Answer the Phone, Please

Life is but a dream. Wrong. Life in the material sense is a good job to fulfill your dreams, and all jobs involve sales whether in the service industry or manufacturing. Most jobs in varying degrees involve the phone, with the phone sometimes resented because people calling often ask questions without buying, or because customers who answer resent those who call, like line jumpers. Also, the internet handles a lot of customer traffic now.

The thing is; however, phone customers do buy, even at the expense of the internet, especially for complicated products. Even more true because most of us hate computers except in a certain expertize range, the say-huh? range. Computers are annoying for most people, as anyone knows who has used their help tab.

Many businesses have come to recognize that the computer isn't ready to replace customer representatives, so phone sales is still a good career choice. These jobs involve customer service and sales. In customer service many phone jobs deal with the people computers direct to them. Many are still American jobs because many customer are not comfortable with unrestricted globalization.

In these jobs you deal with people who are often already buying. You can use more subtle sales approaches here by suggesting product accessories. The jobs pay well because you can't pay someone minimum wage to handle the extra arrogant rude callers that companies will receive when the callers are anonymous. The sales person has to have a chip in the game for forbearance, and a big chip's health insurance and good pay.

Another phone job is cold calling. Here you set up appointments for outside sales people or you sell the actual product. It's well paying, though often commission only to start because you will talk to people, even normally nice people who, in a bad moment, can be mean and angry. And your politeness is key. It's not personal. And any angry reaction by you can kill any chance for a future sales.

Probably the most overlooked aspect of sales with the phone, believe it or not, is answering it in a business. For good customer service, you can't let it just ring because you are busy; or ring to a machine that lets people sit on hold while dust settles and tumble weeds roll by. People will go through a computer to get to a person in a prompt manner, but they hate all answering machines.

If you are busy but by the phone, answer the phone, take a name, a number, a message and definitely call the person back, soon. If you have a small business and have to use an answering machine, be very clear in your message that you return calls promptly. And have a professional sounding message. This is where cell phones are also a good idea, and pay for minutes. Don't expect people to text.

If you are a family business and can put a person to answering the phones when you're not available, have them emphasizes that all calls are returned by the same day or the next business day, at the latest. In a family business, let outside sales people, one on one, emphasize the folksy charm and personal service of your business. Your phone personnel should be as professional as AT & T even in a small business.

The phone is also good for follow up calls after a sale. The idea of follow up calls is for customer satisfaction and to gently sell more products.

Phone sales is an art and as long as people need people, there'll be a need for phone sales.

By

Jeffrey Ruzicka

Jeffrey Ruzicka is a retired executive of a small company that specializes in industrial water treatment. He is happily married and lives with his wife in Western Pennsylvania. He is a contributing writer to ManufacturingWorkers, ManufacturingWorkersBlog, and Nexxt