Business Phone Etiquette

 

How do you choose the best practice to answer your company's phone?

Let us start with some basic questions:

1.     Do you want your company phone to be answered with phone automation?

2.     Are you a small company where you are the only employee?

3.     Are you a small company where you have ten employees, but cannot afford to hire a person to answer the phone?

4.     Are you a large company that hires a receptionist(s) to answer the phone(s)?

5.     What are some ways businesses have answered your calls that impressed you?

        Professional steps on how your company's phone can be answered to achieve maximum results.

1.     Smile when you answer the phone. Even though the callers can’t see your smile, they will feel it.  (Smile into a mirror beside your phone, so you can see your smile).

2.     Answer the phone with an enthusiastic and professional greeting. Make your callers feel good they called your organization. Your tone of voice gives them the feeling of how you run your business. You are the first impression the caller has of your company. 

3. Use four basic steps to answer the phone in a professional way:

•   Greet the caller.
•   Identify your organization or department
•   Introduce yourself    
•  Offer your assistance

4.     Example: “Good morning, XYZ Company. This is Mary in Customer Service. How may I help you?”

5.     Ask questions if something is not clear, and explain why additional information is needed.

6.     Provide answers as quickly as possible.

7.     Thank the caller and ask if you can be of additional help.

8.     End the call on a positive note. Make the caller glad he/she called your company.

9.     Let the caller know he/she can call back if further assistance is needed.

The way your company phone is answered will give the caller an impression of how you do business. It is the same as the first impression you give someone you meet for the first time.

Recording Phone Messages:

In addition to creating a professional image of your company when you answer the phone, it is just as important to record messages accurately for others.

1. Complete name of the person calling.
2. Company or organization of the person calling.
3. Name of the person the call is for.
4. Date and time of the call.
5. Phone number to return call.
6. Short description of what the call is regarding.

When a phone rings, it’s an opportunity. What you want to do with that “opportunity” will help you decide how to answer the phone.