10 tips for answering your business calls more professionally
If you’re a small business owner like myself, did you know that the first impression you give of your business really counts, when current and potential clients call you?
Here are my top 10 tips for answering your business calls more professionally:
- Answer within 3 rings – make sure that your calls are answered within 3 rings, any rings after this and the caller might hang up and go to your competitor and we don’t want that?
- Have a professionally greeting – For instance, you could say ‘Good Morning/Good Afternoon (business name), how can I help you?’ Please don’t just say ‘Hello’, as you would when answering a call from your Mum or your mates!
- First impressions count – Trust me, they really do! If you don’t pick the call up promptly and don’t answer professionally what impression are you giving the caller of your small business?
- Speak clearly – when talking on the phone make sure you speak slowly and clearly to the caller. If your calls come through to your mobile phone, make sure that you have a good signal to be able to answer the call.
- Be warm, friendly and enthusiastic – No one likes to hear a grumpy, unhelpful, person at the end of the phone, if you’re having a bad day, don’t let this come across in the call.
- Be polite – ‘Good manners don’t cost a thing’ as they say, so make sure you are always polite to your callers and remember to say please and thank you.
- Smile – I know the caller can’t see you, but if you have a smile on your face when answering the call, then your voice will come across much happier.
- Listen – I can’t stress how important this one is, make sure when the answer the call, you are in a position to be able to make notes regarding the caller and their message. This shows you are listening to them. Make a note of their name, contact number and the reason for their call.
- Manage out of hours calls – What happens to your calls outside of your business hours? Do they go to a voicemail, is this voicemail personalised? If your voicemail isn’t personalised, it would be a good idea to record one so that callers know that they have come through to your business and what they should do if they need to speak with you out of hours.
- Hire me! – Lastly, you could hire me a Customer Service Virtual Assistant, to answer your business calls, professionally on your behalf, all for a small monthly fee.
To find out more about my Call Handling service click here.
I look forward to hearing from you.
