Phone answering skills are critical for businesses as the phone is still most business’s primary point of contact with customers. The way you answer your company’s phone will form your customer’s first impression of your business.
Donal Daly from Kendlebell has 10 telephone answering tips for you to consider:
1) Answer all incoming phone calls before the third ring.
2) When you answer the phone, be warm and enthusiastic. Your voice on the phone is sometimes the only impression of your company a caller will get.
3) When answering the phone, welcome callers courteously and identify yourself and your organization. Say, for instance, “Good morning. ABC Technologies. Susan speaking. How may I help you?” No one should ever have to ask if they’ve reached such and such a business.
4) Keep your voice volume moderate, and speak slowly and clearly when answering the phone, so your caller can understand you easily.
5) Control your language when answering the phone. Instead of saying, “OK”, or “No problem”, for instance, say “Certainly” or “Very well”
6) Train your voice and vocabulary to be positive when phone answering, even on a “down” day. For example, rather than saying, “I don’t know”, say, “Let me find out about that for you.”
7) Take phone messages completely and accurately. If there’s something you don’t understand or can’t spell, such as a person’s surname, ask the caller to repeat it or spell it for you. Then make sure the message gets to the intended recipient.
8) Answer all your calls within one business day. The early caller can get the contract, the sale, the problem solved… and reinforce the positive impression of your business
9) If you use voice mail to answer calls when you can’t, make sure that you have a professional message recorded, update your message as needed.
10) Train everyone who answers the phone, check by calling in and seeing if the phone is being answered in a professional manner.
As businesses trend to a more “online” workplace, innovative offerings like Kendlebell virtual office and call answering service, provide low cost solutions whilst maintaining a professional image. Kendlebell provides a range of Personalised Call Answering services to small and medium sized businesses who don’t want to invest in a full time PA or receptionist.
Every Kendlebell customer has their own nominated Personal Assistants, who will learn about you and your business and speak with your customers each time they call all for as little as €55 a month.! Kendlebell also provide Business Address, Diary Management service and a range of Non Geographic numbers (1800/850/890) for rental.
To see the wide range of customer contact services we provide please visit us our Services Page or call us with your requirements on (1800) 844 448.
