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Phone Tips To Get Things Done: Professional Phone Skills
It happens all the time, you hear someone over the telephone and you make a generalization about the person you are speaking with. It may not be fair and it is akin to judging a book by its cover, but it's true nevertheless. Within 60 seconds, people will make assumptions about one's education, background, ability and personality based on their voice alone. What type of impression is your "phone" voice making? Indeed there are two areas you should be aware of when speaking. One is "what' you say, the other the "how" you say it. Studies show that as much as 87% of the listener's opinion of you is based on your voice alone. That leaves only 13% allocated to what we are saying to make a positive impression. With numbers like these it is easy to see why your voice is so important in your career and personal life. Today we live in a "voice mail" environment. We are playing "phone tag", leaving messages and listening to voice mails left by others. It may take as many as 3-4 tries before actual contact is made and you have a conversation. By the time you do connect, you can be assured that other party already has formed an impression about you. The following are some tips that will help you improve your phone voice and technique. 1. THIRD RING RULE: Answer the phone by the third ring or make sure you voice mail is set to pick up by the third ring. Today people are not inclined to wait much longer and will assume you are not available and hang up. Remember, as much as we think we don't like voice mail, we like the option of leaving a message. 2. PROFESSIONAL GREETING: Remember the 87% rule above and make a good impression. Be aware of what you are going to say in the greeting. Then practice and rehearse BEFORE you leave the greeting on your answering machine. Be short and to the point. Don't drag out the greeting. It is obvious you are "Out of the office or away from your desk" otherwise you would answer your phone. Consider leaving such statements out of your greeting unless you are actually away from the office, then say so and leave a date for your return. I recommend that you leave clear instructions as to what information you need from the caller. Reminder the caller to leave their phone number, best time to return the call and a brief subject. 3. PREPARE THEN ANSWER: Have a note pad and pen by your phone at all times. Write down the caller's name and use it during the conversation. 4. BE AN ACTIVE LISTENER: Take notes, ask for correct spelling, etc. 5. PROMPTLY RETURN CALLS: Make it your personal goal that you will be one that returns phone calls. This may very well be the most professional characteristic of all you can develop. Set a goal to return phone calls within 4 hours, it will make a positive statement about you and your image. 6. CHECK YOU MESSAGES: Check your messages several times a day. Learn how to dial in from a remote phone to get your voice mails. Many times the caller is facing a deadline and your information may be crucial for them to complete their assignment. IT'S A TWO WAY STREET. When You Leave Messages For Others Remember These Tips: 1. SLOW DOWN: Don't speak too fast. Slow down when you are leaving a message, especially if you have an accent. If you make your message hard to understand or if the listener has to replay it several times to get your message your reputation is slipping in their mind. 2. CLEARLY SAY YOUR NAME: Make absolutely sure the caller will understand your name. Consider spelling your name if hard to pronounce or is not a common name. 3. S-L-O-W DOWN: When leaving your phone number go slow. Most likely the listener is writing down your number, make it easy for them to do so. Repeat the number. Consider saying your number at the beginning and end of your voice mail. People will appreciate this. 4. LEAVE YOUR NAME, COMPANY NAME AND REASON: Leave the listener with all the information they will need to know about you. Don't make them guess. Always leave the reason you are calling. It is very unprofessional to just leave a message simply saying "give me a call" 5. MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM TO RETURN YOUR CALL: Tell them a good time to return your call. Give them a date, time and phone number. 6. BE PROFESSIONAL: People do judge you by the tone of your voice. Increase your image by sounding professional in everything you do over the phone Remember that you won't be able to avoid phone tag, but you can definitely put things in your favor by doing several small things that will make a BIG difference in your image. For more details on Business Communications, including effective email and voice mail use contact www.TrainingConnections.ORG. (c) 2004 TrainingConnections.ORG
About The Author John Robertson is a Professional Trainer with over 20 years experience in Mid to Sr. Level Management in several Fortune 500 companies. His real world experience will bring credibility to your company. TrainingConnections.Org focuses on three major categories of Employee Performance Improvement; Leadership, Management and Sales Training. Contact us today for more information or check our web site. mailto:info@trainingconnections.org
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Careers and Employment How To Know Youre On A Winner The catchword today for business is flexibility. What Level Of Telephone Sales And Customer Service Do You Provide? Using the telephone as an effective sales and customer service tool begins before you ever pick up the receiver to answer the telephone or make an appointment or sales call. When you reach for a ringing telephone, you need to put a smile on our faces and then greet people with the same enthusiasm you'd show them in-person. People can hear a smile, can't they? You also need to have music in your voices and an attitude that conveys to a caller that he or she is your top priority. The impression you create on the telephone can help you stand out from other organization If you don't stand out, you lose your competitive edge. Telsales Just Got Easier! Your sales structure for outbound calls can be summarised using the well know acronym AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) we will explore at a high level what should be happening during a telemarketing call. Overcoming Objections Over the Telephone In sales, one of the things you will be doing a lot of, is making phone calls. You can't escape it. It just comes with the territory. Telemarketing Tips for Direct Sales Success Unfortunately, the DNC legislation has many small businesses that use telemarketers a bit concerned about their choice of direct sales tactic. However, there are still many ways to have your message get into the right people's hands without annoying them. And the fact of the matter is, telemarketing, as a direct sales tactic, works. Here are some tips and ideas to get your sales flowing and customers thrilled that you called them: High Phone Bills Can Affect More Than Your Expenses I got a phone call today from a gentleman in Arizona. He wanted to talk to me about a report I downloaded from him about network marketing. I wasn't interested in network marketing, and I told him that. 4 1/2 Steps for Doubling Your B2B Appointments Cold calling. Most people hate to do it and there is a cottage industry of people making a profit by selling ideas on how to generate business without cold calling. They're making money because they are using a basic marketing tactic that most of us have forgotten how to use - give your customer what they want! Tell a salesperson that they can get appointments without making cold calls, tell them to buy your book, and you'll make money hand over fist. Why? Because it's a solution that fits what that market wants. How to Make Sales with Noisy Kids in the House Kids play hard, and sometimes that means they play really loud in the midst of exploring their worlds and role playing with siblings and friends. 3 Simple Rules For Your Next Sales Call The other day I received a call from a telemarketer selling a website "starter kit" for small businesses. If you are reading this right now, then you undoubtedly know that I have a website. Normally, I would quickly get the telemarketer off the line so I could get back to showing people how to make more money. But this call got my attention because I thought that this might be a potential service that I could recommend to my clients. So I decided to listen to this sales pitch to evaluate the offering and the approach that the telemarketer used. Cold Calling for Introverts In her book, The Introvert Advantage, Marty Olsen Laney talks about the defining moment when she embraced the fact that she was an introvert. It came in the form of a statement, "Oh, there's nothing wrong with me, I'm just an introvert!" No More Cold-Calling? Well, Almost... We do not advocate cold calling in High Probability Selling. However, cold calling is necessary at times. Feel the Fear It sometimes surprises people when I tell them I get slightly nervous before a speaking or training event. They seem to think that because I've been doing it for years, nervousness would no longer be an issue. 7 Ways to Jump Start Your Cold Calls Cold calling has to be one of the most feared aspects of every sales person's and business owner's day. With some important key tips, you can make cold calling painless and enjoyable and as easy as calling a friend. Stop Selling and Make More Sales A few months ago I spent time training some telephone sales agents who were new to selling. They'd mainly been involved with handling incoming calls but now their company needed them to do some out bound sales calls. I spent two days running a sales workshop for them and another three days coaching them on the job. The Dos and Donts of Cold Calling Having your fingernails removed! Telemarketers May Have Ruined Everything I had to really look at things a little different when I started calling people. Now I am not a telemarketer. I call people only when they request it. This is a Sales Call: How to Begin Prospecting Calls with Integrity "Hello. I'm looking for Sharon Morgen?" "Sharon DREW Morgen." "What? Sharon Morgen?" "No. Sharon DREW" "Um. Hello. Are you Mrs. Drew?" "Ms. Morgen. That's me. Is this a sales call?" "Um. Hello. No. I'm with XYZ bank and I'm giving you a service call." "Regarding what? I don't do business with you. And you are not supposed to be making a telemarketing call on me. So what type of service are you offering for free?" "Well, it's not for free. But we thought you'd like to know about our new banking services." "Ah. So it IS a sales call." "We're not allowed to say that." Telesales HEADSETS & TELEPHONES Phone Tips To Get Things Done: Professional Phone Skills It happens all the time, you hear someone over the telephone and you make a generalization about the person you are speaking with. It may not be fair and it is akin to judging a book by its cover, but it's true nevertheless. 10 Tips for Telephone Success The telephone is an often under-appreciated and much maligned piece of office equipment. Have you stopped to consider how much business you conduct over the telephone? These 10 tips will help you improve your telephone presence and presentations.
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Comment by Dr. J. Gregory Payne
