15 Oct 2012
October 15, 2012

12 tips for answering the phone at work

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Answering the phone at work doesn’t sound complicated, but if you are nervous, distracted or in a bad mood it can be tricky to keep that from expressing itself in your voice.

How you answer the phone shapes your customer’s initial reaction to your company and we all know how much impact those first feelings about your company have.  Follow these tips to help you make a good first impression.

  1. Answer the phone no later than the 3rd ring. Anything longer suggests that your company is slow to respond.
  2. Take a deep breath to center yourself and SMILE before you pick up the phone. It really makes a difference in the way you sound.
  3. Keep the tone of your voice warm, animated and genuine. Sounding flat signals impatience while putting on an overly sweet front feels plastic.
  4. Don’t be tempted to use speaker phone. Nothing says ‘I’m not really paying attention’ or ‘you are not important’ like speaker phone. Worst invention ever!
  5. Speak clearly, don’t mumble, slow down and keep your voice at an even level throughout the conversation. Train your voice and vocabulary to be positive even when you’re annoyed or on a down day.
  6. Let the caller know who they are speaking to such as ‘Good Morning, Acme Company, this is Katie. How may I help you’? Always let the caller know who you are even if you are only transferring their call to someone else.
  7. Be more formal on the phone than you would be face to face with a customer. Work on taking out the umm, huh’s and hmm’s. If you tend to say things such as ‘like’ or ‘you know’ when you are speaking – STOP IT! It like makes you sound like stupid! – you know?
  8. Be as helpful as you can.  If you can handle a customer query on your own do so.  If not, be sure to ask the customer if it is ok to put them on hold instead of just telling them you are going to.
  9. Don’t leave anyone hanging.  When customers are on hold be sure to give them updates and options every 30 to 45 seconds. i.e. ‘That line is still busy would you like to continue to hold or would you care to leave a message.’
  10.  If a customer is angry you’ll have to diffuse the situation before anything else – or suffer the consequences of them getting truly irate! Really, just don’t do that to yourself or your co-workers.
  11. Pay full attention to what the customer is saying so that you don’t miss anything, especially when taking messages. Be sure to ask if you don’t know how to spell something, like their name.
  12. Train everyone who answers the phone to do it in the same way. Even family members if you are running a home-based business. Periodically call yourself to make sure everyone is still sounding professional.