Numerous businesses do not experience their full potential because of poor communication skills. Telephone protocol is one of those skills. How you conduct yourself with a client or customer is of the utmost importance. It is necessary that you be aware of your tone of voice while talking business on the telephone.
Have you ever placed a call to a business only to have someone answer the telephone with a harsh and annoyed sounding tone? If this has ever happened to you, then no doubt you would agree that the person on the other end of the phone made you think you were unimportant. Your tone of voice can also be an immediate turn off or it could stimulate you to want to do business with the person or company you called. For that reason, it is recommended that you take a few minutes to rehearse, ensuring that you use the right tone, volume, and pitch for the duration of a telephone conversation.
During any business phone call, be courteous and polite. If you are placing the call, be sure to tell the other party who you are, your respective position, and what company you are representing before you give the name of the person you are trying to contact. On the other hand, if you are receiving the call, identify yourself and your company when answering, and always retain a professional and pleasing tone.
Perhaps one of the most critical factors in business etiquette is the appropriate use of the hold feature that lets you to attend to immediate issues, while permitting you to continue your communication with the other party on another line. Nevertheless, in order to refrain from offending the other party and wasting their time this feature must be used correctly.
If a situation has arisen and you have to put someone on hold, first ask if you may place them on hold for a short time. Wait for their confirmation previous to doing so and turning your attention to another task, or else they may not be aware as to what just happened.
If the other party seems unsure with reference to being placed on hold, give details to them in a respectful way that another matter has arisen and it is necessary to address it right away. One of the worse things you can do is make them feel as if their time is not valuable to you. If at all possible you should make clear to them clearly why they are being momentarily inconvenienced. Under no condition should you keep them waiting for more than 30 seconds, and as such, you must address the other matter briefly, before returning to the other person.
There are definite rules that you should adhere to when using voice mail messages. When leaving messages, keep the message clear and concise, speaking clearly and slowly, so the person whom you are leaving the message for can easily comprehend and interpret your message.
If you follow these proper and easy to put into practice telephone manners guidelines it will insure your professionalism and you will leave a first-class impact during every business call.
Author Resource:-
Eric Dunbar is the owner and editor of Golden Entrepreneur, where you will find online business tips, articles and great software tools to grow your online business. Eric Dunbar is also the author of THE FACE OF A DEMON, referred to by many as “The Recovering Addict’s Handbook”, and editor of X-JOURNAL Blog
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