Many businesses that have websites, rely on their telephone number for leads and sales.
Sure enough, there’s an email contact form in almost all cases but telephone calls lead the way in response times.
You’ve invested in SEO, gotten great rankings and exposure in search engine results, customers are finding your website and your phone number, ready to buy… and then you blow it by showing poor phone manners. It’s heartbreaking, isn’t it?
HELLO?!
Believe it or not, people keep answering their business mobiles/landlines with simply ‘HELLO?!’. No friendly greeting, no business name… I have no idea who I’m even talking to and is that a sense of disdain I sense in your voice?!
“Good morning welcome to 123SEO, this is Martin” – this is how we greet at 123 SEO when you call us. Friendly time appropriate greeting, business name and you know who you’re talking to. BAM!
It’s all in the tone (no not the dialtone)
Try saying something while smiling and something when scowling. Now try it in a bubbly voice and then in a monotone. See the difference? HEAR the difference? Callers know instantly what kind of mood you’re in and whether they want to buy from you based on your tone. Always sound positive and cheery, even if you’re having a rough day (we ALL have those) – it can mean the difference between solving someone’s problem and selling them something you have and turning someone completely off your business and products/services.
Never sound busy or distracted
Always pay attention to the caller and their needs. Listen more, speak less. Give information based on their questions and perhaps lead into other questions where necessary. If you’re fiddling with something, watching TV or not focusing on your caller, they’ll notice and will not feel important. When a customer fails to feel important, they switch off and leave. Don’t let this happen!
Email response manners are also just as important to phone call manners and should always be polite, helpful and QUICK. Nothing says ‘unprofessional’ quite like a very slow reply with no valid reason.
