Using music when you put people on hold

If you can avoid it, don't put people on hold. But if you have to put people on hold, then use that time & market to your callers. This is not time to be cheap, use a professional company like VariVoice to create & record...

A message that explains your unique expertise.
A message that sells the benefits of a service that you offer a special on.
A special message that offers them a free gift or discount when they make a referral.
A “10 things you should know before you...” message that points out all the benefits you offer over your competitors.

You can find out more about VariVoice at
http://www.varivoice.com


Not telling your callers what to expect

Sometimes people forget that everyone in the world does NOT know how you do business.

You do the same thing everyday so its second nature to you & your staff, but its all new to the first time caller.

Explain in detail what you do & what they can expect & your callers will be relaxed & confident. If you offer a free appointment or free initial consultation, just explaining to people what you plan to discuss & that there will not be a hard sell will drastically improve the number of people that show up for their appointments.

Tell them what to bring, how to get there & where to park. Letting them know what they can expect & what you expect sets you apart as a professional among a field filled with amateurs!

You can do this online too! Perry Marshall has a page on his website where he sells his
'Definitive Guide to Google Adwords' ebook, audio seminar & DVD. He actually lists all the steps of the ordering process so people know what's going to happen before they order!



Not figuring out the problems of your callers

Your callers want something. They call you to solve a problem to make a pain go away. In spite of the fact that you help a dozen other people solve the exact same problem every day, each caller thinks their problem is 'special' and unique to them.

Show sincere personal interest in each person you speak to on the phone. Treating your callers like the individuals they are and taking time to figure out what their real problem is will help you to create a customer for life.


Not having a call to action

Every time you or a staff member talks to someone on the phone you must give them a definite call to action. People need your help. Tell them what the next step is to get their problem solved. It could be:

Buying your product or a combination of products
Booking an appointment or a series of appointments
Getting a referral to another business that can help them better j

Just don't leave them hanging, people need your help. Tell them what you think they need to do & help them make it happen.


Next week I'll talk about the biggest mistake we make on the phone!

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Failing to capture your callers contact info

A database of your clients and prospects is the most valuable asset you own. You might say that the real business you are in is the creation of a database filled with people you can market to.

If your business location burned down you could be up & running in no time with a database of clients & prospects that you can tell where your business has relocated to (You might even be able to generate quick income by having a 'Fire Sale'!).

Without a database its going to be very expensive to advertize a new location a& get new customers. But every time you add another name to your database you have increased the value of your businesses most precious asset, its customers.

Not getting the contact information of your callers is worse than letting a fortune slip from between your fingers. Its like throwing away money!

You've paid good money to advertize your phone number & that cash was wasted if you don't get the contact information of your callers. You also lose the lifetime value of that customer or client & you miss out on all their referrals too.

You must capture the contact information of all your callers.

Not using a phone script

Why reinvent the wheel every time you or someone who works for you answers the phone?

Put together a script of what to say any time you or your employees answer the phone. Create a list of how to answer the most common questions & how to overcome the most frequent objections.

My good friend Che Brown is a master of creating & using scripts. His web site is
http://www.partnerslearning.com

Never testing different scripts

So you've created a great script! Can you improve it? Why not try by testing...

  • a different greeting when you answer the phone
  • a different phrase or set of wording against another
  • a different call to action (there's more on that next week)

Failing to describe what makes you special or unique

Why should people do business with you? You have to tell them... you can't expect people to take the time to figure it out for themselves!

If callers hear repeatedly what you can do for them that nobody else can, they will know exactly why they are coming to you and not somebody else.

When they are talking to their friends, family & business associates they can describe what you do perfectly because your script quickly articulates it over and over again every time they call.

These are just a few mistakes many of us make on the phone. Look out for another set late next week!

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