March 9th, 2021 | Updated on June 30th, 2022
Whether you’re answering an incoming call or making a call for yourself, maintaining a professional phone etiquette when representing your business is of the upmost importance.
Phone calls play a key part in daily operations. You may be calling a client, a customer or a member of staff, but regardless of who is on the other end of the line, it’s important to communicate your messages with as much professionalism as possible.
Phone calls are a huge part of customer service, and statistics show that 66 percent of consumers will make the decision to switch vendors if they are given unsatisfactory customer service over the phone.
To make sure you don’t lose any of your valued customers, here are some tips for getting the most out of your business phone calls.
1. Decide Whether A Call Is Appropriate
Now that social media and web communication is so readily available, a phone call is often society’s least favorite choice of communication.
Gone are the days when people would pick up their landline to an unknown number- it’s actually now the norm for people to ignore unsolicited phone calls on their mobile.
Many people feel uncomfortable enough talking on the phone as it is, and if you’re calling from an unknown number, they’re even less likely to pick up.
Before you make the phone call, ask yourself if there is any other way you can communicate with the client. The majority of people all over the world have access to an email address and feel much more at ease replying to an email than taking a phone call.
2. Prepare In Advance
If you’ve decided that a phone call is necessary, then you should prepare in advance before you make the call.
Spend a few minutes beforehand noting down any important points and questions you may have, so that you don’t forget while you’re on the phone.
It’s also wise to choose a time of day which is most convenient to speak, and let your client know ahead of time when you will be making the call.
Keep in mind the time difference if you’re phoning abroad. The last thing that people want is to be woken up at 3am by your phone call!
If you take a lot of phone calls when you’re in the car, then a high-quality car audio system provided such as these from Xtreme Car Audio will ensure that you don’t miss a word of what your client is saying.
3. Establish Rapport, And Mind Your Jargon
When somebody is on the phone with you, they’re taking precious time out of their day to listen to what you have to say.
Make sure that you show your appreciation by thanking them for their time, and establish a rapport by asking them how they are, or what they have planned for the day.
After a couple of minutes of friendly chit-chat, you can then bring the conversation back to the matter at hand- but make sure that you stay away from business jargon or buzzwords.
When we have extensive knowledge of a particular subject, it’s easy to forget that others won’t know every word that you do.
Your phone call is all about mutual understanding and communication between yourself and your customer, so it’s imperative that you use language which easily gets the point across.
