How important is it for you to have a strong business etiquette over the phone? Well, if you run a call centre or have any number of phone agents speaking to your customers on a daily basis, you’ll know that it is extremely important! As we’ve pointed out in previous blogs, a little something extra is necessary from workers when they’re conducting business over the phone. It’s not quite the same as being in person.
And that’s because the absence of facial expressions, hand gestures and other forms of body language force an individual to step up his/her friendly demeanour. You can gain a lot of confidence from a customer when you immediately give off an approachable and affable vibe over the phone. And just as important as it is to be courteous and kind, it’s imperative that you are demonstrate your knowledge and all-around professionalism.
What are the signs that you have a professional phone etiquette down pat? Here are five:
1. You always identify yourself at the beginning of calls. People aren’t particularly motivated to do business with strangers. So ensuring that, at the beginning of each call, you remove the “stranger” distinction is extremely important. By creating a sense of familiarity between you and your customers – it’s important to use their names often throughout the calls – you help to ease any fears, concerns or misnomers about your brand.
2. Your tone of voice is always pleasant. Make no mistake about it, phone work isn’t easy. It can be difficult to not lose your patience when a customer asks the same question over and over or perhaps, accuses you of something you didn’t do. But not getting frustrated (or more accurately, not appearing to get frustrated) is the sign of a true professional. Never losing your cool keeps you in a great position to succeed at your job.
3. You’ve mastered your script. Nearly every sales agent must follow a script when working on the phone. However, it’s not just memorization that breeds success. It’s the tone, inflections and personality that comes through in each call that help for success to be bred. A phone agent who has a strong handle on the script so that he/she can be interrupted to answer questions and not lose focus is an excellent asset to any company.
4. You don’t easily get distracted. Call centres are very busy and noisy environments. Between all of the other conversations taking place, the phones ringing and the general action in the workplace, there’s a lot that can deter one’s attention from his/her phone calls. One who knows how to stay focused is in a better position to actively listen to his/her leads and customers. That way, much better customer service can be provided and greater sales success can be achieved.
5. You are clear and concise when leaving messages. For most phone reps, there is nothing more ideal than the live call. But the best phone reps know that during instances when leaving voicemails are necessary, it’s imperative to leave messages that entice return calls. Speaking clearly and concisely so that all relevant information is heard and understood helps to encourage voicemail recipients to call back.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to utilize a feature-rich, VoIP-based phone service like the Commercial Phone Services offered by MeloTel. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 1-888-MELOTEL or use the Live Chat feature on our website!
