Simply because everybody has a telephone doesn’t imply they know the best way to reply it, particularly in relation to enterprise.
Pizzeria operators know the way essential the phone is to the success of their enterprise as a result of a bigger share of gross sales is generated from phone-in orders. So, having the correct particular person reply the telephone could be essential to a day’s backside line. However, what qualities ought to that “proper” particular person have? How do you retain clients calling in time and again? When a buyer calls in to order a big pepperoni pizza on a busy Friday night time, who would you like answering that decision? How would you like your online business to be represented?
Harris Eckstut, founder and principal of Eckstut Restaurant/Small Enterprise Teaching and Consulting Companies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, mentioned that “though it isn’t important to have one sole worker to reply the telephone, it’s important — even important — that the particular person (or folks) permitted to reply the telephone ought to have an ideal telephone character with a transparent voice that’s simply understood.
“By telephone character, I imply a enjoyable one that is bubbly/ enthusiastic/ pleasurable to talk with; which, by defi nition, will promote larger verify averages. Which is what good salespersonship, and the raison d’etre for being in enterprise, are all about.”
Juanita Ecker, president of Skilled Picture Administration in Troy, New York, mentioned it’s positively extra skilled to have somebody whose important job is to reply the telephone, however added that almost all firms merely aren’t ready to try this.
In keeping with Ecker, the best telephone particular person is “somebody who may give their undivided consideration to the caller.” She additionally mentioned performing rushed, even when the worker is busy, isn’t the way in which to deal with calls — it sends out a unfavorable message.
“It comes throughout to the caller as ‘you’re not essential,’ ” Ecker mentioned. Invoice Stephens of Invoice Stephens Associates in San Antonio, Texas, advises that the worker liable for answering the telephone be nice, , involved and clever.
“They don’t seem to be getting paid to hurry speak they’re communicators, so they need to converse intelligibly and be simply understood,” Stephens says, including that good phone gear must be utilized by the worker. He additionally cautions {that a} wi-fi telephone and extra manufacturing duties assigned to the telephone particular person could be disastrous.
“Give them back-up jobs, not timedriven, to allow them to cease and provides their full consideration to the incoming calls,” Stephens mentioned. “They need to be naturally sales-oriented. You possibly can drive them to upsell, but when it comes naturally, the outcomes will probably be very rewarding. Give them a particular merchandise/gadgets to promote and a fee on their gross sales. This might carry parity to the manufacturing and gross sales individuals and the tipped supply folks.”
Ecker agrees that the telephone particular person is the proper particular person to upsell clients by suggesting choices resembling further cheese, a liter of pop, or an order of garlic bread as a result of the shopper is probably not conscious of those menu choices.
To seek out the best telephone particular person, Nancy Friedman, president and founding father of The Phone Physician Buyer Service Coaching of St. Louis, Missouri, recommends interviewing the candidate by telephone first. “That’s how one can inform if they’ve phone voice,” Friedman mentioned. Throughout an interview, she provides, a candidate ought to act out precisely what duties she or he will probably be acting on the job.
Friedman additionally mentioned that this can be very essential, obligatory actually, for the telephone particular person to verify orders. “Don’t simply say, ‘yeah, I acquired it,’ ” Friedman says. Additionally, Friedman stresses the significance of an enormous smile.
“You possibly can hear a smile,” Friedman insists. Placing folks on maintain ought to at all times be dealt with with consideration, based on Friedman. She suggests saying one thing like, “I’m going to verify in your order, can I put you on maintain?” Friedman mentioned that the telephone particular person ought to at all times inform the caller why she or he is being placed on maintain earlier than it occurs.
Ecker agrees that placing clients on maintain must be finished with kindness. “If you need to put somebody on maintain, don’t simply say ‘I’m going to must put you on maintain, click on.’ Ask, ‘is it okay if I put you on maintain?’ It’s extra courteous,” Ecker mentioned. “And if you come again, at all times say ‘thanks for holding.’ Don’t maintain an individual on maintain for too lengthy, like quarter-hour, as a result of you will have an extended line of consumers. Assist one or two clients and get again to the particular person on maintain and let the purchasers in line know you’ll be proper with them as quickly as you assist the caller. Folks hate to be placed on maintain as a result of they assume nobody will get again to them.”
The best telephone particular person could also be on the market able to go, however greater than probably she or he should be taught a number of issues earlier than the primary official “howdy, might I take your order?”
In keeping with Friedman, the success or failure of the worker who’s liable for answering the telephone comes all the way down to coaching.
“The foremost drawback is that younger youngsters aren’t getting skilled. Younger youngsters, highschool and school youngsters, wish to be good. It needs to be as much as the pizzeria proprietor who says, ‘When you’re going to work at my retailer, you’re going to get every week’s price of coaching, and never on-the-job coaching,’ ” Friedman mentioned. “Folks assume it’s common sense and it’s not.”
So, the following time your telephone rings with an order, be certain the particular person answering it’s prepared for the problem. The nice character of an worker plus good coaching supplied by the operator may end up in the correct telephone particular person for a enterprise who will maintain clients calling time and again. ?
DeAnn Owens is a contract journalist residing in Indianapolis. She makes a speciality of options and human curiosity tales.
