Business telephone skills customers love

Many service-based businesses are spending anywhere from $10 – $30 or more for a new phone call to come in. The final cost of new customer acquisition can be in the hundreds of dollars. Some of these businesses make no profit on the first sale.

Getting that phone to ring is costing you a lot of money!

Let’s get into how much money is at stake for each call.

1. What’s your average invoice worth today? $400? $800? More? (Take your yearly revenue and divide by the number of invoices issued).
2. How many invoices does your average customer have?
   (The total number of invoices issued divided by the total number of customers you’ve had.)
3. Multiply your invoice average by the average amount of invoices your customers have. Let’s pretend your average invoice is $500 and your average customer has 9 invoices. Your lifetime customer value is $4500.

Every phone call from a potential customer is worth $4500 to your business. Don’t ever forget that! Every time your phone rings you need to know that $4500 is at risk.

With $4500 at risk, we need to prioritize your attention and time on the phone.

1st Priority

At the top of your priorities is the customer who is spending money now. You need to do whatever you can to make them feel like they’re number one, right now.

2nd Priority

Your second priority is the potential customer on the phone. It’s fine to ask the customer in front of you if it’s ok to grab the phone. But be careful with how you do this. You don’t want to do this too many times or else you’re being rude to the customer your serving.

3rd Priority

Your third priority is co-workers or staff working around you. They’re important. They’re possibly the reason you make money. But, they’re not as important as the customers who bring the money through the door. So make them feel appreciated but let them know that the customers take priority.

4th Priority

The fourth priority is your vendors. Never put a customer on hold or stop them in the conversation if a vendor is calling. If you’re receiving a call and it’s from your vendor, you can ignore it if you’re dealing with a customer. Call them back when you have some time after.

Final priority

At the bottom of the list are salespeople. People trying to sell to you are the least important on the list.

How to deal with two clients calling at the same time?

Answer the phone with your standard greeting with a small alteration. “Welcome to Johnny’s carpet cleaning, home of worry-free no-spill guarantee. I have someone on the other line and I can’t give you both the attention you deserve. Can I get your name and number so I can call you right back?”

The key here is to get the customer’s permission to do this. Asking them to hold and then putting them on hold immediately without them say “yes” is very rude!

Don’t promise to get back to the customer in a specific amount of time. you don’t know how long it will take to get back to them. Remember to always under-promise and over-deliver. Say that you’ll call back as soon as you can.

What to do when you’re talking to a client on the phone when the other line rings?

Interrupt the customer you’re talking to but be very apologetic. “I’m very sorry, the other line is ringing. Do you mind holding for a few seconds so I can get their information and call them back?” By saying this, you are telling the current customer, they’re your #1 priority.

Before you answer any call do this!

Your emotions come through phone calls. It can be heard in your voice. Before you answer the phone, take a moment to take a deep breath and smile. That smile translates through the call. The customers don’t know what you’re going through that day and what’s stressing you out. All they know is what they’re going through and how you are dealing with them. Their situation trumps yours.