The advantage of having your calls tracked and recorded is that you can go back and review the conversation. I listen to my phone calls all the time and have to admit that I could always improve a little on my phone skills.Here are a few ideas for you that I picked up from these two articles (here and here) plus a few of my own.
- Talk slowly. Most people have to hear things two times before the message sinks in.
- Actively listen to the person on the other end of the line. Are you multi-tasking while you are on the phone? Really concentrate on what the person is saying so that you take it all in.
- Try to eliminate any heavy accent that can be distracting. This is something to be aware of when talking on the phone. You want people to hear what you are saying and not how you say it.
- Confirm the follow up items that will happen after the call. This will reiterate the fact that you are listening and have had a productive phone call.
- Don’t use slang. By this, I mean don’t say “yeah” or “wassup?” or any other terms that you might use with a friend.
- Use proper grammar when talking on the phone, just like you would write in your college term paper.
- Family + Friends’ conversations vs. work conversations. There is a difference.
- Smile when you talk. This will come across when you are talking and give the other person on the line a good impression.
- Answer the phone promptly and in less than 3 rings.
- Use good manners. Say please, thank you and excuse me if you do not understand what the other person is saying. No one ever says “could you please be less considerate?”.
- No typing, eating or chewing while on the phone. Um, people can hear when you are doing this. It’s annoying.
- Place the caller on hold or mute if you have to get more information. You don’t want them to overhear other conversations in your office.
I think this about covers it but if you have other suggestion or pet peeves, I’d love to hear about them! If you want to highlight the important conversations, the opportunity for new business, we can help you with that. It’s called Humanatic call review! This is the tip of the iceberg on how call tracking can help your business and help you fine tune the sales process. Call me, and I’ll be sure to practice everything discussed above. Happy New Year!
Tags: call recording, Customer Service, tracking