It seems like such a small thing, but how the phone is answered in your office becomes a key first impression for your business.
Tips From The Coalface, January 2017
It seems like such a small thing, but how the phone is answered in your office becomes a key first impression for your business. Just take notice of the way other businesses you interact with answer their phone.
Do they convey an impression of:
- Being interested in you and your call?
- Wanting to do business with you?
- Helpfulness and professionalism?
- Confidence and knowing their stuff?
Or do they send a message through their tone of voice, energy and words of:
- Being flustered and busy - too busy to give you the time you need?
- Not wanting to do business at all?
- Being totally unhelpful?
- Unprofessional or out of their depth?
- Just not keen enough to earn your business? (There are plenty of other alternative suppliers out there you could choose to work with)
- Incompetence and lacking professionalism in the way messages are communicated?
What message are you and your team sending to callers?
If someone calls for you and you are not available, what does your team say? Do they just take a message after informing the caller that you are unavailable? Or do they energetically ask if they can be of assistance (and mean it)?
There’s a world of difference in the two approaches.