I recently contacted a company that provides various services, including printing services. I initially checked their website for a contact in this department, but no such animal was provided, so I gave them a call.
I was greeted not by a human being, but a recorded message, which provided a personnel directory that include the staff member name and direct extension.
Helpful for EXISTING customers, but what about PROSPECTIVE customers?
Oh, and did I mention there was no option to speak with a "live" staff member?
What did I do?
Hung up, said a few choice words about their system and called another company.
Talk about missed opportunities!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
When should you answer your phone and when should you let it forward to voicemail?
Trivial question? Yes.
Critical to your business? Absolutely!
Some of you might read this and roll your eyes, others will read it and say...BUSTED!
Example 1: I was playing telephone tag with a magazine representative on my way to a client meeting. She left me a voicemail with a return phone number so I called her back. She answered with a very winded "Hello?" as if I was interrupting something. I told her who I was and the reason for my call. She replied that she was running into a meeting, but would be out in about a half hour. Sounds reasonable, right?
Not so much. The other mall shoppers were making so much noise in the background, I could barely hear her.
Example 2: This past summer, I followed up with an insurance adjuster for a client who's in the legal profession. She answered the phone professionally, and proceeded to ask if it would be alright if she called me back the following day to discuss as she was "working" from home. Sounds reasonable, right?
Not so much. The kids splashing in the pool yelling "Marco Polo" gave her away immediately!
Moral: Many of us, including myself, use our cell phones for business calls. Our natural instinct is to pick it up as soon as it rings, without considering where we are. When the phone rings, it's okay to let it ring a few times. Check the phone number of the incoming call BEFORE you pick up the phone. If it's a number you don't recognize, or one of a client, you're much better off letting it go into voicemail than picking it up, expecially if you plan to tell them it's a bad time and you will have to call them back.
Critical to your business? Absolutely!
Some of you might read this and roll your eyes, others will read it and say...BUSTED!
Example 1: I was playing telephone tag with a magazine representative on my way to a client meeting. She left me a voicemail with a return phone number so I called her back. She answered with a very winded "Hello?" as if I was interrupting something. I told her who I was and the reason for my call. She replied that she was running into a meeting, but would be out in about a half hour. Sounds reasonable, right?
Not so much. The other mall shoppers were making so much noise in the background, I could barely hear her.
Example 2: This past summer, I followed up with an insurance adjuster for a client who's in the legal profession. She answered the phone professionally, and proceeded to ask if it would be alright if she called me back the following day to discuss as she was "working" from home. Sounds reasonable, right?
Not so much. The kids splashing in the pool yelling "Marco Polo" gave her away immediately!
Moral: Many of us, including myself, use our cell phones for business calls. Our natural instinct is to pick it up as soon as it rings, without considering where we are. When the phone rings, it's okay to let it ring a few times. Check the phone number of the incoming call BEFORE you pick up the phone. If it's a number you don't recognize, or one of a client, you're much better off letting it go into voicemail than picking it up, expecially if you plan to tell them it's a bad time and you will have to call them back.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Position Yourself for Success
Whether you're an Entreprenuer or an employee at a company, you've probably figured out by now that if you're not passionate about the products/services you sell, there's a very good chance you won't be successful selling them.
I-SPYED what I perceived to be a very dispassionate manager this morning at a health club. Apparently, the staff member that was scheduled to open that morning didn't show, so he was left to open his facility at 5:30 a.m. It's important to note that this manager doesn't arrive to the club during the week until typically 8:30 -9:00 and I've never seen him there on the weekend, unless there is an emergency.
So let me set the scene for you. I walk into the gym, which I've been a loyal customer since they opened their doors, and I'm greeted by an unoccupied receptionist area. Why? Because the manager is in his office, adjacent to this area, with his door closed. Not ajar, completely closed. Message that sends to his customers? Leave me alone and fend for yourself; you are not important to me. After I'm half way through my circuit, he walks out the door. For those that know me personally, you know I can't pass up such an opportunity! He catches my eye, gives me a half smile and says nothing. I give him a full smile and say loudly so I'm sure he can hear me, "Good morning. We don't bite out here you know." I got the other half of his smile, and watched him walk back into his office. I think I made a very slight impression, because at least this time he left the door slightly ajar.
Talk about missed opportunities!
I-SPYED what I perceived to be a very dispassionate manager this morning at a health club. Apparently, the staff member that was scheduled to open that morning didn't show, so he was left to open his facility at 5:30 a.m. It's important to note that this manager doesn't arrive to the club during the week until typically 8:30 -9:00 and I've never seen him there on the weekend, unless there is an emergency.
So let me set the scene for you. I walk into the gym, which I've been a loyal customer since they opened their doors, and I'm greeted by an unoccupied receptionist area. Why? Because the manager is in his office, adjacent to this area, with his door closed. Not ajar, completely closed. Message that sends to his customers? Leave me alone and fend for yourself; you are not important to me. After I'm half way through my circuit, he walks out the door. For those that know me personally, you know I can't pass up such an opportunity! He catches my eye, gives me a half smile and says nothing. I give him a full smile and say loudly so I'm sure he can hear me, "Good morning. We don't bite out here you know." I got the other half of his smile, and watched him walk back into his office. I think I made a very slight impression, because at least this time he left the door slightly ajar.
Talk about missed opportunities!
- He could have easily walked through the gym to say good morning to everyone.
- How about thanking everyone for their business?
- How about greeting his customers as they entered and exited the building?
- How about walking around to see if anyone needed a magazine or something?
- How about just smiling and making a presence?
I know from personal experience that a high salary is nice to have, but if you don't enjoy what you're doing earning it, it means nothing. Yes, even in this economy.
Position yourself for success! Do what you enjoy and make every work day a rewarding day for your customers and for yourself.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Choosing Thankfulness
Not a standard blog, but an article someone recently sent me that's well worth sharing. I encourage you to share it with your employees and see how many take the challenge!
Last year at a conference I noticed an unusual number of people wearing purple plastic wristbands. I didn't think much about it, imagining that the bands must be in support of a worthy cause. When I returned home from the conference I stopped by my neighborhood bookstore. At the checkout register sat a bucket full of purple wristbands, but with no explanation of what idea they represented.
Upon closer inspection I noticed an embossed imprint across the face of the band, A ComplaintFreeWorld.org. I laughed at the impossible idea of a complaint-free world. ''Wouldn’t that be wonderful?'' I said to the bookstore owner.''There's the instruction manual on the front table,'' she said. I couldn't resist buying the book.
Will Bowen, pastor of Christ Church Unity in Kansas City, Missouri, challenged his parishioners to go 21 days without complaining. To keep the challengers on track Bowen wanted a ''doodad'' to hand out after his talk to help people remember their task. Bowen's assistant came across a special on purple wristbands, and the game was on.
The game? Move your wristband to the opposite arm every time you catch yourself complaining. The ''gotcha'' was that you had to start over at Day One every time you complained, even if you were on Day Twenty-One-and-a-Half. Bowen, considering himself a positive guy, thought he'd had no problem going 21 days without complaining, criticizing or gossiping. After two weeks, he reported that he had gone six hours complaint-free. After a month, he told his group that he had made it three days without complaining.
Bowen's congregation has committed to giving free bracelets to whomever asks. His church has given away more than 6 million bands with a thousand requests coming in every day. Thinking without complaining, criticizing or gossiping brought about some unexpected benefits. Purple wristband wearers reported that their relationships improved, that chronic health concerns diminished or disappeared, and that they were enjoying life in a way they never thought possible. They discovered what Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations almost 2000 years ago, ''The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.''
We choose our thoughts, positive or negative. Bowen says the average time it takes someone to go complaint-free is four to eight months. It's work to shift our perception of the world.
My dad had a way of dealing with those times when the apple cart gets tipped over, and all looks lost. More than once in my adult life I went to him distraught over one setback or another. He'd give me a hug, look at his watch and say, ''Well, let's have a pity party for fifteen minutes, and then get back to work.''
This is a year of tumultuous economic and political forces unleashed, and it might be reason enough for us to join a long, long pity party and neglect thinking about all that we should be thankful for.
For the sake of our children, let's finish up with our pity parties and get to work to create a complaint-free world. Complain that the glass is half full, or be thankful that it is? Take the challenge to choose thankfulness.
Last year at a conference I noticed an unusual number of people wearing purple plastic wristbands. I didn't think much about it, imagining that the bands must be in support of a worthy cause. When I returned home from the conference I stopped by my neighborhood bookstore. At the checkout register sat a bucket full of purple wristbands, but with no explanation of what idea they represented.
Upon closer inspection I noticed an embossed imprint across the face of the band, A ComplaintFreeWorld.org. I laughed at the impossible idea of a complaint-free world. ''Wouldn’t that be wonderful?'' I said to the bookstore owner.''There's the instruction manual on the front table,'' she said. I couldn't resist buying the book.
Will Bowen, pastor of Christ Church Unity in Kansas City, Missouri, challenged his parishioners to go 21 days without complaining. To keep the challengers on track Bowen wanted a ''doodad'' to hand out after his talk to help people remember their task. Bowen's assistant came across a special on purple wristbands, and the game was on.
The game? Move your wristband to the opposite arm every time you catch yourself complaining. The ''gotcha'' was that you had to start over at Day One every time you complained, even if you were on Day Twenty-One-and-a-Half. Bowen, considering himself a positive guy, thought he'd had no problem going 21 days without complaining, criticizing or gossiping. After two weeks, he reported that he had gone six hours complaint-free. After a month, he told his group that he had made it three days without complaining.
Bowen's congregation has committed to giving free bracelets to whomever asks. His church has given away more than 6 million bands with a thousand requests coming in every day. Thinking without complaining, criticizing or gossiping brought about some unexpected benefits. Purple wristband wearers reported that their relationships improved, that chronic health concerns diminished or disappeared, and that they were enjoying life in a way they never thought possible. They discovered what Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations almost 2000 years ago, ''The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.''
We choose our thoughts, positive or negative. Bowen says the average time it takes someone to go complaint-free is four to eight months. It's work to shift our perception of the world.
My dad had a way of dealing with those times when the apple cart gets tipped over, and all looks lost. More than once in my adult life I went to him distraught over one setback or another. He'd give me a hug, look at his watch and say, ''Well, let's have a pity party for fifteen minutes, and then get back to work.''
This is a year of tumultuous economic and political forces unleashed, and it might be reason enough for us to join a long, long pity party and neglect thinking about all that we should be thankful for.
For the sake of our children, let's finish up with our pity parties and get to work to create a complaint-free world. Complain that the glass is half full, or be thankful that it is? Take the challenge to choose thankfulness.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Top 5 Telephone Etiquette Tips
Proper business phone etiquette is more important than ever in today’s business environment.
It demands professionalism at all times.
The idea may seem elementary, but you would be surprised how often this basic protocol is not followed.
1) Learn to use the hold button
Once you have put your caller on hold, check back every couple of minutes to let your caller know the status of the call. Ask if they would like to continue to hold. Give them the option of calling back or holding longer. This shows the other party that you value his time and truly want to help him.
2) Don’t use speaker phone unless absolutely necessary
Your clients deserve your undivided attention. Using a speaker phone is not a good habit to get into for a myriad of reasons;
3) Leave a message on voicemail once….and only once.
Repeatedly calling and leaving more messages doesn’t make someone come back to their office any sooner or return your call any faster.
4) Don’t let your mood reflect in your voice
The person at the other end of the phone cannot see your facial expressions or gestures and the impression he receives depends on what she hears. Speak in a pleasant tone of voice - even if you're having the most challenging of work days!
5) Avoid poor language habits
It demands professionalism at all times.
The idea may seem elementary, but you would be surprised how often this basic protocol is not followed.
1) Learn to use the hold button
Once you have put your caller on hold, check back every couple of minutes to let your caller know the status of the call. Ask if they would like to continue to hold. Give them the option of calling back or holding longer. This shows the other party that you value his time and truly want to help him.
2) Don’t use speaker phone unless absolutely necessary
Your clients deserve your undivided attention. Using a speaker phone is not a good habit to get into for a myriad of reasons;
- It makes it difficult for people on the other end to hear you.
- Other associates may enter your office and start a conversation, not realizing you're on the phone.
- It prevents the caller from accidentally overhearing conversations being held nearby.
- If you're multi-tasking during the call, the caller can hear you shuffling papers, eating your lunch and typing on the computer.
3) Leave a message on voicemail once….and only once.
Repeatedly calling and leaving more messages doesn’t make someone come back to their office any sooner or return your call any faster.
4) Don’t let your mood reflect in your voice
The person at the other end of the phone cannot see your facial expressions or gestures and the impression he receives depends on what she hears. Speak in a pleasant tone of voice - even if you're having the most challenging of work days!
5) Avoid poor language habits
- Associate answers the phone.
- PMS: Good morning, is Jim Smith in the office?
- Associate: Yup
- PMS: May I speak with him?
- Associate: Uh huh.
- PMS: Thank you.
- Associate: Before transferring the call, "Have a good one."
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