As more people use text messages and social media apps for communication in their personal lives, telephone skills have dropped off. But, businesses still rely on telephones as a critical method of communication with their customers.
Since people aren’t learning to use the phone in their personal lives, they need to learn telephone skills for their professional lives. These essential skills help businesses grow and flourish. Phone calls are often the first place that customers go, so the person who answers those calls must know what to do.
Why Telephone Skills Matter
Customer service is one of the few things that separate businesses from each other. When companies excel in customer service, customers come back. It can be nearly impossible to make up for negative interactions, especially if customers never come back to give you a chance.
It doesn’t matter where you work – pizza parlor, elementary school, or a Forbes 500 company – your phone skills matter, because customers matter. When you talk to someone on the phone, they cannot see your face or read your body language. You only have one sense to work with: sound. So, you have to be sure you sound professional, honest, and real.
Often, if you are the person who answers the phone, you are the first person that the customer meets. You are the first impression. You must take the time to be kind, and not be quick or curt. Your kindness on the phone builds a relationship with the customer, and loyalty is what brings customers back.
Customers do not want you to transfer them to electronic phone systems. They do not want to deal with voicemail. You must answer the phone and treat your customers like you would want to be treated, with courtesy, kindness, and professionalism.
Kind and Positive Voice
When a friendly voice answers the phone, customers become comfortable. But, if the voice that answers the phone is annoying, customers won’t want to continue. Telephone skills should include a friendly greeting, a genuine interest in the customer’s needs, and an understanding of how the phone system works.
The kind, positive voice that answers the phone should also be calm. No matter what the voice on the other end of the line is like, the professional who answers should never get frazzled. When customers call, the friendly voice that answers the phone does not know them and does not know their situations. So, calmness and friendliness is a necessity.
Along with being friendly, the person who answers the phone should also be positive. Your tone will come through the phone and bring comfort to the recipient. When you use a positive tone, your words will be clear and understandable, too.
Choose the Right Pitch
Your positive and friendly tone needs to have the perfect pitch, too. You don’t want it to be too high, so you sound like you are talking to a kindergartner. And, you don’t want it to be too low. Choose a pitch that is comfortable and sustainable. If you are curious about how you sound, call a friend, and use your phone voice. Get feedback and make adjustments if necessary.
Enunciate
Because the people on the phone cannot hear you, your words need to be precise. When you talk to your customers, make sure that you pronounce words and be intentional with what you say. Do not slow down to the point where you sound unnatural, but be aware of your words. It is also essential that you do not try to sound like a thesaurus. Instead, use words you know.
You want your customers to understand you, so you do not have to repeat yourself. With clear diction, you should only have to say something once. When your customer understands you, you build more loyalty. When the customer doesn’t understand you, you only create tension and possibly drive the customer to a competitive business.
Honesty
Pitch and pronunciation are two crucial aspects of phone skills, but honesty has to exist, too. Your enunciated words are meaningless unless you have sincerity behind them. If your voice sounds fake, then the customers on the other end of the line will notice. And they won’t want to talk to you.
It is vital that your voice actually sounds like you care, that you sincerely want them to benefit from the services your business offers. No matter what your role is in the business if you are answering the phone and talking to customers, your voice needs to show the values of your organization.
Listen and Engage
As the person who answers the phone, you should be prepared to listen. You might want to multitask while you are answering the phone but don’t. You must listen to what the customer has to say. If you are multitasking, you will miss some of the things your customer says.
If you do miss some of the conversation, you will have a choice to make. And the options aren’t good. You either have to ask the customer to repeat himself, or you have to guess what the customer said. The odds are good that you could make a mistake and prove to the customer that you weren’t listening.
To avoid problems like this, all you have to do is listen, actively. Your customer will feel appreciated and worthy. They might even tell their friends or colleagues about the positive experiences they had on the phone with you.
Along with listening, you should engage with the customer. There might be times when you need to solve problems with a customer, so you should know what to listen for and how to manage situations. You should also know how to engage with a customer instead of putting them on hold.
For example, say a customer needs to talk to your manager. But your manager is busy for a moment. Instead of putting the customer on hold, you should be able to engage in a conversation until the manager is ready. This makes the customer feel important, and you keep the customer on the line.
Do More Than Take Messages
As someone who answers the phone, you are the first impression for the business. So, customer service needs to be your number one task. To do this, you need to be able to talk to people, even if you have no idea what to talk about with them. Even if your job is to take messages for other employees, take time to speak to the person on the other end of the line.
Your voice might be the only voice that the customer ever hears, so you should make your voice count. With sincerity, greet the customers and ask them how they are doing. Make small talk with your kind and caring voice. Be there for the customer, not just for the employee that will get the message from you.
Learn to Greet
When you answer the phone, you aren’t addressing your friends. You must respond in a professional and considerate way. Your greeting must sound genuine, but it must still include vital information, so your caller knows they’ve reached the correct place.
When you answer a business call, you should follow the rules your company has established. In most cases, your greeting will include a welcome, the name of the business, and your name. And, don’t say those things as if you are doing it from rote memory. Say them clearly, accurately, and kindly.
Many businesses require the greeting to include a question at the end. The question usually involves something like “How may I help you today?” After you have finished the salutation, your next task is to listen intently, so you know what the customer needs. Your welcoming greeting sets the tone for your business, so do a good job.
Successful businesses reward their employees. Your pleasant greeting benefits everyone at the company, including you.
How To Put Callers On Hold
There will be moments when you do have to put a customer on hold. The first thing you should do tell the caller that you have to put him on hold. Then, ask if that is ok. The caller might not be able to wait, so he should have the choice to hold or ask for a returned call. If the caller cannot wait, then you can transfer the caller to someone else or take a message.
The act of putting a caller on hold is not rude or unexpected. But, it is disrespectful to put a caller on hold without informing him first. You should always thank the caller before you put him on hold. Notice how much time has passed before the held call is picked up. There is nothing wrong with checking in on the customer.
You do not want the customer to wait too long, or the customer might get frustrated. When this happens, customers go to rival businesses. They also complain to their friends and colleagues about how they were treated.
How to Conduct Business Over the Phone
In the previous sections, the skills were about how to answer the phone and manage basic etiquette. This next section involves how to talk to customers when you are the person trying to conduct business. Everyone who works through the phone needs to understand how to answer it, greet customers, and manage pitch, tone, and pronunciation.
Develop a Flowchart
Businesses should have a flowchart that helps employees understand how to work through phone calls with clients. Having a set of steps helps employees know when they should talk about the product, when they should ask questions, and when it is time to make an offer and close the sale.
Without a set of steps, employees will lack consistency. Leaders should train employees on the steps, so every employee knows what the business expects. The steps should include ideas on how to talk about customer objections, too.
Know Your Stuff
When you are working with customers over the phone, you need to be prepared to answer questions and share ideas. Your knowledge should include details about your business and the company looking into your product or service.
To learn about your customers, do some research. You should ask questions and show your concern when you are on the phone. But, if it is possible, do some research online, especially if your customer is representing a business. Being prepared and asking questions shows that you are interested in the customer, which can build loyalty.
While you are on the phone, pay close attention to everything the customer says. As you listen, take thorough notes. This will help you remember everything when you speak to the customer the next time.
There will be times when a customer makes a cold call. You will have to work through the call without having any prior knowledge. This is where your ability to learn about the customer over the phone is essential. You will need to ask several fundamental questions, build the customer’s trust, and listen intently.
Manage the Conversation
As you work with the customer, you need to stay in control regarding the focus and direction of the conversation. If you enjoy talking, it is easy to get off-topic and make too much small talk. Your focus should be on the customer, the product, and the process of closing the sale. You want to sound professional, comfortable, and knowledgeable, but not too salesy or pushy.
As you manage the conversation, set a goal for yourself. You do not have to share the goal with your customer, but you keep the goal in mind throughout the call. You might even want to quickly jot the goal at the top of a notepad so you can see it.
Of course, you can veer off-topic for a few moments but return to the goal of the conversation. Customers like to feel heard and understood, but no one has unlimited time for phone conversations. You stay in control, which can make the call more successful in a shorter amount of time.
Be Prepared for Tough Questions
Not every phone call will be easy. You might get calls from frustrated customers or upset customers. These are the most difficult calls to manage, so it is wise to learn how to do it. Avoiding them will not solve the problem, and passing them off to someone else only adds to the customer’s irritation from being put on hold, again.
The first step to manage a tough phone call is to listen to the caller. Then, work your way towards the best possible outcome for your customer and your business. When your customer realizes that you want to make the situation better, they usually calm down and listen to you.
The worst thing to do is to get upset and angry with the customer. You must always stay calm and maintain a professional, kind voice. Do not become condescending or passive-aggressive in your tone. Your angry customer will notice and become more irate.
However, you should not let the customer become hostile towards you. If this happens, then you can end the call. No one should be verbally abused over the phone. Employers should offer some training about what verbal abuse sounds like, and when it is ok to end a call.
Use Your Voice
Whether you are working with a pleasant call or an angry call, you should use your voice to manage the call. As you work through the call, make subtle adjustments to the pitch, tone, and pace of your voice. You might be able to relax through the call, or you might have to sound incredibly professional.
When you make subtle changes to the tone, pitch, and pace of your voice, you will be able to stay in control of the conversation. You can mirror the subtleties of your customer, but don’t do that throughout the conversation. You can stay in control with short pauses and other nuances. Notice the nuances of your customer, too, and make adjustments as necessary.
Don’t hesitate to use laughter and light conversation when the moment calls for it. If you are not comfortable making conversation on the phone, you should learn to become better at it. People who work on the phone should know how to talk to anyone. If the customer feels comfortable with you, they are more likely to close the sale and return to buy more.
Notice Your Body
Even though you are using the phone, your body language is still necessary to understand. As you are talking on the phone, your body will move, and your face will react. Your voice changes slightly as you smile or frown, and your customers will notice. So, you should be aware of how you move and how your voice changes during phone calls.
You will not be able to remove body language from the conversation completely. So, you should learn how to control your body’s movements. Sit with good posture, upright, with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. This will help you breathe properly and maintain a normal tone during the conversation.
As you talk to your customers, do not get too relaxed in your chair. If you start to sink into the chair, your voice will respond by sounding tired and bored. Notice if your hands become too active, this could be a sign that your voice is overly excited.
Act Professionally
When you are on the phone with a customer, your professionalism is essential. At no point should you sound condescending to the customer, but you should never be offensive. If you want to incorporate a joke into the conversation, you cannot tell a joke that offends anyone. If you use an anecdote, it has to be free of any cultural bias or offensive features.
You have to be able to master all phone skills, including the greeting, steps to close a sale, and vocal quality. Your customer has to believe you, and you only have your voice to do it. So, what you say and how you say is of the utmost importance. You have to be able to work through any situation, no matter what, without showing signs of frustration.
Make Your Customer Happy
Your goal is to make a sale. But, you cannot do this if your customer is unhappy. Therefore, you must have two goals: the sale and the customer’s happiness. You’ve got to make a good impression and close your calls with grace. The beginning of the call needs to be as kind and professional as the end of the conversation.
The customer will remember your last words, and the words should be honest and not canned. This means you say something meaningful. Many people struggle with closing the call because they don’t know what to say and how to say it.
There are two essential ingredients to a proper closing. The first is to wrap up the focus of the conversation. The second is to add a friendly farewell. To best wrap up the call, you can talk about the conversation. Write notes as you speak, so you know what to say at the end. Your farewell can include phrases like:
- I appreciate your time.
- Thank you for your business.
- I’ll call you back after the product is delivered.
If you do promise to make a return call, make the call. Put the call on your schedule and pay attention to the circumstances around it. If your company uses a customer management app, put the necessary information into it so you are alerted when the product is delivered.
Working Through Objections
Making a sale over the phone is not easy. There will be times when a customer objects, and you will have to manage the objections. A well-trained employee will know what possible objections customers will have and how to address them. But, you should not use a canned response to address the objections. Your answer should sound natural.
Customers can buy products over the Internet if they want to work with a bot. Your voice and its sincerity is what brings customers to the phone. You should practice your responses so that you can follow your employer’s instructions, but without sounding like you are reading responses off of a card.
If the responses do not have a natural flow to them, adjust them to fit your speaking style. Whatever you do, do not just “wing it” because you could say something wrong or make a promise that you cannot fulfill. Address your customer’s concerns with real solutions and a sincere speaking voice.
You can also work through objections by understanding your customer, your rival businesses, and your product and service. Being knowledgeable about your situation prepares you for anything that comes your way.
Give Feedback Throughout the Conversation
There might be times when you feel like you are the only one talking in the conversation. To avoid this from happening, you should frequently recap the conversation. After your customer responds to a question, restate the answer to clarify that you understand it. This shows your customer that you are paying attention and listening intently.
After you have repeated the answer, in your own words, ask a follow-up question. Then, repeat that answer, too. As you ask questions and respond, your conversation will become lively. And, it will move quickly, because you show the customer that you are listening and that you understand his needs.
Hopefully, your customers will have fewer objections if you repeat their answers and ask questions. Your customers will hear their answers, so they know you fully understand their needs.
Be the Best You Can Be
When you are on the phone with the customer, you must do the best job you possibly can do at the time. Your phone skills are critical to your success and your customer’s happiness. You don’t have much control over the quality of the technology. But you can control your voice, the noises you make, and the focus of the conversation.
If your office is loud, find a quiet spot to make your phone calls. If this is not possible, you should ask for phone technology with less sensitive speakers, so only your voice is picked up. Then, you can wear headphones that allow you to hear your customers above the background noises.
If the background noise is too much, then ask your customer if you can call him back when the room is quieter. Customers want to be able to hear you, too. Call the customer back as soon as possible, so you can continue your conversation while it is still fresh in both of your memories.
Situations will arise that disrupt the conversation. No matter what happens, you must remain pleasant, professional, and cheerful. Your customer needs to be the most important person throughout the conversation. You should be honest about situations that arise. Be helpful when needed, and keep your calm.
Your customers will appreciate these traits, and they will choose to become loyal to you and your company.