The way you answer the telephone
could seriously affect your employers business

Well, it may be an extreme example but many receptionists are guilty of losing customers by the way they handle telephone conversations. Of course, the most important conversation a business has with any customer is the first one, and the first few seconds will shape the future relationship, if any!

First, think what you are going to say:

• "Good morning, London Office, how may I help you?" or
• "Hi, thank you for calling and welcome to London Office, my name is Alistair, how can I help?" or
• "You are through to London Office, we provide telephone answering and virtual office solutions for the small business."

Your tone is important. Try to sound crisp and upbeat but do not be abrupt – callers will think you are too busy to listen or help them. Now, the next bit is very, very important. LISTEN! The caller will tell you EXACTLY what they want and, from this moment on, you will win or lose the business by how you respond.

It could be that the caller hasn’t given you enough information for you to provide the product or service they want so you need to ask questions to obtain this information. Of course you are a receptionist and not a sales person, but you can go that extra mile for your employer by taking on some simple sales techniques that sales people use, and you will be able to break through any existing barriers such callers may place to prevent them from being talked into making a booking or using your company.

There are two types of questions you can ask, open questions and closed questions. Open questions would begin how, what, where, when & why. Closed questions would gain a singular response, such as:

• "Do you want to book a room?" or,
• "You do want to book a room, don’t you?", another closed question would be
• "Would you like to pay the deposit by bank transfer or credit card?".

Every time you speak it should always be in the form of a question. The reasons for this are twofold:

• To allow the caller to speak more and therefore feel more comfortable.
• To enable you to keep control of the conversation and direct the conversation towards your goal.

Keep all relevant information about your company and service it provides/product it sells to hand, including prices. This will allow you to answer any points the caller makes efficiently and effectively, continuing to control the conversation towards your goal.

Here are some examples:

"Hi, I’m looking to join a gym and wondered how much your membership fees are.”

"Yes, our fees are in line with other gyms in this area, although our facilities are superior. We have flat screen TV at all the work out stations, and we guarantee you time with a trainer who will work with you on a personal lifestyle and fitness plan. Do you live or work in this area? “

"I want to book your penthouse suite for a weekend – on your website it quotes your special rate at £250 for 2 nights, but I can get the penthouse in the hotel next door for £180 "

"The penthouse is our most popular room so I’m afraid I can’t bring the price down for you. It is the most luxurious hotel suite you’ll find – over 200 sq m of space in 2 rooms, including our famous infinity bathroom. £250 is already a 50 percent reduction of the normal daily rate. Is it a special occasion you want to book it for?” It doesn’t matter how much your product or service costs, it is how much it is worth to the customer.

Now, haven’t you wondered how, when you speak to a salesperson, they ALWAYS have an answer to any questions you ask. The reason is that they use what is called a script. On this script is what they would say initially to introduce themselves and also answers to all sorts of questions you may ask.

Of course, they do not read from this word for word but by learning the script they can automatically respond to your questions. You can, if you wish, create your own script to use when answering the phone. Think of the questions you would normally be asked by prospective customers, write them down, then ask your employer what the best possible answers to these questions would be and write them down. Remember that it is useful to answer the question then ask a question to keep control of the conversation.

You will find that 95% customers will ask the same 4 or 5 questions so concentrate on these. Also contained in the script are closing questions. These are questions used to close the sale or arrange the appointment. These questions can be asked immediately or after answering a query. Following on from the examples above here are some closing questions:

• "We are ideally located for you to call in on your way home from work, it’s an excellent way to unwind after a stressful day. I can book you in to register and see the personal trainer tomorrow if you like. What time would be best for you?"
• "For just £70 more you are guaranteed a weekend your wife will never forget, it’ll be the most luxurious anniversary present you could possibly give her. I’ll need to take a deposit to secure the room, it is usually fairly well booked out. What date did you want it for?”

And finally…..

"Hi, I need to speak to a divorce lawyer?"

"Yes, we do have a divorce lawyer here, who you can talk to in complete confidence, but I’m afraid she is out of the office at the moment. If you give me your contact information, I can message her voicemail and ask her to call you; is there a time that would be better for you?” The caller is going through the phone book and will move down the list if you don’t get their number for a call back asap. Your response needs to be sensitive and professional, making it easy for the caller to trust you to phone back. Gently tie them down with you closing question.

Written by Alistair MacPherson
The LONDON OFFICE Team
www.londonoffice.co.uk