business matters telephone tips
will still come via the telephone. Sure they may have found you on the net (which means you can’t escape the need for a decent website) but when it comes to buying flowers people still like talking to a real person. Then trouble is that while it’s
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proven you can actually make more money per sale on the phone compared to online, you can equally blow it completely just by sounding and acting wrong. And that’s why understanding
the power of the phone is SO important and that following the etiquette of good telephone manners is crucial if you want to portray a professional image. Blow it with a snarled greeting,
a fumble for a pen or a wishy- washy sales pitch and you could quite easily kiss goodbye to the customer forever. So, before you even think
about picking up the phone again read all our features on telephone techniques and make sure you’re harnessing the power of the phone properly.
Back to Basics
The rules and regs of professional phone
techniques Answer the phone by the third ring whenever possible. It’s the accepted number of rings before someone starts wondering if anyone is ever going to answer! Smile before you pick up the
phone and your customers will hear it! Don’t however smile too hard… that comes across as a
74 F&wb Spring 2013
hile everyone bangs on about the internet the reality is that the majority of your orders
bit OTT. A little cheeky grin is usually enough. Answer the phone
professionally and clearly. Don’t say too much but equally don’t be gruff. You need to allow the caller to ‘tune into’ your voice so the usual rule of thumb is something like Good Morning, The Flower Shop, this is Jenny speaking, how can I help you? Never answer the phone with
food in your mouth, drink or smoke… all the noises will be amplified over the phone lines and sound horrid. Always return all phone calls
as soon as possible and certainly within 24 hours. When you make a call that you
know might be lengthy, ask if it’s a good time to talk before you dive into your spiel. Ideally make a telephone
appointment when you want to have a focused, longer (15 or more minutes) conversation with someone who is normally busy. Know what you want to say
before making an important call. Practice the words out loud until they feel comfortable. Never ever read from a script
during a call… it makes you sound like a parrot and puts people off… double glazing selling at its worst! By all means write one for sales pitches and practice it but if you still need it when you’re phoning then you’re not ready. If you really can’t memorise
your sales pitch then have cue cards in front of you but try to
avoid this as well. Selling on the phone should sound natural. Don’t do things like open mail,
flip through the newspaper, do paperwork or look at the computer while on the phone. The person you’re talking to will know you’re distracted. Listen and respond to the
person on the other end of the line. When you focus on them rather than on what you’re going to say next, the phone call becomes much more conversational. When you’re doing a lot of
telephone work, take a break every hour. You’ll energise yourself and perform better.
Hear what you
sound like! Your voice is your personality as far as the caller is concerned. It immediately conveys to the person if you are friendly, distant, timid, spontaneous or just downright rude. Remember they can’t see
your eyes, or smile or hand/arm movements. You are nothing other than a voice so you’ve got to put a lot into it to get your personality down the phone line. The best way to see how
you sound is to get someone to record you and then play it back to give yourself an honest critique. The sorts of things you need to watch out for are;
“This is the most important tip of all simply because it is extremely difficult to sound sad, bored or otherwise when you are smiling.”
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