriously. You don't want your teenager answering the phone saying 'what' or just saying 'hello'. Many times I have called a business and thought I had the wrong number when someone answered just by saying 'hello'.

• Return calls within one day. People like to feel they are important and that you value their business. Failing to return telephone calls will cause you to lose their business.

• Be consistent. If you are not consistent in how you answer your business calls, or how you handle your customers, then they could lose faith in your services. Set a baseline for every customer on how you will handle every call. Ask yourself what you want to get across, how you want to handle complaints, how you can uniquely sell your services and attain your business goals. I think you get the idea. 

• Don't assume you will remember everything. Write it down. Even every little small detail about that customer. Remember how they were talking about their son going off to college? Ask them how he is doing the next time they call. Or if you catered their daughters wedding, ask them how they liked the lemon cream frosting on the cake. It's the little things that make the biggest differences.