Communicating with others is essential in just about everything we do, so improving on these basic communication skills is a worthy starting point. Can you remember an event when you felt someone dealt with you well over the phone – try to recall exactly what it was that you liked and why you enjoyed the experience. If you had the opposite experience would you have given them your business? I know I wouldn’t.

The way you speak to a customer during a phone call, in terms of the language you use, your tone of voice and clarity are very important and often referred to as the ‘soft skills.’ Other important factors are the rapport that you build up with a customer and the empathy you show them for the situation they maybe in is very important. Just sounding happy on the phone (remember a smile can be heard over the phone) will help build up the rapport and customers confidence.

Willingness to go the extra mile is very important. Customers appreciate great service, but they love a real appreciation for their business. Receptionists who go the extra mile often win over customers and close sales just by just sounding confident and smiling over the phone. Such gestures might include expediting a delivery free of charge to rectify a billing error, connecting to another department for better service. Simply asking all the right questions to give a customer exceptional experience will enhance their customer experience and loyalty.

Customers want effortless and seamless experiences. This means that they should not waste time waiting for someone to answer their call. This means having a live receptionist answering your calls and not a menu based phone system that sends the customer to pushing menu choices on their phone and hoping they speak to someone eventually. We have all experienced this and how frustrating these menus are. If you are an SME, then this could be a frustrating process for your new customers.

One test we always do is to ask yourself how you would feel if you had been the customer on that call – would you be happy with it? This is how we train our PAs to answer your telephone calls and resolve issues always with a smile.

Here is just one of the many testimonials from one of our clients.

We had a message from Sunny today who called. After I finished our conversation, he said that the person answering the phone was brilliant and amazing.

So thank you for the great work. We really do appreciate it ?

Kind Regards,

Uzair Kharawala

Google Adwords & YouTube Strategist

Google Adwords & YouTube Strategist

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