Art of Selling: Improving Revenue with the Telephone Skills

IMPROVING REVENUE WITH THE TELEPHONE

We track thousands of phone calls from our campaigns every year. It’s generally the first impression and the only place where your customer and your employee are alone. How this engagement goes will determine your success.

Over the years we have identified several common mistakes our clients have made. Mistakes that literally have cost them tens of thousands of dollars.   One client had a 22-minute call with a customer, had an order of nearly 20K in custom patio furniture, afterward, it was determined that they never got the clients info.  By implementing simple protocols, and processes my clients have used intel from their marketing campaigns to improve client engagement, customer service, and their sales funnels.

Here are the tops of the list.

Not manning the phones.  Pretty obvious. Implementing a call forwarding or putting a system in place to make sure phones are answered can be easily implemented, and pays for its self.  Our record was 64 (unique) calls in 30 days that went unanswered, apparently, staffing was light in the midday.

Tone & Sincerity:  Simple, ever call on a Monday morning and you immediately know the person doesn’t want to be there.  If your tone of voice is flat and lacks any sense of enthusiasm, chances are your customers will feel the same way and not buy. Positive tone gets positive results.

No formal script.  Include the company’s name, your name, and offer your assistance as soon as you answer the phone.  If you’re receiving a transferred call or if you’re working on the switchboard, state the name of the department you are a part of in order to give the client the appropriate information.  Doing this will ease the customer into the exchange and let he or she know that you are calm and ready to help.

Never Using the Clients Name. Callers will value the personal touch you provide with a name. It also shows your listening.

Speaking to Fast. Specifically enunciation. Speaking too fast results in words slurring together, making it hard for the other party to hear who they’re talking to.  If your employee has any type of accent it’s even more important. Slowing down, enunciating and using active listening. 

 Multitasking  Put everything down when you answer the phone! Customers don’t like to be ignored and by multitasking, we are not focused on the customer’s wants and needs. Be focused. Because you can’t see them, it’s easy to become distracted with your eyes.  Allowing yourself to become distracted ends poorly. If agents are juggling instore and phones, typically in-store customers will get upset, on phone customers will also get upset and your employee will be overwhelmed…having a script helps. 

On Hold.  Unless your doing research for the client or are actually helping the client, putting someone on hold is a risky move. How much time do you have before they bail 60  seconds, maybe 90? How does that affect future purchases?

Not asking for the sale. So often the call just ends, no forward-looking statement, no confirmation.  Clients that direct employees to simply incorporate a statement of their hours and location at the end of the call reported an increase in sales.

Active Listening. Often times the employee is busy and wants to get that person off the phone as quick as possible, but Active listening is hard work. focus your attention on the person speaking, and only the person speaking. This means eliminating or ignoring internal distractions (your own thoughts), external disruptions. reconfirm things they have said with questions.