Believe it or not, the most effective way to gain customer loyalty is through professional business phone calls. In general, this person-to-person approach remains the ideal choice of interaction amongst customers.
As recent as 2019, a study polled 12,500 participants to better understand the globally preferred methods of customer service. Astonishingly, roughly 62% of people polled stated that they prefer over-the-phone communication to alternative methods, such as e-mail, self-service, or bots.
With this statistic in mind, the question that all business owner’s should be asking themselves is “How can I optimize my business calls to better suit my customer’s needs?” Well, let’s find out.
1. Preparing for Business Phone Calls
When a customer decides to call to your business, they typically expect a prompt and informational response. By preparing yourself ahead of time, you not only efficiently provide the customer with what they want, but avoid the risk of looking unprofessional.
As a general rule, you want to make sure that you answer a call before the fourth ring.
Failure to pick-up the call within this time may make the customer feel neglected and prompt them to hang up. In situations where you are receiving multiple calls at once, simply pick-up the call and ask the customer’s permission to be put on hold.
This is a simple and effective way to show the customer you care about their call while demonstrating your preparedness.
2. Maintain Purpose
When making outbound sales phone calls, or follow-up calls, you should focus on keeping the conversation purposeful. After initially greeting the person, you want to jump into the main focus of the call.
Ideally, you want to keep this initial chit-chat under a minute. Any indication of uncertainness may make the customer feel as though you are not confident and may urge them to terminate the call.
Finally, when maintaining purpose, be sure to smoothly transition between friendly banter and the bulk of your call. Some transitions may sound like:
- “ It’s nice to hear that you’re doing well. I am calling…”
- “ I hope you’re doing well. I’m calling to…”
These transitions, as well as asking questions, helps the customer absorb the information without feeling overwhelmed. A purposeful approach makes them view your call as more of a conversation than a sales pitch.
3. Stay Present During the Call
We’ve all been there. Whether it was a personal or business phone call, odds are you have felt neglected while on the phone with someone. This terrible demeanor is not only rude but potentially hurtful as well.
For this reason, remaining present during the call is crucial for gaining customer respect.
When making a call, you want to push all other tasks aside for the moment. Channelling all your focus on this person will show them you are listening and respect their opinions on the proposed topic.
4. Practice Professional Phone Etiquette
Conducting an effective business phone call starts with basic phone etiquette. This can be as simple as holding a smile and speaking clearly throughout the call. Although the customer is unable to see you, the confidence you portray externally will likely transfer through the call.
Other ways to perform professional phone etiquette include:
- Getting permission to transfer their call
- Tell them you’ll look into their questions
- Thank the customer for their time
Each one of these steps is crucial for making the customer feel valued. They may even refer you to someone just because of your amazing customer service.
5. Avoid Long Messages
This tip is a big one- long messages can hurt your business in many ways. By keeping your message short and to-the-point, the customer can remain engaged in the conversation without feeling confused or bombarded with information.
Additionally, you want to make sure your voicemail follows the same approach. Many voice recording services allow you to set a pre-recorded message if you are unable at the time of the call.
Keeping this message, along with your regular sales calls, short, is key for remaining professional and informative without appearing as boring.
6. Ask for Clarification
Depending on the nature of your call, you may request the customer’s contact information for follow-up services. In this situation, you want to make sure to clarify what they have said.
Asking for clarification may come off as repetitive, however, it is key to maintaining a professional relationship.
If the customer seems annoyed that you’ve asked them to repeat information, simply restate the significance of obtaining this information. Clarifying its importance will show them your dedication to providing quality customer service and product knowledge.
7. Take a Proactive Approach
Regardless of the nature of the call, you want to make sure the customer leaves the conversation feeling satisfied. There is nothing worse than ending a call and feeling as though you have wasted your time or are unsure how to follow-up with the same representative.
In most situations, understanding a company’s product or service cannot be summed up within a single call. For this reason, you should always make sure to leave the customer with your name and contact information for follow-up purposes.
In the event that you have to relay the customer’s call, be sure to inform the customer of the situation. Some necessary details that will help them follow this process may include:
- The name of the person receiving their concern
- Contact information of this person
- A timeline of when they can expect a response
Providing these details gives the customer an answer regardless of the outcome of your call. By taking a proactive approach, you leave the customer with a thorough understanding of any next-steps as well as a lasting impression of the company.
The Power of the Phone Call
If these tips have taught you anything, it is that you should never underestimate the power of business phone calls. With the right approach, you can transform your customers’ perception of your company and convert them into loyal, lifetime customers.
However, there is much more to work phone calls than these tips. If you would like to learn more about how to answer the phone professionally, check out our site for additional resources!
