How to Get The Best Out Of Your Phone

Title:How to Get The Best Out Of Your PhoneWord Count:1259Summary:The telephone can be a great tool to provideexceptional customer service but it can alsodestroy a customer 抯 perception of your service.What steps can you take to ensure it addssomething positive to the customer experience?

Keywords: technique, customer service ontelephonetelephoneArticle Body:When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone,little did he realise the positive effect it wouldhave on customer service ?or the negative effectit could also have!Yes, the telephone can be a great tool in helpingto provide exceptional customer service but itcan also quickly destroy a customer 抯 perceptionof your service. What steps can you take to ensurethat, whenever you or your staff use the phone,it adds something positive to the customerexperience?Here are some ideas.<b>Answer Promptly</b>

It 抯 an old tip but one usually ignored! You aresitting at your desk, deep in thought, writingyour monthly report and the phone rings. 揑抣 ljust finish this sentence quickly 厰 you say toyourself and before you know it, the phone hasrung 10 times. The caller is unlikely to be in agood mood ?assuming he hasn 抰 already hung up!Just try and remember the last time you sat on aphone with it ringing and ringing. What picturescame into your mind while you were waiting? Animage of the person you are trying to call sittingat his desk chatting or casually drinking a cupof coffee? Didn 抰 get you in a good mood did it?So why put your customers through it?Aim to answer your phone within 3 to 5 rings. Aprompt pick-up will get the conversation off toa positive start and also avoids you having toopen your conversation with an apology.

So, get to the phone as quick as you can.<b>Be Enthusiastic</b>When you answer the phone make sure your voiceconveys the message, 揜 eally happy to bespeaking to you!?Make your voice light, bring afeeling of enthusiastic emotion to your tone andmost importantly sound eager. You don 抰 want thecaller thinking that you would rather be doingsomething else ?even if you do!Get a real upbeat feeling into your openinggreeting. Say your 揋 ood morning?or 揋 oodafternoon?with a strong, enthusiastic tone. Thiswill immediately lift your caller 抯 spirits andget you both off to a good start.If you really are having a bad day (and we all getthem!), and enforced enthusiasm is going to bestruggle, stand up and take the call. This helpsmakes your voice lighter and the change in

position and body language can have a positiveimpact. Try it out.<b>Listen To What They Have To Say</b>You may think that you listen intently to allconversations you have. It 抯 difficult enough todo this when you are face-to-face with someone,but over the phone without eye contact, keepingyour attention is even more difficult. It 抯 tooeasy, especially if the caller has a habit ofpadding out every point he wants to make, to thinkabout the task you were just interrupted on, orabout that chat you had with one of your suppliersearlier. Before you know it, you 抳 e lost trackof what the caller is on about.Actively listening to what is being said is askill everyone needs if they are to use the phoneas a tool for great customer service. But how canyou keep your attention focused on what is beingsaid?

?First of all, commit to yourself that you willactively listen. Without a clear commitmentnothing ever happens?Take notes during every call, even if you don抰 need to. The act of having to capture thecaller 抯 key points, will force you to listen.Just focus on writing down keywords, not completesentences otherwise you 抣 l be concentrating onwriting and not listening!?If an important statement has been made, repeatit back in your own words. This will force you tolisten for the key points worth repeating?Ask questions. Don 抰 go too far with a constantbarrage of questions but ask just enough to keepyour mind alertActive listening is not just about making sure youpick up all the key points; it 抯 also about

respecting the caller. They will feel they havebeen treated with importance and respect if it抯 clear you have been listening. Relevantquestions and the occasional 揢 mm?can go a longway to making the caller feel they have beenlistened to.<b>Avoid Distractions</b>If possible, try and remove as many distractionsas you can while speaking on the phone, especiallyif the call is important. If your office door isopen and general office noise is affecting yourlistening, ask the caller to hold for a moment andclose the door.If someone walks into your office while you aretaking an important call, indicate for him to stayoutside or come back. It can be very distractinghaving someone sitting at your desk while you aretalking.

If you were working on your PC when the call camethrough, turn and face away from it. You don 抰want your eyes and mind wandering back to look atthe document you were working on!Respect the caller 抯 time and remove or avoidanything which may cause your mind to drift off.<b>Finish Strongly</b>When the call is coming to an end it 抯 importantto finish in a strong, convincing way. Summarisewhat has been agreed, what actions are to be takenand by whom. Leave the caller in no doubt as towhat the next step is.Just as your opening was full of enthusiasm, soshould your closing statement. A good, strong andpositive, 揋 ood to talk you and speak to yousoon?closer will bring the call to a satisfactoryend. Your customer will hang up knowing that thecall was worthwhile.

<b>Answer Phone and Voicemail Messages</b>If you are not at your desk or in the office, anyrecorded message you leave is just as importantin creating the right impression as the actualcall itself. Some people don 抰 like leavingmessages but if your phone has the capability thenuse it. By leaving a message at least yourcustomer will have the opportunity to partlysatisfy the reason he called. Not being able tosay anything can be frustrating.Here are some thoughts on how to record effectivemessages:?Write out the message before you record it. Don抰 do it off the cuff as it will probably be fullof 搖 mms?and pauses. It won 抰 soundprofessional?When recording, speak slowly and carefully,

making sure that the caller can understandeverything you say. This is especially the casefor telephone numbers where you can be reached inan emergency?Make the message punchy and too the point. Don抰 fill it with unnecessary information?Call your number and listen to the message. Ifit doesn 抰 sound right record it again and againuntil it does?Regularly change your message to reflect whatyou are doing. If you are going to be away onholiday, give a date when you will be back. If youare out only for the morning, tell the caller youwill return their call in the afternoon. Messageswhich are up to date will make the caller moreconfident about leaving a messageIf used correctly the telephone can be a greatasset in building a reputation for providing

exceptional customer service. Used incorrectly,it can damage your business and give anotherreason for your customers to go and take theirbusiness elsewhere.