When your business phone rings, does your employee execute (i.e., “accomplish”) the proper phone etiquette that can result in increasing your business, or does she simply execute (i.e., “kill”) any possibilty of doing future business with that client?

Does answering your business line result in new and/or continued business with that client, or does it give your company the reputation of being too busy to care about new or continued business?

Everyone of us knows how we want to be treated when we make a business call, but very few businesses, when customers make calls to them, make the effort to show respect for the caller and the caller’s time. With so many businesses now using automated phone systems or inept receptionists, you have an open door for increasing new business and existing business simply by using good phone etiquette. Start by immediately evaluating your company’s phone etiquette.

Entrepreneurial businesses have an opportunity to use phone etiquette as a potent weapon in seizing business from their competition. Whether they are competing against large companies with inflexible phone policies or any other competitor that uses poor etiquette and/or canned computer phone answering services, businesses that offer the courtesy they would themselves expect can be assured of grabbing the lion’s share of the market. Let’s discuss some examples of poor phone etiquette.

Scenario I – The Immediate Computer Message, or Will I Ever Get to Talk to a Human.

Is it any wonder that a major airline, currently in bankruptcy, has been losing market share to the regional carriers, e.g., America West, Southwest, and JetBlue? Is it possible that the nation’s largest personal computer vendor might lose market share to more attentive vendors? Would you be the patient of a doctor whose phone answers with an immediate computerized message, no matter what time the call is made, stating that the patient must leave a message (with no indication of when a return call might occur).

Try to call most businesses about anything, and you are put through a never-ending quagmire of push-button mazes and loops resulting in frustration. After going through a number of different messages, it is not uncommon to then be placed in a queue with a significant wait time. If you are patient enough to wait, you then might have the poor luck of being disconnected before your call ever reaches a real person. I don’t know what you do, but I hang up.

If your company thinks it can solve overwhelming numbers of incoming phone calls with a machine, think about this: it is much cheaper to hire an additional employee with phone skills than to pay the price to rebuild a relationship (assuming it has not been lost completely) or to increase marketing to offset losses incurred by poor phone etiquette.

Scenario II – Outsourcing Incoming Calls, or How to Tell Your Customers That They Do Not Rate Your Time.

When your customers call to get advice, and they are connected to individuals who have difficulty understanding the questions, how do you expect your customers to always get correct answers.

I surely respect the advantage of using less expensive labor, and I truly respect individuals who speak multiple languages, but your customers should be able to get the advice to their questions without being confused by a heavy foreign accent. Believe me, this is not prejudicial, just good business.

Scenario III – Getting Put on Hold, or Whatever Happened to Saying Hello.

We can all relate to this one. The customer calls only to immediately hear the respondent answer with, “Can you hold?” Without saying hello or waiting for the customer’s response to whether he can wait in a queue, the receptionist puts the customer on hold. It is possible the customer does not even know if he called the correct number since no company name was given. In addition, how does the receptionist know that the customer can hold since she did not wait for a response?

Now, assume the caller is using a cell phone and is being charged for minutes – OUCH! How many potential clients will simply hang up and move on to someone who shows some degree of caring?

In the next issue, we will recommend some techniques that, although they represent simple common sense methods, might initiate some needed changes in what you perceive as the proper way to have your company’s incoming calls answered.

For a complimentary consultation on how Tracker Enterprises and its unique forecasting tools can help your business prepare for a successful financial future, call us at (719) 592-0878 or send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Feel free to forward this Tracker Tips e-Newsletter to friends, family, or business acquaintances. We welcome anyone to our mailing list, so invite colleagues to send their e-mail addresses to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .