Running a business can be challenging and bringing in more customers means more profits, but also more phone calls, questions and production. How you handle your incoming phone calls will tell customers a lot about your business and can make or break your reputation. There are three main tips to consider when you are handling phone calls, assign someone to take them, be professional in both tone and language and take detailed messages.
Assign Incoming Calls
The easiest way to assign incoming calls is to partner with a virtual answering service. These services can offer live answering, customizable scripts and shared informational portals to make sure that your customers receive uniform service whether they call and get the service or walk-in to talk to you personally. In addition, with an answering service, you can take customer calls around the clock without having to pay the expenses associated with keeping employees in your building.
Be Professional
Professional tone and language mean more over the phone than in person because the caller cannot see your body language, but they can sometimes hear it. One of the first things call centers and answering services, like VoiceNation, teach employees is that when you are smiling, the customer can hear it in your voice. The same goes for when you are frustrated, bored or goofing off. Hiring professional people who excel in calmly answering questions and solving problems over the phone is the best way to gain customer satisfaction, even when the solutions are not ideal.
Take Detailed Messages
Knowing that someone called and understanding why they called are two very different things. When you keep a notepad or an app handy for phone calls can help you in more than just passing messages on to the right person, however. By taking detailed notes and messages, you can more thoroughly understand the customer’s question or concern as well as keep you on-task during the call. Time management skills are also improved with better messages as you will not have to go back to the caller or the message taker with questions. Some answering services will have software solutions allowing them to access customer account information, enter detailed notes on calls and find custom answers in real-time.
Putting a professional face on your brand and optimizing your time management on business phone calls can help build your brand and keep you focused on satisfying customers. You can train yourself in these skills or outsource to a professional answering service to better streamline your operations. You can even find software solutions to help keep you, the customer and the answering service all on the same page.
