Telephone Profressionalism with a Small Business Phone Line

First impressions can be lasting ones.  Promote confidence that the company is a winning small business with telephone profressionalism.
 
1) Answer all phone calls before the third ring.
2) Have an upbeat, enthusiastic, courteous, professional greeting. “Thank you for calling…” identifying your organization, yourself and department.  
3) Voice volume and clear enunciation facilitates easy understanding.
4) Refrain from common colloquialisms. Say "Let me find out about that for you," rather than “I don’t know.”
5)  Be positive, even when having personal problems.  
6) Accuracy is crucial. Ask the caller to repeat or spell anything you may have missed. Deliver messages timely.
7) Returning calls within 24 hours reinforces a favorable impression and could mean the difference of whether the contract/sale gets closed.
8) Treat others as you would like to be treated, especially when putting someone on hold.  Always ask their permission, ensuring not to forget about them. Provide a 30 to 45 second progress report, offering choices such as "That line is still busy, do you still wish to hold?” or, “May I take a message?”
9) Speaker phones may give the impression you are not fully concentrating on what they are saying and should only be used when more than one person needs to hear the conversation. Inform the caller they are going on speaker. Some may find the lack of privacy unnerving.
10) Record a professional answering machine message as above, with holiday updates, informing people when the business will re-open.
 
A missed call is a missed profit opportunity. Being available to a customer 24/7 is expected.
Voicemail:
* Works even when the power is off 
* Cannot be damaged by lightning 
* Will answer all incoming calls, even while on the phone or Internet. 
* Can answer multiple calls 
* Makes it easy to check messages when away from home 
* Will never wear out
Answering Machine:
* Quits working when power is off 
* Can be disabled by a bad thunderstorm 
* Only answers one call at a time 
* Can be difficult to check messages remotely 
* Does not answer calls while on the phone or Internet 
* Tape can run out.

Please contact us for more information about telephone professionalism and a small business.