An Introduction to Closing Calls
Answering the phone is such a trivial task that most of the time we do not give it any thought, yet when it comes to doing it for a living it is really easy to fall into bad habits. These bad habits, or rather the ignorance of better ones costs dearly to businesses, big and small. After all, if a customer feels mistreated, the chances of him seeking out the responsible company become very dim. So in order to not just make the better practices when it comes to turning an incoming call into a sale better known, but to actively help your business make more revenue, we compiled the list below.
Be Human on The Call
Few things are as frustrating to someone making a call than to be answered by a robot. Thus, using voicemail or IVR systems for the first contact of your business is a terrible idea, as they tend to be inflexible, impersonal, and even impractical, as most of the time they don’t even take people where they want to go. According to Small Biz Trends, 61% of customers report a negative experience with IVR. Even when it comes to answering calls after working hours it may be best to hire either an after-hours secretary or professional customer service.
Learn Call Timing
A general rule of thumb that could be applied to many of the tips you will see in this article is “remember that you are having a conversation”. And, much like any other conversation, it works in a similar way to a dance, you need to learn the other person’s tempo and keep up.
This means your answers to their questions should not be too fast as to not sound like an automatic answer, but neither slow as to portray ignorance. A similar mentality could be applied to answering the phone neither too fast as to imply you are not busy, but also not too slow as to not try the client’s patience.
Use The Caller’s Name, But Don’t Exaggerate
It’s important for the client to know they are not just another voice across the line for you, after all, they aren’t, they are real human beings with names. Try to use it naturally during the conversation, “naturally” being an extremely important word.
“Hello Rebecca, thank you for calling __________ Rebecca, so Rebecca How May I help you?”
Just imagine you are Rebecca, does it not sound strange? Or worse, does it not kind of sound like you are being mocked? Would you be happy to be treated like that?
Make Sure you Understand The Callers Issue
People are not always clear about what they want or know exactly how much information they need to give away in order to make themselves understood. To avoid miscommunication, the one making the call needs to make sure that they fully grasp what the caller is trying to say. The best way to do that is by repeating the caller’s request to them and having them confirm or correct it. This will not only avoid unnecessary stress, but also a good deal of embarrassment on both parts. So, train your employees to not be afraid of asking questions.
Be Positive When Closing on Calls
It is a general rule of human interaction that people with a more positive attitude will draw others with greater ease than negative people. The same goes for companies. A more positive “can do” attitude can often do wonders when it comes to establishing a connection with callers. It goes beyond merely “liking a company”, a more positive outlook company-wide implies a certain degree of optimism in the performing of one’s duties.
One way to incorporate this spirit in your work is to always answer the call with a smile, this releases endorphins in your brain which affect your attitude towards the conversation.
Confirm The Calling Customer Is Satisfied
By the end of the call make sure to confirm with the caller that he is satisfied with both the reason for their call and the way their situation was handled. This will give them (and you) a feeling of success that will leave a good impression on your interactions as a whole, on the long term, this means that the caller’s memory of interacting with the company will be a positive one and that they may not only buy with you again but recommend you to others.
Know The Product You Are Selling
The key to selling any product or service is to first know what it is and what it does. It also means exactly the type of person that is going to be interested in said product, after all, the target audience for custom motorcycles is going to be different from that for a small business digital marketing agency. Knowing your target audience means knowing how to approach each phone call and exactly what the callers are going to be looking for, making the process of establishing that connection we talk so much about much easier.