Unlocking the Doors to Successful Customer Service on the Telephone

by Julie E. Malcolm

"Please hold!" The words sputter through the crackling phone line. The hostile phone handler has pushed you into the great abyss of "Holdum" before you could even say, "Hello, I'm calling to inquire about your advertisement." And so you wait three seconds - long enough to wonder whether this business can really handle your request. After waiting 10 minutes, you are sure you don't want to do business with this company.

Does this sound familiar? Unfortunately, many business owners fail to understand the telephone is on the frontline of their business' success. Customers make split-second decisions about working with you based on your team's telephone performance. It is critical to your bottom line to have phone answering procedures that impress prospects and customers.

Having performance standards is one of the things that truly sets great companies apart from the others. These companies, who have taken the time and effort to develop something that says, "this is how we do it here", deliver a consistent customer experience, thus increasing confidence in the company's ability to deliver.

Human beings rely heavily on first impressions. You only get one chance to make a good first impression. The only way you can create a first impression on the telephone is by the words used and the way they are said. To ensure you are establishing the company's best first impression, you should address the basics first. Ask your team members:

• How long do you let the phone ring?
• What is the appropriate greeting?
• What do you say if someone wants to speak with a colleague or the 'boss'?
• How do you position message taking?
• Do your team members offer help or to take a message?
• How do you answer internal calls?
• How do you transfer calls?

A recent survey quoted some staggering statistics why customers no longer deal with a particular company (in other words, why customers go to your competitor). Sixty-eight percent left because of what they called 'perceived indifference'. Perceived indifference is another way of saying, "The company didn't seem to care about me, so I now deal with their competition," or "The company didn't treat me as if I were important, so I've taken my business elsewhere."

Sixty-eight percent is a large number. More importantly, you can do something about perceived indifference. To show customers that you do care about them, team members should think of callers as visitors. This is the key to effective customer service via the telephone. Customers who call your business should be treated the same way as a customer walking through the front door. An important beginning is a greeting with a smile. You'd be surprised how a smile can project through the telephone.

Answer your incoming telephone calls on the second ring. It shows customers you are eager and willing to take their call (and their business)! A recent study indicates callers begin to feel discouraged after hearing just four rings. By the time they hear eight rings, they're ready to hang up.

Callers want to speak with someone they believe has the authority to help them. People call because they have a problem they need solved. Team members should include their first and last names in their telephone greeting. The authority conveyed with a full name is critically important in building trust. If your customers don't trust you, they won't buy from you. To generate trust on the telephone, show interest by listening attentively and asking questions. This shows the caller you are interested in them, and it will help you obtain the information you need to create a sale.

End your telephone calls on a high note. Give a positive stroke, such as thanking them for their call. When you do, they'll hang up thinking, "Wasn't that a great call?" They'll translate that into, "Wasn't that a great person?" Finally, they will translate to, "Isn't that a great company?"

There is really no such thing as a great company. A company is simply a collection of great people applying standards - standards that work because they focus on the customer. The aim should not be simply satisfying customers on the telephone, but delighting them. The idea is to make every customer contact memorable so they want to come back to your business again and again.

Julie Malcolm is a member of Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co. P.C. (EHTC)’s Business Development Unit where she functions as a facilitator for small- and medium-size companies in the areas of profit improvement and operational issues, which includes training team members on effective telephone communication. She can be reached at 616.575.3482 or juliem@ehtc.com.