Business Telephone Etiquette helps you make the right first impression. That’s important. Because you only get one chance.
Doing it right is easy. Undoing a bad impression can be nearly impossible. So here’s a way to keep from sabotaging your business.
Etiquette gets a bad name. It’s from your Grandmother’s generation, right?
Actually etiquette is just the way you treat people. In business that’s important if you want to succeed.
Most marketing today may begin on the Internet, but it doesn’t usually end there. For sales that are more complex than picking the lowest price for Earbuds on Amazon or a six pack of beer in a supermarket you interact with the customer, and a phone call is often the first step. That’s why…
Business Telephone Etiquette starts when the phone rings
AT&T actually used to offer free classes on business telephone use. They gave you simple suggestions like:
- Answer every call by the third ring
- Pay attention to your caller, not other distractions
- Smile when you answer the phone: your caller can actually hear it! Try putting a small mirror behind your phone so you can see your expression
- Answer every call the same way
- Say the name of the business
- Be brief and to the point
- Speak clearly. Never eat, chew gum, or drink while answering
- Remember to say “thank you.”
- Listen to the caller: ask for any needed information and remember it or write it down the first time. Have a notepad and pen at hand. Don’t make the caller repeat their information if possible.
- Help the caller right away, or transfer the call to the right person. Don’t make the caller responsible for trying to find their way around your organization.
- Don’t be afraid to place a call on hold: if you need information or to find the right person, ask the caller is you may place them on hold. But don’t abandon them there!
Business Telephone Etiquette shouldn’t be taken for granted
These telephone answering rules may seem simple, but think about how businesses answer your calls. How many times have you called a business to be answered with “hello?” Or answered by a person engaged in a conversation with someone else? Or asked to speak with a specific party and be asked “who?”
Business Telephone Etiquette can make a difference.
You know when you call a professional organization, and can hear the professional approach the take right from the start. Consider how you’d like your customers and prospects to think about your business, and model yourself after others that impress you most.
How’s the business telephone etiquette at your office?
It’s easy to figure out: just dial your business and see how many (or few) of those simple rules your organization follows. Because good business etiquette is good business.
And when you do place an caller on hold, sound more professional with Informer Messages on hold. Find out more about Informer Messages by clicking here.
